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The continuing decline of Speedway

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4 hours ago, mikebv said:

And one of the main issues for the decline is as you describe...

The impact of the GP's...

Instead of moving around fixtures to accommodate all and sundry British Speedway should have just set it's stall out and worked within clear parameters. If certain riders couldnt be there on the best days to attract a following then others would....

You only have to see the racing from Poland and Sweden now being beamed free weekly into UK homes to see how hopeless it is to try and compete with these Countries..

But instead of accepting this, as always with British Speedway, it will try and appease, fudge and cobble together something on a continous ad hoc basis, rather than clearly stand for something, and be clear with its own identity and where it is heading...

Last Friday evening the BV Colts and Kent delivered fantastic racing, all for just £10 and kids in for free..

It's just a shame the Sport overall in Britain cannot ever deliver credible competitions, on the best days to attract maximum crowds, as the actual nuts and bolts of the racing is often very worth watching...

 

Sweden isn’t in a good place as most teams lose money and their rider base is reducing dramatically, much worse than the UK.

It needs Poland to realise they are killing the sport for their own benefit.

The GP’s are a great advert for the sport but create so many problems for domestic speedway in the UK.

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2 hours ago, Skidder1 said:

....and did the club break even?

Probably not, however. ..

If that standard of racing was the only game in town and they were not called 'Colts' but 'The Belle Vue Aces' then I reckon a crowd of circa 800-900 could be attracted on a Friday/Saturday night at those prices...

As is obvious though, no crowd at all will turn up for any standard of racing, if they don't know of the Sports existence, like so many it would appear dont...

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My hunch is that little will change with the mooted two league - Championship level & National level - unless only riders who can commit to riding in the UK are used. With NO doubling down and a lower overall admission price especially in the "top" league. Even then without standardised bikes and a much more positive style of marketing, the UK sport cannot grow. And of course weekend racing for those tracks who prefer it.

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15 hours ago, GWC said:

Sweden isn’t in a good place as most teams lose money and their rider base is reducing dramatically, much worse than the UK.

It needs Poland to realise they are killing the sport for their own benefit.

The GP’s are a great advert for the sport but create so many problems for domestic speedway in the UK.

The bigger issue will be "How come there are only Polish riders in the Grand Prix?" Then they might wake up, we may only have 1 or 2 Brits capable of winning a race at that level never mind a GP or the series, Tai yes and Robert eventually.

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On ‎9‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 9:32 AM, moxey63 said:

Turn on the Tv on a Monday for the British league and you see some of the riders you see if you tune in on a Tuesday for Swedish league or Sundays in Poland.

It will take years to correct. But, come on, the whole point of supporting a team is... to support a team... of your guys. Speedway is not s erious team sport that makes you want to support a team with any effort.

For me, my guess is that speedway began losing its credibility as a semi-serious product in the early 2000s when doubling up and down, and the double points gimmick came about. Since then it has got much much worse. Old fans have lost interest as they find it hard who actually rides for what team as first choice. Possible new fans just aren't coming through.

This could be why crowds are so low and have demised over recent years so rapid.

Has speedway kept going through time because it was assured of old fans remaining loyal more than they are today and they were joined by a crop of new fans on to the terraces to replace natural wastage as older fans drifted away for obvious reasons?

 But the current mess of domestic speedway right now, it could be that old fans aren't attending as much as before through frustration, disillusionment, costs... and new fans aren't being introduced by old fans.

 

agreed with virtually all this post. imo, only big names will create big crowds, british speedway is very weak and not very attractive. Its not knocking it, its just fact.  Olsen, Collins, Jessup, Lee, etc, were worth admission money, seeing them just once/twice a season was a motive to turn out, you now seeing same riders race for you, and then against you . clearly british clubs are not in the position to afford this, hence we have what we have now. I would guess a lot of people on this forum "used" to go to speedway, in which case the speedway PR have a opportunity to address these people. if you go on a cruise, the company try to entice you back after your holiday. People on hear "could" be persuaded back, some will never return. only my view, but doubling up and not having your own 7 riders has taken away the true team aspect.  

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I don't know if it's the case, but not visiting this forum as much as I used to, I recall some names that used to be quite prolific on here that no longer post. I wonder if it's through disillusionment. Have they just got out of the routine of not only attending matches but actually commenting on the sport?   

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14 hours ago, ColinMills said:

agreed with virtually all this post. imo, only big names will create big crowds, british speedway is very weak and not very attractive. Its not knocking it, its just fact.  Olsen, Collins, Jessup, Lee, etc, were worth admission money, seeing them just once/twice a season was a motive to turn out, you now seeing same riders race for you, and then against you . clearly british clubs are not in the position to afford this, hence we have what we have now. I would guess a lot of people on this forum "used" to go to speedway, in which case the speedway PR have a opportunity to address these people. if you go on a cruise, the company try to entice you back after your holiday. People on hear "could" be persuaded back, some will never return. only my view, but doubling up and not having your own 7 riders has taken away the true team aspect.  

Some of the racing from Belle Vue on Wednesday made me feel I might attend the occasional match. It was blood and thunder stuff. But it has got to give itself a good shakedown and offer a sport that is credible. The first, to make that first night experience make you want to come back if you're a new fan. Waiting 10 minutes between races, even to me, a very old fan, it would be something I'd not like doing if I returned to watch a live match. I honestly don't know how I coped for 40 years with all that dead space between the heats. Secondly, rid it of all the rules etc that'll make any new fan begin to question it further down the line.  

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Brady Kurtz recently helped Belle Vue to put Swindon out of the Play Offs when he top scored for Belle Vue at Swindon...

Brady Kurtz rides for Poole...

Who, could get beaten in the Play Off Final by Belle Vue...

He replaced Craig Cook that night the Belle Vue No1, as he was riding for Glasgow, a team he joined just a few weeks earlier..

Last year's Promotion/Relegation Play Off took place with two teams who shared several riders throughout the season....

Effectively it meant that these riders had rode so badly that they had put one of their teams in the postion of losing their top league spot, whilst at the same time, riding so well that they had also put one of their teams in the position of possible promotion... 

On that night they had the opportunity to either relegate or promote themselves...

Speedway In Decline?

Cannot think why....:rolleyes:

When such nonsense is allowed to take place (and is part of the fundamental operating model as happily agreed each year by those who run it), then even any amount of 'Heat 13's at the NSS' will make the Sport more popular. .

Edited by mikebv
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4 hours ago, mikebv said:

Brady Kurtz recently helped Belle Vue to put Swindon out of the Play Offs when he top scored for Belle Vue at Swindon...

Brady Kurtz rides for Poole...

Who, could get beaten in the Play Off Final by Belle Vue...

He replaced Craig Cook that night the Belle Vue No1, as he was riding for Glasgow, a team he joined just a few weeks earlier..

Last year's Promotion/Relegation Play Off took place with two teams who shared several riders throughout the season....

Effectively it meant that these riders had rode so badly that they had put one of their teams in the postion of losing their top league spot, whilst at the same time, riding so well that they had also put one of their teams in the position of possible promotion... 

On that night they had the opportunity to either relegate or promote themselves...

Speedway In Decline?

Cannot think why....:rolleyes:

When such nonsense is allowed to take place (and is part of the fundamental operating model as happily agreed each year by those who run it), then no amount of 'Heat 13's at the NSS' will even make the Sport more popular. .

I agree.

A wonderful spectacle is often ruined by things that happen off track.

Edited by moxey63

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23 minutes ago, moxey63 said:

I agree.

A wonderful spectacle is often ruined by things that happen off track. We love or have loved the sport. We feel it silly. Try selling it (taking away the spectacle) to an outsider, someone you want to return the second time. 

To follow a 'Team Sport' you need an emotional attachment to 'your' team...

(British) Speedway doesn't recognise any importance in that...

The 'Guest' system only underlines that lack of emotional attachment...

No disrespect to any rider who takes the booking to earn a few extra quid (as pay rates can be 'lucrative' given the situation ) but all it does is reinforce the belief that, for the riders, each team they ride for is nothing more than a 'flag of convenience' to earn coin on any given night.....

Brady Kurtz, as have many before him, could possibly have helped a team qualify for the Final, that may well end up preventing himself, his team mates, and his fans, celebrate a title triumph...

His opportunity to earn a few quid came about because Craig Cook took up a place at Glasgow knowing he would more than likely clash with BV meetings thus impacting one of his teams either way..

If riders can do this then simply they either don't have any emotional attachment to the team they ride for or, just simply see the Competitions as not important enough to take seriously and treat them as a bona fide Championships like they would in Sweden and Poland...

Either way, not easy to sell a Sport ran like that and expect those who you are selling it to to buy into it and follow it with emotional investment..

Cannot knock the riders for trying to earn a few extra quid, but the Sport in the UK won't stop the decline, never mind move forwards, by allowing such things to happen..

Edited by mikebv
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not to mention the dozens of team changes during the season. No loyalty either way so its no surprise  fans don't 'feel' the team or have loyalty to the track. Just because a rider slightly under performs doesn't mean he wasn't someone's favourite

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13 hours ago, mikebv said:

To follow a 'Team Sport' you need an emotional attachment to 'your' team...

(British) Speedway doesn't recognise any importance in that...

The 'Guest' system only underlines that lack of emotional attachment...

No disrespect to any rider who takes the booking to earn a few extra quid (as pay rates can be 'lucrative' given the situation ) but all it does is reinforce the belief that, for the riders, each team they ride for is nothing more than a 'flag of convenience' to earn coin on any given night.....

Brady Kurtz, as have many before him, could possibly have helped a team qualify for the Final, that may well end up preventing himself, his team mates, and his fans, celebrate a title triumph...

His opportunity to earn a few quid came about because Craig Cook took up a place at Glasgow knowing he would more than likely clash with BV meetings thus impacting one of his teams either way..

If riders can do this then simply they either don't have any emotional attachment to the team they ride for or, just simply see the Competitions as not important enough to take seriously and treat them as a bona fide Championships like they would in Sweden and Poland...

Either way, not easy to sell a Sport ran like that and expect those who you are selling it to to buy into it and follow it with emotional investment..

Cannot knock the riders for trying to earn a few extra quid, but the Sport in the UK won't stop the decline, never mind move forwards, by allowing such things to happen..

Take the last few weeks when Scott Nicholls has been guesting for Ipswich. Now don't get me wrong everyone at Ipswich loves seeing Scott wearing the witch just as much as I'm sure he still loves riding for the club. 

The problem comes that he could have scored the points Ipswich needed to get into the playoffs and Ipswich could possibly have met Peterborough in the final and beaten Scott's own team to the title. That on its own is a crazy situation for a team sport to be in. 

Worse now though because even though Ipswich won't qualify Scott is njured while riding for Ipswich which again could reck Peterborough's season. 

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1 hour ago, Spl77 said:

Take the last few weeks when Scott Nicholls has been guesting for Ipswich. Now don't get me wrong everyone at Ipswich loves seeing Scott wearing the witch just as much as I'm sure he still loves riding for the club. 

The problem comes that he could have scored the points Ipswich needed to get into the playoffs and Ipswich could possibly have met Peterborough in the final and beaten Scott's own team to the title. That on its own is a crazy situation for a team sport to be in. 

Worse now though because even though Ipswich won't qualify Scott is njured while riding for Ipswich which again could reck Peterborough's season. 

Not quite as crazy as last season when `Scott rode for both teams in a Final ie in both legs for a different side. That really put me off the sport in the UK. Complete nonsense that can't be taken seriously - although a great race is still magical entertainment ( sadly for the addicts ). Pantomime stuff.

Edited by waytogo28
additional point made

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On 9/7/2018 at 11:59 AM, moxey63 said:

Some of the racing from Belle Vue on Wednesday made me feel I might attend the occasional match. It was blood and thunder stuff. But it has got to give itself a good shakedown and offer a sport that is credible. The first, to make that first night experience make you want to come back if you're a new fan. Waiting 10 minutes between races, even to me, a very old fan, it would be something I'd not like doing if I returned to watch a live match. I honestly don't know how I coped for 40 years with all that dead space between the heats. Secondly, rid it of all the rules etc that'll make any new fan begin to question it further down the line.  

Maybe you discussed the last race with mates, same with the race to come, sung along with the music, had a little banter with away fans, sipped your drink, read a bit if the programme, listening to the interview over the tannoy etc, so you didn't even notice the gap between races!

Are you now standing completely on your own, without a prog, can't hear the tannoy and looking for something to moan about? haha

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On 9/5/2018 at 7:43 AM, Byker Biker said:

The bigger issue will be "How come there are only Polish riders in the Grand Prix?" 

they could then call it "The World Series"

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