Agm

[Chris116 756]

At Rye House we had three 125cc and three 250cc races before the start at nearly every meeting during 2017. We also had two rounds of the Youth Championship. Most of the crowd do not want to watch the juniors but we constantly hear that the BSPA should help the juniors. Maybe if the fans supported the junior meetings we would have more stars in the years to come. The crowds at Rye House were so small for the Youth Championship meetings that it would have been quicker to introduce the crowd to the riders! 36 races of which over a third were good close races, what is not to like?

[waytogo28 2,054]

This is the truth unfortunately and gets very little mention. Speedway stadia are shocking in general. I watched at Hyde Rd when I was a nipper, so I took my kids when they were little as I remembered how much I loved it. When I got there I was shocked at how dilapidated the place looked. We moved to Kirky Lane a couple of years later and although it was an old stadium, it had seating with bars on two sides and a restaurant , terracing on three sides and the grass bank was popular for families with youngsters running about. In its latter years it was a disgrace. Bars closed, toilets with smashed urinals, crumbling terracing on the 3Rd/4th bend and the crowd reflected it.

We've had guests and tactical and delays forever, if this forum had existed in the 70's or 80's the complaints would have been the same as now. What's more pertinent is that the public are used to better arenas for sport, football, rugby, ice hockey, basketball have all updated, but Speedway grounds look worse now than they did 30 years ago. The public want more and better.

Im not sure how you achieve that, but tidying are stadia up and improvements needs more emphasis.

 

To his credit Buster Chapman has built up Saddlebow Rd - now the AFA, into an excellent little stadium and had much success over the years as a Promoter. Sadly we now have the stadium but Buster has lost the hearts and mind of many KL fans. He pledges in the SS this week to "never let things slip again" at the club. He just needs to look long and hard at the nature of the "little bit" that he admits to letting things slip. There is a massive job to be done ASAP to win back those disillusioned supporters.

[Baldyman 6,243]

Don't nock the oldies they are the ones keeping speedway going without them stadiums would close all over the country

And that is the biggest problem speedway has..and the least being done about..apart from a few clubs

[Cross Roads 51]

Being a fan since the early 80s in the midlands taking many newbys who have unfortunately drifted away with the promotion of other recreational sports far out stripping speedway and digesting these posts the general opinion is it needs bringing into present day with all other entertainment industries championing our hard earned cash. Could anybody confirm if there is an external marketing company working with the bspa with a realistic commercial budget for promoting this sport.

 

For me a winning team will draw crowds to most sporting events however the public need to be made aware of success if better promoted within the geographical area of stadiums. without a great deal of fixed costs speedway promotors really could increase the professionalism of staging these events. I'm a regular visitor to leicester and extremely grateful to the new promotion for saving the sport in the city from the previous clown that said, it continues to frustrate me that it seems acceptable intro to the main event of a 20second 1lap ride of each rider straight back into the pits...

 

Observations:

Bikes to the start line manager rider interviews 10mins

Few practise laps by both teams. 5 mins

Match race both number 1s to who chooses gate positions for meeting start.

Roaming terrace mike with club announcer (some weeks works at leicester let's have more interaction)

Insist every race winner must complete a victory lap.

Totally agree with false start straight back to start line 1 min time allowance.

Loyalty cards with x meetings stamped=discount on merchandise and refreshments.

Season ticket holders can bring a friend new to the sport 3 times per season similar to gym promotions

Free merchandise ie t shirt-air horns on x meetings per season for all children creates atmosphere as most meetings flat (on other track visits also)

Post meeting interviews are welcomed as at leicester but also request the opposition manager top scoring rider for there analysis.

Set race nights so becomes familiar to all supporters and regular no long gaps between weeks so family lives can be diarised.

 

Really do hope that next season is just not another re work of the past years and bspa are really listening to the general public because without us all there will be no professional sport for this country in the coming years....here's hoping.

[STEVEHOLS54 380]

 

To his credit Buster Chapman has built up Saddlebow Rd - now the AFA, into an excellent little stadium and had much success over the years as a Promoter. Sadly we now have the stadium but Buster has lost the hearts and mind of many KL fans. He pledges in the SS this week to "never let things slip again" at the club. He just needs to look long and hard at the nature of the "little bit" that he admits to letting things slip. There is a massive job to be done ASAP to win back those disillusioned supporters.

I was critical of Buster when things all kicked off following the Holder situation and then it seemed a crusade against all things Holder after the Peterborough saga.

 

With the hindsight of a calm close season we need to look forward.

 

Many were happy to see Buster take the roll of BSPA Chairman and saw it as a way forward.

 

This is not a sport where we are blessed with multi million mega sponsorship and the sport has been going through a difficult time in the UK. Maybe we all need to get behind Buster. Mending British Speedway is no quick fix. He has no doubt spent a lot of time and effort to try and get it pointing in the right direction. Yes there have probably been some mistakes and controversy, but such a role comes with not making easy or always popular decisions with some.

 

If we are going to move forward then let's appreciate that overall he is doing his best to get the sport going forward. Its no easy task and unless some entity with millions to spend on the sport is going to come forth, then lets all get behind the guy for the efforts he is trying to put in for the benefit of British Speedway.

 

I am sure even for him its a learning curve being the man at the forefront who will always have the gun pointed at him when things are not going too great.

 

Hopefully the bigger picture will show his appointment long term as a positive one.

[SPEEDY69 1,260]

Being a fan since the early 80s in the midlands taking many newbys who have unfortunately drifted away with the promotion of other recreational sports far out stripping speedway and digesting these posts the general opinion is it needs bringing into present day with all other entertainment industries championing our hard earned cash. Could anybody confirm if there is an external marketing company working with the bspa with a realistic commercial budget for promoting this sport.

 

For me a winning team will draw crowds to most sporting events however the public need to be made aware of success if better promoted within the geographical area of stadiums. without a great deal of fixed costs speedway promotors really could increase the professionalism of staging these events. I'm a regular visitor to leicester and extremely grateful to the new promotion for saving the sport in the city from the previous clown that said, it continues to frustrate me that it seems acceptable intro to the main event of a 20second 1lap ride of each rider straight back into the pits...

 

Observations:

Bikes to the start line manager rider interviews 10mins

Few practise laps by both teams. 5 mins

Match race both number 1s to who chooses gate positions for meeting start.

Roaming terrace mike with club announcer (some weeks works at leicester let's have more interaction)

Insist every race winner must complete a victory lap.

Totally agree with false start straight back to start line 1 min time allowance.

Loyalty cards with x meetings stamped=discount on merchandise and refreshments.

Season ticket holders can bring a friend new to the sport 3 times per season similar to gym promotions

Free merchandise ie t shirt-air horns on x meetings per season for all children creates atmosphere as most meetings flat (on other track visits also)

Post meeting interviews are welcomed as at leicester but also request the opposition manager top scoring rider for there analysis.

Set race nights so becomes familiar to all supporters and regular no long gaps between weeks so family lives can be diarised.

 

Really do hope that next season is just not another re work of the past years and bspa are really listening to the general public because without us all there will be no professional sport for this country in the coming years....here's hoping.

 

Some excellent ideas here, shame you are not a promoter!

[ouch 1,191]

When reading ideas like this plus those on other threads they seem no brainers to us so Im assuming the promoters know about these initiatives.

 

Whilst Id find it bad if they didnt think about these ideas what I cannot get my head around is that they have taken a year on year decision to disregard these ideas. I would love to sit down with promoters so they could talk me through the thought process because I just dont get it. Its as if they are trying to drive us away but that cannot be true either.

[ytsejam 312]

Professional Presentation 7.15pm

Racing starts Prompt 7.30pm

Track graded 7 mins after heat 4.

Interval and track grading 15 mins after heat 10

Meeting Finish 9pm sharp.

Riders available to mingle with fans till 9.30 then Finish....

 

Time to go home.....

 

Spot on with all of that. However, one small snag is that promoters in general, do NOT want the meetings over by 9pm. They want people to be standing around, waiting and slightly bored so they will then go and spend more money in the bars/snack bars etc whilst there is nothing going on and the evening is dragging. For a promoter, the longer they have the punters in the stadium, the more money they will take on the food/drink/souvenirs etc they dont want them in and out within 90 mins or so!! (which is still too long for it to last with only 15 mins of actual racing!)

[waytogo28 2,054]

 

Spot on with all of that. However, one small snag is that promoters in general, do NOT want the meetings over by 9pm. They want people to be standing around, waiting and slightly bored so they will then go and spend more money in the bars/snack bars etc whilst there is nothing going on and the evening is dragging. For a promoter, the longer they have the punters in the stadium, the more money they will take on the food/drink/souvenirs etc they dont want them in and out within 90 mins or so!! (which is still too long for it to last with only 15 mins of actual racing!)

 

And perhaps it is over issues like this, that the yawning chasm between how promoters see the sport they sell to supporters and how many supporters see it ?

I was critical of Buster when things all kicked off following the Holder situation and then it seemed a crusade against all things Holder after the Peterborough saga.

 

With the hindsight of a calm close season we need to look forward.

 

Many were happy to see Buster take the roll of BSPA Chairman and saw it as a way forward.

 

This is not a sport where we are blessed with multi million mega sponsorship and the sport has been going through a difficult time in the UK. Maybe we all need to get behind Buster. Mending British Speedway is no quick fix. He has no doubt spent a lot of time and effort to try and get it pointing in the right direction. Yes there have probably been some mistakes and controversy, but such a role comes with not making easy or always popular decisions with some.

 

If we are going to move forward then let's appreciate that overall he is doing his best to get the sport going forward. Its no easy task and unless some entity with millions to spend on the sport is going to come forth, then lets all get behind the guy for the efforts he is trying to put in for the benefit of British Speedway.

 

I am sure even for him its a learning curve being the man at the forefront who will always have the gun pointed at him when things are not going too great.

 

Hopefully the bigger picture will show his appointment long term as a positive one.

 

I am and have been a fierce critic of Buster's role within and at the head of the BSPA and as above says I still do hope that the ending of his involvement, will be seen as a positive one. But and it is Big But, he needs to be more interested in the opinion of fans and listen to their ideas more openly. No-one will succeed by telling themselves that they "know best" about everything ( because no-one does except God Almighty ).

[Teromaafan 586]

For me the biggest problem with speedway in this country, which is embarrassing to try and justify to non followers of the sport, is the number of riders doubling up. It came to a head in the recent relegation/promotion play off when a couple of Leicester riders were unavailable because they were riding for.......the opposition! I'm hoping that fixed race nights will go some way to reducing (is eliminating too optimistic?) clashes and restore some credibility to the sport.

Something else I have thought about is riders moving on the start line. There is a very thin line between cheating and making a perfect start. I came up with what I thought was a very simple solution. Set a small battery laser (as used by Surveyors/Estate Agents etc) parallel to and a bike length plus about 12 inches behind the line. Before the green light goes on, all riders must be forward of and not therefore break the laser beam. When the green light is on riders can neither touch the tapes or break the laser beam (which would result in an exclusion). This leaves a potential 12 inch 'gamble zone' for the riders to move at their own risk. Same for all riders. Any comments on this idea would be welcomed. I emailed this idea to the BSPA some time ago and remain hopeful of a response before the next millennium.

[Baldyman 6,243]

I never try and justify any rules to any non speedway fan...the reason for this is no one ever asks. They don't care cos they follow their own sports they find interesting. if in your case you do find yourself explaining rules, then explaining your start line one they would find strange..cos I'm sure any one that doesn't follow speedway would say the same thing..which is why don't they sit stil until the tapes go up...no need to make something so simple so complicated.

[g13webb 4,254]

I never try and justify any rules to any non speedway fan...the reason for this is no one ever asks. They don't care cos they follow their own sports they find interesting. if in your case you do find yourself explaining rules, then explaining your start line one they would find strange..cos I'm sure any one that doesn't follow speedway would say the same thing..which is why don't they sit stil until the tapes go up...no need to make something so simple so complicated.

 

We talk about getting Joe Public interested, the issues you're stated must be the main reasons that kills anyone whose remotely interested in attending. Never could you imagine something, so straight forward , be as complex at it is.

 

We have 4 riders, racing 4 laps. The fastest rider wins and get 3 points. He who finishes 2nd get 2 points, 3rd place only gets 1point.

 

The team who accumulates the most points wins... Do we need any more ???

[Haza 1,774]

Professional Presentation 7.15pm

Racing starts Prompt 7.30pm

Track graded 7 mins after heat 4.

Interval and track grading 15 mins after heat 10

Meeting Finish 9pm sharp.

Riders available to mingle with fans till 9.30 then Finish....

 

Time to go home.....

 

absolutely spot on - on a Wednesday night at Kings Lynn this is just what’s needed with an early start at work or School the next day it would definitely encourage more fans to attend- the slightest thing put us off going weather being one of them slightest hint of rain we stay home and if I’ve had a busy day at work I think can I be bothered to stand around till 10pm for what is effectively 15 minuets of entertainment I use that term loosely. 7.30 first race would definitely encourage more to attend and some urgency shown to keep the meeting moving along as well .

[Bagpuss 10,784]

I think a 7:45pm start is fair enough, I would struggle to arrive for half seven due to work so that quarter of an hour is invaluable and I would suspect others are in the same boat. However it could still be over and done with in 75-90 minutes which is plenty of time for fifteen races, some grading and even a short interval if the meeting is being run properly.

 

We all know that a large part of the 'dragging on' is about bar and junk food takings but surely a healthier crowd would spend more even if they are in the stadium for less time?

[waytogo28 2,054]

absolutely spot on - on a Wednesday night at Kings Lynn this is just what’s needed with an early start at work or School the next day it would definitely encourage more fans to attend- the slightest thing put us off going weather being one of them slightest hint of rain we stay home and if I’ve had a busy day at work I think can I be bothered to stand around till 10pm for what is effectively 15 minuets of entertainment I use that term loosely. 7.30 first race would definitely encourage more to attend and some urgency shown to keep the meeting moving along as well .

 

So, what is it that stops KLS and most other promotions from putting on their show in this way? It has to be that the the paying public standing on the terraces are of no concern, after they have paid to get in. It has to be that, doesn't it?

Even the incentive of falling crowds almost everywhere, doesn't seem to make the BSPA take presentation of their product ( 15 mins of racing - maybe 4 mins of exciting close racing ) seriously enough to improve it.

 

Rules were introduced about limiting "gardening at the tapes" and were never properly enforced and within a few matches faded away to the same old, same old - dragging on.

Edited November 12, 2017 by waytogo28