waytogo28

This could easily be the scenario which turns out to be an accurate prediction.

We had very much the same situation with KB the season before last ( at King's Lynn ) when if he did not gate he seemed to lose interest ( or confidence ) which resulted in a lot of disappointment on the terraces. As the season wore on he regularly failed to hold on to his scoring position even when he did gate. It looked as if the same kind of problem was developing at Leicester. The difference is that the KL promotion let him retain his team place throughout the season. The fans lost all enthusiasm for him. Mind you he moved on to Belle Vue and had a cracking season. Quite what is behind such slumps only he knows.

Sadly I believe that a UK Grand Prix event run at every track as often as possible with all riders scoring points ( that add up to prizes ) would likely attract more attention from the general public that does not show any interest in team speedway. This might well catch on - if marketed correctly and create the new fans that will be the only possible saviour of speedway in the UK If it can be saved. That kind of open NO team racing might sweep away 50 or even 70% of existing fans but be replaced by 250,000+ fans of the new style speedway sport in the UK. Us tired fans ( especially us older tired fans ) have become bored with what we see now ( and how it is run ) and this NO team speedway might catch on. Especially with simpler, cheaper bikes maybe 250cc. It would not be speedway as we know it but that is on the verge of extinction. You would end up with a top 100 ranking ( something as in golf which throws up a new winner to surprise us all ) And Yes! Riders should pay to enter, sharing those fees plus a %age of the gate money. New fans must be attracted as changing just the existing tracks or bikes and keeping everything as it is, is unlikely to work.

That has been the case for me less and less and less entertainment and overall VFM. What has kept me going to King's Lynn for the past five years has been to watch Robert Lambert. Seeing him develop from a 15 year old to 20 year old has been a wonderful racing experience. Much of the rest of it has been, for me, a sideshow.kind of support event. Cheers, Robert! Good luck at Cardiff.

I wonder what he puts The Great Fan Exodus down to then? If it were better than Poland, Sweden or anywhere else for that matter the terraces would be heaving! OR even as good as 50 years ago. It is not rose-tinted glasses that drew me back time and time again to tracks all over the country between 1965 ( when I really started travelling to away matches as a fan of speedway racing - not just my own team ) and 2000. After that, it was local matches only ( around East Anglia ). Once four matches in a day. The love affair is nearly over.

Do you think that it is now a collective policy by the BSPA NOT to respond, even to constructive feedback, from supporters? That is how our small group became so disillusioned when the local promotion failed to even say "Ta, thanks" to our joint constructive points, put forward three years ago. And that was in response to a request in the programme for fans to do just that - come up with ideas!

I think motivating supporters is an almost impossible task because we have had 20 years of total submission / acceptance of continuing to pay to see what the BSPA put on. Very few care enough to form some kind of Supporters Action Team because they realise that we have no power to put pressure on Promoters, collectively or individually. It is they who will decide on the destiny of the sport here and whether or not it reaches the Centenary in 2028. There will still be a few tracks racing amateur speedway matches and these will be staffed and organised by grassroots enthusiasts. Or, will speedway be just another lost sport...

I feel that that is the case. The BSPA will go on with their pointless changes within UK speedway until there are 2-300 fans at tracks ( or less ) and it is kept going by sponsors who also dream they are "running a major sport" when in fact merely a handful of the general public have an interest in it. Truly the emperor's new clothes syndrome at it's best.

No, it is not raining in Mallila at the moment.

They could and have made almost anything happen AND more to come re 2019. Will it be for the betterment of the UK sport? Interesting to see what the SS prints next week from the fans point of view. Let's hope they collected some of the feelings expressed on the BSF.

King's Lynn V Poole would indeed make a speedway racing spectacle. All change please BT. And up to the minute topical in UK speedway ( as was Aces V Rebels to be ).

Many clubs may be nearing bankruptcy but their owners are very unlikely to be, except in a few personally tragic circumstances. It's the rich what get's their pleasure and the poor ( fans ) what get the blame. The blame for the failure of the "bring a new friend every week".

That is one of my few skills and I am willing to draft something for that purpose SS but it seems that it is you and I at the coal face. I had hoped to pick up one or two from a wide variety of tracks who could take the survey to tracks this season ( ASAP ). If we cannot attract others to the cause ( perhaps they feel it is a lost cause? ) is there any point in continuing? A letter from two supporters is unlikely to be even read by Promoters, however well written.

Could Auty's average be filed down a bit to fit? Is there a way someone could do a Matt Ford to shoehorn him in? Choosing between those two I prefer Garrity although I do not know how long he will last in the team. Implode with Buster or explode on the track. The three meetings next week might be about the extent of it.

Do you think we can find the extra 250,000 new fans to fill these stadiums regularly? That's a tenfold increase on the support the sport now has in the UK. Or will the 100 supporters at each track pay a lot more to get in?

So mechanical restrictions are the only way forward, as many have said on here. Bikes de-tuned massively by whatever means ( will last longer too ) carburation, sleeving, electronics. Even simple 350's with no tuning permitted. The customer rightly or wrongly does not want to see tapes to flag "racing" or is it chasing. Promoters must sell what customers, old and new want to see or they must close down the tracks. Changing the tracks is beyond our resources but changing the existing bikes is not.

You and me and any number of other eager volunteers. I will pay for 1,000 surveys to be printed after we get the permission of the King's Lynn promotion to distribute them at an upcoming match.

We have a new anthem at King's Lynn for that purpose - Clap , Clap, Clap, Clap , Clap , Clap ( Come rain or shine )

It's in the BSPA rulebook as a Supplementary Reg, All fans with an opinion not in line with the Promotion and who have an independent outlook, must be charged an additional entrance fee.

I feel that the first matter to be dealt with is - are the BSPA open to hearing from a Supporters Group and seriously considering their merged ideas ( those a majority of "members" can agree on as being essential ). Unless we can establish a core group via the BSF and tackle this issue we cannot move forward very much. I think if a group can be set up then getting a survey along the lines of the one recently posted on here ( that was first done 20 years ago ) would be a priority. If we can recruit 1 or 2 activists ( or more ) from each club to distribute such a survey and establish a sharing of the cost ( or find a sponsor! ) that would seem to be the first steps along the way. I still have my Little Red Book but I was 19 years old when all that seemed the way forward. I am now 69.

Bloody Hell that's two of us. We only need the other 19,998 UK supporters still said to exist. You're on my digital list SS.

Steady On Ben91. That is a revolutionary, nay treasonous thought to put before the BSPA. That the fans are the most important people! They long ago gave up the battle to win the hearts and minds of the supporters. Even those few now left.

I am willing to give it a try to get people together if there are others interested in trying to set up something.

No contest, No brainer. The NSS racing will be SO much better. Get the one with pineapple on.

King's Lynn is my local club and I can longer travel to watch speedway. It is very hard not to feel like that I must say although the refund gesture was reasonable and prompt. We were also with a complete newbie who had been attracted by casually viewing speedway on BT and heard of a track not far from where he lived for the first time. Whether we will see him again I do not know. He probably didn't hang on to his ticket! The last three years have been very trying, shall we say. and repeated promises of "it will be all right next year" have been heard at the end of each season. "Stick with us we have been told". Sadly, nothing has changed for the good and less and less people are listening now.