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Guardian article today

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I have been a supporter for nearly 60 years, in Edinburgh and now where I live in Somerset. BUT I will not be attending many meetings this year. WHY? Because of the ridiculous clearing out of riders at the end of the season. We were in the Premier league with the world champ riding for us. Now he's not and we are down a league, with only one rider from last year. Sorry guys but that is not the way to engender loyalty. No concession entrances so I will be voting with my feet. I like Bill and Debbie and what they have done but they have to work with a broken system. Accuse me of being a dinasaur if you like but it cannot be viable to keep managing the decline like this.

 

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18 hours ago, chunky said:

You're really sounding like me now...

I thought it was a very well-written and fair piece, which cannot be said of much of the garbage I have read from so-called neutrals over the years.

Even though it IS different now to what it used to be, I still love watching it on the box, but the UK stuff seems so stale and antiquated.

I've been to junior matches at Hackney during the winter that had more life than some of the those I have seen in recent years. As has been said before, it is not the fault of the racing, but the presentation, atmosphere, and audience - or lack thereof...

Steve

I said the same thing at Leicester on saturday. Calling it a morgue would have been an understatement. Most of the meetings i go to are full of pensioners and a few of their grandchildren, that are too young to know better. It's the teenagers and young adults that promoters should be targeting, not the Derby and Joan club.

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1 hour ago, bill94d said:

I have been a supporter for nearly 60 years, in Edinburgh and now where I live in Somerset. BUT I will not be attending many meetings this year. WHY? Because of the ridiculous clearing out of riders at the end of the season. We were in the Premier league with the world champ riding for us. Now he's not and we are down a league, with only one rider from last year. Sorry guys but that is not the way to engender loyalty. No concession entrances so I will be voting with my feet. I like Bill and Debbie and what they have done but they have to work with a broken system. Accuse me of being a dinasaur if you like but it cannot be viable to keep managing the decline like this.

 

No offence, but let's not dance around it, you have not got another 60 years of supporting in you have you?

Somerset is within reach for me and the last time I went there, I noticed how old the crowd was. I'd make a rough estimate that half of them would dead or unable to attend within 10 years. It doesn't take a genius to say that is not sustainable. The sport need to pay more attention to the younger market it is not attracting than the existing ageing hardcore who still grumpily attend. 

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27 minutes ago, falcace said:

No offence, but let's not dance around it, you have not got another 60 years of supporting in you have you?

Somerset is within reach for me and the last time I went there, I noticed how old the crowd was. I'd make a rough estimate that half of them would dead or unable to attend within 10 years. It doesn't take a genius to say that is not sustainable. The sport need to pay more attention to the younger market it is not attracting than the existing ageing hardcore who still grumpily attend. 

You just made me feel old!!

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2 hours ago, bill94d said:

I have been a supporter for nearly 60 years, in Edinburgh and now where I live in Somerset. BUT I will not be attending many meetings this year. WHY? Because of the ridiculous clearing out of riders at the end of the season. We were in the Premier league with the world champ riding for us. Now he's not and we are down a league, with only one rider from last year. Sorry guys but that is not the way to engender loyalty. No concession entrances so I will be voting with my feet. I like Bill and Debbie and what they have done but they have to work with a broken system. Accuse me of being a dinasaur if you like but it cannot be viable to keep managing the decline like this.

 

Will miss my trip to The Oak Tree to support The Robins this year, very good racing and set up there.

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29 minutes ago, bill94d said:

You just made me feel old!!

I am sorry! :)

Speedway cannot survive much more pussy-footing about I am afraid. 

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3 hours ago, falcace said:

I am sorry! :)

Speedway cannot survive much more pussy-footing about I am afraid. 

Don't spoil it..

I am 51 and feel like a spring chicken when I attend a speedway meeting...:D

Not many places in life that I attend where I am in the youngest half..B)

(Or maybe even quarter?)...;)

Edited by mikebv
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13 hours ago, bill94d said:

I have been a supporter for nearly 60 years, in Edinburgh and now where I live in Somerset. BUT I will not be attending many meetings this year. WHY? Because of the ridiculous clearing out of riders at the end of the season. We were in the Premier league with the world champ riding for us. Now he's not and we are down a league, with only one rider from last year. Sorry guys but that is not the way to engender loyalty. No concession entrances so I will be voting with my feet. I like Bill and Debbie and what they have done but they have to work with a broken system. Accuse me of being a dinasaur if you like but it cannot be viable to keep managing the decline like this.

 

It's not just Somerset, the "we must reach the play-off" mentality of all promoters is killing Speedway........... but promoters cannot see it.

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We've been doing it like this for 50 years and we ain't going to change. Put a nail in it and that will fix it !!

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On 3/25/2019 at 12:50 PM, falcace said:

The sport need to pay more attention to the younger market it is not attracting than the existing ageing hardcore who still grumpily attend.

So how would you get their attention so they wish to attend?  Fireworks,  scantily clad girls starting the race and holding up a board for each lap, latest music,  band playing between each race, 25 heats per meeting, £10 admission? It's no good saying the promoters need to attract the younger generation if you don't say how.  

 

On 3/25/2019 at 12:45 PM, cityrebel said:

I said the same thing at Leicester on saturday. Calling it a morgue would have been an understatement. Most of the meetings i go to are full of pensioners and a few of their grandchildren, that are too young to know better. It's the teenagers and young adults that promoters should be targeting, not the Derby and Joan club.

I think you are being very unfair and the next time you go should have a walk round all of the stadium so you can see how many teenagers/young adults are there as there were loads near where I was on the 4th bend. Yes there are a lot of older people as well  and unless someone wants to stick us all against a wall and shoot us I suppose we will be stupid enough to carry on going until we are incapable of making the effort. 

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It's a bit of a soft target, isn't it? Journalists are good at picking on them, when they need some column inches to fill.

For me, the bikes are too quiet now (but my hearing's also not what it used to be) and that addictive aroma isn't all that addictive now. These take away a lot of the dramatic effect. The material that's needed to produce good racing tracks doesn't seem to available any more, or if it is, it's too expensive. So many other sports have upped their game massively when it comes to venues and their facilities, but speedway operates with hands tied behind the back for the most part with no source of capital to tap into, anyway.

What was done this winter with regards to the second tier, should have been done a long time ago, and I fear it's a case of too late. If the promoters had been enlightened enough to have done it 6 or 7 years ago, you could now be seeing the benefits. Instead they pratted around with the reserves draft experiment  in the top tier. I think that may turn out in hindsight to be the last chance to save the show, which sadly wasn't taken when it was crying out for it.

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58 minutes ago, Gemini said:

So how would you get their attention so they wish to attend?  Fireworks,  scantily clad girls starting the race and holding up a board for each lap, latest music,  band playing between each race, 25 heats per meeting, £10 admission? It's no good saying the promoters need to attract the younger generation if you don't say how.  

 

I think you are being very unfair and the next time you go should have a walk round all of the stadium so you can see how many teenagers/young adults are there as there were loads near where I was on the 4th bend. Yes there are a lot of older people as well  and unless someone wants to stick us all against a wall and shoot us I suppose we will be stupid enough to carry on going until we are incapable of making the effort. 

How to attract a younger generation?

If you own your own track and the concessions, then let them in for nothing...

Most kids when they become teenagers (all of a sudden) don't want to go out with their parents or grand parents so advertise free entry for all in secondary schools, colleges and universities..

Maybe even have an 'app' or one of those QR codes or something for them to download (or whatever it is they do)..

The more forward thinking promotions may also get some links with schools and colleges around engine maintenance for aspiring mechanics to learn about and do some hands on experience etc.

But let's crawl before running...

They all hunt in groups so let them all in surrounded by mates, and sit back and wait for the income from the burgers, pop, snacks and chocolate...

Older students can drink something stronger and more expensive. Student loans do burn a very quick hole in their pockets..

Even if you don't own the track and receive no money from the concessions, let them in for nothing anyway..

There are hardly any teenagers at most tracks so there won't be much loss, so therefore hardly anything to lose, and parents who don't have to fork out £8 or so for their teenager each meeting may also attend more often themselves due to the value for money this provides...

A whole generation is basically being by passed with zero knowledge of the sport...

Something radical is needed to change it or who will take the places of the ageing current fan base?

 

 

Edited by mikebv
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53 minutes ago, Gemini said:

So how would you get their attention so they wish to attend?  Fireworks,  scantily clad girls starting the race and holding up a board for each lap, latest music,  band playing between each race, 25 heats per meeting, £10 admission? It's no good saying the promoters need to attract the younger generation if you don't say how.  

 

I think you are being very unfair and the next time you go should have a walk round all of the stadium so you can see how many teenagers/young adults are there as there were loads near where I was on the 4th bend. Yes there are a lot of older people as well  and unless someone wants to stick us all against a wall and shoot us I suppose we will be stupid enough to carry on going until we are incapable of making the effort. 

If i was leicester, id invest in a fleet of mobility buggies. Pretty soon they will need them. I've been a speedway fan for over 50 years, so I'll be joining you soon, up against that wall. Take aim and fire!

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2 hours ago, Gemini said:

So how would you get their attention so they wish to attend?  Fireworks,  scantily clad girls starting the race and holding up a board for each lap, latest music,  band playing between each race, 25 heats per meeting, £10 admission? It's no good saying the promoters need to attract the younger generation if you don't say how.  

 

I think you are being very unfair and the next time you go should have a walk round all of the stadium so you can see how many teenagers/young adults are there as there were loads near where I was on the 4th bend. Yes there are a lot of older people as well  and unless someone wants to stick us all against a wall and shoot us I suppose we will be stupid enough to carry on going until we are incapable of making the effort. 

Yes, you are right. It’s no good not saying how. And I have - several times. Most recently on this thread below. Such threads are now a constant on the forum. The survival of the sport in the UK is at stake. It needs fresh thinking and fresh blood.

 

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Speedway is a sport run by old fogies for the benefit of old fogies. It's a well known fact that a lot of the older generation have more disposable income than a lot of the youngsters, so they are more likely to pay whatever the promoters want. Both of my kids are ex fans, but wouldn't attend now even if it was free entry. Kids of today want to be associated with popular things, not something that no ones heard of.

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