Wojciech Stępniewski: we are working on solutions that will see the light of day in the spring of next year (interview)
18.12.2024 14:42
New financial solutions in the spring of 2025, Thursdays in the METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga, and a discussion about the future – these are the topics of the conversation with Wojciech Stępniewski, President of the Speedway Ekstraliga, featured by the editorial staff of ekstraliga.pl.
Ekstraliga.pl: Next year’s PGE Ekstraliga and METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga competitions start on April 11. What determined this date?
Wojciech Stępniewski (President of the Speedway Ekstraliga): You could say that we are starting traditionally and for the fourth year in a row at a similar date, as it is the second weekend of April, and a week earlier we schedule IMME (April 4 – ed. note) and leave both weekend days, Saturday and Sunday, available to the GKSŻ for events under its authority. Remember, before the competitors head out for league competition, they must undergo a certain number of trainings and sparring sessions, so the league games cannot start in mid-March, because that would force the first outings on the track too soon compared to the weather conditions during spring in Poland. Speedway riders would have to train from the end of February, which is very questionable.
On which days of the week will the PGE Ekstraliga ride this year?
We traditionally ride on Fridays and Sundays, and I think fans have already gotten used to that, except exceptionally in April, two matches will also be played on a Saturday (April 19 – ed. note), because of the Easter holidays. The entire schedule LINK.
Let us remind you that CANAL+ Polska acquired broadcasting rights for PGE Ekstraliga matches from 2026 to 2028, and in 2025 the previous agreement still applies. The new TV agreement for METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga competitions, in turn, provides that CANAL+ will broadcast all matches of this class, what does this mean for fans?
The agreement was signed for 2025 – 2027, and it primarily means that from the new season, the broadcaster will show TV broadcasts of four matches per round, meaning all matches, and I will remind you that the 2024 agreement, which we continued as a league but did not conclude, provided for “at least two” matches, and only because CANAL+ did a lot to promote speedway in this class, including financially, there were more matches on TV or online. Specifically, from 2025 all matches will be available not only on CANAL+ online but also on television. The novelty is Thursday dates, because with so many matches, they cannot all fit into the schedule and on TV on Saturdays and Sundays. From the new season in METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga, each club will host a match played on Thursday once during the whole season. We will of course adapt the start time of such matches to TV scheduling realities, fans’ weekday routines, and we will also think about the organizers of such matches. I cannot yet specify a time, but I do not assume it will be early. I assume there may initially be problems, but over time fans will get used to Thursday dates, especially since such a solution will be only once per season on a home track for each club.
What challenges does the Speedway Ekstraliga face in light of training competitions?
I will not speak now for the shareholders of the company regarding U24 Ekstraliga for the 2026 season and beyond, but in 2025 this league will function, and what January 2025 will bring – in regard to the decisions of the shareholders of the Speedway Ekstraliga – we will announce in due time. We are certainly not giving up on the training pyramid and many competitions in classes from pitbikes, through mini speedway to 500R (formerly 250cc). In 2025 we will also introduce new individual U17 competitions in the form of eight events, where each PGE Ekstraliga club will organize one tournament.
Are there chances to hold a Polish Cup or maybe a League Cup in the future?
Not in the 2025 season, but I would gladly leave this question open for fans, journalists, and experts. Do we need such a format? Who would participate? I think everyone can open the discussion, personally, I believe the main problem is funding such events, so we need to ask: at what rates should competitors ride, and another question: when, because with the current league format and Tuesdays to Wednesdays reserved for youth competitions, it is indeed tight in the schedule.
Speaking of schedules, how does the so-called superiority of FIM and FIM Europe event dates over league ones look?
For years, we’ve had the order of creating the league schedule in which the FIM calendar comes first, with important events like SGP and SoN/DPE as well as junior versions of these competitions, then FIM Europe, and finally adjusting league slots to the existing conditions, and remember, we “ride” for five and a half months in the calendar year. The Speedway Ekstraliga has reached an agreement with BSPA, our English counterpart, to block eight Thursdays in the METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga. Such matches will have priority for competitors over matches played in Great Britain.
What about the so-called summer break in competitions?
Dispelling myths, for years there has been no so-called summer break in the league, and the fact that sometimes there are weekends without a full round in the PGE Ekstraliga results from several reasons. Primarily, we do not want competitors and their teams to have to appear at league events in Poland the next day after Grand Prix events in Cardiff, Manchester, or Malilla – the farthest in terms of logistics. Of course, sometimes there’s no choice, but the assumption of the schedule is not to target these terms. There are also stadium bookings in Poland that fans are unaware of, and not every arena hosts only speedway, and sometimes stadiums simply have to be “blocked” already at the schedule creation stage.
What new features can be seen in the new season at PGE Ekstraliga matches?
One of the most important things is the change in the procedure for appointing nominated races. Instead of the previous method of seating competitors in nominated races, we are introducing large 65-inch touch screens located in the machinery park in the PGE Ekstraliga, which will be used to choose the lineup for these races and will be integrated with TV graphics.
How do you view the financial problems that recently affected STAL Gorzów?
I don’t want to comment on this now, because it’s a topic for a separate conversation. We are working on solutions that will see the light of day in the spring of next year.
