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Time To Scrap Doubling Up?

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tigerowl wrote " When speedway starts alienating long term fans and losing them from the terraces whilst at the same time failing to attract new faces, it is in big trouble".

 

We have reached that point now and wether the riders don't like it nor the promoters, the sport is going down the pan Big Time & Swiftly. Come on BSPA "save" the sport by making it credible and attractive. Doubling Up must go if they want the sport to have a future and reach it's centenary.

I would only add to that - so must Double Points - if Speedway wants to have a shred of credibility. Sadly credibility, at present, is something the Sport just does not have.

 

I have supported Speedway for over Fifty Years now - I no longer attend solely because of Double Points - and now we have this Double Up and Double Down which does absolutely nothing to encourage me to return.

 

As Tigerowl says, and I have said in the past, people want to watch their own TEAM - not elements of someone else's. Injury/Illness/International Appearances, for me, would be the only permitted ways of being allowed to use Rider Replacement.

 

Unless the Speedway Authorities rediscover what Promoters years ago appreciated, and that is the fact that Speedway is a Team Sport and and that Teams/Riders expect, rightfully, loyalty from their Supporters. They also need to remember - it is a two way thing, Supporters expect loyalty from their Team/Riders.

 

It is not something that you can reach out and touch, it is an intangible thing a sense of it being our very own Team.

 

That is the way I see it anyhow.

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Fell out of love, simple as ................ speedway racing is still great :)

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Fell out of love, simple as ................ speedway racing is still great :)

Not like it used to be. :)

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As has been said here du is killing the sport, for me equally killing it is GUESTS . Last week at Redcar Sheffield used Lawson from their nearest rivals Glasgow. What other sport would allow that. If riders are injured tough..

 

If the riders need more rides , go back to 13 heats & second halves to get their xtra rides , bring back the Golden Helmet etc . Surely the BSPA could sort a sponsor..

 

The second halves used to be the source of extra rides for the youngsters to monitor the progress

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I've been once this year when I used to attend every week I could, work permitting.

 

The sole reason for this is the doubling up farce. A sport has got to have some sort of credibility for it to be a success and speedway has none at the moment.

 

The sport should not be run so the riders can make a decent living, it should be run for the fans, like shippy22 says, that are proud of their team and the riders who represent it, not seven journeymen who ride for your team because it fits in with their busy schedule of riding for other teams.

 

Not all that long ago, it was only the British League top men that were full time riders. Now it seems that a five point rider in the second tier who rides for two or three different teams can be full-time when only a few hundred fans are watching the racing. That surely can't be right.

 

Craig Cook, Danny King, Robert Lambert, Chris Harris etc. should not be riding at second division level.

 

When speedway starts alienating long term fans and losing them from the terraces whilst at the same time failing to attract new faces, it is in big trouble.

 

In a nutshell this captured why I no longer go. Another long term fan sick of the sport being run to suit nobody but the riders.

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When I first started watching speedway in the early 80s, there was doubling up, but it actually worked. If memory serves, often the number one rider from the old National League side (in our case Dave Perks) would double up in reserve for a British League side (Cradley and I think then Coventry in Perks case). The national league side would retain priority of course.

 

Of course there was a clear different in class between both leagues back then, and far less average overseas riders clogging up the British leagues. But the rider always felt like 'ours', Long Eaton's. It never felt like he was a travelling journeyman rider who was riding for a different club every night.

Edited by TheReturn

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The racing, the sport, it is still great... a brilliant spectacle. But every good game must also have rules that are credible. It only takes a certain amount of time for most to fathom that speedway can be very strange - cheering on one rider one night, when he's up against you the next week. A double-point gimmick that very rarely swings a match and only sheds light on a mere novelty thing that a serious sport doesn't need.

 

When the likes of TigerOwl begin questioning the lure of speedway to them, someone who must have spent many a midnight hour researching his love of the sport, we may as well get our coats.

 

Isn't every match nowadays just two teams resembling a Testimonial meeting?

Edited by moxey63
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When I first started watching speedway in the early 80s, there was doubling up, but it actually worked. If memory serves, often the number one rider from the old National League side (in our case Dave Perks) would double up in reserve for a British League side (Cradley and I think then Coventry in Perks case). The national league side would retain priority of course.

 

Of course there was a clear different in class between both leagues back then, and far less average overseas riders clogging up the British leagues. But the rider always felt like 'ours', Long Eaton's. It never felt like he was a travelling journeyman rider who was riding for a different club every night.

Absolutely Spot On!!!!!

 

That is what is missing now, 'our Riders' - nowadays they are anybodies Riders.

 

Unless the Authorities cotton on to this, ultimately Speedway is finished.

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definitely - if there is a top league next year they should sign a number 8 and 9 from the second level and use them and RR when people are missing - no guests, no DD just managed DU

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The racing, the sport, it is still great... a brilliant spectacle. But every good game must also have rules that are credible. It only takes a certain amount of time for most to fathom that speedway can be very strange - cheering on one rider one night, when he's up against you the next week. A double-point gimmick that very rarely swings a match and only sheds light on a mere novelty thing that a serious sport doesn't need.

 

When the likes of TigerOwl begin questioning the lure of speedway to them, someone who must have spent many a midnight hour researching his love of the sport, we may as well get our coats.

 

Isn't every match nowadays just two teams resembling a Testimonial meeting?

When i first started going getting used to seeing a regular 1-7 was brilliant you got to know your teams riders and ended up with a affinity with them.Even if someone was out injured (ect) a no 8 who could be a future regular team member came in the second half helped along in that happening.The rules and averages in speedway now are madness all i want now is to enjoy the racing and have a decent night out Winning is not the be all and end all for me.
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Back in the 70s it also happened.maybe we didn't bother about it too much.Maybe it didn't happen as much as today.BL1 tracks had a relationship with a L 2 track often enough.Riders got a chance to ride in the top division fairly quickly,but also seemed to move up much quicker than today

 

Look at Bob Coles for instance who moved up fairly quick to his local track Exeter,but found the going hard,so in 1971 rode for both Romford and Exeter.Then in 1971 rode for the West ham/Barrow team in BL2 whilst turning out for Exeter,then had a couple of years in the top division before again riding for Newport and Mildenhall in 1974.....

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When i first started going getting used to seeing a regular 1-7 was brilliant you got to know your teams riders and ended up with a affinity with them.Even if someone was out injured (ect) a no 8 who could be a future regular team member came in the second half helped along in that happening.The rules and averages in speedway now are madness all i want now is to enjoy the racing and have a decent night out Winning is not the be all and end all for me.

 

I know people won't like this... but I get the same feeling watching my football team - the nervy excitement of a tense match, cheering a goal etc - that I used to get watching the likes of PC, Tyrer, Wilkie etc at Belle Vue. I didn't get why people liked football until about 15 years ago, as speedway was a great team sport.

 

Speedway is a poor second right now. You can't just support your local speedway team because you like the sport. There has to be something to have you wanting to support it... that team ethic. Football is tribalistic. Speedway, to me, used to offer as much as football does now.

 

Individual meetings were once that open-date-filler, but you could wait the next week to see your team back in the fold.

 

Every meeting nowadays has an air of individuality about it. You can't throw any seven riders (sometimes) together that'll fit within the rules and call it a team. Any fan with a genuine love of team speedway should are having the wool pulled over their peepers.

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The main difference in the past is very few doubling up riders were in the declared 1-7 of both teams.

 

I can just about stomach div 2 riders filling in for top flight teams but the current situation is nothing more than a circus of riders in a different costume as it suits their needs.

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When i first started going getting used to seeing a regular 1-7 was brilliant you got to know your teams riders and ended up with a affinity with them.Even if someone was out injured (ect) a no 8 who could be a future regular team member came in the second half helped along in that happening.The rules and averages in speedway now are madness all i want now is to enjoy the racing and have a decent night out Winning is not the be all and end all for me.

 

I know people won't like this... but I get the same feeling watching my football team - the nervy excitement of a tense match, cheering a goal etc - that I used to get watching the likes of PC, Tyrer, Wilkie etc at Belle Vue. I didn't get why people liked football until about 15 years ago, as speedway was a great team sport.

 

Speedway is a poor second right now. You can't just support your local speedway team because you like the sport. There has to be something to have you wanting to support it... that team ethic. Football is tribalistic. Speedway, to me, used to offer as much as football does now.

 

Individual meetings were once that open-date-filler, but you could wait the next week to see your team back in the fold.

 

Every meeting nowadays has an air of individuality about it. You can't throw any seven riders (sometimes) together that'll fit within the rules and call it a team. Any fan with a genuine love of team speedway should are having the wool pulled over their peepers.

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They are now more self employed speedway riders rather than a member of a particular team .

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