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mikebv

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Posts posted by mikebv

  3. Posted

    6 minutes ago, Steve Shovlar said:

    Disagree. The racing hasn’t been good at all which is a disappointment when we know this track can produce great racing. Too grippy.

    As I say, not great for the NSS but we are a bit spoilt when it comes to that place..

    Anyone watching on TV who isn't a regular Speedway fan would still see enough entertainment so far I would suggest to keep watching..

    Which certainly isn't the case at a lot of BT meetings..

    • Like 2

  12. Posted · Edited by mikebv

    1 hour ago, brianbuck said:

    I'm all in favour of Topsoil's suggestion that ALL clubs should have a Junior Team - but this should be comprised of riders who are exclusive members of each club - not two or three different clubs all using the same riders! 

    "Doubling-up" (in the main leagues) has become a monster totally out of control (a child of five could have seen this coming!!) - and it needs to be phased out as soon as possible whether the riders like it or not. Phasing it out though, seems to be and impossible dream - every season it is further extended. Whoever dreamed up this idea should be put up against a wall!!!!

     

    The vicious circle of riders needing more rides to pay for expensive equipment and the maintainence of it...

    Which then means they end up riding here, there and everywhere for everyone and anyone who requires their services..

    Which then renders the competitions they compete in devoid of credibility...

    Which then reduces the fan base further year on year..

    Which then means admission costs that many who still believe in the Sport find prohibitive....

    Which then reduces the amount of teams financially able to continue in the Sport..

    Somebody really needs to stop this circle before it reaches its inevitable conclusion, but who will it be?

    And ultimately you have to ask, is there a will to do so?

     

    • Thanks 1

  14. Posted · Edited by mikebv

    On ‎7‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 10:56 AM, Fromafar said:

    You have to start somewhere,Lee,Collins Jessup’s were all in British League at young age.You have to have the mentality and ability to cope.Lots of these young guys were riding underage speedway and grasstrack so they know what to expect.You either have it or you don’t that’s the brutal reality of sport.

    I think Poland have it just about right.

    Whilst U21 you can stay at reserve..

    Then its over to your capability..

    If your not cutting it at reserve in the Championship then, harsh reality that it is, it may not be the sport for you if you have designs to make a career out of it..

    • Like 2

  15. Posted

    4 minutes ago, Shockster said:

    Pawlicki excluded for bringing down Milik then in rerun Buzkowski got a nudge from Milik and fell and was also excluded.  Racing has been very good all day.

    Racing is cracking every week from Poland isn't it?

    Top notch riders, riding under pressure for their place every week, in front of ultra passionate demanding fans, delivers great, on the very edge, Speedway..

    Brilliant sport when done this well..

  16. Posted · Edited by mikebv

    Col,

    Shamek got lots of drive coming out of bend four and sent Milik into home straight fence..

    Wrecking his front wheel spindles with his foot rest and causing a headache or two..

    In the re run, Milik rode Buzz hard on same bend four and Buzz had front wheel touched by Milik dirt deflector and lost control and fell on home straight, with Fricke taking to the air after riding over Buzz's bike..

    Eventful heat, to say the least.. 

  23. Posted · Edited by mikebv

    4 hours ago, Skidder1 said:

    As I've said before some clubs don't get any financial gain from bar and food, car park etc so your example would net approx £9400 gate receipts (taking the VAT off) less stadium rental - maybe £3k as in some cases - and less staff costs (officials, St Johns, etc) aside from the volunteers, so that would grossly affect the bottom line.

    Then you would have the promotional costs eg advertising, marketing, PR etc to attract improved audiences - these could vary substantially from area to area.

    With both the above suggestions there is little info about exactly how you would attract new audiences nor the costs of doing so?!

    Sorry for the critique as I try to be positive but there are so many questions left unexplained - or maybe even worse not even considered.

     

    Obviously a business plan would need to be gone into much greater detail than a very high level proposal..

    However, I am sure there are are good few clubs who get no extra income and currently smash 800 punters a week, just as there will be clubs who own everything and wouldnt get 800 through the door..

    My team for example if they ran on a Saturday night with a quintet including for example Craig Cook at one, Kyle Bickley at four and Leon Flint at five would get 1400 minimum I would suggest, which at £14 in would deliver well over break even I would guess if they were 'only' paying out a max £7500 in total for effectively the home and away matches in that round..

    Getting 100 riders in the first place may also be a stretch, and the bottom rung level will need to NL reserve standard I would think such is the talent pool that currently exists..

    However, from small acorns and all that..

    Bottom line is, British Speedway needs credible competitions which it currently doesn't possess...

    Riders pay out stupid amounts (incredibly as they are just running to stand still as everyone does the same), and need to earn almost every evening to make it pay, therefore more meetings are required for them to do that...

    And to keep fans interested these meetings need to include different teams, with different riders, rather than the current same old, same old visitors, sometimes coming two or three times a season within just a couple of months..

    And to ensure the fans can get there, meetings need to be ran on nights when each promoter believes it his or her best crowd level opportunity..

    How we get to 'utopia' is open to conjecture, but one thing blatantly is for sure, and that is the current operating model is simply miles away from being fit for purpose, therefore it needs a Nationally joined up collective fix which includes all the teams working together for the greater good...

    It cannot keep up its current failing plan and let any more tracks close I would think as it will become eventually untenable..

     

  24. Posted · Edited by mikebv

    Some food for thought Brian..

    I would go one step further and run initially with five riders per team..

    Graded A to E with one rider from each grade or two from a lower grade if you don't want anyone from the grade above. Eg you can have two B grades rather than having an A rider..

    To take subjectivity and criticism away from any third party arbiter just use averages to determine the grades with an overall mean team average set to ensure no team can cherry pick the best rider from each grade..

    Twenty teams would mean 100 riders needed, race home and away once and that's 38 matches..

    Teams then split into groups of five for the play offs. 1st to 5th, 6th to 10th etc etc 

    Home and away means another 8 matches to determine the winners of each group..

    Give each group a trophy to ride for named after past iconic riders..

    Maybe for the top group add in a 'play off final' to be raced by the top two teams to determine the overall seasons champions? Seems to bring decent crowds in and TV like them..

    Strength of league would need to be Championship Lite I would suggest...

    To make it more interesting I would run with a prize fund rather than points money and suggest £7500 a night be up for grabs with £4.5k to the winners and £3k to the losers. This gets shared as seen fit by the teams dependent on rider level but it would deliver an average £900 per rider for the winners and £600 for the losers..

    A prize up for grabs will give credibility and context a meeting too in a way that just paying out points money doesn't, and can form part of any marketing to attract attention and give it value in the eyes of the wider public..

    And you can then do a presentation each evening of the 'cheques'..

    £14 an adult and free for U19's in Education..

    800 punters would bring in £11200 without any bar and food take, car park, programmes or merchandise income..

    A ridiculously low number of punters used as an example but I would suggest where most clubs currently are in terms of attendances..?

    Overall, It would bring a variety of teams rather than the same visitors constantly coming which should stimulate interest and the final groups should be close as they will be against teams of around your level..

    And of course a big finale should deliver well above 800!

     

     

    • Like 1
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