No change next year?

[iainb 4,962]

18 hours ago, HackneyHawk said:

I must disagree with this.  Look at football, it's never off the telly and still gets good support.  Even lower leagues get much better support than Speedway.  Also other sports look at the Hundred in cricket etc etc.  If TV coverage were handled properly then it would entice people to support a team and go to a live meeting.

You only have to look at the crowds in the early days of the televised Sky matches... was like a party atmosphere

14 hours ago, Grand Central said:

And so is the Clerk of the Course. 
It is his 'Clerk of the Course' qualification that he has that enables PM to do his job.

and the start marshal... totally impartial 

[Najjer 2,872]

17 hours ago, OveFundinFan said:

How does BSPL send out a questionnaire if they don’t know where people who used to attend live?

Via social media and their websites? There is lots of people who don’t attend anymore but still follow the sport and what is going on. They are the people who need to be attracted back in.

The biggest problem is promotors don’t like criticism and not only do they not like it, they can’t handle it. There has been countless stories down the years of fans being banned because they spoke out of turn instead of actually resolving whatever the issues were and continuing to take their money!

[cowboy cookie returns? 746]

As a chap who spent far too much of his life from the age of 10 to his early 30s traveling all over supporting not only his team but speedway in general I find myself in despair!

Throughout most my time as an active supporter the sport was slowly losing its way & losing customers. Towards the end of my time as a regular 2009/10 it had become noticeable worse.

Now on the odd occasion I've been in the last 10 years every time I attended you can see that it's gotten worse. It really is now at a critical point.

The reason for my despair is I'm now in my mid 40s with disposable income the type of ex fan who the powers that be should be trying to win back.

However when I go I am severed up a product that is poorer than the last time I attended & if I'm lucky only a couple of missing riders. 

It still appears that even though there are thousands of unhappy customers on here those in power do nothing about it or worse still come across as having no interest in trying to!

So looking at it 2022 will be another year of the same old same old with possibly 4 tracks having closed down.

No doubt more will follow after 2022 it really is a race to the bottom!

 

[moxey63 1,785]

6 hours ago, Trees said:

Here we bloody go again, there are loads of riders who have ridden for the same club for years.  SOME Lynn fans complained this year cos the promoter was "too" loyal, calling it jobs for the boys!

I expect riders who have ridden years for a club clouds my judgement by appearing for different other ones every season.

Edited September 18, 2021 by moxey63

[moxey63 1,785]

On 9/14/2021 at 4:29 PM, cowboy cookie returns? said:

Leagues of 'fun' speedway is what we have in the UK at present they are fun from professional.

I feel the only ones having fun from current day speedway are the riders, who still have a great living from the sport. The punters aren't getting value for money.

Matches contain line ups, not for serious league or cup rivalry, but more as a testimonial type thing. The riders can still have a great week, the matches they ride. 

I read a rider the other day, a rider I admire, saying he felt bad for inflicting defeat on another rider and stopping his maximum - because it's his team mate at another team! When you have so many team mates at other teams, surely the feeling by fans of being connected to that rider is one of the sport's problems, especially in the dwindling leagues.

[moxey63 1,785]

22 hours ago, Fromafar said:

No chance of a Questionaire as they won’t get the replies they want to here.Majority of fans have been questioning the league structure for the last 10-15 years.Many know just don’t bother attending anymore,I’m in the same boat as you regarding attending.

So true. There are vast numbers of fans who don't attend anymore, could fill many stadiums and are there to be won back. Promoters, or, let's face it, the people who think they know what they're doing, never seem to want to find out why crowds have leaked so badly. By crowds leaking so badly, the promoters lose money and the track's future becomes cloudy. Covid hasn't helped, but this day has been coming for years. 

A questionnaire on the internet, that could be sent to your email address, would be a start to try and get some lost fans back. Like me, ex-fans still stay in touch. But as time goes by, the sport you first attended begins to look so different to the one we have now. Some fans may have just got out of the habit of attending. Promoters left it so long to re-engage with them.

There has been an urge to re-event speedway for too long, bring in younger fans. Obviously we need new fans, but I would say most people who attend speedway were introduced by an old fan, friend or family members.   

Edited September 18, 2021 by moxey63

[ch958 2,393]

23 hours ago, OveFundinFan said:

How does BSPL send out a questionnaire if they don’t know where people who used to attend live?

well. they could use this forum for starters plus they have their own website where views can be expressed.

For me I want the prices lowered. The level should be 10/12 pounds and ways should be found to operate around that, not the other way around. McDonalds can't charge what they want for chicken nuggets, they have to operate within a market just as speedway has to operate within a leisure market. 

[lisa-colette 6,014]

Speedway Social on Twitter: "Lots of calls for a change to the league format in 2022 - so what would your choice be? Comment below if you want something that's not included... Really interested to get as many people's thoughts as possible on this so feel free to RT to get a good sample size!" / Twitter

Poll on twitter, they are looking for a big sample size. Just in case anyone wants to vote and/or comment on it but hasn't seen it!