barrybishop

If you are missing speedway give Virtual Skid ago.... 15 real races with an unknown result.... more great stuff coming too.... I know you will love it. Already VS1 - 4 available on Speedway Portals Youtube channel

name doesnt ring a bell.. but I am useless like that... probably know him by face

Correct... Oxford is my local club

Yes I am.. Oxford is my local club.

And...just in case you enjoyed it here is VS1.

Hi, If you havent seen it before have a look at VS2 sponsored by Rentruck - Its the Warriors V the Colts. All the best Barry

Dispeed in Poland

Hi, Yes we already have face masks available and pretty smashing they are too. Initially I ordered 200 which have all but been taken up by frontline, NHS, Carers and key workers. We gave them away and asked for a donation and managed to raise £505 when went to Capt (now Col) Tom Moore They certainly seem popular

The resizing of our track is not really possible due to the many other users of the stadium.

This was the NICE 2v 500cc Challenge. 13 2v Jawa engines, untuned, standard, and sealed fitted in to the riders own rolling chassis. The riders drew a ballot for engines, had oil supplied, tyres supplied and fuel... so everyone was on an even keel for racing. Then it was down to setup and rider skill. The result was close racing, unexpected heat winners, elbows, breathtaking passes and an all round great night of entertainment.

Hi, I did a live Q and A on Thursday before our showing of the NICE 2v Challenge (still available to watch on our website) - if you want to see the Q and A session its available on our FB page - if people dont use FB and would like to see it I will put it on to our Website. Many thanks, and please keep safe Barry

I used to live in Frankfurt (for about 5 years) and about 10km outside is a great track called Diedenbergen - its ran as a club and even though it has 365 days a year planning it hosts maybe 10 meetings per year. However, those meetings consist of the main event - league racing plus piwi races, 125 race, 250 races (Robert Lambert benefitted from this massively), class b 500cc and gokarts with nobbly tyres on... all in all it offered more of an event, with the beer flowing, sausage stall all over it really was a afternoon and early evening... totally good stuff and all intermixed. So Martin and I try to introduce a similar format for our meetings, although of course we are not allowed for league or cup meetings so when we have one of our other meeting types we try to stage the Wizards in that meeting so they come out every four race for two of their heats, we also include our piwi/125 riders from My Frist Skid. I am not sure if there is any way to stage this in 2020 however due to new rules about who can be on the track during the time of the referees control of the meeting but we shall see.

Hey, The challenges for a club such as ours are many - for example we have already spent for 40 AIr fence banners, plus A frame and trackside banners, we have invested in new media equipment, track equipment, we have undertaken Ferry TV and Newpapers marketing campaigns (although these are suspended), and there are many other expenses associated with the season starting insurances, pbs, machinery hire contracts and more... its pretty tricky right now. Luckily, we havent processed any season tickets and not all sponsorship agreements, but the worry is that if our sponsors pull out or reduce their sponsorship it could provide a much greater challenge moving forward for the sustainability of the club (as you know speedway is not my main work). I am sure that our club is not alone when I say that we have already had contact from sponsors raising such questions about the seaon ahead and what's happening and how that might reflect their sponsorship contribution. Nothing said in a bad way... just enquiring because for sure, they will also be hurting too and worried about their bottom line. It is a heartbraking situation for us all and even more so for anyone who has to make considerable financial investment to bring speedway to the public in the first place.. Riders, Promoters, Management, and I am sure our govening bodies too. But all this really does not compare in the effort of our nation(s) right now to protect us all against Covid 19 and I wish you all well and keep healthy and safe. As to the question of if we can all survive this... I am always very positive about the future and what lays ahead but it will take an effort from everyone involved in speedway from our fans to our governing bodies to ensure that we succeed. Promoters and riders cannot do it alone... never could, but even more so after this. Keep safe, check in with your elderly relatives and if you need a chat reach out to me anytime. No need to be lonely.

We are still here We are just waiting on the outcome of the AGM which must afford clubs the opportunity to have a proper speedway product which the public will continue to embrace and develop. We will update everyone shortly after the AGM

Hi, Smoking is not allowed at all in the stands and if that happens again please speak to a steward. Our smoking policy is (or should be) completely visible across the stadium and also it is announced after the parade over the pa system. But I will keep a close eye on this for our last two meetings and see if it continues. Regards the rider start positions - it was agreed by all that in the case of 15m being empty riders would move forward. We can look at this for future meetings although I dont believe it affected the meeting in any way. Many thanks Barry

it was a brilliant meeting all round... racing, mascots, kids, track, atmosphere, attitude of riders.... I loved it. I totally agree making a level playing field produces the best racing and worked well last night and also the 2v meeting. #thefuture

no rider should ever receive any type of fixed guarnatted payment - full stop in my view. Riders pay was exactly the same as normal.

absolutely I would welcome 3000 or 300 or 30... as long as we are all going in the right direction. My only note of caution is this, bringing first time visitors is great, truly it is, but the really question that needs answering is of the 3000 how many returned? We have a system that we know if they return or not and in general every time we have a class, Scout Group or whatever, we have a hit... in that someone returns and pays to get it.

I feel I must correct you on a few points here... Firstly we dont have any advantage when compared to other clubs whatsoever from local government or local transport.... we receive no funding at all, no discounts at all and we have NO public transport to the stadium. The Warriors PAY for the free taxi service from Ryde Pier for locals and travelling fans - but it must be booked via the company. What we absolutely do not have is any kind of public transport be that train, bus or ferry.... in fact we are at a distinc disadvantage because we have to pay for every rider and official's ferry ticket this include both teams Warriors and Wizardss - we do not have full sponsorship from Wightlink but their sponsorship has grown year on year because of our progress and our ethos. We do have a corporate rate of course because our spend is still in the tens of thousand with them. Your other point about not being able to be what we want to be... this is so true.... I work very closely with our team about the next idea, next promotional move and how we can sell our product better... this is a difficult areas because we are prevented by rules that govern us and given a free and open run at it... I know we can improve dramatically. Anyways, thanks for all the feedback and I enjoy reading peoples views on what works for them and so on and that is all feedback that we can utilise now and in the future. Many thanks Barry

I am not so sure this is right..... when Martin and I took over the Isle of Wight our business plan started with 50 (yes that is right 50) paying customers because this was the estimate of paying fans when they closed. We built our speedway show from there and we knew from the offset we had to attract new fans, families and youngsters, so we built our show around that. Every week we include the family as much as we can, we never charge for kids 16 and unders, our food is the cheapest in the sport but probably one of the best for quality (read the reviews), our meetings are well presented, engaging, family orientated, and........ in the National League.... What I hear you scream no superstars..... again not right... of course we have superstars... our riders are superstars to the fans, children and families, they really are.... we have autograph sessions, our riders engage with fans, and we add to that by having My First Skid speedway school which gives families and kids that chance to be a superstar... never tell me there is not a market for speedway because our school sells out.. I have a queue of Mascots wanting to be in the show (we already have 12 out each week), the students aim for a mascot spot, then a Wizards team spot and then a Warriors spot. we give students objectives... fans continuity and a view of progress....and we have proven that this works with riders like Wirtzfeld, Sealey and now Williams... But how has this affected our crowds, considering we have no "superstars" and run "just" National League...... well, since we started like for like, week on week.. our crowds have only dropped off 1 time - yes thats is once..... and by 5 people... We dont have huge crowds... 300 plus in the off season 500 plus, in the holiday season... but they keep going up... and by the way so does our sponsorship not just in value but in number by those who want to associate themselves with the fun filled family show that Isle of Wight Speedway has become. Reading the above is interesting to me and probably the most important statement I read is... "the racing isnt different, but it is a different feeling is such a small crowd....." and this my friends is the crux of it. We entertain from the moment you arrive to when you leave and we see groups of fans who have made strong friendships discuss the speedway, are part of their club, back their club, its riders (their superstars)... and it about those who attend feeling valued, received value for money and most importantly entertained. Thanks for the continued knowledge transfer to me... its appreciated. See you trackside.

Wood isnt riding tonight and I am trying everything to get someone somehow here... to say I am totoally and completely gutted is an understatement.... totally gutted. Big crowd, sponsored meeting with sponsors in attendance - meal the works, lots of great people travelling and I am truly, genuinely struggling.... another NL meeting tonight, NL riders covering for riders in high leagues for this meeting has caused us no end of problems plus being on an island is unfortunate in this situation. BUT rest assured, I promise you all I will put everything I have to make this an incredible speedway show for you all... and hey who knows what may happen... but it will be no easy task. Please dont write to me with suggestions for riders for tonight.. we will have tried them and are continuing to do so...

I have to say it was my decision to inlude the crash at the end of our marketing video on the ferry - not because I wanted one it in, but really to end the video with a shock to the viewer... high impact.... I think the video on the ferry has brought dividends this year and we have spend thousands in market ing this year on the ferry, shows, radio, newspaper, magazines, banners... we do as much as we can cut out cloth to, but I know there is further scope to improve our non social media marketing and as for the social media marketing this is of course dynamic so we have to keep changing with not only the "times" but also our fixtures. Interesting to read this thread about today's speedway... the truth we have all that is described above on the island, relatively cheap motorsport, heart of the action, interaction with fans, riders and promoters, a fun family atmosphere, plenty of kids entertainment, static bikes displays (not each week), and more.... but as HT said, it takes a lot of time and belief in what your product actually is to be able to stand in front of the crowd and preach about speedway and our show, but once your volunteers believe in it how we believe in it... then you have many, many people singing the same song.... and hopefully new fans, new base to start from. That is a short history of how we started with a business case of just 50 fans on the Island.

I am really looking forward to meet you tomorrow - we are up against it.. so everyone bring you loudest vocal chords.... I may even give whistles to everyone and not just kids for tomorrow... Safe travels and see you trackside...

Thanks for the feedback on this. Andy Hague from Speedway Portal is a great guy and he and I bounce ideas off eachother all the time... I say to him, we have no limit.. .the more out there the more I want to do it (within our budget of course) .... so we are really trying and I am pleased that you enjoy the media stuff. Thank you

Thanks for coming back to me.. yep we already engage with pretty much anyone and everyone we can on the Island although there are many areas for improvement and continued growth here. I would like to see the big 4 getting more invovled (although they do support us by banner placement and produce for our charity events) and as our profile on and off the track continues to improve and grow, along with the whole family ethos I am sure they are not far away. Thanks for the advice and "every little helps". Barry