kevin bass Posted Sunday at 06:34 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 06:34 PM 2 minutes ago, mikebv said: Just one race win in Poland can earn you more than double what you get for a 15 point max in the Championship... We've just gotta except that speedway in the UK these days is a tinpot sport compared to how its ran in Poland and the money that can be earned riding over there, Poland its very professional, over here its Mickey Mouse. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted Sunday at 06:48 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 06:48 PM 11 minutes ago, kevin bass said: We've just gotta except that speedway in the UK these days is a tinpot sport compared to how its ran in Poland and the money that can be earned riding over there, Poland its very professional, over here its Mickey Mouse. But doesn't need to be.. They just choose to run it that way... Maybe next season will see, by necessity, a more affordable Championship and a clear difference in the Leagues... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aries Posted Sunday at 07:10 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 07:10 PM 36 minutes ago, TTT said: Problem in Dan's case though is that Lodz barely give him any rides to earn money, Kemp was in the same boat and eventually signed for Workington. I think the Championship may be watered down drastically next season to exclude anyone riding for a Polish Club. Which will then force the hand of a couple of clubs to make the move up, possibly. That’s the plan.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagpuss Posted Sunday at 08:02 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 08:02 PM 1 hour ago, TTT said: Problem in Dan's case though is that Lodz barely give him any rides to earn money, Kemp was in the same boat and eventually signed for Workington. I think the Championship may be watered down drastically next season to exclude anyone riding for a Polish Club. I think you could well be right, and that's no bad thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveWayne Posted Sunday at 08:31 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 08:31 PM 2 hours ago, 1 valve said: Being brutal, maybe shift workers will miss meetings. The reality is that the majority of speedway fans are not shift workers and its impossible to facilitate any form of fixture list which can accommodate all eventualities. FYI, back in the day, when I worked shifts, where possible I arranged swaps or even had to have my fingers crossed that the meeting finished on time to enable me to get to work on time for the 22h start. I wasn't suggesting that you have to accommodate every eventuality, just pointing out that the proposal of home meetings once a fortnight could completely exclude someone on a 2 shift system for a whole season. Can we afford for that to happen ? As some have already said, once people get out of the habit they often don't come back. Shift swaps are OK but I'm not sure you could do it every second Thursday for 5/6 months !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyd Posted yesterday at 07:38 AM Report Share Posted yesterday at 07:38 AM 12 hours ago, mikebv said: But doesn't need to be.. They just choose to run it that way... Maybe next season will see, by necessity, a more affordable Championship and a clear difference in the Leagues... "Maybe next season will see" is something that has been quoted by promoters and fans alike for god knows how many years but here we are on the brink of extinction in this country but still clutching at straws that the next year / season might be the one that see's a positive upturn for the sport but in the back of everyone's mind is the thought that the straw we are clutching at might be the one that breaks the camels back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted yesterday at 08:02 AM Report Share Posted yesterday at 08:02 AM 9 minutes ago, tonyd said: "Maybe next season will see" is something that has been quoted by promoters and fans alike for god knows how many years but here we are on the brink of extinction in this country but still clutching at straws that the next year / season might be the one that see's a positive upturn for the sport but in the back of everyone's mind is the thought that the straw we are clutching at might be the one that breaks the camels back. I think that there appears to, finally, be an acceptance that the sport in the UK is "Donald Ducked" and change has to take place... However. Do the same people, who have brought all the issues, have the required skill set to make the right decisions?.. The evidence of their past lack of capability would say no, but hope springs eternal... Those trying to bring back the sport into closed down venues must despair given the current issues.. It cannot be easy to convince judges and authorities to side with you when you see "distress flares" going up from various places, and even 15 clubs unable to fil their teams with their own seven riders of the required level... Developers can point to a sport in consistent decline, which has been so for far too long, without, it appears, anyone capable of changing its course to better things... And some landlords of current tracks must also, quite naturally, be wondering if their tenants are going to be around in five years or so, especially if they are sat on some land which could deliver some excellent money... So much to unpick in UK Speedway, and, it appears, not too much time in which to do it, even if the capability is there in the first place.. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PersonalResponsibility Posted yesterday at 08:18 AM Report Share Posted yesterday at 08:18 AM 13 hours ago, kevin bass said: We've just gotta except that speedway in the UK these days is a tinpot sport compared to how its ran in Poland and the money that can be earned riding over there, Poland its very professional, over here its Mickey Mouse. If only the promoters had the power to do something about this dastardly problem... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTT Posted 23 hours ago Report Share Posted 23 hours ago CHAMP has been far too strong for a couple of seasons now to a point where it's been exploited by certain Clubs. Merge the NDL and CHAMP together to lower the wage bill and then put a block on riders who ride in any Polish League or Top Flight Danish/Swedish League from competing in the CHAMP in 2027. No fixture Clashes, Lower wage bill and a clear gap in quality between PREM and CHAMP over here. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poole keith Posted 23 hours ago Report Share Posted 23 hours ago Think uk speedway is now comparable to level 5,level 6 football, tho attendances and stadium facilities would be better at level 5, and a lot of level 6 would also be better than speedway, so need to be thinking at this level and realise speedway is now only ever going to be minority sport with limited public appeal,start with a majority of part time riders! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 22 hours ago Report Share Posted 22 hours ago 1 hour ago, TTT said: CHAMP has been far too strong for a couple of seasons now to a point where it's been exploited by certain Clubs. Merge the NDL and CHAMP together to lower the wage bill and then put a block on riders who ride in any Polish League or Top Flight Danish/Swedish League from competing in the CHAMP in 2027. No fixture Clashes, Lower wage bill and a clear gap in quality between PREM and CHAMP over here. 100%, however, at least, 10 years too late... When the Sky money went, and most of the worlds best with it, they should have pulled up the drawbridge and set out their own pathway... Instead, they decided to let Poland and the FIM dictate when they could and couldn't run.. And the 2nd tier got used to having tier one level riders getting subsidised by the upper level... With tier one happy, now the Sky money had gone, to use these riders also at a "reduced rate" compared to having to pay out for these riders by themselves... The result? Too many places being taken by too few riders, which then stifled development of UK riders, with a non stop stream of foreign journeymen entering and leaving using the UK Speedway revolving door... And, just to compound things, to ensure riders could DU, race nights were fixed, (not necessarily the best ones), but that was the only way clubs could actually put out a team of seven riders.. (Apologies, I mean it was done so GP riders could ride over here, because if they did the crowds all around the country would boom wouldn't they, and TV companies would fall over themselves to tender to cover it?!!!!) You have to hope that someone can see what not to do (ie the same old, same old), and build a clear strategy for growth... I like Richard Coleman's comments about just 300 extra at every track would be a game changer, as that puts into perspective where the sport actually is, and is surely a tangible realistic attainment given the conurbations so many tracks sit in... 300 x £20 is £6,000 x 15 matches per season = £90k... It must be worth paying someone a grand a week to try and get 300 extra punters through the door, (any random 300, they don't have to revisit), given the tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, if not millions, on the doorsteps of UK Speedway tracks, less than 45 mins away... Whatever they do decide, this time they cannot afford to keep getting it wrong.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therefused Posted 20 hours ago Report Share Posted 20 hours ago 1 hour ago, mikebv said: 100%, however, at least, 10 years too late... When the Sky money went, and most of the worlds best with it, they should have pulled up the drawbridge and set out their own pathway... Instead, they decided to let Poland and the FIM dictate when they could and couldn't run.. And the 2nd tier got used to having tier one level riders getting subsidised by the upper level... With tier one happy, now the Sky money had gone, to use these riders also at a "reduced rate" compared to having to pay out for these riders by themselves... The result? Too many places being taken by too few riders, which then stifled development of UK riders, with a non stop stream of foreign journeymen entering and leaving using the UK Speedway revolving door... And, just to compound things, to ensure riders could DU, race nights were fixed, (not necessarily the best ones), but that was the only way clubs could actually put out a team of seven riders.. (Apologies, I mean it was done so GP riders could ride over here, because if they did the crowds all around the country would boom wouldn't they, and TV companies would fall over themselves to tender to cover it?!!!!) You have to hope that someone can see what not to do (ie the same old, same old), and build a clear strategy for growth... I like Richard Coleman's comments about just 300 extra at every track would be a game changer, as that puts into perspective where the sport actually is, and is surely a tangible realistic attainment given the conurbations so many tracks sit in... 300 x £20 is £6,000 x 15 matches per season = £90k... It must be worth paying someone a grand a week to try and get 300 extra punters through the door, (any random 300, they don't have to revisit), given the tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, if not millions, on the doorsteps of UK Speedway tracks, less than 45 mins away... Whatever they do decide, this time they cannot afford to keep getting it wrong.. the marketing has been so wrong for so long now, its better than it was but still lightyears behind what other sports are doing. i think i recall you talking about building a database of customers, i would doubt that any team would know even a list of there season ticket holders for the past five years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 19 hours ago Report Share Posted 19 hours ago 42 minutes ago, therefused said: the marketing has been so wrong for so long now, its better than it was but still lightyears behind what other sports are doing. i think i recall you talking about building a database of customers, i would doubt that any team would know even a list of there season ticket holders for the past five years. My company used to send you vouchers if you hadn't shopped with them for four weeks... It takes 28 days of doing something, or not doing something, to make a tangible change to your life, including attending Speedway!! Yet some clubs go over four weeks without a meeting!!! Utter Madness from a business perspective... The kids are off now and this evening there will be hundreds of empty seats at the NSS, and 2,000 spaces on the back straight... A database, using e-tickets info, would tell you who had been this season and when.. This weekend, or even today, should see hundreds of inboxes of those "infrequent attendees", being filled with £10 tickets and free entry for kids, and an " x" percent off merchandise, (10% off twenty five, 15% off fifty quid?).. (When visiting any attraction someone coming away with some souvenir with the venues name on are more likely to attend again given the constant reminder they took home with fhem). Fridge magnet anyone...! Given they can go so long without meetings, non stop, regular, direct communication is even more important to keep them in the consciousness of their fanbase... During the winter too is just as important, sending Xmas cards, birthday cards etc... 3 million people live less than an hour from the NSS in Grt Manchester, what a resource pool to exploit!!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouch Posted 15 hours ago Report Share Posted 15 hours ago 3 hours ago, mikebv said: My company used to send you vouchers if you hadn't shopped with them for four weeks... It takes 28 days of doing something, or not doing something, to make a tangible change to your life, including attending Speedway!! Yet some clubs go over four weeks without a meeting!!! Utter Madness from a business perspective... The kids are off now and this evening there will be hundreds of empty seats at the NSS, and 2,000 spaces on the back straight... A database, using e-tickets info, would tell you who had been this season and when.. This weekend, or even today, should see hundreds of inboxes of those "infrequent attendees", being filled with £10 tickets and free entry for kids, and an " x" percent off merchandise, (10% off twenty five, 15% off fifty quid?).. (When visiting any attraction someone coming away with some souvenir with the venues name on are more likely to attend again given the constant reminder they took home with fhem). Fridge magnet anyone...! Given they can go so long without meetings, non stop, regular, direct communication is even more important to keep them in the consciousness of their fanbase... During the winter too is just as important, sending Xmas cards, birthday cards etc... 3 million people live less than an hour from the NSS in Grt Manchester, what a resource pool to exploit!!! They need to give 10’000 free tickets away within a 30-35 mile radius. With an area like that we’d even get a few thousand from Sheffield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 14 hours ago Report Share Posted 14 hours ago 1 hour ago, ouch said: They need to give 10’000 free tickets away within a 30-35 mile radius. With an area like that we’d even get a few thousand from Sheffield. Doesn't work... 10,000, randomly sent out freebies would get circa 1100 responses (tops). 11% is the uptake for such things. And out of that 1100, approx 10% to 15% go on to become regulars... Mostly people take up the offer and never become loyal customers.. Spent many years marketing such things when I opened Supermarkets.. 1000 targeted people, with continuous engagement would deliver a much greater longer term response... 28 days of doing something changes your life for good or bad, hence we targeted people heavily over the first 28 days of a new store.. It really isn't difficult to engage people if you know what you are doing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 valve Posted 58 minutes ago Report Share Posted 58 minutes ago 21 hours ago, mikebv said: 100%, however, at least, 10 years too late... When the Sky money went, and most of the worlds best with it, they should have pulled up the drawbridge and set out their own pathway... Instead, they decided to let Poland and the FIM dictate when they could and couldn't run.. And the 2nd tier got used to having tier one level riders getting subsidised by the upper level... With tier one happy, now the Sky money had gone, to use these riders also at a "reduced rate" compared to having to pay out for these riders by themselves... The result? Too many places being taken by too few riders, which then stifled development of UK riders, with a non stop stream of foreign journeymen entering and leaving using the UK Speedway revolving door... And, just to compound things, to ensure riders could DU, race nights were fixed, (not necessarily the best ones), but that was the only way clubs could actually put out a team of seven riders.. (Apologies, I mean it was done so GP riders could ride over here, because if they did the crowds all around the country would boom wouldn't they, and TV companies would fall over themselves to tender to cover it?!!!!) You have to hope that someone can see what not to do (ie the same old, same old), and build a clear strategy for growth... I like Richard Coleman's comments about just 300 extra at every track would be a game changer, as that puts into perspective where the sport actually is, and is surely a tangible realistic attainment given the conurbations so many tracks sit in... 300 x £20 is £6,000 x 15 matches per season = £90k... It must be worth paying someone a grand a week to try and get 300 extra punters through the door, (any random 300, they don't have to revisit), given the tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, if not millions, on the doorsteps of UK Speedway tracks, less than 45 mins away... Whatever they do decide, this time they cannot afford to keep getting it wrong.. Amazing that 300 extra folk attending would be a game changer, a number which should be in easy reach of any club who professionally promotes their club. but, spending a grand a week on the concept would need funding otherwise the £90K extra benefit actually becomes a lot less nett wise. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilTheAce Posted 41 minutes ago Report Share Posted 41 minutes ago with the new polish rule and possible retirements, we could potentially lose 10 riders next season blodorn (sweden & poland kvech ( czech league & poland) b cook (sweden & poland NKI (retired, if not poland & denmark) Zagar (already gone) klindt (denmark & poland) brennan (possibly poland and sweden) nicholls (retired) douglas (poland & sweden) howarth (retire) 2027 could look massively different Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.