mikebv

My first 'hero' as a seven year old in 74..... A true leader, fearless, and someone who showed clearly his feelings for the team rather than the individual... His book is a testimony to his humility and resilience. No self pity for him, and no regrets.. He comes across in his book as someone who feels blessed to have enjoyed the career he did and for him the chance to earn considerably more in one night's Speedway than a week in his 'real job' was something he appreciated greatly... Sometimes Legends are not only 'winners' those born with 'God given talent' and beat all who come before them, sometimes they are created by nothing more than a steely determination, will to win and out and out bravery... Wilkie was (and still is) a true BV Legend...

I wouldn't worry about them shooting themselves in the foot... With British Speedway they would bring Stevie Wonder in as the hit man...

With the field being assembled maybe it would be worth trying to do a streaming? Presume the meeting is not bound by any BSPA TV contract? The team who film the action at BV are excellent, with HD coverage, so maybe time to dip the toe in the water to see if it can attract an on line audience..? I would imagine if promoted well there would be a crowd of 2500 - 3000, so plenty of potential fans around the country to attract who cannot be there on the night..

Over the Easter weekend we will have the usual 'bumper crowds' press releases from various promotions around the country.. Sadly a 'bumper crowd' for many is now 1500 - 1800 whereas even just ten years or so ago, it was around 2500 - 3000.. And of that 1500 - 1800, how many actually attend again that season? Or perhaps more significantly, what is exactly done on the day to entice them back again?

Most tiny, minority sports with crowd levels similar to Speedway would kill to get the coverage British Speedway has enjoyed over the years. And given the opportunity you would also think that they would do a far better job in utilising this media vehicle to move their sport forwards.. I sometimes think those who run the sport in this country see it far differently than the general wider populace and in their eyes it is actually a bona fide 'proper' sport rather than a niche, cobbled together most nights, conduit, for riders to ride as many times as they can to earn enough money as possible to justify their outlay on machinery... The emotional connection to 'their team' , for many fans, is simply long gone due to the farcical way most meetings are now participated in by a 'whoever is available select team'. Therefore, not bothering to attend such a nonsense scenario, and keeping your hard earned in your pocket, is very much a distinct possibility (probability?) when you have an alternative to it by watching four lads in different coloured helmets compete in fifteen races on TV, regardless of whether 'your team' is being covered or not.. Watching racing on TV is now similar to watching it live when it comes to that emotional connection most weeks, therefore when you have paid for your subscription why pay more to attend something that isnt a true sporting contest and is also something you have very little emotional attachment too..? TV coverage isn't helping to 'kill' British Speedway, in fact it should have made it a big player given the tens of millions it has provided it with and the thousands of hours of coverage over the years.. Unfortunately those in charge haven't had a clue how to use either the money or the coverage to build Speedway in this country, and instead of haggling for 'how much' they want given, they should be very grateful TV are still interested in their tiny, insular, poorly ran Sport.. I attend Premier League football most weeks, with my team on live TV probably 80% of the time due to their pulling power in generating a TV audience. I pay a hell of lot more to watch them than I do BV... If however, my team allowed David De Gea to play for Arsenal one week, Chelsea the next and Liverpool the week after, do you think I and thousands of others would continue to pay to attend such nonsense? Of course not... Sort out the Sport by running it with integrity and credibility.. Until then no one can blame TV for reducing crowd levels...

Be careful they don't have you for copyright!! Hope you've reproduced it with permission...

Not all will agree with your last comment AO as some won't believe 'true fans' would ever miss a chance to see their team in action, but it is definitely true, as I do it now.. 'Iffy' weather has a huge bearing as you know deep in your heart that attending on a 'dodgy track' will often see you short changed from either the racing quality or simply the amount of races you get to see, (thirty times bitten, thirty one times shy). I find though at present that I miss more BV meetings to stay in and watch another match on TV, when the BV match has zero credibility due to it being another 'guestfest'... The irony is the match on TV has probably as much credibility as the one at the NSS however the difference is I am not forking out £30 for two people to attend it, instead paying BT £5.00 a month... Add in the fact that every meeting is now just a play off qualifier and for me it's not the TV being there that reduces the crowds (as proof, play off crowds are usually the best crowds of the year) it's the fact that what is served up doesn't justify paying out money to watch it when you can get your 'speedway fix' from the comfort of your armchair... Invariably now most matches are made up of an eclectic mix of competitors, from various random teams, cobbled together for 'one night only', so when you are prepared to take that for what it is, and are quite content to watch 'anyone' in the red, blue, white and yellow helmets go round, then you might as well do it in front of your TV, cold beverage in hand, snug in your own comfy armchair.... Simply, it's not TV coverage that reduces crowds, it's the way the Sport is ran...

Agree.. Only the tapes actually going up starts races so all the riders can only 'go' when that happens anyway.. If you go too early you risk the chance of touching the tapes and face possible exclusion... The only area of the start that requires fixing if you want to allow rides to move is that they can't be allowed to 'drop back' from the white line at the tapes as some do now so as to give themselves more space between the front wheel and the tapes, allowing them to roll forward more. But that is where the starting marshal and referee come in to ensure that doesn't happen and have strong consequence for any rider doing it.. It would give 'lesser riders' in particular a chance to get out in front in races that they would usually feel they didn't stand a chance in, and on the back of that it could possibly mean more passing as that races 'obvious favourite' would have to come from the back to win.. It would also add another psychological edge to the riders (and team managers) tactics as risks will be instructed to be taken as the meeting reaches conclusion and you need points. Also the crowd enagement it would engender as riders move, roll back, move again etc etc to seek an advantage, would deliver some much needed noise and atmosphere...

Wasn't it over £100k for a five camera production? Hence rain offs were a costly nightmare and everything was then done to put the meeting on whether conditions were 100% rideable (never mind raceable)..?

Spot on... The racing in the Colts meetings last year was great and if they keep the same price structure (£10 and free for kids) I am sure many will still go each week regardless of results... Development of the riders should always be the main objective at this level.. Let's be honest, the 'pinnacle' of winning the Premiership has zero kudos due to the way the sport is ran, so winning the second and third tiers of any sport ran like that doesnt really mean much... Let's hope for plenty of good racing and rider progression and the results will be what they will be..

Maybe the girls should be allowed to carry on but dress them like Emily Pankhurst....? Phwoooooaaaarrrrrrrr..... etc etc etc.....

Definitely 100% remember reading it in an interview with one of the ex MC promoters in the SS... He did explain the process but that not always first port of call was available, particularly when close to tapes up.. I remember he went on to say how hard the job was particularly when confronted by Promoters even threatening to close the track down if he didn't agree with what was being requested, making out that HE would be responsible for the demise of a track!! Don't envy the MC when so many rules are subjective and therefore by definition, prejudicial..

Can't remember which ex member of the MC said it, but in the SS one week a good while ago, he said promoters would ring round from one MC member to another until one of them eventually agreed with what that promoter wanted to do. Often asking for a decision to include a rider with literally minutes to tapes up... Basically they were looking for just one (any) MC member to interpret a rule the same way they had, thus giving them the green light.. Cannot run a Sport like that if it wants credibilty and to be viewed as 'professional'... In any sport (or indeed in any walk of life) where decision makers can be viewed as potentially acting with vested interest, then there is even more need for transparency with publicly detailed reasoning for any decisions reached...

Didn't Edinburgh used to have the 'main man' in the BSPA? Presume he made some decisions then that upset other Promoters..? Without an independent person(s) at the helm, you do naturally feel that there will always be some 'carry over' when power shifts.... Maybe by a bit of 'getting your own back' or simply (quite understandably) just covering your own teams interests now you have the opportunity to do so.. That independent body would certainly take away any thoughts of any special 'agenda' on the decisions reached.. Maybe those who make these decisions should be made to go public on how the decision was reached with every part of the appeal rejection explained in detail as to why it failed....? Edinburgh have explained publicly why they thought the appeal was valid, those 'in charge' should explain publicly why each of their points wasn't... Fans of the clubs feeling disadvantaged would still be brassed off I am sure but at least it would stop any conjecture and feelings of being hard done to... After all. Transparency was one of those key missions to be brought in to the sport wasn't it..?

There must be a 'mean average' % correlation for those riders who doubled up.... Therefore use that as the conversion figure.. Eg Last year Bomber was 8.44 PL and 7.63 EL therefore +10.6%.. Do that for every rider and then use the mean % increase.. Not ideal (what is when using such a system that is so easily manipulated as averages?) and there are many anomalies eg riding at reserve in the EL but second string in the PL etc, but it is surely a better system than making it up as you go along rider by rider? You can then benchmark new riders against their 'peers' based on riding in the same leagues abroad.. eg Bombers performance in Poland can be used allied to his British average to corelate more accurately any riders coming over who rode in the same Polish league as him last year... ie if Bombers average over here in the top league is 7.63 and a new rider rides in the same League in Poland and ran an average equal to Bomber then he comes in on a 7.63 average.. The more leagues that both riders race in in Europe the more those disparate figures are used to more accurately measure strengths.. Nothing is ever going to be totally accurate but at least it would be transparent..

They are covering Speedway (the GP's) maybe that is the contract they were referring to?

Cradley will have seven 'guests'... A good few tracks (as is often the case every year) will run at some stage during the season with four 'guests' and rider replacement... Not that much different is it? Both scenarios being farcical, however.. This is British Speedway don't forget, so hardly any surprise there... And fans are more than well used to it by now, so those who still attend will accept any nonsense put out before them... So fair play to those in charge for continually serving it up...

Presume if there are any clashes as the season moves on and matches get rearranged to squeeze them in towards the end of the season, they will use a 'Guest' manager....? + or - 5% of his age, depending if home or away?...

Spot on... Using this system delivers year on year, for the past heaven knows how long, the team at the top around 50 points better off than the team at the bottom yet they both started "equal"...

More to do with basic economics I think.. Anyone would have wanted Woryna on that average but whether they could have afforded him is another matter.. I would imagine he is getting a few quid more than many other 4.65 riders!!! Matt Ford knows his business so knows a successful Poole team brings in the crowds and an 'also ran' Poole team doesn't... It is quite a unique set up in British Speedway I would suggest as they seem to be the only club who do generate regular "big" crowds for domestic league meetings when doing well and then also have a significant drop when doing not so well.. Cannot think of any other club that has such a disparate crowd level based on performance as most now just run in front of pretty much the same people every week regardless of whether successful or not.... Cannot knock him for speculating to accumulate...

Because it is British Team Speedway... Ran in an amateur, no doubt well meaning, self policing way... As you say, a simple matrix of performances around the globe would deliver a figure which could be used by all to determine the vast majority of riders position in the 'grand scheme of things'.. Amazing that a Sport which (over here) slavishly uses averages doesn't then use even more information that's available to more accurately assess each individuals overall level... No Sport ran with professional, clear, independent leadership, would allow such contrived and subjective nonsense to take place each year like Speedway in this country does..... Speedway sadly, unlike properly ran (and ergo often successful) Sports in Britain, doesnt have that leadership frame work in place...... And unfortunately it appears, never will.... It's more of the same old, same old, year on year nonsense I am afraid.. We should be used to it by now though...

After meeting with Poland, Denmark and Sweden at that 'International Speedway Council' thing and agreeing Monday and Thursday as their 'priority nights' in the International calendar, (and then subsequently changing it to Monday and Wednesday which clashes with Denmark's night).. Maybe, just maybe, the Poles are a bit peed that the BSPA went their own way and want to show them who the 'Boss' really is? Hence still enforcing the three League rule...? Everyone must have left that meeting thinking there was a clear vision for the Sport domestically around Europe's leagues. Something the Poles in particular have been wanting for the past five years or so... Then it changed. ..

Brilliant VFM at the Colts... £10 for me and the lad... Perhaps even too good when you compare it to the £25 we pay collectively for a Premiership match?.. Do they allow kids in anywhere in Speedway without adults for free? The key to it is that teenagers need to be able to attend on their own should they wish, as not many will want to attend anywhere that your Dad and Granddad attends. Very uncool! For me, all tracks should encourage as many "schoolkids" as possible by letting them all in for free at every meeting, especially those around 14/15 and 16 as these are the ones who may just carry on attending when they start work... Let's face it, hardly any of that age bracket attend now so no great loss to any club in income...

So it was 58% of your weekly spends on Speedway.. Nowadays for my 14 year old lad it would be £8 to get in, £3 for the prog and £2 for the bus... £13... To deliver the same ratio I would have to give him £22 a week spends! In his dreams... Not only that but getting 11 of his mates' parents to cough up £13 a night for Speedway might also be a 'tad' difficult.. "Dad, can I go to watch Speedway with James at Belle Vue?" "Blimey, Speedway? Is that still going? I used to go to Belle Vue myself when I was your age, Peter Collins was the best one, he was brilliant. Course you can, how much is it?" "To get in, buy a programme and bus fare its £13 so with some food I'll need about £20" "How @#£×÷¥₩ much? Just to watch Speedway? You're having a laugh lad!"...

As we know through it happening several times before at a good few tracks, dropping the price significantly will deliver a crowd usually in high double digit percentage growth from the norm, (sometimes much more than that when done for free!)... The issue lies in getting them to come back and pay full price... It shows the demand can still be there though for Speedway to attract a decent crowd, just not at full price... I always am amazed that when tracks do a "special" it almost seems to be considered guaranteed that everyone in attendance will naturally come back the week after as nothing ever appears to be done 'extra' to attract them back.. You would think some kind of further discount tickets for say the next six meetings would be sold to try and at least get people who may used to go, back into the habit of attending Speedway and for complete newbies give them time to get to understand the Sport and build recognition and to become fans of certain riders... As has been mentioned many times, when you do a 'Special' get emails, get mobile numbers, names and addresses etc etc to target them to return.... It almost seems a complete waste of time and effort reducing the price at most tracks, as it often appears that this one idea to reduce the price of admission is 100% of the marketing plan rather than being just the first initial part of a much more in depth and thought out strategy to grow the fanbase...