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When Buster and Godfrey were elected there first statement was we will listen to the fans and will have a annual forum, which they did, after it,it was stated by Godfrey It was a huge success and it will be a annual event The BSPA havent had one since, I wonder why

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When Buster and Godfrey were elected there first statement was we will listen to the fans and will have a annual forum, which they did, after it,it was stated by Godfrey It was a huge success and it will be a annual event The BSPA havent had one since, I wonder why

Are you really that bothered?

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Openness and transparency was also promised together with a new rule book. They did have the events on social media where fans had to submit their questions in advance so that the more controversial and embarrassing issues could be avoided.

 

The current leadership has just presided over the biggest shambles of a season I have witnessed in my 60 plus years of following the sport and at the end of it we have the Chairman proclaiming that he wants to see more guests.

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More guests = less fans. Can't the chairman and all other promoters see that the fans are so against all the guests. Every week people come onto this forum to complain about the amount of guests, and yet the Heirarchy can't see the problem with it. Speedway rapidly going downhill until someone says enough is enough and we must listen to what the paying public actually would like.

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Was there not some kind of forum in Nuneaton shortly after the AGM? From memory I remember one promoter complaining that it was very poorly attended by fans.

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I think that the Promoters do actually realise the Sport is inherently 'Donald Ducked' within a 'Team Sport' framework (in Britain), hence the plan of "let's have more guests"..

 

This will be to ensure they can at least pretend to have teams race each other each week which in turn means teams still have a reason to exist...

 

And make it look from the mainstream media outside view (and the very occasional Speedway watcher) that it is actually a 'proper team sport'...

 

I feel that the Sport is now very much ran for the riders who shell out thousands in equipment and therefore need thousands more in earnings to make it pay...

 

No point spending £20k on kit if you are only riding in 36 meetings even at a grand plus a night...

 

You need to race in 70 - 90 meetings to make it pay...

 

Hence Du's in every meeting. Hence "we need more guests" is the mantra..

 

The Promoters need to create more races for riders to take for the rider to make the investment..

 

What we have now is what will always be until that inevitable 'race to the bottom' is eventually 'won'..

 

(And ironically winning that race to the bottom carries about as much kudos as winning a Speedway Title or Cup!)..

 

The Sports tipping point as a team entity in this Country has been reached, what we will now see is more and more cobbled together, unfit for purpose nonsense....

 

What about Credibilty? "You're joking! Cant afford it mate!"...

Edited by mikebv
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I honestly think they are a waste of time as the sport stands at the moment , buster as well meaning as he might be cant say right for doing wrong , the sport in Britain is undefendable , it is a shambolic mess and until we accept that fact and do something about it we are finished , changing names of leagues and even race days isnt going to change anything , riders need their pay cut by 1/4 , stop all the add ons riders get , the days of the proffesssional rider below the top is a distance away and they need to be made part of a team and made to understand what that entails, make them understand that fans matter , stop trying to be a poor mans F1 ,speedway never was and never will be that, change the engines if we have to to help the riders ,is speedway a £10 sport ?? Well it definately isnt and £18 sport ,speedway the family sport ? Where are the familys ??

Wholeheartedly agree. To add to the debate I am not sure why promoters think that fixed race nights will solve the problem?

 

Has anyone bothered to consult the fans who pay. Is a Monday or Thursday going to suit the majority who turn up having been used to Wednesday or. Friday or a weekend.

 

What happens if many cannot make it because most have busy lives and many other commitments/options. It is pie in the sky to think that the top riders will flock back. Not many clubs can afford them and if it ends up reducing the fan base on a night that does not work locally it is game up for the team and track.

 

The same applies to having a national league of teams dotted around the country. Financial suicide. Supporters do not travel in numbers to away matches unless they are relatively local (Ipswich/Kings Lynn/ Peterborough/ Lakeside/Rye House as e apples) so each club is relying on a dwindling number of locals to turn up come what may.

 

Therefore to add to what has been said above, they seriously need to contsider a spell in the sport where it is regional leagues, north and south and finals in both then the winners of each contest a national championship which will give clubs some opportunity to fill the coffers and rebuild the business. Other team events and an individual championship could if structured correctly give clubs weekly racing assuming that they want to think outside the box. Carry on as is in the blind belief that anything other than radical changes are needed and the sport will become amateur in a very short while. Think about open licences for race tracks and turn the clock back a bit, it was not all bad in years gone by.

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When Buster and Godfrey were elected there first statement was we will listen to the fans and will have a annual forum, which they did, after it,it was stated by Godfrey It was a huge success and it will be a annual event The BSPA havent had one since, I wonder why

I'd love to know the criteria for this judgement.

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To be fair to the BSPA fixed nights will resolve the problem of missing riders because of doubling up or down. That will reduce the number of guests and r/r, which should only be necessary for injuries and FIM events and they're not usually held on a Monday or Thursday. This is far better than we have had in this and recent years and will give teams an identity and continuity.

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To be fair to the BSPA fixed nights will resolve the problem of missing riders because of doubling up or down. That will reduce the number of guests and r/r, which should only be necessary for injuries and FIM events and they're not usually held on a Monday or Thursday. This is far better than we have had in this and recent years and will give teams an identity and continuity.

it does nothing at all for identity and thats the issue , all it does is try to justify the mess that speedway has created for itself , it is another plaster over the ever deepening wound that speedway has , for god sake why cant we just accept we have balls up and put it right , i with many diehards have stopped attending in the last year ,Workington struggling to get 350 people , Scunthorpe happy to get 500 people , how loud do the alarm bells have to sound before people realise , the sport has to radically change and now
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To be fair to the BSPA fixed nights will resolve the problem of missing riders because of doubling up or down. That will reduce the number of guests and r/r, which should only be necessary for injuries and FIM events and they're not usually held on a Monday or Thursday. This is far better than we have had in this and recent years and will give teams an identity and continuity.

I understand the sentiment but that does not deal with the real problem. Dwindling numbers turning up to watch a live meeting. Do what they like tinkering with double up, r/r.etc. if no one is watching it is all rather irrelevant. Give the punter what they want and they will turn up. Allow the tail to wag the dog and you have what is a sad situation that speedway finds itself in. Someone seems to have forgotten about the customer which is what ever supporter is.

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I've said on another thread...

 

Give me four or five BIG individual meetings at the NSS, with the best riders in the world in attendance and you can have £30 - £40 a pop off me, every time..

 

Because when done well, the Sport IS worth those kind of numbers...

 

However, try and put out more of the same weekly contrived 'Barry White' in front of me next season (that I avoided this season) and you won't catch me within a mile of the place regardless of price...

 

If you cannot run a team sport with credibility and integrity, which engenders emotional attachment and loyalty from a fanbase for 'their team', then simply don't run it as a team sport at all as it will never be taken seriously enough to ever be a success....

 

It's a brilliant sport but sadly, shoe horned in this country into a crap, unfit for purpose, 'Operating Model'...

 

Therefore, it should change the 'Operating Model' (radically) and give itself at least a fighting chance....

Edited by mikebv
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I wasn't saying that fixed nights is a cure all for the many ills that affflict the sport but it is a significant improvement on the situation this season where double up riders missed so many meetings because they were riding for their other team. Yes, it would be better if riders did only ride for one team but this is a step in the right direction. Many supporters don't care that one of their riders is in a team abroad so long as he turns up for their teams meetings. Likewise, they will be much happier and able to identify with a rider as theirs who, injuries excepted, is an ever present for their team, even if he does also race for another team in a different league in the UK.

Edited by Aces51
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I couldn't care less if riders in my clubs 1-7 rides for another club, you get similar situations in most sports. What should be important is that a clubs 1-7 turns up week in week out.

Edited by woz01
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