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wealdstone

Fewer meetings and Rain Offs

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This looks to me to  speed up the decline in Speedway.

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For the first time since league speedway began we are now 'enjoying' the first year when top-level speedway will not be staged in Britain at weekends (including Friday nights), with the exception of Cardiff. 

Once we had six senior tracks racing on Saturday nights with several more racing on the also lucrative Fridays. Now we have none. Fridays and non-GP Saturdays are Poland's playground now. 

Add in endless breaks in continuity and you have a toxic situation, as I fear several tracks will find to their literal cost. From a six day a week sport, top level speedway is now on two nights that nobody else really wants. 

The sport and its supporters will wake up one day, as usual far too late. 

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25 minutes ago, RobMcCaffery said:

For the first time since league speedway began we are now 'enjoying' the first year when top-level speedway will not be staged in Britain at weekends (including Friday nights), with the exception of Cardiff. 

Once we had six senior tracks racing on Saturday nights with several more racing on the also lucrative Fridays. Now we have none. Fridays and non-GP Saturdays are Poland's playground now. 

Add in endless breaks in continuity and you have a toxic situation, as I fear several tracks will find to their literal cost. From a six day a week sport, top level speedway is now on two nights that nobody else really wants. 

The sport and its supporters will wake up one day, as usual far too late.

I would think after this season the Monday and Wednesday night odd scheme will be forgotten. When live TV matches start that's when it will hit home. You could not get a worse night to stage Speedway than a Monday

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How can clubs that have traditionally ran at weekends, still expect to mainain their crowds levels when switching to a midweek race night. Lemmings jumping off a cliff springs to mind!

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Can't blame the Mafia for rain offs , but imo they have got the rest wrong. 

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16 hours ago, wealdstone said:

This looks to me to  speed up the decline in Speedway.

Friday night is speedway night. Remember when it was Rodders! I would say that it was so much better than the fragmented comparatively meaningless product that we watch these days but it's been so long that I can't remember what that is anyway :o

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I think the decline/rot has already set in and the weather is just what it has always been, dire. I am sure they are justified, but call offs are all too frequent when even there is a hint that the weather looks dodgy.  Go back a few years and they would do anything to try and get a meeting on and go back many years they used sawdust. The lack of speedway on nights (mainly thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) when fans want to watch and with weekends when you have the best chance of good crowds, is something I find ludicrous. The decline is evident on this forum. The lack of feedback to those meetings that are on and in some cases nothing at all or perhaps one comment says it all. I agree with Rob re the state of things and I think it could well be the end of the road for a number of clubs come September. All very sad and no doubt many more will get out of the habit of going. One big league with home and away, ko cup and British invidual championship and you probably would get back to regularly weekly meetings. This country can no longer compete with Poland, Sweden or Denmark and the other nations such as Germany will soon overtake the U.K. Back to basics might just save speedway in this country.

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25 minutes ago, Crump99 said:

Friday night is speedway night. Remember when it was Rodders! I would say that it was so much better than the fragmented comparatively meaningless product that we watch these days but it's been so long that I can't remember what that is anyway :o

Totally understand your point but from where I come from it was Thursday  or sometimes Saturday.

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41 minutes ago, wealdstone said:

Totally understand your point but from where I come from it was Thursday  or sometimes Saturday.

We could always nip down the A47 on a Saturday to the 22 percenters in the days before they lost their credibilty :)

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1 hour ago, Crump99 said:

We could always nip down the A47 on a Saturday to the 22 percenters in the days before they lost their credibilty :)

Way  off track , however I did go there quite a lot mid seventies. Tommy Price may give you a clue.  Mind you I can remember rolling starts and black tracks

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Last night at Eastbourne was my eleventh meeting of the season. The majority of the crowds have been very poor. How some clubs remain solvent, I will never know.

 

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12 minutes ago, cityrebel said:

Last night at Eastbourne was my eleventh meeting of the season. The majority of the crowds have been very poor. How some clubs remain solvent, I will never know.

 

Tony - probably by relying on you, me and a rapidly dwindling bunch of other old gits nomads!

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4 hours ago, cityrebel said:

How can clubs that have traditionally ran at weekends, still expect to mainain their crowds levels when switching to a midweek race night. Lemmings jumping off a cliff springs to mind!

Back in the 'Good Old Days' we used to go to Reading (occasionally) on the Monday, White City on Wednesdays, Oxford on Thursdays and more than occasionally Swindon on Saturdays.

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Hawk127 has hit the nail squarely on the head in the above postAll very sad and no doubt many more will get out of the habit of going" I know I have already. From being a regular at Rye I stopped going each and every week in about 2008/9 and just started picking and choosing my meetings. Moved to the East Midlands in 2012 and not been to a meeting since coming up here and now get my fix via television, internet, youtube and dvd. Sad I know and Im sure many on here will say im not a true supporter BUT watching it this way I dont have to drive for  xxx amount of miles each way, stand around in a clapped out stadium and go home £30 or £40  lighter in the pocket and moan about the meeting or lack of meeting at the end of the day.

Plus the best bit of watching speedway my way is that if its crap there is always the off switch or something on another channel.

High speed bikes with lay down engines and slick tracks I think killed it for me its all open throttle and hang on today ........ what happened to throttle control and riders natural skill and ability? 

I think whats even sadder is that im 61 this year and I just cannot see myself attending another live meeting :(

 

 

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