Open Email To Bspa

[Bradford Hawk 5]

BWitcher

 

If you've time to burn you might ask yourself what anyone could hope to achieve by having dual posting identities or by misrepresenting the absence / presence of sports scores in any medium. If you do ask yourself then experience suggests you should expect unnecessarily argumentative responses given in a manner inappropriately confident in view of their mediocre content.

 

Something tells me you'll want the last word but then try to let it go, eh?

All the best

Bradford Hawk

[Robinh88 571]

Some good points raised....

 

Speedway is targeted at the average punter who attends a meeting.

What I've found at the track I attend mostly, while there are some very intelligent people who are in the know. A lot of fans just go for a night out or go because there friends. Some "fans" that go to Berwick haven't got a clue about the Sport or the bigger picture. As long as they see a home win and 15 heats failing that there is uproar

[Paul J Darby 0]

As old time avid fan since 1952 Woverhampton and Birmingham I only get Cardiff now for the GP, there is one thing that I find stupid and almost infantile that is the gardening at the tapes. My answer to this would be to restore the tarmac starting grid, the original concrete one would be better but that is not conducive to tempory tracks like Cardiff. I would think any one going to watch speedway for the first time must think this ritual is daft.

[Nobblytriers 201]

Another long time fan here.

I don't think that speedway is any worse than it used to be, it's probably better in some respects and it's certainly more visible to the general public with the amount that's on TV now. It may be that people now want more for their hard earned cash. Then again, there's more for us to do these days.

 

Stadiums do appear to run down, so that can be a turn off, but no matter what, toilet facilities should be clean and tidy and refreshments should be of a good standard and value for money.

 

The racing should be entertaining (goes without saying?) but speedway has got a name for itself as being 'first out of the gate wins' - I heard that sentence every time I mentioned speedway, and still do today. As fans, we know that it isn't true but how do you shake off that image? We've had some great racing on the TV lately but unless Joe Public can be bothered to tune in, then he will still have that negative opinion. We need incentives and publicity to get new people through the gate, and that when they come through, give them something that will make them want to come back.

 

Keep the races flowing, stop the riders going back to the pits at every opportunity. It's bad enough for the fans, what will a newcomer make of it? Rattle through the races, have a good 15 or 20 minute interval (with entertainment or pit chats?) and finish with some exciting racing.

 

We know we have a great sport, there's nothing like it, there really isn't. I think we need all of those involved in running and promoting this fabulous spectacle to get together and work towards getting the crowds back. Without the crowds, they won't have anything to promote.

 

PS, can we have more riders using castrol R please? Gorgeous!

[waytogo28 2,054]

What emerged from the latest BSPA conference was another stab in the dark, purely cosmetic changes that no-on outside the sport even noticed . By adding the tags of Premiership and Championship to what already exists, do promoters think that they will emulate the average attendances of football? Delusional sadly. By not listening to the opinions of fans ( as the BSPA seem determined to continue doing ) who require much crisper run meetings ( this at very little extra cost! ) more interesting content, fairer prepared tracks ( to give the away team a reasonable chance AND encourage passing ) the list of simple, cheap improvements is a long one! I prepared such a list ( with knowledgeable friends ) for my local promoter who could not even manage a one word acknowledgement ( eg "Thanks" ) and this was after requests in the programme for ideas! New fans will only be attracted if what they do come to sample is entertaining, well run and customer friendly. The BSPA need to be much more outward looking if the fan base is ever to be enlarged. Those attending now ( swiftly diminishing in numbers ) do not need to be wooed with new name tags for the sport they love. Every idea coming out of the recent conference has been tried before and has failed to convince the outside world that it is worth watching. Very much "the Emperor's new clothes". 2028 is unlikely to be a year of celebration for speedway.