Will British Speedway Survive ?

[Technik 476]

I have read over the weekend that the Danish will allow schools to reopen on Wednesday but shopping centres & pubs clubs & restaurants are to remain closed.

In Sweden there is a daily low of 17 related deaths recorded

Both countries leagues have been rescheduled for a start date in mid-june let us hope that can go ahead

[arnieg 3,624]

11 minutes ago, Technik said:

I have read over the weekend that the Danish will allow schools to reopen on Wednesday but shopping centres & pubs clubs & restaurants are to remain closed.

In Sweden there is a daily low of 17 related deaths recorded

Both countries leagues have been rescheduled for a start date in mid-june let us hope that can go ahead

I think you missed the small print in the Danish announcement that mass gatherings will be prohibited until August, thus wiping out virtually all Danish league fixtures.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-denmark/denmark-to-ease-restrictions-next-week-after-coronavirus-lockdown-idUSKBN21O2LH?fbclid=IwAR3FcrvJEopeNOgMPODEA72pxZ22VUh7CwLfMwEvLcFpWykuPW5NbOqn5rw

[iris123 20,939]

1 hour ago, arnieg said:

I think you missed the small print in the Danish announcement that mass gatherings will be prohibited until August, thus wiping out virtually all Danish league fixtures.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-denmark/denmark-to-ease-restrictions-next-week-after-coronavirus-lockdown-idUSKBN21O2LH?fbclid=IwAR3FcrvJEopeNOgMPODEA72pxZ22VUh7CwLfMwEvLcFpWykuPW5NbOqn5rw

Indeed. The big folk festival on Tønder has been called off as has a big festival to mark the 100th anniversary of the German/Danish border amongst other things

The Tønder festival was planned for the end of August

https://www.festivalsunited.com/festivals.php?op=showf&tonder-festival-2020&fid=7630

I also put up a link in the international section with an interview from Jacob Olsen saying he hoped to start speedway in June, but it wasn’t 100%, just a hope

Edited April 12, 2020 by iris123

[DC2 11,150]

16 hours ago, TB1 said:

Around 500000 people die in England alone every year. What I'd like the hear from at least one hack who is questioning the daily briefing is that how many people in total have died in England on any given day.

 

16 hours ago, BarracudaAce said:

It could be a useful tool to disseminate the numbers and find out just how many are succumbing to the virus. At the moment all the hysteria is assuming that anyone who has died must have caught the virus.

Using the 500,000 total, that’s an average number of deaths per day of 1,370.

They are announcing the number of Covid-19 related deaths at e.g. 900 each day – but what is that in relation to the overall total of that particular day?

Was the number of deaths that day 1,370 + 900 = 2,270?

 

Two very good posts.

In the second post, rather than working out an average of deaths per day over the year I believe the ONS can do it for specific weeks (useful because flu is seasonal) and quite probably specific causes such as contagious or pulmonary illnesses (flu, pneumonia, bronchial, asthma etc).

Having said that, a month on month general comparison might be better because Covid is being put on death certificates like confetti, whether or not it was a cause of death, contributory factor or coincidence.

 

Edited April 12, 2020 by DC2

[greyhoundp 990]

Im dissapointed this thread has turned from will British Speedway survive into how many persons will survive the Covid 19 virus, there is a thread on Covid 19 if you wish to comment on that topic, meantime Rob godfrey said a few nights ago that he has had no indication that any teams may be going to the wall, which has to be a good thing for British Speedway..

[BluTiger 21,661]

2 minutes ago, greyhoundp said:

Im dissapointed this thread has turned from will British Speedway survive into how many persons will survive the Covid 19 virus, there is a thread on Covid 19 if you wish to comment on that topic, meantime Rob godfrey said a few nights ago that he has had no indication that any teams may be going to the wall, which has to be a good thing for British Speedway..

There are two on the forum, and i agree that's more than plenty ...

[BWitcher 12,453]

52 minutes ago, greyhoundp said:

Im dissapointed this thread has turned from will British Speedway survive into how many persons will survive the Covid 19 virus, there is a thread on Covid 19 if you wish to comment on that topic, meantime Rob godfrey said a few nights ago that he has had no indication that any teams may be going to the wall, which has to be a good thing for British Speedway..

Well they are directly linked so little wonder it's part of the conversation. 

[waytogo28 2,054]

As for will speedway survive - yes it will in some shape or form " but as we know it" ( or have known it ) IMHO. But it will become , I think, an even paler shadow of it's former self before being lost, like Peter Pan's shadow.

As for Mr Godfrey  saying that no clubs are likely to go to the wall - wasn't it Mandy Rice Davies who said " well he would say that wouldn't he?" . Or was it Christine Keeler?

[TB1 130]

6 hours ago, waytogo28 said:

As for will speedway survive - yes it will in some shape or form " but as we know it" ( or have known it ) IMHO. But it will become , I think, an even paler shadow of it's former self before being lost, like Peter Pan's shadow.

As for Mr Godfrey  saying that no clubs are likely to go to the wall - wasn't it Mandy Rice Davies who said " well he would say that wouldn't he?" . Or was it Christine Keeler?

If we go back to work in a few weeks that's good. But if social distancing is in place for many months to come, then many many sporting institutions will go to the wall despite what some say. 

The government will need a ' functioning' economy which means just that  food on the table and essential services which means sporting clubs and the leisure industry could cease to exist, probably unpalatable for a lot of people but the government will probably say it's a necessary evil!

[mikebv 10,243]

16 hours ago, waytogo28 said:

As for will speedway survive - yes it will in some shape or form " but as we know it" ( or have known it ) IMHO. But it will become , I think, an even paler shadow of it's former self before being lost, like Peter Pan's shadow.

As for Mr Godfrey  saying that no clubs are likely to go to the wall - wasn't it Mandy Rice Davies who said " well he would say that wouldn't he?" . Or was it Christine Keeler?

Don't the majority of clubs lose money each year?

If so, it could actually help some clubs to 'bank' what they would usually spend and then use it next year..

I personally am saving loads of money every week by not spending money on non essentials and usually I am skint every month, therefore clubs who lose money every week will (at the very least) now be breaking even..

ie none coming in and none going out..

I suppose a threat could be that some of the sponsors may not be able to continue their support until they can assess the impact of lockdown to their own businesses, however..

For me, Speedway's 'hand to mouth' existence may actually help it to weather the storm as it doesn't have long term contracts to its participants to honour, nor, in the main, up keep to pay for stadiums it owns, as most clubs rent. It also is pretty much based on volunteers rather than contracted staff on race nights and for admin, so won't be paying any wages to them during the downtime. ..

And it also hasn't put itself in hock based on a huge TV contract, spending money it hasn't recieved yet..

Who knows, not losing money this year for many teams may be a blessing in disguise when the sport restarts? 

[scoobydoo 2,253]

When you think that Keith Chapman  has no Income from any of the three motorsport promotions he runs,  then something may have to be sacrificed and we all know which one will go.

[wealdstone 3,454]

5 minutes ago, scoobydoo said:

When you think that Keith Chapman  has no Income from any of the three motorsport promotions he runs,  then something may have to be sacrificed and we all know which one will go.

He has my  and others season ticket money .

[Garry1603 353]

With the invention of Zoom, Teams, Skype and other conference facilities, surely you would think that there's plenty of time for promoters (and riders for that matter) to have some meaningful discussions, not just about how the sport survives the current pandemic but also how to develop the sport for the future. 

Sitting back and waiting for this to 'blow over' and for everything to go back to the way it was before isn't a business plan. This could be a perfect opportunity to make some meaningful long term changes.

Even in a few short weeks, I've become a little nervous at the thought of being in crowds again, and I'm sure that there are many other who will feel the same way (at least initially). The sport needs a real rethink, and there's never been a better time to do it with ALL clubs at risk rather than the ones who make losses each year and are bailed out by 'benevolent' promoters

Edited April 13, 2020 by Garry1603

[MattK 3,447]

1 hour ago, mikebv said:

 

I suppose a threat could be that some of the sponsors may not be able to continue their support until they can assess the impact of lockdown to their own businesses,

This could be a blessing in disguise. Instead of being sponsored by the local builders merchant or industrial filter manufacturer, use this as an opportunity.

Find eight companies who target the same market as speedway attracts, the over 50s. So Jaguar, Daily Telegraph, Fat Face, Saga and so on. Seven of the companies get assigned a team to sponsor and one sponsors the league. In turn, each sponsor brings a "roadshow" to every club twice in the season - which means 16 roadshows per club, per season.

Speedway benefits from the credibility of recognisable brands and a small mention on each of the brand's websites/social media. In turn, the brands get to put themselves in front of their target audience. After one season if brands see value in this approach, they can be asked for a small contribution for sponsorship going forwards.

[DC2 11,150]

25 minutes ago, MattK said:

This could be a blessing in disguise. Instead of being sponsored by the local builders merchant or industrial filter manufacturer, use this as an opportunity.

Find eight companies who target the same market as speedway attracts, the over 50s. So Jaguar, Daily Telegraph, Fat Face, Saga and so on. Seven of the companies get assigned a team to sponsor and one sponsors the league. In turn, each sponsor brings a "roadshow" to every club twice in the season - which means 16 roadshows per club, per season.

Speedway benefits from the credibility of recognisable brands and a small mention on each of the brand's websites/social media. In turn, the brands get to put themselves in front of their target audience. After one season if brands see value in this approach, they can be asked for a small contribution for sponsorship going forwards.

 

Liking the sound of that, but speedway is so ad hoc it doesn’t seem to have the expertise to do this.