Fortythirtyeight Posted 16 hours ago Report Share Posted 16 hours ago 2 hours ago, IainB said: I'm pretty sure Monday's and Thursday's were introduced to allow riders to double up and not to attract the star riders... as proven by their absences throughout the season. You only have to go into a boozer in town on a Monday night to see how dead the place is. Wrong. Monday & Thursday were dictated by the BSPA to placate Poland and the riders who wished to race there and the UK. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 valve Posted 15 hours ago Report Share Posted 15 hours ago 2 hours ago, Paul Johnson said: The more kids involved the better the crowd will be, give them something to want to go for....and it makes me laugh when i read"but its a school day tomorrow" but will quite happily take them to football which can finish past 10pm Spot on. “Tomorrow’s a school day” by and large an excuse. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted 14 hours ago Report Share Posted 14 hours ago 1 hour ago, Fortythirtyeight said: Wrong. Monday & Thursday were dictated by the BSPA to placate Poland and the riders who wished to race there and the UK. Wrong. https://www.acu.org.uk/news/2017/11/british-speedway-announce-major-moves/ Although the switch to Thursday may have been done to placate Denmark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fortythirtyeight Posted 14 hours ago Report Share Posted 14 hours ago 3 minutes ago, IainB said: Wrong. https://www.acu.org.uk/news/2017/11/british-speedway-announce-major-moves/ Although the switch to Thursday may have been done to placate Denmark and that’s WRONG as they changed to Monday and THURSDAY as Poland took up a tv contract to show live matches, but what’s in another inaccurate speedway press release.😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 14 hours ago Report Share Posted 14 hours ago 2 minutes ago, Fortythirtyeight said: and that’s WRONG as they changed to Monday and THURSDAY as Poland took up a tv contract to show live matches, but what’s in another inaccurate speedway press release.😊 Wasn't the Thursday changed so Sheffield came up, and Swindon were also pretty much Thursday only? And Poole dropped out as Wednesdays were no longer part of the UK's 2 priority days? Given Denmark had that day... (Even though the UK initially went with 3 days, not 2 ).. One thing is for sure... Those nights perfectly fitted around the 2nd tier who ran Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat and Sunday.. (And did one (not Sheffield), race on a Thursday and have to change their night? However it certainly perfectly fitted many of the riders need for two incomes... With each league helping to subsidise the other as these riders had two salaries, and, as they couldn't be in two places at once, it was a perfect scenario to allow clubs to share them... Everyone was happy.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Smith Posted 10 hours ago Report Share Posted 10 hours ago Wasn't it the FIM that set out race nights after BSPA, DMU & SVEMO complained about Poland threatening to run 5 days & banning riders from competing in other leagues?? There isn't officially 'Fixed' days as such, just 'Priority' days to individual associations. Monday - UK Tuesday - Sweden Wednesday - Denmark Thursday - UK / Sweden Friday - SGP / Poland Saturday - SGP / Poland Sunday - Poland Every league can run 7 days if they wanted to, they'd just not be allowed to demand rider availability on an 'off' night. It's why some of the conversations on here have been funny when some say "have one big league and ride any day we want." Rider availability would be disastrous with R/R & guests all over the place. It's probably the biggest reason why British Speedway are desperate to save the top tier league. Going to 1 league would finish the sport in this country forever, they'd be no coming back from an absolute 💩 storm that would create for our clubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 6 hours ago Report Share Posted 6 hours ago 3 hours ago, Daniel Smith said: Wasn't it the FIM that set out race nights after BSPA, DMU & SVEMO complained about Poland threatening to run 5 days & banning riders from competing in other leagues?? There isn't officially 'Fixed' days as such, just 'Priority' days to individual associations. Monday - UK Tuesday - Sweden Wednesday - Denmark Thursday - UK / Sweden Friday - SGP / Poland Saturday - SGP / Poland Sunday - Poland Every league can run 7 days if they wanted to, they'd just not be allowed to demand rider availability on an 'off' night. It's why some of the conversations on here have been funny when some say "have one big league and ride any day we want." Rider availability would be disastrous with R/R & guests all over the place. It's probably the biggest reason why British Speedway are desperate to save the top tier league. Going to 1 league would finish the sport in this country forever, they'd be no coming back from an absolute 💩 storm that would create for our clubs. But we have "RR and guests all over the place" now... So, no real difference other than running on nights that could attract a better crowd level... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShanoXtra Posted 3 hours ago Report Share Posted 3 hours ago 2 hours ago, mikebv said: But we have "RR and guests all over the place" now... So, no real difference other than running on nights that could attract a better crowd level... But lose all your SGP stars in doing so, does that really lead to bigger crowds? I think people are a bit naive to think going to win league and running speedway of a different day would bring back bigger crowds. You wrote the other day you didn’t see any of the listed promotional pushes that Belle Vue have tried so why would one league and Belle Vue riding on a different day attract more people? Promotion is the problem or maybe just the fact people aren’t interested in speedway. People need to wake up to the situation I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted 3 hours ago Report Share Posted 3 hours ago 7 hours ago, Daniel Smith said: It's why some of the conversations on here have been funny when some say "have one big league and ride any day we want." Rider availability would be disastrous with R/R & guests all over the place. Only if they let that happen, of you throw down an ultimatum like Poland have (and do) and say commit or clear off, everybody knows where they stand. 3 hours ago, mikebv said: But we have "RR and guests all over the place" now... So, no real difference other than running on nights that could attract a better crowd level... Look what Plymouth did and that was with a No 1 only turning up when it suited "him". Think what they could do with a consistent stable team! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAST GATER Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago 36 minutes ago, ShanoXtra said: Promotion is the problem or maybe just the fact people aren’t interested in speedway. People need to wake up to the situation I think Sadly I think that may well be the situation most of the people I speak to or come in contact with have zero knowledge or interest in the sport ,when you start talking about it they often "glaze over" (in the same way I do about football) or think that it ceased to exist anymore . IMO the sport needs someone to inject a significant amount of money and raise the profile ,not unlike Wrexham FC a perfect example of what money can do ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 valve Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago (edited) 4 hours ago, mikebv said: But we have "RR and guests all over the place" now... So, no real difference other than running on nights that could attract a better crowd level... No problem with RR as clubs are using their own resources to cover for injured riders instead of guests. What needs to be severely limited in order to help establish credibility of the sport is riders doubling up and the drastic reduction of guests. Edited 2 hours ago by 1 valve 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youhave2minutes Posted 2 hours ago Author Report Share Posted 2 hours ago 44 minutes ago, FAST GATER said: Sadly I think that may well be the situation most of the people I speak to or come in contact with have zero knowledge or interest in the sport ,when you start talking about it they often "glaze over" (in the same way I do about football) or think that it ceased to exist anymore . IMO the sport needs someone to inject a significant amount of money and raise the profile ,not unlike Wrexham FC a perfect example of what money can do ! Bring in the yanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 1 hour ago, ShanoXtra said: But lose all your SGP stars in doing so, does that really lead to bigger crowds? I think people are a bit naive to think going to win league and running speedway of a different day would bring back bigger crowds. You wrote the other day you didn’t see any of the listed promotional pushes that Belle Vue have tried so why would one league and Belle Vue riding on a different day attract more people? Promotion is the problem or maybe just the fact people aren’t interested in speedway. People need to wake up to the situation I think When Plymouth changed nights from a Tuesday to a Saturday, their crowds increased by several double digit percentages .. Mainly families... Which suggested these people knew about Speedway but were not prepared to have their kids (and maybe even themselves), out late on a Tuesday... There is a reason Poland use Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the vast majority of their meetings, and it isn't to allow all the GP riders there, as, if they ran on Monday and Thursdays only each week, the GP riders would still be there due to the money... However... The fans wouldn't be there in the same numbers, especially the kids who make a up a decent portion of each crowd in Poland.. UK Speedway simply cannot be ran like a "proper team sport" so why keep trying? (The evidence even suggests they don't)... The 2nd tier ran a semi final in their flagship competition, with one team having three guests, yet I suggest the crowd wouldn't have been that different if Glasgow turned up with seven of their own riders, therefore just try and run as many meetings on whatever your "best" night is... The Aces for example would 100% get more fans on a Friday or Saturday night than they do on a Monday, given more families would go... Long gone are the days when you could take what you are watching "too seriously" in the context of a bona fide team sport, yet the raw material of the racing is as good as ever for me, (from Div One to NDL), so just run on nights you find most of your customers want to attend... The Entertainment Industry lives or dies by what it takes at weekend, not what it takes on Monday and Thursday... Plymouth changed nights, not riders, and their crowds have been quoted as doubled, with not one GP rider in sight, and often not even all their own riders there!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellevueace Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 17 hours ago, YeOldPitGate said: Don't disagree at all 1 valve we all know you could add all of the below in just for starters Run on best nights for fans A decent tv deal for clubs not swallowed all up by number one's High profile premier league sponsor End of guest fests every week Decently prepared tracks Meetings starting on time Meetings not dragging on for 3-4 hours In a perfect world not staging meetings in stadiums that look like they have been bombed by the Luffwaffa Efforts really made to promote the team/awareness locally I know all of the above is easier said than done but if the powers that be want to save the sport the above are all reasonable starting points. I agree with all your points but to attract a high profile sponsor speedway would have to offer something beneficial back in return, at the moment and the state the sport is in there is nothing it can offer. When Gulf Oil sponsored the league we had the top riders, bigger crowds and more public awareness thanks to being on World of Sport on national tv. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Smith Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 1 hour ago, IainB said: Only if they let that happen, of you throw down an ultimatum like Poland have (and do) and say commit or clear off, everybody knows where they stand. British Speedway doesn't have the finances to issue those demands anymore. If someone is signed to the top 2 divisions of the Polish League they'll just leave. We're already in a rider shortage situation having to have wobblers at reserve in both our leagues. I don't follow Championship Speedway at all, what's been the situation with teams going to Poole on a Wednesday & Glasgow on a Sunday for example?? Has there been regular R/R - Guests due to none injured rider's being elsewhere?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 27 minutes ago Report Share Posted 27 minutes ago 55 minutes ago, Daniel Smith said: British Speedway doesn't have the finances to issue those demands anymore. If someone is signed to the top 2 divisions of the Polish League they'll just leave. We're already in a rider shortage situation having to have wobblers at reserve in both our leagues. I don't follow Championship Speedway at all, what's been the situation with teams going to Poole on a Wednesday & Glasgow on a Sunday for example?? Has there been regular R/R - Guests due to none injured rider's being elsewhere?? Those teams with Danes have had riders missing.... However. . For Poole, Wednesday is clearly their best night to run, and their crowds would suggest the odd missing Dane makes zero difference to the amount of people turning up... From "the outside" the optics of employing riders you 100% know will be missing some of your meetings, so you will use a guest/possible ringer, looks somewhat ridiculous for a professional team sport... Not many from "the outside" take any interest though, so it largely doesn't make any difference... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouch Posted 8 minutes ago Report Share Posted 8 minutes ago On 11/4/2025 at 11:58 AM, YeOldPitGate said: Hi Ouch out of all of the above what did you find worked best ? The regular media coverage keeps us in people’s heads week on week. Leaflets, posters and special offers have had an immediate but not long lasting effect. Phillips social media work has worked well in getting families through the door and like people have mentioned on here, I think this is the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouch Posted 5 minutes ago Report Share Posted 5 minutes ago On 11/4/2025 at 11:58 AM, YeOldPitGate said: Hi Ouch out of all of the above what did you find worked best ? The regular media coverage keeps us in people’s heads week on week. Leaflets, posters and special offers have had an immediate but not long lasting effect. Phillips social media work has worked well in getting families through the door and like people have mentioned on here, I think this is the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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