mikebv

Bang On!! If they are not there now, you lose absolutely nothing by giving them free admission.... And if the kid wants to go, then simply the parent or guardian has to go too... And having "quite a few kids" from the same school also means they can watch together, which can only encourage repeat visits... Why do establishments provide free rooms for kids parties? Simply because they know adults (and their wallets and purses), will be in attendance...

Similar story to me and my lad.. (No crush on Heeps though). (I think)... He unfortunately doesnt see the value in paying to watch league racing now he is 18 and has to fork out for himself... He cannot reconcile how riders can end up riding for everyone else, so he doesnt treat it as a serious sport, hence, no way will he pay twenty quid to get in.. We stopped being "regulars" when the Aces charged for 12 and upwards, after many years of being free when he was under 12, (so they lost my money and gained nothing), and instead we did FIM meetings and "decent" individuals, ie Proper Speedway meetings, with the odd attendance to the Aces when certain riders were in town.... He has though paid for me and him to attend tonight and the British GP, (over £80 on me!!!), as a thankyou for the thousands of miles I have covered taking him the length and breadth of the country so he can play football.. I was "shocked" to say the least.. Although it will be me paying the hotel bill.... Hopefully your daughter stays with it and can see the value when it his her turn to have to pay to get in, as the sport needs that "missing generation" so badly... Edit: FWIW. I actually think that for a good many that £7/£8 could actually be the "deal breaker" given the cost of living will rise/is rising so much.. And, just like with me, you lose the adults money too...

Not many seats left... Crowd will be comfortably over 2000... Should be a good evenings entertainment...

Good point... As they slavishly follow such a subjective measure as averages, there wouldnt be anything wrong for me in using any number of riders for two months at a time (or even less), just as long as their average meets requirements.. Even for "just one night only" if required, as it would at least mean that a team use their own riders and not another teams' in the same league. As that destroys any kudos in winning the competitions... And if you dont have that "it means something" feel to a sporting contest, unfortunately the fanbase can end up apathetic towards it, which cannot be good for attendance levels..

Just basic common sense isn't it? I wonder if there is actually anyone within the sport who scratch their heads wondering why the sport has no major sponsor involvement.. Rendering your own competitions virtually worthless from the outset, by your own rules and regulation of them, is not the greatest starting point for success you would have to think, yet that seems to be the 'game plan' each season... It is certainly a very uniquely strange way to run a business...

My money is on Chris Morton and Andy Smith... (Both being probably still better than some of the ones they have ended up with by the way)

Or maybe it will be like "I'm a Celebrity" where after a couple of weeks of the same seven, another couple of riders walk into the pits unexpectedly....

Looks like a very good crowd... AB and FG are the only areas that will open on my phone, suggesting C, D, and E are full... AB is 90% full too... Should be a great start to the season...

They share riders but not rules...

Let's hope relocation doesn't mean being "relocated to the annals of speedway history", like so many sadly have been before...

"Scott in Aces colours?" "Got"... "Scott in Wolves colours?" "Got"... "Scott in Poole colours?" "Got"... "Scott in Glasgow colours?" "Not got! I will swap him for Bomber in Redcar colours"....

See.... That's thinking out of the box. .. Come on BSPL, don't miss out on these great ideas....

Heat 15 is within the meeting, so even if it influences the final result it is still the 'whole meeting' that provides the final scores, and actually often Heat 15 has zero bearing on an overall result, given a team can be too far behind to score any points when it takes place... This extra heat basically dismisses what has gone before and provides the result of the match... Maybe if the curfew is near they will do "Rock, Paper, Scissors"... Best of 3 obviously as it would be daft if they only did it once....

In any league a draw is a result which forms part of its overall process.. Therefore. At the end of the season the league should reflect the results from every meeting that takes place that either gets completed or called as such... No league table should reflect what happens in just one race within a meeting... If that's the case then just have one heat per meeting...

I think a sachet of Steradent might be more of a winner....

I think any team with Jason Doyle in will always be nearer the play offs than the bottom... However, just realised that in this league being fifth gets you equidistant from both... So maybe not a great rule of thumb....

Do you still get a point for being within six of the home team?

Do each team have ten blank spaces included which just say "Guest" underneath? Meaning you can add that rider as and when they represent that club? Scotty and Bomber stickers would be very sought after by the kids if so...

I take it not all pensioners are "loaded" of course.. However.. Given so many pensioners go v families who attend, I would suggest that many of those would still go regardless of whether they get three or four pound off, as that really wouldn't be "make or break" for too many I would think, given if they can afford the current cost to get in then finding less than a fiver more shouldn't be beyond them.. (If their desire to watch Speedway is sufficiently there in the first place that is)... 250 pensioners paying four quid more though is a grand each week, which if your run 20 matches is £20k extra a season, a fair % increase on total revenue I would suggest given the pretty low base the sports' income starts from.. I personally think Speedway is going to suffer badly over this summer with all the large hikes in the cost of living and the fact that many will be spending their time (and money), enjoying holidays abroad again... With Speedway being well down the pecking order in the priority listings.. My own cost of living rises in April by circa £200 a month if the current fuel costs dont drop, as Gas/Electric, Council Tax, and NI rises kick in.. Therefore getting the price "right" could be fundamental to survival for some, if not for many... An interesting season ahead...

The "Grey Pound" is one of the most sought after... Simply because many of those who have retired are a lot more "bomb proof" from external financial factors that those who still are working and raising families are... The disposable income of pensioners given so many now have private pensions bought around the 80's/90's is considerably higher than the generation that has gone before, and the next generation of pensioners will be even better off with many having also made fortunes in their property before down sizing... My old man is 84, lives by himself, and has much more disposable income than me, with mortgage, kids etc... The 65 year old pensioner of today was born in the late fifties, hence were 30 somethings in the 80's when share ownership became the "norm" for so many, as were ISA's etc, and have benefited from high employment levels for the most part, huge house price increases, and also excellent health and nutrition improvements in relation to their parents, which means many are still very active... No real reason to charge them less to be honest... Tracks would be much better charging a family of four admission with a healthy discount, as they are the social group which invariably only make a small percentage total of those who currently attend... And will be the ones most severely impacted by the cost of inflation rises...

Been the obvious way forward for years... However, as DU'ing is now so out of control (because it's the only way the two pro league system can exist), it would then mean some riders would lose a job in each league. So won't happen...

Can you bring a Guest in for Press and Practice day?

Too many people....

Why not do it BEFORE Heat One when the score is 0-0? Would save a fortune on wages by missing out the next 15 heats.. And, as so many complain about how long it takes to complete a meeting, it would mean the meeting finishes only a few minutes after the start time so everyone wouldnt be waiting around... Meaning all go home positive as to the way the meeting has been ran, which can only help in hopefully attracting them back again.. Also getting meetings done and dusted in five minutes or so, at any track, would also mean families could attend as kids would be home in good time so as not to impact their school work next day... Less wear and tear to man and machinery too, as less races means less tired riders, and less need for tuning, replacement parts, three bikes... etc etc.. It might even persuade some GP superstars over given it wont impact their racing schedule too much... I do think though that there needs to be rules around Guests, as if there is only one race per meeting, then each team can only have a maximum of two Guests each... Anything more and it could become a bit of a nonsense...

My comment 'OFF' re holidays was more to do with the fact that a rather large chunk of disposable income will be swallowed up this year, unlike the last two, meaning Speedway may suffer off the back of it.... Maybe knocking a fiver off would be the answer and hope you bring a lot more people in? As the entertainment sector will be under pressure more than ever this year I would think.. Pipe dream I know... When the utility bill rises hit, and if the fuel costs stay high, allied to the cost of living increases, and NI increases, I can really see major problems for the "entertainment sector" sadly... My income alone will be hit by 4% Council Tax hike taking it to over £2k a year, an £1100 a year gas/electricity increase, a 1.5% increase in NI meaning a £1000 loss of net income, an estimated 6% increase in food costs, and four weeks ago I filled the car up and it cost me £70, this week it cost me £95... Even my bloody internet is going up. Which fuel do BT use? I would suggest Speedway needs to ensure they give a damn good value for money night out if they still want finance pressured patrons to attend... Streaming "could help" but if all it does is have someone paying £12 to watch a stream, who would have paid £20 to attend, then it wont help at all.. It will be interesting to see who can be the most innovative in maintaining crowd levels this year, and who may even increase them when faced by great challenges...