Will British Speedway Survive ?

[Sidney the robin 4,735]

58 minutes ago, MattK said:

Is that why Terry Russell was in the paper mid-season pleading poverty? Anyone can see crowds at Swindon are trending downwards.

Apart from the NL challenge fixture and youth meeting and maybe one other meeting  (i think there was two meeting's in 5 days)  the crowds have held up well considering.Often big. gaps between fixtures have hit clubs but as i have said before Swindon compared to most are holding there own.By your comments made about Lee Kilby they show me you have no real idea what he does, he is trying to encourage new family /kids to come but there is no magic wand to get extra people in maybe you have a few earth shattering ideas.

Edited March 18, 2020 by Sidney the robin

[MattK 3,447]

Just now, Sidney the robin said:

Apart from the NL challenge fixture and youth meeting and maybe one other meeting  (i think there was two meeting's in 5 days)  the crowds have held up well considering.Often big. gaps between fixtures have hit clubs but as i have said before Swindon compared to most are holding there own.By your comments made about Lee Kilby they show me you have no real idea what he does.He is trying to encourage family and kids to come but there is no magic wand to get extra people in maybe you have a few earth shattering ideas.

100% correct, I don't. I know his job title - "Commercial Manager". I see the same failed attempts to attract fans, school visits, tent at local fates etc. What I don't see is Swindon speedway having a visible presence at large local employers like Nationwide or sponsors beyond the usual industrial filtration companies and discount carpet warehouses.

[Sidney the robin 4,735]

Just now, MattK said:

100% correct, I don't. I know his job title - "Commercial Manager". I see the same failed attempts to attract fans, school visits, tent at local fates etc. What I don't see is Swindon speedway having a visible presence at large local employers like Nationwide or sponsors beyond the usual industrial filtration companies and discount carpet warehouses.

I think Matt sometimes you need to get back to reality to be realistic.Today  in any sport it is hard to compete the world has changed so much in the last twenty years so many more thing's to do.Yes it would be great if we could get an extra 100/200 a meeting in but believe me alot of clubs would be happy to get the gates we get.

[cdakev 21]

23 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

I think Matt sometimes you need to get back to reality to be realistic.Today  in any sport it is hard to compete the world has changed so much in the last twenty years so many more thing's to do.Yes it would be great if we could get an extra 100/200 a meeting in but believe me alot of clubs would be happy to get the gates we get.

The problem with attracting kids and families is we ride on a Thursday night and it finishes to late . To late for my kids. When i was a kid we rode on a Saturday night and loads of kids and families used to go.

[Sidney the robin 4,735]

1 minute ago, cdakev said:

The problem with attracting kids and families is we ride on a Thursday night and it finishes to late . To late for my kids. When i was a kid we rode on a Saturday night and loads of kids and families used to go.

Great point and yes i loved the Saturday night as well.

[Spl77 337]

Louis Junior is doing a great job at Ipswich, the website, social media outlets are superb and the team always looks so professional these days. 

[Speedtiger 327]

4 hours ago, geoff58 said:

when watching sky sports news last night it was said by a sports lawyer that any sports business could claim on the goverments bailout so all maybe not lost for any speedway club ??

Geoff, Ok but I wudnt hold my breath on that..the big problem is speedway is badly run and was in financial decline and effectively bust before this pandemic struck, plus riders are all self employed and won’t get a penny.
The government will be all over the show with bailout requests from big hitters in industry such as airlines, bus, rail, retail and hospitality firms etc etc and small fry won’t get a look in. Speedway will be well down the pecking order. The only thing that maybe offered, and that’s a big ask, is a loan but that will just add to more debt on debt...

[GAH 409]

1 minute ago, Speedtiger said:

Geoff, Ok but I wudnt hold my breath on that..the big problem is speedway is badly run and was in financial decline and effectively bust before this pandemic struck, plus riders are all self employed and won’t get a penny.
The government will be all over the show with bailout requests from big hitters in industry such as airlines, bus, rail, retail and hospitality firms etc etc and small fry won’t get a look in. Speedway will be well down the pecking order. The only thing that maybe offered, and that’s a big ask, is a loan but that will just add to more debt on debt...

yes they deal with all that first but sport is also a major factor !! the guy is a lawyer so he knows his stuff no one knows any outcome to all this so lets see !!

[cdakev 21]

1 hour ago, Sidney the robin said:

Great point and yes i loved the Saturday night as well.

So did i and i wish we could go back to Saturday night racing. 

[proud panther 1,504]

14 hours ago, no-brakes-uk said:

Most riders already have their vans by this time of the year and the lease contracts signed. 

Most have a deal that their teams pay for them.

[False dawn 2,294]

I've seen that a couple have recently Crowd Funded £38,000 (Kickstarter actually) to visit every railway station in the UK. A fun project, no doubt. Even one that I would like to do (especially at someone else's expense). But a touch trivial in the grand scheme, I would suggest.

If British Speedway is at risk because of this "business interruption", could we not Crowd Fund it's future?
The issues are as I see them are:

1. Can we raise enough money?
Answer: No question. We have the doh. We were going to spend it anyway,  weren't we?

2. Who do we give it to?
Answer: A complex question. There is much suspicion of the sport's governess. I think that both sides should recognise this lack of trust and see the need for "An impartial third party". Maybe the SCB can finally step up, and be that impartial governing body?

3. Is our sport , in the UK really in peril?
I leave that one to yourselves.  

[acef 795]

7 hours ago, Speedtiger said:

Geoff, Ok but I wudnt hold my breath on that..the big problem is speedway is badly run and was in financial decline and effectively bust before this pandemic struck, plus riders are all self employed and won’t get a penny.
The government will be all over the show with bailout requests from big hitters in industry such as airlines, bus, rail, retail and hospitality firms etc etc and small fry won’t get a look in. Speedway will be well down the pecking order. The only thing that maybe offered, and that’s a big ask, is a loan but that will just add to more debt on debt...

The deal in question is not relative to any of the above. Pecking order will play no part. The sport will have as much right to claim as any other.

This is good news. 

[tellboy 3,658]

6 hours ago, False dawn said:

I've seen that a couple have recently Crowd Funded £38,000 (Kickstarter actually) to visit every railway station in the UK. A fun project, no doubt. Even one that I would like to do (especially at someone else's expense). But a touch trivial in the grand scheme, I would suggest.

If British Speedway is at risk because of this "business interruption", could we not Crowd Fund it's future?
The issues are as I see them are:

1. Can we raise enough money?
Answer: No question. We have the doh. We were going to spend it anyway,  weren't we?

2. Who do we give it to?
Answer: A complex question. There is much suspicion of the sport's governess. I think that both sides should recognise this lack of trust and see the need for "An impartial third party". Maybe the SCB can finally step up, and be that impartial governing body?

3. Is our sport , in the UK really in peril?
I leave that one to yourselves.  

Answer to question number one will depend on how many people still have a job or have not had hours cut.

[Sidney the robin 4,735]

3 hours ago, acef said:

The deal in question is not relative to any of the above. Pecking order will play no part. The sport will have as much right to claim as any other.

This is good news. 

You  would think because our sport is not overly supported there could of been a case of being able to carry on.Of course the lack of medical cover was the biggest problem .But as speedway is a sport that cannot operate behind closed doors some compensation should be forthcoming to clubs.

[greyhoundp 990]

1 hour ago, Sidney the robin said:

You  would think because our sport is not overly supported there could of been a case of being able to carry on.Of course the lack of medical cover was the biggest problem .But as speedway is a sport that cannot operate behind closed doors some compensation should be forthcoming to clubs.

The issue could be that the season has not started, which is totally different to football in that football, rugby, horse racing, concert events have been suspended or cancelled, which as i said elsewhere it means at the moment a longer close season, of course they could claim for costs already incurred in preperation for the season, and if the season doesnt run at all then thats a totally different situation with regards compensation, at the moment none of us know how long this situation will last or where anything is heading, because first and foremost the virus has to be eliminated.