HackneyHawk

I love this answer even though I'm one of the rusty brillo pad brigade!!! Seriously though, I've been around a long time and thought about this alot and I think many of speedways problems are that it can't make it's mind up between being a sport or being a sideshow. The sidesjow aspect worked when noone had tellies or playstations!

What does "tell your a labour supporter" mean?

Not quite dead but team speedway in the UK is on it's way out. Who are the culprits?.....the 'promoters' of course. They treat Speedway like a sideshow, not as a sport. They have allowed this to happen. Most of them not bothering to plan for the future. Most of them too insular, treating Speedway as a hobby and if you come and watch, that's up to you, and if you don't, so what. I visited Coventry for a British riders final in the early 2000's. The racing was not competitive and very boring, this seemed due to track. I brought newcomers with me, they hated it. We visited a food van and asked for chips.....the woman said (rudely) we don't do chips they were too popular. I went to the opening night of the London Lions, there was nowhere to stand to watch the racing due to the stadium being redeveloped without terracing. I stood on a grassy bank as I had done watching the Hackney Hawks. The speedway management called the police to have us removed. I asked Colin Pratt for a refund and he told me "if you don't like the stadium - f*ck off) Track shops selling embarrassing tat. Meeting presentation anachronistic and embarrassing. Riders wearing the race suit of another club while riding for their rivals as a guest........ Would those things happen in any other area of modern sport/entertainment/leisure? no of course not. After 40 years I'm almost done with speedway.

Why isn't the Speedway 'World Cup' raced in pairs like league Speedway? Riders are individuals who then have their scores added together thus removing the spectacle of seeing team mates line up on the start and racing for and with each other on the track...... I'll admit it.........I'm old..........I love a bit of team riding it's one of Speedway's biggest assets to me!

It's great that the IOW presentation is good and that is a massive part of Speedway revival. Is the presentation objectively good or just good for Speedway? Are track staff smart? Are they polite? Are there weeds growing around the stadium?, is it tidy? Is it signposted? Is the PA system good and is the parade good with a good introduction of the riders who are looking smart and engaged? After presentation comes racing and I have attended probably 10 third tier meetings which have been generally poor. As a speedway lover, any speedway is better than no speedway but to the newcomer, the very spread out races with some riders barely able to get the bike around the corner is not a sport, it's a hobby. I think there are lessons from old Speedway (post war) that can be learned in that Speedway took itself very seriously and looked as though it respected itself. As the crowd numbers dropped in the 70's the sport got scruffier and scruffier and looked as though it was a hobby for petrolheads. On this thread we have had discussion of sidecar speedway being included in the meetings well sidecars are not the same sport and may provide amusement to people who are waiting for the team meeting to continue but Football doesn't rely on having a cricket match at half time! I honestly think the racing in teams aspect is speedway's biggest hope. As sport becomes more and more global, team identity is everything and motorcycle racing in teams could be massive, unfortunately Speedway cannot be trusted to take that opportunity

Well I'd like to do it! But seriously, it has to be someone from outside Speedway. Maybe a promoter of other sports that are more popular now than they once were??? Someone made the excellent point of Promoters working together for the good of the sport and not engaging in petty rivalry. Controversially, I think that third tier Speedway may harm the sport's popularity amongst outsiders and maybe should only exist as second halves of senior Speedway. The 'quality of the racing and presentation is just not as good and therefore the uninitiated go along and are disillusioned, not knowing that they have watched an inferior product. All of you fans of third tier tracks please try and see the sport's dire predicament before taking me to task on my opinion.......

Will go to Glasgow next year, was very impressed with the recent film. An earlier post mentioned Poland doing so well despite the racing not being great and I suppose it must be presentation and advertising? I took yet another newcomer along to Ipswich one year when they were in the top flight and I promised them that these were the best level riders. The meeting parade was 14 scruffy riders mixed together wearing different racesuits/racejackets, appearing bored, being dragged around on a trailer hooked to the back of someone's car to the theme from Star Wars. My friend laughed, I cringed and the racing was awful. My friend said "in most of these races, why doesn't the red helmet help out the blue helmet otherwise it's not a team is it"? I said, there was something called team riding but you don't see it much anymore........ Speedway needs to look cared for. 'if you respect yourself, others will respect you' I would gladly go along voluntarily to Kent for a bit of weeding/painting etc (anything for Leapin' Len)

Starting this thread was worth it for this!! ha ha!! I stand corrected on my grammar not spelling!

This makes me angry. Speedway 'promoters' have allowed this to happen to the sport. Most of them too dimwitted to plan for the future. Most of them too insular, treating Speedway as a hobby and if you come and watch, that's up to you, and if you don't, so what. I visited Coventry for a British riders final in the early 2000's. The racing was not competitive and very boring, this seemed due to track. I brought newcomers with me, they hated it. We visited a food van and asked for chips.....the woman said (rudely) we don't do chips they were too popular. I went to the opening night of the London Lions, there was nowhere to stand to watch the racing due to the stadium being redeveloped without terracing. I stood on a grassy bank as I had done watching the Hackney Hawks. The speedway management called the police to have us removed. I asked Colin Pratt for a refund and he told me "if you don't like the stadium - idiot off) Track shops selling embarrassing tat. Meeting presentation anachronistic and embarrassing. Riders wearing the race suit of another club while riding for their rivals as a guest........ Would those things happen in any other area of modern sport/entertainment/leisure? no of course not. After 40 years I'm almost done with speedway.

That's a lot of help thanks

Len Silver's book is great I really like the homes of british Speedway too