mikebv

Nobody down as "Northampton"?

Sounds like the timekeeoers forgot there was another heat, and came running back in, lunged for the watch, and set it going just as the riders were hitting the first bend... Or... The winners were "testing some new fuel".....

A 21/22 team league would suffice for me.... One Home and one Away... 40/42 matches plus play offs... Or, two divisions with promotion and relegation from the outset...? Most riders would do this league and then Poland.. It would knacker the second tier in the UK though, which would lose most, if not all, of its heat leaders... It would though bring some decent crowds to the five or six teams from GB, and, you would hope, bring a decent TV deal and wider publicity... More than any "solution" of running UK Speedway as it currently stands, with two small leagues, (forever going nowhere), ever will...

"After the last minute" now and again too....

The Colts don't run on many (any?) blank Mondays or Thursdays ., That alone for me suggests that , for the Aces specifically, Monday isn't the best night for them, as they would mirror the Colts with the Aces wouldn't they? Plymouth being a good example of simply changing from Tuesday to Saturday improved crowds greatly... Each club will have their sweet spot night, however, pubs, restaurants, cinemas etc focus on weekends to make their most money.. And putting on "specials" mid week means more costs so not always more profit, even if punters numbers go up, and the fact "specials" are needed tells a lot about those nights of the week... Maybe Speedway could do with some "specials" on Monday and Thursdays?...

Sweden last year had an average attendance of over 2700... Denmark appears to be "on the up"... So two leagues that could pay more maybe? You would have to presume any Swedes or Danes will stick with their own league, plus Poland, given their sponsors will invariably be linked to their home country . Any non Swedes and Danes eg Aussie's, will also go where the money is best you would think... Some major plans need to be made, and quickly, for 2027... Given GB, Denmark and Sweden will all be fighting for the same riders, and none of them have a big number of home riders of a "decent" level, to fill their own leagues individually, then one Euro league really could be the best for all... And would mean any Polish riders would ride in this one Euro league as their "other one"...

The issue is "The Professionals" don't want and need what "The Hobbyists" want and need from the sport, and vice versa... One side of the equation pay their way in life through the money they make from their business, whilst the other side of it are quite happy funding their main leisure interest, and can be quite satisfied in not making any money at all, as long as losses are within budgeted figures.. One side see the sport as aspirational with "winning the league" being the target as this can deliver higher financial reward.... The other see it as a hobby where "winning the league" can actually cost them more, and, as we have seen, even get them closed down due to unsustainable costs which were not covered by extra punters coming through the turnstiles, with "winning at home regularly" being their main aspiration... One side has punters used to watching sone of the world's best, paid for by the promoters at that level, and mid level riders earning their highest wage of the two they earn... The other has punters used to not seeing the world's best, with promoters not having the resources to use them at that level, but are happy to pay exactly the same mid level riders a lesser fee than the top tier do for their services, (but can only do this due to the top tier paying these mid level riders the bulk of their money).. To accommodate riders the top tier have to ride on nights not conducive to the entertainment industry, and the second tier can ride on the "better nights" but often do it with teams using many guests due to other rider commitments, (136 used last year in tier two, 62 in tier one).. To be honest, given the complete opposite needs and wants of the promoters, who in their right mind would see the Chairperson role as something to aspire to and actually want?... Putting together a plan that suits all, given their disparate "wish lists" does look an impossible task, and when you add in a lack of independent leadership, with a lack of vision, strategy and ambition for the growth of the sport, and you really do have major, major problems....

A great opportunity for the "professional" clubs over here to join a "European League"... Riding on any night neither team have riders clashing with Poland, so Fri, Sat and Sun could get used, as and when, and the likes of Poole could join in on Wednesdays . And then the "hobbyists" over here could also then carry on with their own league.... Like Rugby Union have done with their "United Cup" competition, as none of those leagues by themselves could generate enough publicity and money, so several clubs from different nations compete against each other... Five or six rider teams could be used to help a spread of riders if needed.. A European League just may get some TV company, and some maimstream media interested and some bigger sponsors..?

A shame each team don't have two RS's to share the one spot... Especially as only 10 would be needed... Would give 10 young riders potential opportunity, and create some healthy competition for places, as any sport should... No guests required then either...

The frustration is that there is still a decent market for the sport in the UK... It's just not a market that team Speedway regularly attracts due to the nonsense operating model that is allowed to pervade, the lack of jeopardy and consequence to so many meetings and the leagues, the seemingly lack of any "decent prize" for winning anything, and the admission costs which reflect the outgoings being paid, rather than reflecting the standard of what is actually being delivered to the punters.. The NSS will have around 2500 watching the PCMM (presumably being ran?), and around 6,000 will attend each night at the GP's... So. If you put some "Proper Speedway" out, you can still get a good following for it... The Aces this year will, once again, run with crowds much lower than the PCMM meeting, as many Aces followers simply won't follow up their PCMM visit due to not buying into the league structures being used, and also due to saving their cash for the GP's... Yet, like all other tracks, will see a significant increase come play off time due to its natural "make or break" nature, which finally gives off some semblance of relevance for the sport.... I would suggest the sport has as many close followers of it who don't attend each week as those who do... What an opportunity for growth if anyone could actually ever lead it properly, using Vision, Strategy, and Ambition... NB. Having Mark Lemon and Rob Lyon on the Leadership Team is something that could help shape a better future... Getting cut through and agreement from so many of their peers, who want so many different things from the sport, will be the major challenge though, as always..

They have a two year plan now... Year 1 - Do exactly the same as we always do... Year 2 - Do exactly the same as Year One..

All 55 years of age, returning on minus five point averages....

They need a five year plan... (Again)...

Was there really any major positive impact on those measures? After the initial novelty wore off, and BSI no longer marketed the GP as vigorously, it became just another speedway meeting for many... Hence crowds eroded away after around ten years or so of reasonable growth.. It certainly did nothing for UK domestic speedway as the current malaise shows... If the NSS gets around 6k a night this year, that will still be a fair percentage of the total punters who regularly attend UK Speedway at the fourteen tracks left...

I remember reading that Cardiff was circa six figures to hire the venue... And was kept by the owners of the series rights as their own promotion and not tendered out to anyone else... Warsaw was the same... Presume as they were considered "cash cows"... The Welsh Tourist Board subsidised the costs to some degree too... 40,000 at around forty quid must have been worth doing... 20,000 at around forty quid much less so, hence no more Cardiff...

What was the average price per ticket? £50 or so? If it was, that's £575k in income... Not a bad little earner given no hiring of the venue needed. ..

There are, literally, dozens of UK riders who have given up the sport since around 2015, who are still not older than 30 years of age, with most, if not all, not even mid thirties now... An 80% reduction in their average could maybe bring a few back? I presume 2.00 is the minimum any reduction could go down to? Watching many YT races from around 2015 to 2021, post covid, there are a surprising amount of names who no longer ride, with many of them being "OK" at the time as riders at Championship reserve level at least... The sport desperately needs new, (and even old) blood so maybe this could help possibly...

Well... If it ain't broken.... Oh. Hang on......

Unless they lose money on the POSF!!! This was my first thought too... One less "proper meeting" for the winners of the league itself? Maybe there is a decent financial prize this year for finishing top?? I am not holding my breath...

Adrian Smith couldn't believe the way the sport was ran,, and tried to ensure the Aces, (at least), were ran with credibility.... He did this as he listened to fans on his many walkrounds during the meeting... He, like so many others with actual vision, eventually gave up, as he knew the capability simply wasn't there amongst so many of the others to drag the sport up to its potential... Another good person, who understood the modern world, lost to the sport...

And the Promoters who expect riders to have "decent kit", minimum two bikes, (often at a moments notice to guest), and then devalue their very own competitions by removing the credibility of them... A vicious circle that just keeps going round and round..

And that is the frustration many fans feel... So many "basic things" simply don't get done... An AGM is obviously for "The Shareholders", however, being, in particular, a team sport where Promoters require an emotional investment from "The Stakeholders", then their communication out to these "Stakeholders" is vital, as, by not communicating to them could give the impression they are irrelevant to you and your business... Very, very, basic business practice..

One Million Percent... There should have been soundbites from Promoters leading up to the meeting, putting forward, in a positive way, what they would like to see from the AGM... Giving it some importance and resonance... And then. On the day. Photos taken of all there and shared via all SM outlets, including one as a collective all together... Then, last evening, a statement (again positive), should have been put out, even if it was only to acknowledge the meeting took place, a generic update as to what's agreed, and that a further statement with detail is forthcoming in the next "x" hours.... Do they actually have a PR person? Edit. Did the meeting actually take place? Which, as we don't know, probably answers my question re any PR person....

Parole Officers too, will be involved... I worked alongside them until all "time served" was spent... Curfews, Tags, etc needed to be discussed given the late hours some of my staff would work... No condoning what he did in any way shape or form, however, someone addicted to "Class A" drugs will truly do almost anything to get their hands on the money to fund their habit.. I had some truly horrific stories from lads I took on as to the depths they reached, with, to be honest, their home backgrounds and their ultimate recovery being truly humbling for me given the challenges they faced "getting clean"... There truly is an incredible "dark sub culture" in the country which, having worked with plenty of social workers too over the years, is far more prevalent than most, who live well outside this world, would ever imagine..

There are certain stipulations... Working with kids isn't allowed for those convicted of sexual crimes against them for example... Riding a Speedway Bike again won't have too many stipulations I would imagine...