TV TIMES

Readers share their views on the recent Sky coverage of the British Finals weekend from Norwich

HEAT 20 STILL CONTENTIOUS - posted 10 December 2011

I have been given a recording of the Sky TV broadcast and I enjoyed it.   My comments are as follows.

Some good, competitive racing but that decision in heat 20 was contentious. So it is ok to go full tilt into a rider on the last bend, driving your front wheel between a rider’s leg and pedal with enough
force to take him to the outside of the track, fall off and claim a foul. 

If that had happened in one of the early heats I'm sure the result would have stood according to how the riders crossed the finishing line or more likely Angell would have been excluded and the race awarded to the rider who was in first place going into the final bend.

If the leading rider was slowing down the race as has been suggested, then (1) Boaler would have been pressing very hard for second  place for most of the race and (2) Angell would have had plenty of opportunity to go around the outside to gain the lead.

I believe that Gerry Escott got it spot on regarding the Ben Mould incident too.  I am aware of how difficult it can be to referee a match and make instant decisions on incidents which happen so fast but the camera was in the ideal place on this occasion to let us all make our own minds up as the the rights and wrongs of the outcome.

Colin Le Cornu

SLIGHTLY DISAPPOINTED WITH TV COVERAGE - posted 2 December 2011

Like Colin LeCornu, I do not have Sky TV.  Fortunately, I was able to 
get the programme recorded by a neighbour.

I have just finished watching it and was slightly disappointed with the
'condensed version'. I would have liked to have seen a parade of riders,
replays of race incidents with analysis by the commentators and some filming in the pits and on the terraces.  The filming was technically ok but some of the excitement was lost in
editing.

On the track I thought Andy Angell was exremely lucky to be awarded
first place in the final heat. He made a deliberate move inside
Chris Osborne and forced him out allowing Boaler to pass them both.
Referee Doughty said Osborne's left leg had brought Angell down.
I think Andy's dive under meant that Chris could not get his left foot
back on to his pedal to allow him to pedal out of the situation and
this allowed Boaler to get past.

I think Angell should have been excluded and Osborne given first
place. Also why did the referee allow and Angell and Peck to
deliberately 'sandwich' Ben Mould and bring him down.  The race should have been rerun.

It was good to see Cycle Speedway on a major TV station.  Can we look forward to bigger and better coverage in 2012?

Gerry Escott 

AN AMAZING JOB - posted 30 November 2011

I watched the Sky coverage of the Cycle Speedway yesterday and must write to thoroughly congratulate all those involved, especially Rob Haywood and Graham Sutton for their production.

What an amazing job! - Quite simply the best coverage of the sport I have ever seen - no contest.

It was so slick and professional I should think they must be very proud -
and rightly so. Rob's editing and narrative were spot on - well paced and really eye popping - a completely professional production.

Graham nailed it with his 'to-camera' and commentary performance easily equal to (and better than most of) the standards set routinely on the channel. Superbly done.

The archive and informative content was a perfect compliment and punctuated the action brilliantly.

I hope you receive lots of really good feedback - I think it did the sport
the power of good and is a perfect showreel capable of living with anything else out there commercially.  I hope it becomes the first of many and is the seed that is needed to raise the public profile to what the sport deserves.

Nigel Leahy

IMPRESSED WITH TV COVERAGE - posted 30 November 2011

Like most CS people I watched the Sky presentation and was very impressed with the programme.  It captured everything and set a really good standard.

Well done to all those involved in the production and also to the
interviewees - not always easy when you have a camera and sound-mike hovering.

Congratulations to Andy Schofield on his well deserving award of the
Wilkinson Sword. Well merited and a tribute really to all his and the club's hard work.

Finally, thanks to Shaun Hudson, who took on the responsibility of sourcing and supplying CS parts when there was very little choice and even fewer avenues.

John Whiting

LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE COVERAGE - posted 29 November 2011

Congratulations to all who worked so hard putting together the filming of this year's British final.  It was really well produced and was great to have such a lengthy slot.  Looking forward to more Sky coverage.

Colin Simmons
Newport CSC

CONGRATULATIONS TO TV TEAM - posted 29 November 2011

Can I say congratulations to all involved in tonight's showing on Sky 3 of
the British Individual Finals held earlier this year.

It's been long overdue to not only have a showing that was lengthy in
coverage but also of the highest quality (some of us can remember the indoor on World of Sport).

I hope this is only the beginning of the sport finally getting its recognition
as one of the best cycle sports there is.

Chris Harrison
Former Leicester CSC

MISSING VIEWER - posted 29 November 2011

I’d love to watch the broadcast but I’m not prepared to subscribe to the channel for the privilege.

Colin Le Cornu