What Went Wrong?

[Bald Bloke 3,284]

Doubling up is certainly not popular but i can not ever see it being reversed. Problem is British riders are now used to earning a living by racing in two British leagues, plus the foreign stuff. Take 1 league away and the other will have to pay.... Extra

Doubling up is certainly not popular but i can not ever see it being reversed. Problem is British riders are now used to earning a living by racing in two British leagues, plus the foreign stuff. Take 1 league away and the other will have to pay.... Extra

To true.Riders need to make money to live.Won't change any time soon.Second string and reserves need to double up.

[40-38 307]

What do you expect then, what wouldn't make your contempories cringe? Again when I went to Poland for a league meeting in 2015 there was nothing but heat results and music, no rider interviews or anything, it was the fans who simply amused themselves by chanting, shouting and flag waving, led by guys on mics in the crowd ..... bit like british football I guess ...

Well some more seamless presentation would be a start, rider interviews you can hear at the appropriate times, like before the meeting so it isn't drowned out by the tractors, stop randomly cutting songs into each other, play music that makes more of an atmosphere for an exciting motorsport (which I appreciate is subjective but they play the same dozen records every week), stop the in-jokes and the cliches. You don't go to watch other sports and feel like you've stepped back in time like you do with speedway, perhaps it's the demographics, I really don't know but you have to make the most of every minute you get the punters through the gates or you'll lose them to something that does that better.

Doubling up is certainly not popular but i can not ever see it being reversed. Problem is British riders are now used to earning a living by racing in two British leagues, plus the foreign stuff. Take 1 league away and the other will have to pay.... Extra

Doubling up is certainly not popular but i can not ever see it being reversed. Problem is British riders are now used to earning a living by racing in two British leagues, plus the foreign stuff. Take 1 league away and the other will have to pay.... Extra

I think the problem stems more from the clashes than the actual doubling up. It's not ideal but I get the necessary evil of it in some respects, but trying to say to a new fan that you won't see nearly a third of your team tonight because they're riding for a different team just doesn't make sense to the unconverted. It doesn't compare to other team sports so I'm not going to go into it but at least if you turn up to football or basketball or rugby you know barring injury you'll see the team you signed! It baffled somebody I work with that Leicester, in the "top league" would be missing two riders tonight because they were riding for a different team in a "lower league".

Edited April 8, 2017 by 40-38

[mikebv 10,272]

What went wrong?

 

Imagine going to a bank manager with British Speedways business plan?

 

1. We will pay our best employees far in excess of what we can afford.

 

2. We will allow all our employees the right to work elsewhere on the days we are open leaving us short staffed. To back this up we will sign an agreement to allow other overseas companies to have the first option on our best employees..

 

3. When our employees are elsewhere (either in this country or abroad) we will have an arrangement to use employees from our competitors, even though we realise that this will lead to an obvious 'conflict of interest' and be deemed 'a bit Mickey Mouse'...

 

4. We will only open on those days our employees kindly inform us they are available rather than open on the busiest days which will give us our highest income.

 

5. We will attempt to build our business on the 'emotional loyalty' of our customers, but will do our utmost to ensure that our employees will have very little local affinity (if indeed any at all) with their customers to enjender it..

 

6. Our prices will not reflect the quality we have on offer but will simply be set high to offset the heavy cost base we have decided to run with.

 

7. Our major target customer profile are families, however we will use out dated media to try and attract them and utilise a business premises infrastructure that looks and feels like the 20th Century never happened, never mind the 21st Century started...

 

8. We will seek major investment from TV to promote our business but will only use this cash to pay our best employees. (The ones that miss the most days from work as they are invariably elsewhere). What we won't do is use this investment to reduce prices or improve the premises, or indeed, the overall customer experience.

 

9. Year on year we plan to reduce the quality of what we produce but supplement the inevitable drop in customers by putting in inflation busting price increases to the customers that stay with us..

 

10. We will utilise a 'flexible' operating model, one which is subject to change on any whim, meaning ultimately our customers will, over time, have very little faith in the way the business is ran and ultimately stop coming...

 

Bank Managers, fill your boots, you know it makes sense..☺

 

Although I do have to say I think any reasonable Bank Manager may spot 'one or two flaws' in the 'cunning plan'...😆

Edited April 9, 2017 by mikebv

[Theboss 727]

What went wrong?

 

Imagine going to a bank manager with British Speedways business plan?

 

1. We will pay our best employees far in excess of what we can afford.

 

2. We will allow all our employees the right to work elsewhere on the days we are open leaving us short staffed. To back this up we will sign an agreement to allow other overseas companies to have the first option on our best employees..

 

3. When our employees are elsewhere (either in this country or abroad) we will have an arrangement to use employees from our competitors, even though we realise that this will lead to an obvious 'conflict of interest' and be deemed 'a bit Mickey Mouse'...

 

4. We will only open on those days our employees kindly inform us they are available rather than open on the busiest days which will give us our highest income.

 

5. We will attempt to build our business on the 'emotional loyalty' of our customers, but will do our utmost to ensure that our employees will have very little local affinity (if indeed any at all) with their customers to enjender it..

 

6. Our prices will not reflect the quality we have on offer but will simply be set high to offset the heavy cost base we have decided to run with.

 

7. Our major target customer profile are families, however we will use out dated media to try and attract them and utilise a business premises infrastructure that looks and feels like the 20th Century never happened, never mind the 21st Century started...

 

8. We will seek major investment from TV to promote our business but will only use this cash to pay our best employees. (The ones that miss the most days from work as they are invariably elsewhere). What we won't do is use this investment to reduce prices or improve the premises, or indeed, the overall customer experience.

 

9. Year on year we plan to reduce the quality of what we produce but supplement the inevitable drop in customers by putting in inflation busting price increases to the customers that stay with us..

 

10. We will utilise a 'flexible' operating model, one which is subject to change on any whim, meaning ultimately our customers will, over time, have very little faith in the way the business is ran and ultimately stop coming...

 

Bank Managers, fill your boots, you know it makes sense..☺

 

Although I do have to say I think any reasonable Bank Manager may spot 'one or two flaws' in the 'cunning plan'...😆

With a plan like that they don't need a bank, it could go straight to an IPO.... Well enough people are already buying into it 😝

[ruffdiamond 6,115]

What went wrong?

Imagine going to a bank manager with British Speedways business plan?

1. We will pay our best employees far in excess of what we can afford.

2. We will allow all our employees the right to work elsewhere on the days we are open leaving us short staffed. To back this up we will sign an agreement to allow other overseas companies to have the first option on our best employees..

3. When our employees are elsewhere (either in this country or abroad) we will have an arrangement to use employees from our competitors, even though we realise that this will lead to an obvious 'conflict of interest' and be deemed 'a bit Mickey Mouse'...

4. We will only open on those days our employees kindly inform us they are available rather than open on the busiest days which will give us our highest income.

5. We will attempt to build our business on the 'emotional loyalty' of our customers, but will do our utmost to ensure that our employees will have very little local affinity (if indeed any at all) with their customers to enjender it..

6. Our prices will not reflect the quality we have on offer but will simply be set high to offset the heavy cost base we have decided to run with.

7. Our major target customer profile are families, however we will use out dated media to try and attract them and utilise a business premises infrastructure that looks and feels like the 20th Century never happened, never mind the 21st Century started...

8. We will seek major investment from TV to promote our business but will only use this cash to pay our best employees. (The ones that miss the most days from work as they are invariably elsewhere). What we won't do is use this investment to reduce prices or improve the premises, or indeed, the overall customer experience.

9. Year on year we plan to reduce the quality of what we produce but supplement the inevitable drop in customers by putting in inflation busting price increases to the customers that stay with us..

10. We will utilise a 'flexible' operating model, one which is subject to change on any whim, meaning ultimately our customers will, over time, have very little faith in the way the business is ran and ultimately stop coming...

Bank Managers, fill your boots, you know it makes sense..☺

Although I do have to say I think any reasonable Bank Manager may spot 'one or two flaws' in the 'cunning plan'...

So, you're the one in charge

[Deano 1,318]

The sport has just never managed to re-invent itself.

 

A bit like dog racing, it's stuck firmly to its working class roots, which most people don't aspire to or wish to link themselves to anymore.

 

On top of that, there's no money to be made, so investment is literally none existent.

Edited April 9, 2017 by Deano

[Shale Searcher 1,264]

Doubling up/down has to go..

I have followed Speedway since 1970ish, you supported your team, your riders, your juniors.. You adopted them, even the lesser ability riders, they were your family, you'd bleed your teams colours, if your rider got hurt, you hurt, when they were winning, you were winning, when they cried, you cried, and after the meeting, you could share a few moments with your hero's, share a joke, share an insult.. If you saw one of your riders on the road, the hairs stood up on your shoulder, if you were going to the Speedway, you followed your hero's in their cortina with bike trailer, or them in their Citreon Safari, 2 bikes even 3 origarmi'd into the back!!

Riders rode in the sun, cloud, rain, they got dirty, wet, but were gladitorial on track..

 

Now, its not the same, your team races on a night other countries don't, else your best guys won't be there, the meat of your team changes week in week out, picked from who's available, not your riders.. Rain in the air? Forget it, riders don't do wet meetings now, Your riders, are not your team, just a hashed 6 or 7 that are available on that particular day, meanwhile your riders are off riding for someone else, somewhere else! The only time they race now is out the pits, into their fully loaded Scooby van, and off to their next pay check, no loyalty, no affinity, just like playground footie, perm your team, any seven from who's not riding yet tonight. In the bar after? no thanks...

Why have team suits, riders have several, no loyalty.

 

To be A professional, bona fide team sport, then it needs to be "one rider, one team" until this happens, we will be the Micky Mouse of sport, not to be taken seriously, by fan or by finance..

Edited April 9, 2017 by Shale Searcher

[ch958 2,395]

you are correct about rider loyalty but what about clubs lobbing riders out left right and centre instead of sticking with 7 for the season with the odd change for injury. Remember Leicester making one single change during one season in the 60s

This win at all costs has been counterproductive

[moxey63 1,785]

I always state that I followed speedway, not because of the fancy-Dan bikes they have now, the gleaming clean Kevlars that get as dirty as your Whit-week clothes, it was because it was different. It was not your normal motor sport back then in the 70s. There was the team thing, the bit on the side of individual racing, but the team was my pull. Proper motorbike nuts kept away from following speedway. You never saw a motorbike near the stadium, and I always used to get annoyed when someone said they didn't watch speedway because they don't like motorbikes. But the sport has now gone more individual than team, and it is team speedway that keeps the sport going. To reinvent itself, then stamp down on the multi-league riders, the boys who can't really ride to their full effort every race because they simply are doing too much and for too many other teams. They must forget where they are sometimes. Saw an interview with Matej Zagar after the Peter Craven meeting last week, when he acknowledged he didn't have much time for the interview, he had to be somewhere else the next day. When riders show commitment to fans, perhaps some fans may think about showing ti back and actually returning to the terraces. Waste of time trying to drum up a feeling for a bunch of fellows that are as committed as zero-hour staff.

Edited April 9, 2017 by moxey63

[The White Knight 9,039]

I always state that I followed speedway, not because of the fancy-Dan bikes they have now, the gleaming clean Kevlars that get as dirty as your Whit-week clothes, it was because it was different. It was not your normal motor sport back then in the 70s. There was the team thing, the bit on the side of individual racing, but the team was my pull. Proper motorbike nuts kept away from following speedway. You never saw a motorbike near the stadium, and I always used to get annoyed when someone said they didn't watch speedway because they don't like motorbikes. But the sport has now gone more individual than team, and it is team speedway that keeps the sport going. To reinvent itself, then stamp down on the multi-league riders, the boys who can't really ride to their full effort every race because they simply are doing too much and for too many other teams. They must forget where they are sometimes. Saw an interview with Matej Zagar after the Peter Craven meeting last week, when he acknowledged he didn't have much time for the interview, he had to be somewhere else the next day. When riders show commitment of fans, perhaps some fans may think about showing ti back and actually returning to the terraces. Waste of time trying to drum up a feeling for a bunch of fellows that are as committed as zero-hour staff.

Good Post - Great Sentence moxey63. :approve:

[Shale Searcher 1,264]

Good Post - Great Sentence moxey63. :approve:

Agree totally!!

[Mr Happy 3]

A lot of people seem to think the sport is what they see on television or pay to watch at a track. The sport is more than that. Most of the rot is because it's nigh on impossible to take part at a grass roots level. The British Motocross championship isn't the highest level or in the greatest of health yet there are thousands of people getting out and taking part in amateur racing, practice and Enduros every weekend on brand new bikes with a massive aftermarket industry supporting them.

 

The sport is supported by companies selling bikes and parts to people like me with the disposable income to buy them. The sport helps promote them yet it shouldn't be the be all and end all. Really, now, the industry only sells to the few who take part in the sport at the highest level. Without the grass roots then there is no real way the sport can continue to support itself. With more amateur events clubs can drawn on a greater pool of talent when it disappears overseas, or even permanently replace it. And even if the clubs disappeared the sport should still survive without them, people getting out and having fun at the weekends riding at their local tracks. How many people really get out and do that?

 

From my house the nearest tracks where I could run a bike are at least 2.5 hours away. The local amateur club only runs races at Kings Lynn which is nearly 3 hours away. There are 20+ MX tracks and 6-7 MX and Enduro clubs within an hour and half radius. Why should I drop £9k on a new Jawa, that I have to struggle to get a chance to ride, when a new CRF450 is £7k and I can ride it every day of the week. The sport is suffering because it hasn't made itself easily accessible to newcomers.

[davemk39 0]

tv has killed off speedway at a local level.

midweek meetings for the sake of tv air time, whats that about? attendances would be far higher with saturday/sunday meetings. just who has spare time and energy in the week to travel miles to watch speedway? but no, sky made teams change the day of home meetings to fit in with sky's schedules.

now for the BSPA. wheres the tv money gone? nice bulging back pocket you have there mr promoter. no wonder clubs are folding left right and centre. years of history down the pan. as previously said promoters don't promote.

[waytogo28 2,054]

One solution likely to be taken up by the BSPA - to satisfy riders, promoters and most people except the supporters?

I suggest that the same riders are used for both leagues who race on different nights ( if the powers that be insist on having two leagues ) and a small pool of other riders are used for injuries / retirements etc The troupe of would be league riders should tour as a UK based GP tour to as many tracks as possible. The reduction in costs with less riders should satisfy the pockets of the BSPA and as everyone is doubling up, the furore over that issue vanishes.

 

NO riders who wish to race in Europe should be permitted to race in the new set up. Those who wish to race here will be the first to benefit and riding in two leagues will give them the income level they claim they need. It's no crazier than the system we currently operate and New "stars" would emerge as they do at every level. Clubs could even be linked who run the same 7 riders in two leagues! Say Leicester and Ipswich.

[greyhoundp 990]

The BSPA has to take a lot of responsibility for whats happened outside of the GPs, despite the fact that not many British riders are good enough to get to that level these days.

Firstly the promoters do whats best for them for that season, then they do whats best for riders, and finally they do whats best for fans. Doubling up/down has to STOP, the riders are our Teams the Teams are what we have an affinity with, thats been lost with the doubling up/down ruling, Im sorry guys our No1 is not riding tonight, he is riding for his other Team, Im sorry mate im not going to watch tonight Im going to watch my "Other" Team... thats a big part of one of the many problems with British Speedway, if we HAVE to have doubling up/down then the Leagues have to have different race nights, but thats never going to happen because every season we struggle to even complete the league program, yet Iv noticed over the last few weeks of mid summer there has been very few meetings ridden, but in April/October when we all freeze our B**lls/B**bs off we are expected to stand there watching our so called summer sport..