Coventry 2017

[Star Lady 5,400]

Except it isn't 90 minutes, as it has long been accepted that actual football only takes a third of that time.

Maybe so, but there are still participants in full view of the fans possibly running etc. So something is happening.

Contrast that with speedway where the participants are in the pits mainly hidden from public view and fans have to look at a centre green/grey whilst listening to banal music and nothing else.

[uk_martin 1,606]

...I thought the deadline was Friday?

Yeah, any Friday will do.

[waytogo28 2,054]

I have many happy memories of matches at Brandon so well run by Charles Ochiltree and his family. Crisply, well organised meetings ( yes 13 heats then not 15 ) and over by 9.15 pm mostly. Those were the days and when promoters were real businessmen and women. I suspect that this mess will mean that I will not witness speedway racing at Brandon again. It looks more and more like Brandon Estates wanted speedway out. Hopefully not R.I.P.

[Sidney the robin 4,735]

 

 

I too am a speedway snob, however NL is far from wobblers and the standard of racing is much better than I expected.

 

 

I agree with your last sentence wholeheartedly however times being 1/2 or a second series slower is way off the mark.

You may get some of the top standard NL riders getting within 2 or 3 seconds of a standard top flight race but the speeds are no way similar.

I saw the Swindon Sprockets v Coventry NL challenge meeting last year and along with the Skunny v Somerset meeting were the best two meeting's i saw all year.Was really surprised with the level in the NL it has improved no end. Edited January 27, 2017 by Sidney the robin

[robert72 845]

I saw the Swindon Sprockets v Coventry NL meeting last year and along with the Skunny v Somerset meeting were the best two meeting's i saw all year.Was really surprised with the level in the NL it has improved no end.

I saw a NL match and thought the racing was close and exciting to watch, it was abit like the old BJL and NJL kids giving it everything.

 

I think I will attend more NL meetings this year.

 

Any news about Coventry Bees 🐝?

[Woz01 3,589]

I saw a NL match and thought the racing was close and exciting to watch, it was abit like the old BJL and NJL kids giving it everything.

 

I think I will attend more NL meetings this year.

 

Any news about Coventry Bees 🐝?

Meetings today and will update when they can.

[houdi 535]

 

Current climate? In the current climate, Wasps turned up 18 months ago, and from nil, now get an average crowd of over 17,000. This has been achieved by supplying the right product, in the right environment, with the right promotion. Even Coventry City who are not dissimilar from speedway (in general), and can be regarded as a complete "basket case" still manage to get people through the door. Yet despite this over 9,000 fans, turn up each home game, be it out of a sense of loyalty / love of their team. It is clear that the good people of Coventry do not feel (certainly in terms of numbers) the same towards the Bees.

Perhaps a better comparison would be ice hockey and the Coventry Blaze,and speedway and the Coventry Bees. Both are minority sports,but the differences are huge. The Blaze social media output is so far superior to the Bees and other speedway clubs its embarrassing,,information and news comes out on a daily basis.Their website is far superior and updated regularly.

In ice hockey each team has a regular weekly weekend home fixture, these fixture virtually never change, and apart from injuries you know all the players will be there, not stuck in Poland.This is for a sport that has only existed in Coventry for about 16 years.

Players all interact with supporters far more than they do in speedway,there are bowling nights , casino nights,ladies nights were the players all turn up.After every game 2 players are made available for autographs, the match night experience is somethings most clubs are always seeking to improve.

6-7 years ago the Blaze were the dominant team in the UK, but lately have been overtaken by the likes of Nottingham and Sheffield, however the gates have not only held up, but increased, because the club have made a huge effort without loads of money, to go out and sell the product.

All the local radio stations, mention the Blaze regularly, the Bees apart for this fiasco, barely warrant a mention. The sport seems stuck in a time warp. Next year the Elite league is expanding to 12 teams, and they hope to expand even further in future.Crowds are generally increasing at least at elite level, with clubs like Cardiff, Sheffield and Nottingham all having sell outs for just normal elite league games.Even Sam Masters has become a Blaze fan and is a regular when he is in the UK.

20 years ago the Bees were probably the 2nd biggest team in Coventry after CCFC, now they are probably about 5th. With the Wasps netball starting up, and having a sell out for there 1st game, we will soon be probably down to 6th, that''s if we still exist anymore.

Edited January 27, 2017 by houdi

[Jacques 3,114]

Perhaps a better comparison would be ice hockey and the Coventry Blaze,and speedway and the Coventry Bees. Both are minority sports,but the differences are huge. The Blaze social media output is so far superior to the Bees and other speedway clubs its embarrassing,,information and news comes out on a daily basis.Their website is far superior and updated regularly.

In ice hockey each team has a regular weekly weekend home fixture, these fixture virtually never change, and apart from injuries you now all the players will be there, not stuck in Poland.This is for a sport that has only existed in Coventry for about 16 years.

Players all interact with supporters far more than they do in speedway,there are bowling nights , casino nights,ladies nights were the players all turn up.After every game 2 players are made available for autographs, the match night experience is somethings most clubs are always seeking to improve.

6-7 years ago the Blaze were the dominant team in the UK, but lately have been overtaken by the likes of Nottingham and Sheffield, however the gates have not only held up, but increased, because the club have made a huge effort without loads of money, to go out and sell the product.

All the local radio stations, mention the Blaze regularly, the Bees apart for this fiasco, barely warrant a mention. The sport seems stuck in a time warp. Next year the Elite league is expanding to 12 teams, and they hope to expand even further in future.Crowds are generally increasing at least at elite level, with clubs like Cardiff, Sheffield and Nottingham all having sell outs for just normal elite league games.Even Sam Masters has become a Blaze fan and is a regular when he is in the UK.

20 years ago the Bees were probably the 2nd biggest team in Coventry after CCFC, now they are probably about 5th. With the Wasps netball starting up, and having a sell out for there 1st game, we will soon be probably down to 6th, that''s if we still exist anymore.

 

 

Why the Blaze I wonder?

 

Ps, I saw an old pic of you other day, on the way to the charity shield in 87, Eddie says you still wear that jumper ..ha ha ha

[Shale Searcher 1,264]

 

 

 

Why the Blaze I wonder?

 

Ps, I saw an old pic of you other day, on the way to the charity shield in 87, Eddie says you still wear that jumper ..ha ha ha [/quo

 

 

If speedway was ridden on ice rinks, like the old Telford meetings, it would be comparable..

 

The ice rink does get damaged by spiked bikes, but a semi thaw and re-freeze and its as good as new!!

 

Speeds would be considerably lower, virtually no wear on machines or riders..

 

So expenditure for riders and promoters would be next to nothing compared to shale speedway, and no chance of rain-offs, tracks would be pretty much the same, anywhere in the world!!

 

Ice Hockey -> Speedway = not a good comparison..

[New era Panthers 2,055]

 

I never understand this comeback. Someone doesn't want to watch what they feel is an inferior product but are reminded that those that they prefer to watch were once at that stage. So what?

 

IJust over 1 in 4 like strike rate

I like to watch top class riders as well but I don't go around knocking those who are trying to cut a groove in the sport by calling them (wobblers) Unlike a few on here who act like Premiership snobs

[houdi 535]

 

 

Why the Blaze I wonder?

 

 

He's got taste. He even brought Tai Woffinden earlier in the season. Plus of course our most famous fan Sir Rod Stewart,whose son Liam is a Blaze player,who not only turned up over Christmas, but fortunately brought Penny Lancaster with him.

[HertsRacer 222]

 

 

Why the Blaze I wonder?

 

Ps, I saw an old pic of you other day, on the way to the charity shield in 87, Eddie says you still wear that jumper ..ha ha ha

The team was formerly the Solihull Blaze before they moved to Coventry, and kept the nickname.

[double_O 257]

The team was formerly the Solihull Blaze before they moved to Coventry, and kept the nickname.

Wrong.

It was the Solihull Barons.

[HertsRacer 222]

Wrong.

It was the Solihull Barons.

Right.

The Solihull Barons evolved into Solihull Blaze before the start of the 1996–97 season, and in May 2000, the club announced that they would be heading to a new 3,600-seater stadium in Coventry for the 2000–01 season renaming themselves "Coventry Blaze" in the process.

The Solihull Barons reformed in 2005 and still play today.

Edited January 27, 2017 by HertsRacer

[Woz01 3,589]

Perhaps a better comparison would be ice hockey and the Coventry Blaze,and speedway and the Coventry Bees. Both are minority sports,but the differences are huge. The Blaze social media output is so far superior to the Bees and other speedway clubs its embarrassing,,information and news comes out on a daily basis.Their website is far superior and updated regularly.

In ice hockey each team has a regular weekly weekend home fixture, these fixture virtually never change, and apart from injuries you know all the players will be there, not stuck in Poland.This is for a sport that has only existed in Coventry for about 16 years.

Players all interact with supporters far more than they do in speedway,there are bowling nights , casino nights,ladies nights were the players all turn up.After every game 2 players are made available for autographs, the match night experience is somethings most clubs are always seeking to improve.

6-7 years ago the Blaze were the dominant team in the UK, but lately have been overtaken by the likes of Nottingham and Sheffield, however the gates have not only held up, but increased, because the club have made a huge effort without loads of money, to go out and sell the product.

All the local radio stations, mention the Blaze regularly, the Bees apart for this fiasco, barely warrant a mention. The sport seems stuck in a time warp. Next year the Elite league is expanding to 12 teams, and they hope to expand even further in future.Crowds are generally increasing at least at elite level, with clubs like Cardiff, Sheffield and Nottingham all having sell outs for just normal elite league games.Even Sam Masters has become a Blaze fan and is a regular when he is in the UK.

20 years ago the Bees were probably the 2nd biggest team in Coventry after CCFC, now they are probably about 5th. With the Wasps netball starting up, and having a sell out for there 1st game, we will soon be probably down to 6th, that''s if we still exist anymore.

Agree with the Coventry Blaze social media output. Also tomorrow evening my family are attending the Blaze game as my kids school got an offer from Blaze.

Wrong.

It was the Solihull Barons.

As HertsRacer said they were Barons then went to Blaze then the franchise moved to Coventry when the ice rink was built. Used to watch Barons quite a bit, I remember Barons losing 21-3 to Guildford!