Spiderman1 183 Posted March 29 They were in for whipping, weather gods has saved the embarrassment 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Noelinho 936 Posted March 29 32 minutes ago, Moranboys said: Correct,and why could this meeting not gone ahead at either 1 or 3 pm,,would have been done and dusted by then.i know hindsight is a good thing but just saying.Or call the meeting off after the initial downpour. You can’t muck about people who have already paid to be there, e.g., season ticket holders. 17 minutes ago, szkocjasid said: Not so easy to find re-staging dates despite clubs seemingly having so few fixtures. I looked and Scunthorpe or Workington or Scunny have a NL fixture, on every Friday till well into June, when I got fed up of searching for a free date. Maybe they'll put back a league match to run the BSN fixture, or race on a Saturday when they have an away match on the Sunday? Next available Friday is 18 August, which is after Workington’s last fixture! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CTD26 104 Posted March 29 7 minutes ago, Spiderman1 said: They were in for whipping, weather gods has saved the embarrassment Idiot 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paul84 106 Posted March 29 Right here we go here are the unfortunate facts Yes I’m a travelling Workington fan but don’t let this distract you from the fact that this was a horrendous advert for speedway! We need people to want to come back and although I appreciate we have no control over the weather but we do have control over announcements and keeping the fans updated … nobody had a clue what was going on unless the speaker system was gone people on the first bend had no idea what was happening. All appeared very unprofessional and especially as the promoter is part of the bspa we need to do better someone come on the centre and announce what’s going on! On a side note respect to the track staff for the work draining the standing water they did do a good job, my only issue is newbies won’t want to return and you can’t survive on idiots like me. Onto the next one! Up the Comets!! 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iainb 5,067 Posted March 29 2 hours ago, Neila said: Even jake Allen said on the stream it was just about rideable but not raceable Well, I'm glad the streamers were being kept up to date with proceedings because there was precious little being said in the stadium to the fans. All I heard was an announcement that it wouldn't be starting at 5:30 and then a load of horns blasting over the PA... what happened to the TV themes of the 80's? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Midget 162 Posted March 29 38 minutes ago, Spiderman1 said: They were in for whipping, weather gods has saved the embarrassment Clown 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paul84 106 Posted March 29 I’m more annoyed what it does to the “general “ speedway fans it looks horrendous and like I said although it’s disappointing surely communication with the fans will help a bad situation. He’s my gun shot my foot ! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iainb 5,067 Posted March 29 (edited) 11 hours ago, paul84 said: Right here we go here are the unfortunate facts Yes I’m a travelling Workington fan but don’t let this distract you from the fact that this was a horrendous advert for speedway! We need people to want to come back and although I appreciate we have no control over the weather but we do have control over announcements and keeping the fans updated … nobody had a clue what was going on unless the speaker system was gone people on the first bend had no idea what was happening. All appeared very unprofessional and especially as the promoter is part of the bspa we need to do better someone come on the centre and announce what’s going on! On a side note respect to the track staff for the work draining the standing water they did do a good job, my only issue is newbies won’t want to return and you can’t survive on idiots like me. Onto the next one! Up the Comets!! Absolutely spot on! Not only is he the promoter part of the BSPA, he runs the whole 5h1t show, is it any wonder the sport is in the state it's in? There should be some kind of time window in place to run meetings, much like they have in F1, to stop all of the faffing and dithering. It's the same today as it was 40 odd years ago when I first started attending. Edited March 30 by iainb 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteelShoe 502 Posted March 29 Very disappointing travelling 180 miles for a rain off which was ultimately caused by a heavy shower about 30 minutes before start time. The second shower which came after 6-30pm only lasted a few minutes and made very little difference. These are my personal observations and thoughts : Hard to understand why the track was watered with dark clouds approaching. The PA system wasn't functioning properly so nobody had a clue what was happening, we just stood around cold in excess of 70 minutes after the advertised start time before people started walking toward the exit. Not a great advert for Rob who was just saying in the Speedway Star how they are trying to raise the profile of the sport. The track staff did a good job with the track to the point were I believed the track would come to the riders after 3 or 4 heats if racing had got underway. It was observed that the drain on the 1st bend was higher than the track, this contributed to the large puddle of water that formed there. We appreciated getting a refund quickly. It was made known to us at this time that the riders wanted to give it a go but the referee ultimately called it off. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paul84 106 Posted March 29 Agree this isn’t to damn our sport but it’s pointing out the obvious which need addressing, how can a club that has a promoter in such a position operate that way! ? No miles or loss of money will ever stop me attending speedway and I’m fully aware this isn’t the norm! Let’s get things run like a professional sport and do better then this ! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scunny1 436 Posted March 29 Ok, can't do anything about a heavy downpour that was forecast on several weather apps. The promotor was straight out after the rain stopped, actually driving the tanker sucking the water off, so he was being very proactive in trying to get the meeting on. If the call had gone out for 20 odd volunteers to help sweep off the rain water, I am sure they would have helped. Even our number 7 , young Harrison , was keen to sweep the start finishing area! What was a major failing, was keeping the crowd informed and entertained. Just playing the same tape over and over was plain lazy ( All aboard, all aboard...!) What is the point having an announcer in the box if they are unable to communicate with the crowd. Why no rider interviews to break the boredom- new team members, new female etc? From the demeanour of the team manager and Worky captain, on their track walk after sterling remedial work, it was obvious they had no desire to ride. Don't know what Babs Horley was saying to the riders, but personally I have seen worse tracks raced upon? The second shower sealed the event end and finally a decision was forced. To cap it all , the farce to get tickets stamped/ refunds needs to be addressed. Surely someone could direct the crowd to what was happening , which side to queue, what procedures etc. Maybe the tickets should be date stamped as they are being sold on entering the stadium, just a thought? I only had to travel 5 miles home, but did wish the Workington fan parked next to me, a safe journey home for his wasted time and money. As others have said not a good opener, we must do better all round. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
szkocjasid 3,088 Posted March 29 (edited) 2 hours ago, iainb said: There should be some kind of time window in place to run meetings, much like they have in F1, to stop all of the faffing and dithering. It's the same today as it was 40 odd years ago when I first started attending. That's a tricky one. Didn't Glasgow put a match back 2 or 3 hours last year to get it run. While that's a lot of waiting around, is better than fans driving home with no racing because of a window they have to complete it in. Edited March 29 by szkocjasid Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,328 Posted March 30 It is very much "rinse and repeat" on here isn't it when it comes to the same old issues being outlined... The comments made could have come from any meetings ran in similar circumstances over the past heaven knows how many decades.. The only real surprise I have is that some still seem surprised... It is UK Speedway after all, a very small minority sport, ran, in the main, by well meaning amateurs, who use the sport as an "expensive hobby", with very little skill set around leading "the customer experience" at a public event... So don't set your expectations too high, and that way you won't be too disappointed.. Any "newbies" may not go back again, but the "die hards" who persuade them to go there, will, so no real net loss to the business.. Maybe it's worth copying and pasting some comments on this thread, ready for the next similar occurrence, to save time.. Then just change the names... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteelShoe 502 Posted March 30 7 hours ago, scunny1 said: Ok, can't do anything about a heavy downpour that was forecast on several weather apps. The promotor was straight out after the rain stopped, actually driving the tanker sucking the water off, so he was being very proactive in trying to get the meeting on. If the call had gone out for 20 odd volunteers to help sweep off the rain water, I am sure they would have helped. Even our number 7 , young Harrison , was keen to sweep the start finishing area! What was a major failing, was keeping the crowd informed and entertained. Just playing the same tape over and over was plain lazy ( All aboard, all aboard...!) What is the point having an announcer in the box if they are unable to communicate with the crowd. Why no rider interviews to break the boredom- new team members, new female etc? From the demeanour of the team manager and Worky captain, on their track walk after sterling remedial work, it was obvious they had no desire to ride. Don't know what Babs Horley was saying to the riders, but personally I have seen worse tracks raced upon? The second shower sealed the event end and finally a decision was forced. To cap it all , the farce to get tickets stamped/ refunds needs to be addressed. Surely someone could direct the crowd to what was happening , which side to queue, what procedures etc. Maybe the tickets should be date stamped as they are being sold on entering the stadium, just a thought? I only had to travel 5 miles home, but did wish the Workington fan parked next to me, a safe journey home for his wasted time and money. As others have said not a good opener, we must do better all round. Good post. I did feel for Rob and the team because it was such an unfortunate time to pour with rain on the season opener. He was indeed very proactive with track work and gave it his best shot. If that track had been at a more prestige event then it is my view the meeting would have taken place. You sum up well were things need to be improved from the point of view of the paying public. I feel that the crowd have the expectation of a call off decision in the circumstances experienced nowadays so either the referee has to be stronger in getting the meeting going or the decision not to race taken quicker. It was a hard call but with everyone already there I think the riders should have given it a go, the track would have only improved. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Moranboys 411 Posted March 30 1 hour ago, SteelShoe said: Good post. I did feel for Rob and the team because it was such an unfortunate time to pour with rain on the season opener. He was indeed very proactive with track work and gave it his best shot. If that track had been at a more prestige event then it is my view the meeting would have taken place. You sum up well were things need to be improved from the point of view of the paying public. I feel that the crowd have the expectation of a call off decision in the circumstances experienced nowadays so either the referee has to be stronger in getting the meeting going or the decision not to race taken quicker. It was a hard call but with everyone already there I think the riders should have given it a go, the track would have only improved. The meeting should have been called off following the initial downpour,at least then the worky supporters could have been on their way instead of waiting seventy minutes for the inevitable.On a further point,is the food ever going to go back to the standards it used to be.The steak pie which used to be awesome when it was the old catering facilities,is now tantamount to being horrible.£7.00 for dried steak pie,dried chips and peas?lesson learnt from yesterday.Also,what happens with the 50/50 draw? Why couldn't that have gone ahead and what happens with the money? Is it rolled over?also,the choice of music over the tannoy,was more akin to a damn nightclub banging in your head four and hour and a half.prob worse experience I've ever had at scunny. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
