Baldyman 6,243 Posted March 21, 2022 Kids should always be free,,, at every track. I don't have kids, so makes no difference to me,,, but I totally agree, good on ipswich for free kids. They should be free everywhere. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Arch Stanton 2,275 Posted March 21, 2022 1 minute ago, Baldyman said: Kids should always be free,,, at every track. I don't have kids, so makes no difference to me,,, but I totally agree, good on ipswich for free kids. They should be free everywhere. If parents can’t afford to take the kids, and let’s be honest, not many can in these difficult times, where are the future hardcore fans coming from? Dont charge them, let them get in and get hooked by the sport like most of us were back in the day, and think a bit further down the line rather than the short sighted here and now approach. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scoobydoo 2,259 Posted March 21, 2022 1 hour ago, 2ndbendbeerhut said: Doesn't really make any difference if its £19 or £20 if kids are £7 or £8. All of a sudden its nearing £30 for the adult taking them . It's not as though it would be the kids paying you themselves is it? From not missing any meetings at home since I started to go in the 80s as a kid its now getting to a stage I miss more than I goto . It's all about value for money.. £20 for British speedway can be poor value where by £100 for a GP trip in Poland can be good value. I went down a very similar route as your describing, i moved to Stock Cars from Speedway for more action to ££s spent, But now as my wifes carer its just whats on TV or updates nothing else for Speedway and Stock Cars. You dont stop supporting your team but it gets to the stage you dont miss attending . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,345 Posted March 21, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Arch Stanton said: So short sighted and terrible attitude. Costs me 20 quid for me and my daughter to go to Foxhall, will cost me £29 at Peterborough! That’s a huge difference. My daughter wasn’t initially keen to go at the beginning, and I certainly wouldn’t have paid to take her knowing she wasn’t overly fussed about going, but because she was free to get in I dragged her along for company to see what she thought. She now won’t miss a meeting, and it’s actually me that can’t be bothered some nights but I end up going for her. Club merchandise, teenage crush on Heeps, the works! You never can tell, but every chance in a few years once she turns 17, she’ll return as a paying customer. How many others are just like her? Saw more youngsters at Foxhall last year than probably all the away tracks I visited combined. Is there any wonder? Again, well done to the Ipswich promotion for some forward thinking, pity the others aren’t of the same mindset Similar story to me and my lad.. (No crush on Heeps though). (I think)... He unfortunately doesnt see the value in paying to watch league racing now he is 18 and has to fork out for himself... He cannot reconcile how riders can end up riding for everyone else, so he doesnt treat it as a serious sport, hence, no way will he pay twenty quid to get in.. We stopped being "regulars" when the Aces charged for 12 and upwards, after many years of being free when he was under 12, (so they lost my money and gained nothing), and instead we did FIM meetings and "decent" individuals, ie Proper Speedway meetings, with the odd attendance to the Aces when certain riders were in town.... He has though paid for me and him to attend tonight and the British GP, (over £80 on me!!!), as a thankyou for the thousands of miles I have covered taking him the length and breadth of the country so he can play football.. I was "shocked" to say the least.. Although it will be me paying the hotel bill.... Hopefully your daughter stays with it and can see the value when it his her turn to have to pay to get in, as the sport needs that "missing generation" so badly... Edit: FWIW. I actually think that for a good many that £7/£8 could actually be the "deal breaker" given the cost of living will rise/is rising so much.. And, just like with me, you lose the adults money too... Edited March 21, 2022 by mikebv 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Racin Jason 72 1,291 Posted March 21, 2022 2 hours ago, Arch Stanton said: If parents can’t afford to take the kids, and let’s be honest, not many can in these difficult times, where are the future hardcore fans coming from? Dont charge them, let them get in and get hooked by the sport like most of us were back in the day, and think a bit further down the line rather than the short sighted here and now approach. I’d go further and give kids season tickets to every school in Ipswich and surrounding areas. With maybe after every 5 meetings the parents get half price admission. it’s called promotion 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,345 Posted March 21, 2022 13 minutes ago, Racin Jason 72 said: I’d go further and give kids season tickets to every school in Ipswich and surrounding areas. With maybe after every 5 meetings the parents get half price admission. it’s called promotion Bang On!! If they are not there now, you lose absolutely nothing by giving them free admission.... And if the kid wants to go, then simply the parent or guardian has to go too... And having "quite a few kids" from the same school also means they can watch together, which can only encourage repeat visits... Why do establishments provide free rooms for kids parties? Simply because they know adults (and their wallets and purses), will be in attendance... 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
szkocjasid 3,116 Posted March 21, 2022 On 3/20/2022 at 9:29 AM, Racin Jason 72 said: I see admission has gone up to £20 this year. Is this good value for 15 heats of racing ? However if this includes a junior league meeting of six heats then I think it is a reasonable price but what concerns me is that the premiership was supposed to have a junior league last year but it never happened. Here we are with p&p this week and absolutely no idea if this league is going ahead and who will represent Ipswich!!! rumour had it that your premiership 7&8 would head the team which would be excellent and worthy of staying to watch rather than wobblers. PJL will only consist of 2 x home matches, or possibly 3 if making the final. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baldyman 6,243 Posted March 21, 2022 I would also start really advertising the fact that kids go free,, and make it a tag line. Compare it to other such things parents and kids do together, so it looks like a good value night out compared to say the cinema or the zoo or whatever it compares better than. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baldyman 6,243 Posted March 21, 2022 48 minutes ago, Racin Jason 72 said: I’d go further and give kids season tickets to every school in Ipswich and surrounding areas. With maybe after every 5 meetings the parents get half price admission. it’s called promotion Absobloodylutely,,, it's not hard to promote something these days,, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Falcon1983 557 Posted March 21, 2022 It's probably never been thought of but the witches in the past have a history of running meetings such as the 16 Lapper, Billy Sanders Memorial etc. Some of these have either been at the start or the finish of a season Why oh why do they not look at a pre season fixture where you get a very wealthy local businessman involved who funnily enough loves the sport and create something spectacular I'm talking about the "Tru7.com Challenge" and run an individual meeting featuring 16 riders plus some junior racing perhaps and have Tru7 Group promote it alongside Chris Louis Guy can offset alot of the costs via his business and with his relationships with various manufacturers could likely get say a brand new van for the winner If he was willing to cover the costs which would gain alot of local coverage (if prompted properly) you could do free entry Both Tru7 and Witches gain the data from the public (if tickets had to be reserved online) Guy could have X amount of the allocation to give to staff, families, clients etc. If one man can make it work it would be Guy Nicholls, and if I've thought of it surely more than a few others have People could argue he does alot for speedway as it is but he is also big on the local community and putting something like this together which can go into schools as part of the promotion would be a win-win 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Badge 5,141 Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) On 3/20/2022 at 9:29 AM, Racin Jason 72 said: I see admission has gone up to £20 this year. Is this good value for 15 heats of racing ? However if this includes a junior league meeting of six heats then I think it is a reasonable price but what concerns me is that the premiership was supposed to have a junior league last year but it never happened. Here we are with p&p this week and absolutely no idea if this league is going ahead and who will represent Ipswich!!! rumour had it that your premiership 7&8 would head the team which would be excellent and worthy of staying to watch rather than wobblers. Popped up briefly to p & p today and our 3 juniors were having a skid, sorry no idea who they are but definitely didn't seem like wobblers, so looks like we're ready. Edited March 22, 2022 by Badge 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blue witch 46 Posted March 22, 2022 I remember going to speedway as a youngster with my family and absolutely loved it. Watching Hampel, Crump, Darcy, Holder, Swiderski etc flying round Foxhall. I'm now an adult just bought my first home and I couldn't bare to spend £20 to watch a much watered down league and riders. Maybe that would change if they attracted GP riders back but to watch what's being dished up is appalling tbh. You get much better value for money watching other sports i'm afraid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baldyman 6,243 Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) Its hard to decide what is or isn't value for money. Some people love their speedway and would pay much more to watch it,,, and some stopped paying to watch it along time ago. They will never get the people who don't see any value paying ever again,, so it's about keeping the still pay to watch people paying,,, only they know their vfm price point. Will be interesting to see how the crowd holds up once the fuel cap rises. For me I think it will be my spending money watching speedway that will survive over other past times I spend money on this year. Edited March 22, 2022 by Baldyman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigcatdiary 3,168 Posted March 22, 2022 On 3/21/2022 at 10:18 AM, Arch Stanton said: If parents can’t afford to take the kids, and let’s be honest, not many can in these difficult times, where are the future hardcore fans coming from? Dont charge them, let them get in and get hooked by the sport like most of us were back in the day, and think a bit further down the line rather than the short sighted here and now approach. It’s not rocket science is it 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sings4Speedway 3,249 Posted March 22, 2022 4 hours ago, Badge said: Popped up briefly to p & p today and our 3 juniors were having a skid, sorry no idea who they are but definitely didn't seem like wobblers, so looks like we're ready. Teams from whispers do seem a bit better than initially thought although these are still NL second strings/reserves and the number 8. Still some clubs struggling to get riders interested though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
