Jump to content
British Speedway Forum
Sign in to follow this  
Midland Red

Another Saturday night

Recommended Posts

20 hours ago, Midland Red said:

Saturday night, Bank Holiday weekend, and what have we got?

Two second division matches, and a third tier 3TT

Just when is British Speedway going to sort itself out?

Just like just about every other Saturday night. With Saturday nights being taken up by more and more international meetings its something that will continue.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
22 hours ago, Midland Red said:

No, of course I hadn't forgotten

Just feel the best of British Speedway should be raced on spectator-friendly nights, ie Friday and Saturday

Monday nights continue to appear so very spectator-unfriendly

Good to see the programme for Bank Holiday Monday, but that's standard fare

Obviously those that know best consider it better for clubs to be forced to move away from their normal nights

No wonder attendances continue to fall

 

Yes I remember attending Oxford on the Friday, Swindon or Coventry on Saturday and Mondays a visit to Reading (Bank Holidays Home & Away)...great days!

Edited by steve roberts
  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm not to familiar with PL rules & regs, but I understand race nights are Monday, and Wednesday, It does seem to be a bit of a coincidence that Wolves & Poole just happened to race on one or the other of those race nights. Teams should be allowed to race on whatever night there fans support best, yes I can understand Televised meetings need to be on a fixed night, but the TV fee should make up for lost revenue through the gate. This fixed race night business is fine in theory but in practice can lead to a loss of some of the few supporters speedway has left, the other issue is does the fixed chosen race night encourage additional/new support through the gate ?.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On ‎5‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 9:13 PM, Midland Red said:

No, of course I hadn't forgotten

Just feel the best of British Speedway should be raced on spectator-friendly nights, ie Friday and Saturday

Monday nights continue to appear so very spectator-unfriendly

Good to see the programme for Bank Holiday Monday, but that's standard fare

Obviously those that know best consider it better for clubs to be forced to move away from their normal nights

No wonder attendances continue to fall

 

Its not quite as clear cut as that. According to Belle Vue CEO Adrian Smith, in the school holidays the Aces get bigger gates on a Monday than on a Friday. Its noticeable that even though they can now ride on Fridays, Somerset have stuck to Wednesday.

I think the problem is more that teams cannot now ride on certain nights whereas before they could simply take their pick (up to a point). Sheffield and Redcar, for instance, have changed and that can do damage to attendances because people have planned their weeks in advance. Changing means there could be a clash with something else.

The problem was created by the unlimited use of riders doubling up and the need for a ridiculous number of guests and rider replacement facilities. Do away with or restrict that and there is a better chance of getting the right night for paying customers.

 

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Not quite sure what standard of rider people think would be on display if more clubs rode on Saturdays. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
19 hours ago, pugwash said:

Too much entertainment competition for speedway on saturdays and bank holidays. TV, pizza houses, cinemas etc.

Of course, there's no TV, pizza houses, cinemas, etc on Mondays or Thursdays - "those who know best" obviously recognise this

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Bagpuss said:

Not quite sure what standard of rider people think would be on display if more clubs rode on Saturdays. 

If the standard of rider was more equal, irrespective of the level, it would make for closer and more entertaining races

 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 minutes ago, Midland Red said:

Of course, there's no TV, pizza houses, cinemas, etc on Mondays or Thursdays - "those who know best" obviously recognise this

No need to try and be a smart arse.

mondays and thursdays are not 'night out' days for the majority of families. saturday is. just basing this on my siblings and entertainment patterns.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 minute ago, pugwash said:

mondays and thursdays are not 'night out' days for the majority of families. saturday is. just basing this on my siblings and entertainment patterns.

Nail right on head!  Mondays and Thursdays are not 'night out' days, so why run Speedway on those nights?

Run meetings on Saturday which IS a 'night out' day - or on Friday!

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sadly the days of attending Saturday night speedway and hearing at your chosen meeting the results from the likes of Canterbury, Rayleigh, Berwick, Workington, Coventry, Bradford etc. is be a distant but pleasant part of the history of speedway. In the current climate it will not ever happen particularly as the obsession with league racing to the detriment of individual meetings and challenge matches means that the choice of race meetings is limited and the new talent will not get the opportunity that riders had previously with the second half of a meeting. Sad to say but today supporters do not want anything less than league racing and that is one of the reasons why the up and coming riders are taking so long to come through the ranks. You cannot turn back time but some lessons could be learnt from the past if the sport is to go forward.

  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Recently the SoN ran at the NSS on a Saturday night to a full house..

The same competition, with the same riders, ran on a Monday or a Thursday, wouldn't have filled the stadium..

In Britain hardly any riders currently riding over here can put extra on the gate by their presence, so just run meetings on nights you can generate the most punters..

Put out two teams of similar ability levels,  numbers per team dependent on supply of riders, with an aim to create an overspill of riders to prevent the need for guests, and take it from there..

 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
21 hours ago, Hawk127 said:

Sadly the days of attending Saturday night speedway and hearing at your chosen meeting the results from the likes of Canterbury, Rayleigh, Berwick, Workington, Coventry, Bradford etc. is be a distant but pleasant part of the history of speedway. In the current climate it will not ever happen particularly as the obsession with league racing to the detriment of individual meetings and challenge matches means that the choice of race meetings is limited and the new talent will not get the opportunity that riders had previously with the second half of a meeting. Sad to say but today supporters do not want anything less than league racing and that is one of the reasons why the up and coming riders are taking so long to come through the ranks. You cannot turn back time but some lessons could be learnt from the past if the sport is to go forward.

League racing has been the backbone of this sport since 1929. It would have struggled to survive without it. Most fans like to nail their masts to a colour, and wouldn't go if they had no teams to support. Individual meetings started to die off in the 1980's, Cardiff is only well attended because it's a prestigious one off event. Speedway, like dog racing is a sport from a bygone era, that is not fashionable anymore. People want a lot more than fifteen races and poor facilities for their money. You only have to look at the shenanigans at Poole and Swindon yesterday to realise the sport is knackered. It needs massive investment and professional people to revamp it, both of which are never going to happen.

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, cityrebel said:

League racing has been the backbone of this sport since 1929. It would have struggled to survive without it. Most fans like to nail their masts to a colour, and wouldn't go if they had no teams to support. Individual meetings started to die off in the 1980's, Cardiff is only well attended because it's a prestigious one off event. Speedway, like dog racing is a sport from a bygone era, that is not fashionable anymore. People want a lot more than fifteen races and poor facilities for their money. You only have to look at the shenanigans at Poole and Swindon yesterday to realise the sport is knackered. It needs massive investment and professional people to revamp it, both of which are never going to happen.

God, I hate you! You are so bloody negative - and so bloody accurate in your assessments...

Funny, people would complain how "meaningless" second-halves were - and now everybody wants more than fifteen heats!

I've said it before, but one of the things I loved (and I assume others did too) was the variety in speedway.  Sure, league was the backbone, but look at the other formats. At Plough Lane we were spoiled, but as far as individual meetings we had the Daily Express Spring Classic, Internationale, NLRC, and Laurels (plus other occasional events). There were 4-Team Tournaments, Best Pairs, and Test Matches.

The variety in track shapes and sizes always intrigued us.

We had a "choice" of meetings and venues seven days a week. One Saturday I would go to Swindon, and the next I would go to Canterbury. One Sunday I would go to Mildenhall, and the next I would go to Rye. The highlight of away coach trips on a Saturday was meeting up with other supporters' coaches at Watford Gap!

Sigh...

Steve

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
43 minutes ago, chunky said:

God, I hate you! You are so bloody negative - and so bloody accurate in your assessments...

Funny, people would complain how "meaningless" second-halves were - and now everybody wants more than fifteen heats!

I've said it before, but one of the things I loved (and I assume others did too) was the variety in speedway.  Sure, league was the backbone, but look at the other formats. At Plough Lane we were spoiled, but as far as individual meetings we had the Daily Express Spring Classic, Internationale, NLRC, and Laurels (plus other occasional events). There were 4-Team Tournaments, Best Pairs, and Test Matches.

The variety in track shapes and sizes always intrigued us.

We had a "choice" of meetings and venues seven days a week. One Saturday I would go to Swindon, and the next I would go to Canterbury. One Sunday I would go to Mildenhall, and the next I would go to Rye. The highlight of away coach trips on a Saturday was meeting up with other supporters' coaches at Watford Gap!

Sigh...

Steve

I'm not always negative Steve, just realistic. I've been to sixteen meetings already this season, at nine different tracks. I'm far too old to change my ways!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, cityrebel said:

I'm not always negative Steve, just realistic. I've been to sixteen meetings already this season, at nine different tracks. I'm far too old to change my ways!

Hey, it wasn't meant as a criticism; as I said, you are 100% correct.

Even though I can't go now, if I was still over there, I would. Even if I was just visiting, I would still try to get to different tracks.

As you say, speedway isn't "cool" anymore, and even if the entertainment was better, and the facilities better, I'm not convinced that it would make a huge difference. Yes, that is very sad, but the saddest part is that I really don't know why, or what the answers are...

Steve

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Privacy Policy