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I’ve told this before but it is relevent about schools, back around 20 years ago when the sport had the speedway riders association we had monthly meetings where various issues/problems/ ideas were discussed, one of the ideas was to visit schools to promote the sport and we the SRA would send 2 or 3 riders to each one(whoever lived closest to the school) as there was a bit of money in the pot we would fund the travel expenses ourselves, so come the AGM me,Craig boyce and Shane Parker sat at the table with all the promoters and told them what we would like to do except we didn’t tell them how it would be paid for and all we got back was it costs too much money and not worth doing for the cost and in a nutshell went down like a lead balloon and quickly moved on too the next subject, over the years I’ve done various promotions for different teams, been to shopping centres, rugby matches, ice hockey matches and other days and even took my bikes to the scouts one night and to a car show and still do Telford off road show every year, I don’t know how much success any of them have but to me we need to be everywhere no matter how small the presence or significance is, a lot of tiny things put together make a big thing, you do nothing you get nothing

Or get Eddie Kennett in for opening night then go with your plan match 2 to season end or Niki Pederson for another one of those awesome first corners.

The thing is surely it's better to have a bunch of 18-24 year olds in for £15-£18... + maybe burger, chips and a pint (I know some tracks don't receive catering money) rather than none at £25. Speedway's pricing structure is so rigid, you go from next to nothing as a non adult to a massive £25 minimum as an adult whatever your age. As a sport with such an aging supporter base there doesn't seem to be any middle ground for the next generation of supporter.

Didn't White City do just that in the mid 70's?

We use to have a maths lesson plan based around scoring and averages that could be tailored to different age groups and abilities. I’ll have to dig it out. The mainstays of Belle Vues school visits have sadly passed away in the last couple of years. It was always well received with a few newbies coming along. Keeping them was/is the problem.

Harry has been all over the press / TV talking about his horse this week. Maybe in the next few weeks he could use the same contacts to promote speedway, the sport he has been made a figure head of 🤔

Easy to compare £45 with £75 when you are the father and his two sons with the choice to make.....

Is it Plymouth who have utilised local students to build their website and advertising? Young, creative thinkers and innovators, is exactly what the sport needs... And I would imagine, and hope, that their line of attack is a bit more than.. "0-60 faster than an F1 car"... "No brakes"... "It's a family sport".. Etc, etc, etc... All clichéd, unsuccessful, decades old, sound bites... Glasgow with the distribution of free tickets to existing fans to share around with family, friends, workmates etc is a great idea and seems to be working... Those who can actually promote and market Speedway do seem to do "quite well" even in today's world where so many are chasing disposable income..

Well, at least Northampton have achieved twice as much publicity on this Forum as any other club with two threads running....

Instead of doubling up and down why not double the fixtures instead like we used to have. a meaningful league with promotion and relegation settled via play offs while the team who tops the league are crowned champions would mean every meeting meaningful.

In a word, no! 99% of the population would not know the name of or recognise any speedway rider if they stood at a bus stop. This is why I have previously said that if British speedway were brave enough organise an affordable sport structure without trying to retain certain riders as a top priority, the current so called stars will not be missed in a few years time. Being blunt, get rid of doubling up. If riders can’t afford to stay in the sport, go part time or quit. Targeted new followers of the sport (which are vital) will not give a damn, so long as racing is competitive and their own new hero’s will emerge. Common business strategy I would have thought.

I can see where you ate coming from but saying they can't afford to make it less just means they ultimately get less - eg £0

Quote from September 2025 , then nothing , would be interested to know what "hands off" would be like ? The 78-year-old is determined to play a hands-on role in boosting speedway’s visibility and believes the sport is poised for a major resurgence.

Or the next Jesper B Jensen (Monberg)... or the many others who were heading in the wrong direction until they had something to focus on.

The custodians of this sport are truly unwaveringly poor at what they do aren't they? I don't know what the opposite of the "Midas Touch" is... But they always seem to have it.

https://tru7.com/a-new-chapter-ipswich-witches/

Park made a big deal about being Swindon speedway’s director both in person and in writing. However, he only became a director in 2017 and probably had little or no knowledge of speedway. Now he claims to be an expert just in time for a big payday!

Vintage races are Jade Mudgway & Theo Pijper for Redcar vs Stuart Swales and Stuart Robson for Newcastle. 🤣

Welcome to all of their fans... it's only fair they have their own topic thread 👍🏻

While he is a Numpty in your eyes .He certainly promotes Motorcycle Sports more than anyone.

After a disappointing finish in today's Gold Cup, maybe Harry's horse 'The Jukebox Man' could be Northampton's new number 1.

Yep... 1977... What a season... I went to every home match and quite a few away... But we did have Gordon Kennett riding to a 10 point average... And the likes of Marek Cieslak, Kai Niemi, Steve Weatherley and Trevor Geer all maintaining a 6 or 7 point average... So a really solid team backed up by riders like Mike Sampson and Paul Gachet more than holding their own at no.7... Try putting a team like that together now...!!! Good luck...

He's put in one hell of a shift since coming on board for speedway at the back end of last year for sure.

It’s up on the site now, £14.99.

You are dead right Dean, I, as a joint partner, run an event 3 times a year and have done for the last 37 years, the best form of publicity is visiting other similar events , having a trade stall with our event advertised on a billboard, with a box full of advertising leaflets for the public to help themselves to, and also handing a booking form leaflet to the other stallholders. Last week I was at Ledbury Grasstrack autojumble, this week I will be at Malvern showground and Cheddar VMCC event on the 25th, flyers will be handed out, traders will be leafleted, some of the mud chucked at the wall will stick hopefully ? You are advertising to your target audience of traders and motorcycle loving public, while going into schools is fine, a stall at a local autojumble, village fete, grass track, Motor cross event, vehicle show, etc. in an area close to a speedway venue costs very little, could be staffed by volunteers, a bike could be on display, and there is every chance you have an interested audience. Whether a bit of celebrity endorsement works ? the jury is out on that one ? Facebook If I was anything to do with Oxford speedway, I would be courting that Numpty Henry Cole, while the bloke is marmite, he has a huge social media reach to his audience and is local to Oxford

Not yet but wont be long

All they need now are some riders and they've cracked it..

Quoting from the Comets statement.. "..and goes against the agreement to abolish cans and bottles within the arena —"

Don't think draught beer will be on. Think they are still doing cans only, It's the problem of people bringing their own booze into the stadium, as said in the statement it goes against licenceing laws, and reduces any money the club could make,. Also as said in statement nearly all venues restrict taking own drinks/ food into said place

FIM have live meeting coverage for Inzell. Both meetings for Euro 9.90 or you can get a season pass for 15.90. Seems good value to me.

Thank you, I’ll be coming down to iwade a couple of times this year to ride on my old bikes in some meetings that they putting on

I think this is all well and good for those currently showing an interest in Speedway and it may very well show up in people's algorithm's for those that have an interest in motorcycle sports, which traditionally the sport hasn't really attracted as they can't go out and buy one of the machines to ride on the road. But only a paid ad campaign, such as the one I've been going on about for British Horse Racing, will get it shoved under peoples noses. I don't know why I keep seeing it recently as I've never shown any interest in horses on YouTube, maybe it's because I'm a resident of Leicester that have a race track or maybe everybody is seeing it, I don't really know enough about it... but I am certainly aware of British Horse Racing now 🤷‍♂️

How many times have we heard stories of how sport... Boxing for example... has taken someone whose life might have been heading in the wrong direction and turned them around... Why can't Speedway... which can certainly provide the adrenaline boost and excitement that many might be craving... do something similar?

Far too old..... However, if they need a consultant I am quite reasonable cost wise nowadays as I am retired.... It is about awakening or re-engaging people to the existence of the sport... Fast, punchy, quick sound bites, a few controversial comments from riders, managers, fans, "this track is sh*t" etc, film the mechanics, pit staff, fans, reaction to races as they unfurl, and the end of the race, with a wrap up at the end advertising the next meeting and an invite to subscribe... Most tracks will have a college or uni nearby with media courses, where "young people", all wanting a career in audio/visual productions, could be brought in to do the filming, interviewing and editing.. And all potentially using the college/uni equipment with just a cost for expenses... "If you don't ask"... Polish TV do a very good magazine programme using similar techniques, where riders get asked two or three questions max pre meeting, races are filmed from the pits and usually all you see are long shots of first bends, and bikes whizzing past the pit crew who are on the fence, and then the bikes returning to the pits with the rider either shouting with joy, or swearing!! And then they show a few seconds of the mechanics working furiously on the bike ready for the next race whilst the rider points out what he wants.. All no more than 30 seconds spent on any moment.. Reflecting the attention span of most who watch visual media these days...

Think youve typed yourself into a job there Mike

United do... U16 - £190 (a tenner a match) 16/17 - £275 (under £15 a match) 18/20 - £413 (under £22 a match)... 21 and over pay adult prices, cheapest is £29 a match.. And that has risen with "Glazernomics".. Still good value though fo encourage the younger sections of society to attend...

Are any clubs offering a "young adult" ticket? I heard on the radio the other night that Nottingham Forest FC are reintroducing their young adult ticket, other football clubs seem to do similar scheme offering 25% discount for 18-24 year olds 🤔

And Richard Lawson.... Edit. And obviously Scott if no TV duties come about...

Keep a space open for bomber . He’ll be there most weeks

If Tungate is one they will definitely need to find guests when he misses the Stansted flight 😂

Another Shambles,you really could not make this up. Must be the congested fixture list.🤔

Agree but if Northampton flops it could have the opposite effect on those groups trying to bring tracks back, it really needs to succeed to benefit the sport overall.

I was at the last couple of Wembley World Finals which had crowds of 80,000 plus... Ole Olsen & Bruce Penhall... To think that the GP will now only get 14,000 shows just how far the sport has fallen... If I had my way I'd bring back the one off World Final... along with the various qualifying rounds... They were great occasions... Meanwhile, Northampton Speedway... Speedways version of The Masons... continues under it's cloak of secrecy...

At the start of last year Speedway Star asked supporters for their opinions on how to improve British Speedway and I was lucky enough to have my own article published. In that piece I made the point that it should be made compulsory by the BSPL that ALL UK teams should visit a minimum of three primary schools in the local vicinity of their tracks in pre-season between January and March. It's their duty to promote both themselves and the sport to the local community, as research suggests the attention span for sports develops around the ages of six to seven while they are susceptible to social influence between eight and ten. Introducing pupils to an exciting new sport they may never have heard of before with bikes on display with a couple of riders present would be the perfect way to promote the sport. Visits to school fetes at the height of the season in summer needs to be compulsory too.

Order of priority International National Premiership Championship Know your place

Vintage races are Jade Mudgway & Theo Pijper for Redcar vs Stuart Swales and Stuart Robson for Newcastle

Ryan and Luke both raced in yesterdays amateur meeting, and both put in some very impressive performances, especially Ryan pulling off some fantastic moves to beat Jake Mulford three times, and recording a time of 59.36 too!

I saw him at Scunny at weekend. I tried to take a photo, but my phone was stuck on zoom and I only got his arm

Great news. I wish the Northampton promotion the very best of luck and I hope it's a success.

Completely agree, the negativity on here has been pretty staggering. At least let it happen before slagging it off! Its been happening for a long time, all the best to everybody involved.