Big decisions in November.

[orion 7,612]

6 hours ago, Bavarian said:

But then a guest rider was only allowed to cover for a missing number one / heat leader, but now there are guest riders for seemingly every rider, including the reserves, plus the doubling up and doubling down of riders which makes a total mockery of the team (loyalty) aspect of the game. This has simply become too much to be acceptable anymore.

Swindon have nearly tracked the same 1 -7 for last two years with hardly any guests it's never been better .. never heard nothing form any Swindon  fan being worried about  Ellis Perks riding for a Pl side ...as I said just more myths made up .

Because of the high ave age of a speedway fan they tend to moan about most things some with good reason but most  of the time just for the sake of it .

[orion 7,612]

6 hours ago, Baldyman said:

So what are they being put off by now?  Small viewing figures,,, can't see how they get any returns?    Must be something, 

As I said all a long by lower crowds cause by weaker sides .

Edited September 13, 2019 by orion

[flagrag 704]

As it stands at the moment Leicester are planning on staying in the Championship and riders at that level have already been spoken to.

Sheffield will depend on the new owners and how they feel about top level racing, But the lure of a 5year tv deal may swing them as it has at Somerset. Like most clubs Glasgow have been encouraged but the owners don’t think crowds would support it in the week and logistical not perfect with Belle Vue being nearest rivals .

[Trees 2,814]

1 minute ago, orion said:

Swindon have nearly tracked the same 1 -7 for last two years with hardly any guests it's never been better .. never heard nothing form any Swindon  fan being worried about  Ellis Perks riding for a Pl side ...as I said just more myths made up .

Because of the high ave age of a speedway fan they tend to moan about most things some with good reason but most  of the time just for the sake of it .

Your last paragraph is spot on. BUT something must be tried to encourage younger people to attend;or at least keep the supporters the sport has. It's the racing full stop that MUST BE better!  Tracks or bikes, tracks and bikes? Promotion or presentation, promotion and presentation?

I think the promoters need to watch action from around the tracks at their conference, survey their fans to find out what they are doing right and wrong and go from there, all adopt best practice and see if it makes a difference ....

[wealdstone 3,454]

I have heard that Buster is thinking of another purchase  and that subject to money Somerset considering a return. Premier League hoped to be 10/12 sides. 

[ray c 2,299]

38 minutes ago, orion said:

Swindon have nearly tracked the same 1 -7 for last two years with hardly any guests it's never been better .. never heard nothing form any Swindon  fan being worried about  Ellis Perks riding for a Pl side ...as I said just more myths made up .

Because of the high ave age of a speedway fan they tend to moan about most things some with good reason but most  of the time just for the sake of it .

I think its good when a side is loyal to its riders rosco did say that on Monday night when talking to natalie 

[ray c 2,299]

28 minutes ago, wealdstone said:

I have heard that Buster is thinking of another purchase  and that subject to money Somerset considering a return. Premier League hoped to be 10/12 sides. 

how many riders in a team though we struggle now what will it be like with more teams ?

[Trees 2,814]

4 hours ago, ray c said:

how many riders in a team though we struggle now what will it be like with more teams ?

Gotta be something like 5/6?

[Grachan 7,314]

9 hours ago, waytogo28 said:

If BT are stuck on Mon / Thurs then yes. And definitely explore the streaming route ASAP with those 16 min. teams ( split geographically )

Where did you get the idea that Mondays and Thursdays are because of BT? Surely Mondays and Thursdays are because Poland have weekends, Sweden have Tuesdays and Denmark have Wednesdays.

[waytogo28 2,054]

14 hours ago, Trees said:

It's the racing full stop that MUST BE better!  Tracks or bikes, tracks and bikes?

Absolutely spot on. It's what has driven me away finally ( after nearly 60 years ).

[Bagpuss 10,757]

Is it what has driven the majority of people away though? If it was purely down to racing then Belle Vue, Scunny etc would be packed to the rafters. 

I’d suggest there are several factors ie admission cost, rule bending, poor atmosphere, poor facilities, poor marketing etc.

Edited September 14, 2019 by Bagpuss

[ray c 2,299]

4 minutes ago, Bagpuss said:

Is it what has driven the majority of people away though? If it was purely down to racing then Belle Vue, Scunny etc would be packed to the rafters. 

I’d suggest there are several factors ie admission cost, rule bending, poor atmosphere, poor facilities, poor marketing etc.

value for money cut the price and take a chance .most clubs seem to be good value for children .but does that bring more people in ?

[Bald Bloke 3,281]

17 hours ago, wealdstone said:

I have heard that Buster is thinking of another purchase  and that subject to money Somerset considering a return. Premier League hoped to be 10/12 sides. 

Poole would be good  That would shut a few up on here.

Seriously, he needs to spend some of this money building Lynn a title winning team, only been waiting 50 odd years. 

Edited September 14, 2019 by Bald Bloke

[Falcon1983 557]

There is a serious lack of riders to do what needs to be done with the sport.

So if you're talking a 10/12 team top league there might be a bit of a struggle however I feel a 7 rider team structure must take shape at the top league maybe reverting to a 13 heat formula so the reserves get 3 riders and the reserves are those who double down 

And I'd do away with the championship altogether and have a regionalised conference league and if necessary have them as 5 or 6 rider teams as that division should be about bringing on talent more than success of individual clubs

Ipswich, Poole, Swindon, belle vue, wolves, Somerset, kings lynn, Peterborough, sheffield, Glasgow, leicester and kent should make up the Super 12 top division 

[theblueboy 960]

Well, I can only speak as a Swindon fan. This season has been the best racing for several years at Blunsdon. I’ve seen more passing in one meeting than in several years, which suggests that it is the type of track, which needs to be considered. I would say the best tracks for speedway, I’ve seen anyway, are all similar Peterborough, NSS, Somerset and this year Swindon. I’ve not been to Norfolk or PL tracks so can’t include them but those tracks mentioned certainly show good close racing with multiple lines to ride. 

I wasn’t aware there was a 5 year tv deal in the offing until I read flagrag’s comments. That is welcome news given the general pessimism surrounding the sport and shows to me that the sport itself is still well regarded, certainly within tv, otherwise, why commit on a long term basis. 

Go back to the 2 youngsters at reserve. 23 and under with GB only or certain qualifying criteria for non UK, team that wins league teams use their average, have a week of speedway some time in Summer holiday where its £5 entry across the board with supporters to be registered to local club to be eligible at the start of the season (or agreed cut off) but pay normal price to own club’s fixtures. Reciprocal agreements for matches between clubs e.g £30 entry, programme and travel. The deal I just had with the match at BV for the cup final was superb value. There is no way I would have gone without the deal and BV received an additional coach load of fans they wouldn’t have ordinarily seen. 

There really needs to be more collaboration between clubs and leagues for speedway to grow. The sport is struggling because there is too much self interest, at all levels, with promoters only concerned for their own club and not the sport as a whole. Promoters have to go out and sell the sport and your target audience are the children, pure and simple. It’s them that have to be engaged, not me. There is a whole generation that either don’t know about speedway, or have never been introduced. That needs to change. 

If it’s BT that is looking at the 5 year deal then there should be a caveat about going to schools or marketing the sport locally. Lee Kilby has undertaken lots of initiatives at Swindon and responds to fans quickly via social media, gets things sorted and clarified but he is a lone wolf (there may be others but they are the exception rather than the rule) and that enthusiasm needs to be seen across the sport.

I’ve enjoyed the racing again at Swindon, it’s the reason we all go and should be the primary consideration of all clubs. The rest, including marketing, sponsorship and new supporters will be easier with decent racing and we can hopefully look forward to a future for the sport.

 

 

Edited September 14, 2019 by theblueboy