blueherb777 571 Posted January 30, 2013 Promoters Roger Cearns and Len Silver are yet to go public on their rider line-up but Mason (pictured below) said: "I know who I’ll be racing with and if we don’t win something this season, there’ll be something seriously wrong. "Len even said to me if we don’t win the league with the team we’ve put together he’ll eat his own hat. Above is the Quote from the KM. Lots of confidence. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nikko 181 Posted January 31, 2013 (edited) Certainly positive thinking from our captain there As you will have seen from Davids comments there are other riders who have signed and who will be announced. One thing to bear in mind is that we are working on gaining new supporters as well as traditional speedway fans and so one of our strategies is to keep the Kings in the local press constantly right up until our season starts and therefore it may be that the Promotion decide to drip feed signings over a longer period than is normal. David was interviewed this week and John Sampford has been interviewed for next weeks local papers. The announcement of the team over such a long period will seem strange to hardcore speedway fans but for new fans it keeps them reading about the Kings over the coming weeks/months and keeps our name and team fresh in their minds. In the meantime work progresses at the track, and if anyone is interested in joining the trackstaff please check out our website for details. Regards Nikko Edited January 31, 2013 by Nikko Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike.Butler 601 Posted January 31, 2013 wondering if you've considered these issues that have affected other tracks on opening night that I can recall making the spectator experience less than perfect (and in some cases extremely frustrating)..you get one opening night thinking of issues around:- starting gate malfunction P.A. not being heard in whole of stadium running out of programmes (no!!!!!) slow admission to stadium (with tight curfew this being particularly relevant here) announcer who was new to Speedway lighting in stands (on/off at right times) tractors/other machinery obscuring view club shop with no pens explaining rules for newcomers (+ page in prog) setting sun delaying heats track issues generally track grading when natural breaks if poss communications between ref and pits referee knows where 2 min buzzer is (lol) fence repairs well practised and spare parts required to hand aware of latest local weather forecast re-admission tickets provided enough toilets enough refreshment outlets - (incl different q for a cuppa so not behind someone waiting for onions) litter bins overflowing mud everywhere after rain newcomers mass relocation after heat 1after they find themselves plastered contrived result (surely not!) riders interviews not being heard as they pretty all well mumble..get them to practice in advance! traffic management before/after meeting advance notice of 'no claxons' or other planning reqs cost of admission/prog/parking known in advanc suitable music (no long periods of silence please) scoreboard being made best use of for info if poss people gaining free view from outside without paying two ambulances would be a godsend to minimise embarrassing delays in front of probably your biggest and most impressionable crowd telling everyone when the next meeting is (obvious I know!) Sorry if i'm teaching you how to suck eggs but all of above have been a cause of frustration to me in the past...and you are in a decent stadium after all so good luck, m 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
THE DEAN MACHINE 4,770 Posted January 31, 2013 Good to see a club being proactive and keeping their fans informed and in peoples minds. Keep it up and hope you have every sucess in your venture 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy Wilko 5 Posted January 31, 2013 Re Mike.Butler's list of issues (or problems as they were called before the days of consultants) he mentions "club shop with no pens", presumably thinking that new supporters may not realise what an essential part of the speedway experience (more consultant speak) they are. While getting new supporters to buy pens at the club shop would raise a bit of money it could also cause more issues (queues and lack of change) at said shop. Perhaps a nice first night touch would be "free pen with every programme", a Kent Kings pen with contact/website details on it. Of course this might add another issue to Mike's list - make sure free pens (a) work, and ( write on the paper the programme is printed on! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Parsloes 1928 nearly 495 Posted January 31, 2013 The only opening night I was involved in was at Plough Lane in 2002 and we had a massive crowd but didn't run out of progs even though we sold hundreds! We printed a MASSIVE amount - so many that there were still boxes and boxes of them in the track shop storeroom the day the GRA threw us out four years later!!!!! Note to self: print enough progs but not THAT many!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy Wilko 5 Posted January 31, 2013 The only opening night I was involved in was at Plough Lane in 2002 and we had a massive crowd but didn't run out of progs even though we sold hundreds! We printed a MASSIVE amount - so many that there were still boxes and boxes of them in the track shop storeroom the day the GRA threw us out four years later!!!!! Note to self: print enough progs but not THAT many!! But get plenty of pens - at least they won't be out of date at future meetings! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nikko 181 Posted January 31, 2013 Thanks to Mike and Andy for the thoughts/comments, I had started a list of things to consider but this has saved some time. Thanks for taking the time to post. Regards Nikko Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gazzatopfuel 15 Posted January 31, 2013 The only opening night I was involved in was at Plough Lane in 2002 and we had a massive crowd but didn't run out of progs even though we sold hundreds! We printed a MASSIVE amount - so many that there were still boxes and boxes of them in the track shop storeroom the day the GRA threw us out four years later!!!!! Note to self: print enough progs but not THAT many!! In my opinion, that meeting should not have been run! I remember a massive crowd and 'racing' on par with kids learning how to ice skate. It was heartbreaking. One wonders how many new supporters were lost that night, would they have returned for re-schedule? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike.Butler 601 Posted February 1, 2013 In my opinion, that meeting should not have been run! I remember a massive crowd and 'racing' on par with kids learning how to ice skate. It was heartbreaking. One wonders how many new supporters were lost that night, would they have returned for re-schedule? I think the word 'farce' is appropriate to describe that night..fastest & slowest times of the night? Aidan Collins 89.1 heat 11, Tom Brown 97.6 heat 3.! around that vast bowl that is/was Plough Lane..it was so upsetting to watch and you're right..the damage done to future crowds was immeasurable...anything remotely approaching these track problems at Kent will be disastrous...think of belle Vue v Wolves last year for more evidence...i'm weeping in my corn flakes as i write Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nikko 181 Posted February 1, 2013 (edited) Look out for an announcement soon of a great event the Kent Kings will be attending in March...... The announcement will be on our website on Wednesday. 5000 unique style "flyers" have been ordered for us to promote the club at the event. Edited February 2, 2013 by Nikko Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
builderbob 44 Posted February 2, 2013 well with mason and silver being so positive on the teams chances it makes you just want to have a guess who the other six riders will be. i am going for something like this 1 d mason 7.32 2 b morley 7.82 3 c coles 4.30 4 r lambert 3.00 5 hunter andersen 3.00 6 l bowen/s boxall 11.14/ ?? 7 b tokley 3.00 total 39.58 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhilK 150 Posted February 2, 2013 Has there been a fans forum / get together yet? I was wondering what the feeling is crowd wise once the season gets going. 300? more Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rebel1 72 Posted February 2, 2013 Will surely have to wait and see. Most clubs create a club membership and have ways for providing some support to the riders. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigDave1 13 Posted February 4, 2013 Will surely have to wait and see. Most clubs create a club membership and have ways for providing some support to the riders. As the joint promoter is Len Silver, i can see there being no membership / supporters club as he refuses to have one at Rye House since they re-opened, as he does not want any input from the fans. This maybe a different case at Kent with Neil Nikko Day on the board as he seems to appreciate the input the fans make. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
