mikebv

"Buy One - Get A Team Place"...

Who cares? The biggest issue of all for the sport (in the UK), is that "winning a league" has zero kudos, no large financial rewards, nor any meaningful media coverage... All down to its lack of credibility... With that as your starting point, it has no chance.. Indeed, any professional sport that ran with such a laughable system would get treated exactly the same... If you havent got enough riders to run seven man teams, then dont.. Instead, change the team structure to suit the supply... Eg Take two riders out from each team so you have a surplus to replace injuries and fixture clashes.. Eg Run with. Two heat leaders, two second strings, one reserve.. Riders obviously need "two jobs" it would appear, so those who ride abroad for one club can ride also for one club over here, riders who already ride for two clubs abroad dont get contracted to ride over here.. All these riders are then on stand by to temporarily replace missing riders in either league if their average fits.. Those lads not riding abroad then double up over here... There are ways you could try and change the system and make winning in UK Speedway actually mean something.. It is clear that those in charge choose not to... And quite correctly they have the right to do so, as they put their money in.. But by the same token, no one should then be surprised that the sport gets such a minimal following, with hardly any public awareness and media coverage, and cannot get "big brands" to associate itself with it... Poland know that they would be in exactly the same place as UK Speedway if it ran with our domestic operating model.. Hence, they dont..

True... It might cost you a whole £50 or so of takings such are the 1000's of teenagers who attend now....

Very, very rarely do you have so many injuries, with, in the main, one rider missing at most.. The main issue is that riders ride on so many nights that an injury on a Monday sees them missing Tuesday and maybe Wednesday.. Then they are back again on Thursday to rinse and repeat.. If they only rode in one division, once a week then they have seven days to improve their health, or provide the clubs with time to bring in a temp signing.. Obviously the major stumbling block to the whole speedway operating model is the 2nd Division... All down to them wanting to be at a level higher than what the 2nd Division should be at.. Which is a stepping stone between Div 3 and Div 1, or a "retirement home" for vastly experienced riders.. The tail of the 2nd Div certainly wags the Div 1 dog... Using the same riders means two teams get impacted though injury, so two meetings then use credibility destroying guests... The clear issue is that to make ends meet (and be seen as a pro sportsman), riders have to race in both leagues, therefore the UK Speedway leaders slavishly follow the guest system because, quite frankly, it is easy to do.. And boosts the riders income too.. The sport needs a root and branch review as to how its own operating model undermines it's own standing amongst its peer sports and reduces its fan base.. But, as we know, it will never happen..

The issue is that hardly any families go, so "special" targeted offers are needed.. The 'die hard' middle aged (and older), people will still attend as they have shown week in week out.. And never mind double amounts needed, to make it pay, you can have a million times no families attending, and you still have nothing... As for 16 to 18 year olds? Let them in too for nothing... These people dont attend, so expecting them to go somewhere and stand with your dad and grandad is pretty much a non starter for the vast majority of them.. Teenagers hunt in packs with mates so let as many in as want to come.. You are not losing a penny by having them there, and it might make the crowd seem bigger so give some atmosphere.. And you will sell some burgers.. And might, just might, get a few to take up following the sport later and pay to get in..

Agreed, however, even Mcd's and other big business's have "bad days" when they let their customers down.. Even if families dont return you havent lost anything only gained, as they are not going now... Energy Bill's will soon be going up by as much as 40% so that is even more of a hit to disposable income, which will push Speedway even further down the priority listing...

Just use a guest for the away leg. Or (all hypothetically obviously), as an example, if the Aces could use Tai for home meetings only, then you could run RR away and Fricke and Kurtz take all his rides.. A highly competitive meeting I would suggest, with the best riders on show the most times, earning money that someone from another team would get if a guest was used, and keeping the "team spirit and ethos".. And many guests are not down to injury anyway but fixture clashes due to poor planning eg U21 Championships ran on league nights, fixtures being planned on FIM meeting practice nights or the meeting night itself, rearranging called off meetings knowing your Dane has to be in Denmark on the date you propose to run etc.. You can't have any credibility using a guest system (for any reason). As you simply wont be taken seriously by media, big sponsors and fans. So, if you want to persist with it (and it is clear they do), then embrace it, and at least make it advantageous to help the sport grow.. Winning at home is the overriding key to success (with success for many clubs not being measured in titles as "who really cares?" given the lack of any tangible rewards), but rather success is reaching the season end and opening again the next year... So facilitate some operating model that can inspire fans to attend to see some "superstars", and by using them only once a week it might become viable.. Or carry on doing the same old/same old as this works so well doesnt it?

A family ticket should be £20 to £25 tops, 2 adults and as many kids free as you want to bring... If nothing else, the promoters that own their own track will make on the coffee, burgers and maybe even a bit of memorabilia... These people are not there now so absolutely nothing to lose... And you dont need "repeat purchases"... Just keep targeting families to turn up and if some become regulars then great, but if lots just go once instead of being sat at home, you have still increased your revenue.. The beauty of those with young kids especially is that their social circle is invariably those within the same situation, so word of mouth can also be a great 'marketing technique'... Huge businesses like McDonalds build their massively profitable kids party numbers by parents endorsing them to others.. Amazing too, how many kids who attend these parties, then become regular customers as they get older.. Who would have thought it worked like that..?

Imagine a newbie going to Ipswich a week later and finding that the Aces best rider that they had watched the week before at the NSS, was actually Ipswich's No1 rider...

Get what you are saying, but also telling your mates that you can improve your own teams chances of winning at any given moment, by borrowing a better rider from a rival team may sound even more ridiculous.. For me, and many, many others, the sport doesnt have much credibility (in the UK), but can still be an excellent entertaining night out, and if you had a name which attracts if nothing else "lapsed fans" who recognise him, it would boost crowds by a large double digit % amount I would suggest.. For those who still attend regularly the sport's "unique irregularities" are clearly accepted by them as "fine", so from a loss of customer base angle, whatever those who run the sport do is pretty much "bomb proof" so crowds will loyally remain... Getting newbies to attend regularly (in fact just getting them to become newbies by attending at all), is a major challenge, so getting the many lapsed tens of thousands of fans who still have an interest, and still follow the sport very closely, is vital... I would suggest that there are far more fans of the sport who dont attend regularly, than those who do, and these people will be more fans of the sport than any team in particular.. In the UK "Team Speedway" is a bit of a misnomer with its context being stretched to it's most tenuous breaking point.. Therefore. Having, for example, Nicki P riding for Wolves on a Monday, against the Aces, and Tai riding for the Aces on a Thursday against Wolves, would generate a fair few hundred extra through the turnstiles at both venues.. Bottom line is that they would have a far greater impact on the sports' future growth than any fans being disgruntled by a bit of a "contrived" ruling.. As, let's face it, it's not like there isnt enough of that going on already, so a bit more (but this time some "contrived rules" which positively impact, the sport), wouldnt raise too many eyebrows.. Sad it wont happen and we will no doubt end up with more of the uninspiring "same old, same old" next season...

If any sport lent itself to having a "drop in" competitor it is Speedway. (In the UK)... Any team can have any rider on any night, therefore a 'drop in rider' is part and parcel of the sport already.. Basically the set up is just designed to achieve (at least) six riders for each team, each meeting, (could be any riders at all as long as it comes within a certain average number), and we are then good to go.. Can't see too much impact to team spirit if one of your team is there, then isnt, then is, then isnt again etc etc.. And through the season plenty of riders will invariably "drop in" and align themselves with their "team mates" maybe even just for one evening only.. A shame it couldnt happen at every top level track, as the fans would definitely respond in numbers, and clubs wouldn't need to find money to pay for two meetings from their one match income.. Maybe even the Eurosport cash could be used to assist paying a "superstar" at each track..? As for Sweden? Considering it appears that many believe it is in financial meltdown, a good many "superstars" have already signed on the dotted line, so you can only presume that they have confidence in getting paid... Maybe the Aces could persuade Dan B to drop Sweden? I presume Woffy wasnt coming "cheap" so could a fair proportion of this salary be put in front of Dan?

Top six written all over it that septet..... Edit. Can you confirm that it is Jason and not Phil you have listed at No 4....?

For me, if Tai rode for the Aces and only did home meetings.... I would take his home average and divide it by 2 to calculate his overall average.. eg. If he went unbeaten around the NSS all season and got a 12 point average when it is divided by two it becomes a 6.... That would be fair......

One year I went they were called the 'SEKUD'... Well. '09 SEKUD' to be precise... At least that was how the signs that the cheerleaders held up read when the centre green presenter had asked them to show us on the back straight what they were holding up to the main stand on the home straight.... Top notch presentation.... And has it got much better?

No? Really?

One of the major issues the sport had when the 'superstars' rode over here was exactly the fact that they were quite often missing at away meeting, so it wouldn't be a 'new thing'.... Bizarrely. Teams would actually agree to meetings away knowing that they were going to be without their 'star man' who could be in an FIM meeting that weekend, or his own National Championships.. Strangely though, it seldom happened at home that way with the 'superstar' generally always being available except for injury... As for RR? It is a system that unfortunately isn't fit for purpose yet so easily could be... No 1 missing? Then all riders in the team can take his rides if the manager so wishes, up to a maximum seven each... eg. The other two heat leaders could take all his rides and still do Ht 15 together... Much better for the sports credibility than using a guest system, which ultimately destroys its credibility stone dead..

You see... That is EXACTLY the 'out of the box' thinking that the sport needs... We currently have adhoc guest riding now, so having it already planned in as part of "THE PLAN" can only be a benefit for the sport... Bomber and Scott could be time tabled in to ride Monday to Sunday for every team, rather than having them do so on such an adhoc basis like currently exists.. We will obviuosly need another "go to" guest now Rory has retired so "feelers" should be put out to see who wants this incredibly important position in UK Speedway.. Maybe send your idea to the BSPL Lefty...?

Not sure if he did a full season as he had been retired for a couple of years..

1984. He came back to ride for Exeter, but only rode in home meetings..

You could if they all did it... And I would suggest it is an ideal way of making it affordable given you only pay out for the one meeting to the "superstar", and then pay out "normal money" for guests or RR away from home... Speedway (in the UK), due to the way it is operated, isnt like other professional sports where winning a trophy can actually mean something, (eg financial reward, brand image reputation and kudos, and publicity for sponsors etc etc) so it should just market itself well enough to try and bring in increased crowds any way shape it can to build a better future.. Getting each team with a "superstar" would be a good start to this aim..

A shame if Tai doesnt ride over here as it would be a huge plus for the sport in the UK having his name attached to it.. If it is true he only wanted to ride home matches only, then surely a way could have been found to allow that to happen.. Just use guests or RR away from home.... As, lets face it, its not as if such contrived, "let's just make it up", situations are uncommon in UK Speedway is it? The facility is there so use it. It may make the league a bit less credible but not too much less credible than it already is I would suggest.. It would also only mean paying out for one meeting, not two, out of the attendance income, which maybe would have made it all viable to do... And possibly could have been a trailblazer for other top riders to do the same. ie just ride their respective teams' home matches... Having Tai (and possibly others of his level at every track in the top league) would have a far greater positive impact to the sports attendances I would say than any increases brought by any team actually winning any title...

Maybe, but let's be honest... A 'successful team' still wont generate even another (in reality) low number of 500 or so every week, (500 though being a huge % increase amazingly), as has been proven at most tracks.... The play off system seems to prevent incremental growth throughout a successful season, but does give a higher than usual (but still not massive), attendance in the 'semi', and a minimum 100% increase, (or maybe more?) of a usual attendance in the final.. The Aces have been "successful" in the main since going to the NSS and attendances are week on week not much different whether doing well or not... The sport is pretty much down to die hards who will rock up to watch it in whatever guise it is, no matter how 'their team' is doing.. And, ironically, as long as your die hards stay with you, a 'poor season' might actually be better financially...

As you will know more than most Phil, there has been many a year over the past 20 or so when the Aces have been pretty much cannon fodder.... Yet even when having pretty much zero chance of a successful season, crowds held up reasonably well, with the only year I remember being 'dodgy' was the one where we re-signed Jason Crump after a walloping off Wolves at home. Desperately needed at the time as crowds were becoming 'worrying' after several defeats on the bounce.. Unlike some teams, the Aces seem to have a loyal following who will be there regardless of how the team is doing... One of the very few pluses of the sport being virtually ignored by the media, and having pretty much zero financial gain and publicity by winning any title, means that fans (in the main), put the sport first before their team, and, regardless of results, many will still be there most weeks to watch the 'entertainment' on offer... And the NSS definitely provides that, and Max Fricke will certainly be worth watching in particular..

Tai would 100% put 600 on the gate at the NSS However.. I doubt it would be every week after the novelty wears off... When the Aces moved over crowds were, I would suggest, around 400 to 500 or so more than they currently run with (Friday and Saturday night racing obviously), and, I would also suggest, the Aces have around 3000 or so "followers" who attend in various degrees of regularity.. So getting around 600 more initially wouldnt be beyond being capable.. Unfortunately the inherent problem the sport has is that it spends far too much on riders who dont bring people in through the turnstiles, and so very little in comparison on marketing the sport strongly enough, which could bring people in to watch it... Woffy really could be "manna from heaven" for the sport in general, however, given the lack of cohesion and petty nonsense that goes on, you just know that even if he did come, the huge marketing opportunity for UK Speedway would be wasted and the opportunity to almost relaunch the domestic offering with Tai, Fricke and Doyle, would be lost..

For any team it is a big risk to sign any "Superstar" I would suggest.. You will inevitably get that "novelty bounce" and have "Bumper Crowds" for maybe the first few weeks.. (Bearing in mind, "Bumper Crowds" are probably only 500 to 800 more or so in real terms given the ultra low starting points for so many clubs).. Then, when the novelty wears off, it will become interesting to see how sustainable it all would be.. Especially as we can watch these "Superstars" many times a week in Sweden, Poland, SEC, and the GP's via TV... Ironically the away teams would be the ones who could benefit the most given they would have a "Superstar" visiting and wont be paying him anything.. Having someone like Tai over here would be a huge shot in the arm for the sport though, so, for once, maybe all should work together to make it happen, and all share the rewards of having him ride here, as collectively all should benefit... With even the most basic marketing strategy to announce his presence being enough to get some cut through locally at each track..