Plymouth Gladiators v Glasgow Tigers Saturday, May 10, 2025 7:00 pm Cab Direct Championship

[Gladiatorphil]

Back in the day,if you didn't go home covered in shale,you hadn't had a good evening out  :-)

[IainB]

3 minutes ago, Gladiatorphil said:

Back in the day,if you didn't go home covered in shale,you hadn't had a good evening out  :-)

Indeed... times have moved on though, unfortunately Speedway hasn't in many areas. 

[HGould]

39 minutes ago, IainB said:

Indeed... times have moved on though, unfortunately Speedway hasn't in many areas. 

Shale is like gold dust these days, you could probably collect a jar full over a season and barter it back for a season ticket.

The decision about a decade ago by the then Bosses of the sport NOT to fund the repairs to the Shale skaker at the old shale seam near Nuneaton was very short sighted and having a negative impact now.

One of my favourite tracks to visit was Halifax, just a one off, brutal steel fence , massive banking and that grey material that you'd be washing out of orifices weeks later..

 

[Ghosty]

3 minutes ago, HGould said:

Shale is like gold dust these days, you could probably collect a jar full over a season and barter it back for a season ticket.

The decision about a decade ago by the then Bosses of the sport NOT to fund the repairs to the Shale skaker at the old shale seam near Nuneaton was very short sighted and having a negative impact now.

One of my favourite tracks to visit was Halifax, just a one off, brutal steel fence , massive banking and that grey material that you'd be washing out of orifices weeks later..

 

I've been saying for years the material used on tracks today causes so many problems. Very short sighted if the promoters could have sorted the problem. We need a promoters association.

[marko]

Although a Plymouth thread, most promoters (such a misleading word) have been making poor decisions for years, never looking ahead, always the short term plaster, the “engine” is knackered, putting some new oil in it isn’t going to make any difference.

PS no one wants any track to close, probably more fans now on this forum who have lost a track than still have one.

[aarongaleuk]

On 5/12/2025 at 8:39 AM, HGould said:

I do wonder how many of the keyboard warriors attacking a 30 minute break were actually AT the Meeting on Saturday.

I have to admit I wasn't, and I'm not keen on extended breaks BUT my Grandson and 3 of his mates went, 2 of the 3 mates for the first time and the newcomers , indeed all of them took part in the traditional Plymouth interval Running race.

He sent me pictures, and very proud too that he has inducted 2 new fans to Speedway and plans already for my Daughter (who lives in North Devon) and the 3 other lads parents to take it in turn to attend matches in the coming months.

These lads are primarily soccer and rugby playing kids with a "summer sport" needed to fill their time.

It would appear from social media that pLymouth had another bumper crowd, another reward for Kids going free and another opportunity to build a fan base for the future.

Another point, given the issues PLymouth have again had with break in's. Don't attack an Owner desperately seeking sponsorship for engineering an extended break when his paying and non paying customers will be encouraged to spend money in the Bar, in the Cafe and in the Track Shop, all delivering much needed funds.

I do wonder if some keyboard warriors would love to see Plymouth / Birmingham and one of 2 other Clubs close, just so that they can gloat. 

Maybe they need to gloat on the fact that if the sport loses 2-3 more Clubs that the current crazy barmy model becomes a step closer to extinction.

The dinosaurs of this forum may have been bored but a whole new generation of fan weren't and are being created.

 

 

I couldn't agree more, this thread is a hard read, I am genuinely embarrassed for grown men that have paid to watch the stream and have taken the time to go online and tear it apart as they watch it. I was at the meeting and so was my 8 year old and he loves every minute of the racing, it may not be the speedway the dinosaurs used to watch in the 80s but the volunteers at Plymouth put their all into getting the meetings on and the unkindness on this thread is honestly embarrassing to read. 

I just don't understand in one breath you can feel so bad for the state of British speedway but then rubbish every effort that is made to keep it going year in year out at Plymouth. The catchment area of fans in the south-west has huge potential and the social media team has put in a noticeable effort this year, having ridden grass-track and been the mascot at Reading back in the early 90's I hadn't watched or been involved in Speedway since, after moving to Devon Plymouth speedway is the reason I have gained an interest again and I have introduced family and friends that will no doubt go in the future. 

Either lift the sport up and promote it positively or stop paying your money to watch it. 

Edited Tuesday at 02:45 PM by aarongaleuk

[IainB]

14 minutes ago, aarongaleuk said:

I couldn't agree more, this thread is a hard read, I am genuinely embarrassed for grown men have paid to watch the stream and have taken the time to go online and tear it apart as they watch it. I was at the meeting and so was my 8 year old and he loves every minute of the racing, it may not be the speedway the dinosaurs used to watch in the 80s but the volunteers at Plymouth put their all into getting the meetings on and the unkindness on this thread is honestly embarrassing to read. 

I just don't understand in one breath you can feel so bad for the state of British speedway but then rubbish every effort that is made to keep it going year in year out at Plymouth. The catchment area of fans in the south-west has huge potential and the social media team has put in a noticeable effort this year, having ridden grass-track and been the mascot at Reading back in the early 90's I hadn't watched or been involved in Speedway since, after moving to Devon Plymouth speedway is the reason I have gained an interest again and I have introduced family and friends that will no doubt go in the future. 

Either lift the sport up and promote it positively or stop paying your money to watch it. 

As a matter of interest, what stopped you going between the early 90's and today?

[aarongaleuk]

53 minutes ago, IainB said:

As a matter of interest, what stopped you going between the early 90's and today?

There's not 1 reason, I had been a handful of times and went to Cardiff on a few occasions and always kept up with the SGP but during lockdown I felt like I missed something that I only really dipped in and out of so decided to go to Plymouth a few years ago and felt the sounds and smells that I had grown up with. Makes it easier when you come from a Speedway family to get other family involved, I went to 3 GP's last year and I have Warsaw and the SON booked this year so I am enjoying being a part of it again. It makes it all the more enjoyable for me knowing how small the community is. If only I had time to help Plymouth out in some way as I wouldn't want to lose it down here, we are lucky to have it. 

If a sport like Darts can become as big as it is I hope speedway can have some sort of resurgence.

 

On 5/12/2025 at 8:39 AM, HGould said:

I do wonder how many of the keyboard warriors attacking a 30 minute break were actually AT the Meeting on Saturday.

I have to admit I wasn't, and I'm not keen on extended breaks BUT my Grandson and 3 of his mates went, 2 of the 3 mates for the first time and the newcomers , indeed all of them took part in the traditional Plymouth interval Running race.

He sent me pictures, and very proud too that he has inducted 2 new fans to Speedway and plans already for my Daughter (who lives in North Devon) and the 3 other lads parents to take it in turn to attend matches in the coming months.

These lads are primarily soccer and rugby playing kids with a "summer sport" needed to fill their time.

It would appear from social media that pLymouth had another bumper crowd, another reward for Kids going free and another opportunity to build a fan base for the future.

Another point, given the issues PLymouth have again had with break in's. Don't attack an Owner desperately seeking sponsorship for engineering an extended break when his paying and non paying customers will be encouraged to spend money in the Bar, in the Cafe and in the Track Shop, all delivering much needed funds.

I do wonder if some keyboard warriors would love to see Plymouth / Birmingham and one of 2 other Clubs close, just so that they can gloat. 

Maybe they need to gloat on the fact that if the sport loses 2-3 more Clubs that the current crazy barmy model becomes a step closer to extinction.

The dinosaurs of this forum may have been bored but a whole new generation of fan weren't and are being created.

 

 

I couldn't agree more, this thread is a hard read, I am genuinely embarrassed for grown men have paid to watch the stream and have taken the time to go online and tear it apart as they watch it. I was at the meeting and so was my 8 year old and he loves every minute of the racing, it may not be the speedway the dinosaurs used to watch in the 80s but the volunteers at Plymouth put their all into getting the meetings on and the unkindness on this thread is honestly embarrassing to read. 

I just don't understand in one breath you can feel so bad for the state of British speedway but then rubbish every effort that is made to keep it going year in year out at Plymouth. The catchment area of fans in the south-west has huge potential and the social media team has put in a noticeable effort this year, having ridden grass-track and been the mascot at Reading back in the early 90's I hadn't watched or been involved in Speedway since, after moving to Devon Plymouth speedway is the reason I have gained an interest again and I have introduced family and friends that will no doubt go in the future. 

Either lift the sport up and promote it positively or stop paying your money to watch it. 

[IainB]

2 hours ago, aarongaleuk said:

There's not 1 reason, I had been a handful of times and went to Cardiff on a few occasions and always kept up with the SGP but during lockdown I felt like I missed something that I only really dipped in and out of so decided to go to Plymouth a few years ago and felt the sounds and smells that I had grown up with. Makes it easier when you come from a Speedway family to get other family involved, I went to 3 GP's last year and I have Warsaw and the SON booked this year so I am enjoying being a part of it again. It makes it all the more enjoyable for me knowing how small the community is. If only I had time to help Plymouth out in some way as I wouldn't want to lose it down here, we are lucky to have it. 

If a sport like Darts can become as big as it is I hope speedway can have some sort of resurgence.

 

I couldn't agree more, this thread is a hard read, I am genuinely embarrassed for grown men have paid to watch the stream and have taken the time to go online and tear it apart as they watch it. I was at the meeting and so was my 8 year old and he loves every minute of the racing, it may not be the speedway the dinosaurs used to watch in the 80s but the volunteers at Plymouth put their all into getting the meetings on and the unkindness on this thread is honestly embarrassing to read. 

I just don't understand in one breath you can feel so bad for the state of British speedway but then rubbish every effort that is made to keep it going year in year out at Plymouth. The catchment area of fans in the south-west has huge potential and the social media team has put in a noticeable effort this year, having ridden grass-track and been the mascot at Reading back in the early 90's I hadn't watched or been involved in Speedway since, after moving to Devon Plymouth speedway is the reason I have gained an interest again and I have introduced family and friends that will no doubt go in the future. 

Either lift the sport up and promote it positively or stop paying your money to watch it. 

Thanks for responding... I must say though this thread has been quite tame, you should login to a Poole one when they're on telly 😂