mikebv

Great to see track covers in use again.. So many meetings get called off prior to race night (now seemingly days in advance), yet the night itself could have easily seen the meeting take place...

Promoters have to stop fantasising that their competitions mean anything and stop trying to put one of over each other, whilst spending ridiculous money collectively to do it.. Ultimately, completely and utterly wasted money.. Many fans dont take it seriously so they need to have the same attitude and work together to just put out Speedway that delivers four riders of reasonably equal ability in each race at a price point that enough fans see as value for money, on nights (or days) that the fans want to attend on.. Riders need to understand that the days of being a Speedway rider and retiring with plenty of money in the bank are long gone (in the UK), and expecting to earn a (good) 12 months salary in six months is becoming (if not already become) a pipe dream.. Whether the change required sits within a team concept or not is debateable however they certainly need to change something/lots of things before it becomes well past its fast closing tipping point....

Zmarzlik himself won one, unsurprisingly, and Mark Loram also did (I think).. Martin Dugard won one at Cov...

Give the young man the title now.. There is his level then the level of five or six others.. Not the greatest GP by any stretch but still worth a couple of hours watch..

Unless he's left handed... Its 'Saturday Rules' that apply...

Imagine taking this business plan to the Dragons Den? If they still weren't biting you could add in that you will plan your opening hours around when your employees can fit you in to come and work for you, rather than when your customers want you to open.. Can't understand why all four wouldnt be crawling over themselves to throw money at you...

I do truly believe your last sentence is 100% spot on.... Amazingly I still think they see the sport they run as some way "relevant" and "meaningful" and that the Speedway starved fans would simply just have rocked up in their 1000's post lockdown.. I can only presume they dont understand how little engagement fans truly have in the leagues they run given the lack of credibility and kudos of competing in, or even winning, any of them... The day they do realise this may never dawn on them obviously, but it surely has to at some stage soon... If it never does then you have to fear for the future of the sport in the UK dont you?..

And keep getting added too....

You can only be happy when you realise how fortunate you are to be able to watch this lad ride a Speedway bike...

Not at all. Unprofessional.... Hope the mechanic doesn't loosen his wheels..

Robert not happy...

My point about 'Elite' John is that every sport needs a "flagship". To aspire too if nothing else. But to be the standard bearer in the main.. Personally for me it would be five men per team and all over at least a 4.5 average (and maybe higher if enough riders).. Definitely not "Elite" in the context of Speedway, but certainly the "Elite" we have to offer over here... And the starting point is that hardly anyone knows who Tai Woffinden is so Bomber Harris being a No1 wont be given a second glance by those who dont watch the sport now. And those who do, already see him ride there.. When I say 7 professionals to pay you do need to find 60 races worth of money to pay them from your home meetings income, with your reply it suggests it's a bit "hit and hope" if they get paid the away match..? Is that the case usually? The sport with DU and guests galore is 100% set up for the riders. And nothing more. I think most fans know this. However tough talking is needed on both sides of the fence. If tracks disappear then so do team places and let's be honest, not many Swedish and Polish top tier teams are beating down a door to many of the lads who ride over here are they? Your comments re the old NDL payments are interesting in that I feel it underlines the fundamental issue facing the sport and that is Promoters take their leagues far too seriously in comparison to how even the actual die hard fans see it.. Hardly anyone cares who wins a Speedway League in the UK yet it seems Promoters see it as some kind of major achievement... Maybe they need to get a dose of reality and realise that so many fans just want to see four lads of reasonably equal ability racing against each other.. When some fans would rather stay in and watch a GP than attend "their teams" meeting on the same night, it says everything about how they see the sport.. I would suggest that there are now more 'fans of the sport' than 'fans of the clubs'....

It is a weird contradiction in terms isnt it? Promoters spend all kinds of time, trying to get meetings on at any cost, using often random septets after lengthy scrutinising of averages and riders' performances at either their own track or the track they visit, ringing round to check availability of riders, moving fixtures around to accommodate rider's other commitments, even if it means their crowd potential isnt maximised.. Almost like "come hell or high water, we will run".. Then call off meetings days in advance... Damned if they do, and damned if they dont, I suppose.. And a thankless task in so many ways as what they then present, due to their very own operating infrastructure, simply isnt then taken seriously by enough people to part with hard cash.. So much effort for so little reward. (But it also has to be said that 'little reward' is often the result of their own self inflicted issues)... A very strange way to run any business never mind a "professional national sport".. However, that is probably down in many ways to it being ran by "well meaning amatuers" who are fans of that club first and foremost and prepared to put money (and lots of it), in to see their club thrive/survive... Rather than being ran by clear headed sports administrators who have zero emotional involvement, and would ensure so much of the nonsense that pervades wouldnt be allowed to take place, and that clubs were "saved from themselves" by way of financial controls.. Difficult to see a way out without true radical change is it?

At the start of the season I read something from the BSPL that went along the lines that their plan will mean all teams "will now be able to put out as high a level of speedway as is currently possible"... Meaning that although the "best riders" aren't here a "decent level of rider is"... Surely your crowd levels should simply dictate the level of rider you can use not "a wish list"... For me, get 1000 plus every week and you should be top tier. (Can't believe such low numbers appear 'good' but never mind)... Less than 1000 and given the large % fluctuation potential with such low numbers from week to week (eg Newcastle, Brum, the issue Eastbourne had GP weekend), then you should be looking at NDL I would suggest... Losing 200 out of an expected 800 is actually massive as that is a 25% impact which all businesses would suffer badly from, therefore if fans make it so abundantly clear that they have so little emotional loyalty to your brand and product, then you should be very, very, cautious in your planning.... The NDL though appeared to be the one league that worked, and seemed to work well, and a 500 crowd would seem to be "more than enough", to remain solvent. . I went to Poole v Leicester last week in the 2nd tier and watched 11 out of 14 riders who will appear in the top tier this week... That frankly is ludicrous and can only be down to 2nd tier promoters wanting to have their teams with these riders, however they are in a league with clubs that simply don't have the finances to support that level of rider... Ironically, Poole got some criticism for dropping down but fair play to them from a business perspective.. They are getting decent crowds, (as they always did), are not paying out 'stupid money' to world class talent, and have been able to drop their prices accordingly which can only encourage more visitors. (It got me there)... (The ridiculous fact that all clubs can pick and choose at whim where they compete is a point for another day).. However, bringing a 'Poole' into tier two, or having a 'Glasgow', or a 'Leicester' simply means that league has too far a disparate crowd level from top to bottom, hence those at the lower end of the crowd chain will, if they want to compete, have do so well above their means... Of course, (going back to the NDL), given the NDL was "doing well" it was broken up. And you have to ask yourself why...? Maybe the unpalatable truth is that this could really be the 'de facto' affordable level of Speedway in the UK for the large majority of clubs and was too much to face for some..? BV, KL, Peterborough, Ipswich, Wolves, Sheffield, (on a Thursday), Poole, (on a Wednesday), Glasgow (whatever day they choose), and Leicester (on a Saturday) should be top tier. (And add Swindon should they ever make a return).. Nine/Ten 'Elite' teams being in the flagship top league with a high team strength level to provide full time professionals with work and have no "makeweights" in any of these teams just to get under an "average"... With all the other clubs being in some amalgam of either "Championship Lite" or (a pre covid) 'NDL Plus' level of team strength, made up of semi pro riders.... When you have 7 full time professional riders to pay for 60 races worth of points money, from your home crowd of 600 or so, it simply won't work will it? And all you can do then is raise your prices to fund it... Price increases which then drop your crowd to 550, then 500, then 450 etc etc etc... Surely someone in Speedway will say "enough is enough" and stop this continual race to the bottom?

Havent the BSPL got a load of Speedway bikes they could flog that they bought a couple of years ago?...

Go and have a pint with chrismorton. He is the one stood next to you in the queue..

See, it's not all doom and gloom... Looks like it's doing better than Pigeon Racing..... I believe they were doing really well until there became a shortage of pigeons due to them starting to compete in international races at weekends... So they started to allow sparrows and blackbirds in to guest for the missing pigeons... Not crows though as they were deemed too good (they fly direct like a crow flies you see), to replace the missing pigeons so they did have some integrity... They did though allow magpies to replace losing birds during a race, and their mileage was counted as double due to them being black and white.... I'll get me coat...

Truly stood between a rock and a hard place decision making wise Speedway promoters at times aren't they? However, re Eastbourne's very honest and open press release, for me, it once again highlights UK Speedway's lack of emotional attachment to any particular team that so many in each crowd at all tracks feel... When choosing to watch the GP to "see the racing" is preferable to paying money to "see the racing" at your local track then that should give a clear message to promoters that their operating model simply doesnt cut it... If you follow any 'team' with true emotional investment, and the competitions they compete in are meaningfiul and have relevance, then nothing would stop that fan getting there... Least of all something you can record and watch later...

True, but they also then get to either put on events themselves, or rent it to other people to run their own events eg Stox, Speedway training days etc..

Paying 14 riders for 60 races of Speedway will still be considerably more (and by some fair old margin I would suggest)... Therefore, your largest cost will always provide you with your largest cost saving in £s (but can actually be just a small % reduction in reality)... I pay out £22k a week in wages, so if I hit my budget sales I am fine as profit is budgeted for me to spend £22.5k a week.. If my sales drop 10% because my customer numbers dont hit the budgeted sales, which are forecasted in advance, I have to drop my payroll spend accordingly.. If I didnt, and carried on laying out more than I could afford, I ulltimately wouldnt have any profit to reinvest and more than likely go bust as the inevitable outcome.. And not all clubs have to pay any rent at all dont forget, AND get to keep bar, car park and food money...

For streaming to work there has to be a lot of variables that happily come together.. Number one having the spare money to invest in a "gamble" rather than needing every penny (and more) to survive.. You also can be very lucky with those who provide the service as they may be fans who will do it for a "labour of love" and then advertise their video services more wider off the back of it, using it as an example of what they do, rather than any financial gain.. And then you have the potential uptake to consider, if there are zero restrictions on crowds, and you are not getting anywhere near filling your stadium, then there isnt much point streaming the event.. If you do have restrictions, or play to full houses every week, and therefore demand to watch outstrips the supply of tickets available, then streaming can become worthwhile to do... My local football team Stockport County streamed all matches during lockdown for £7 a game.. They did it because the owner has very full pockets that go very deep, so stood all the cost, and they get circa 4000 fans a match so a lot of potential buyers, meaning around 1200 fans who were missing watching their team play logged in every week.. Horses for courses I would suggest.. For those with deep pockets to absorb all the costs then they have zero risk and it could benefit them in the overall aim of growth, however given UK Speedways tiny following and overall brand awareness, I would think for many it would be a fair old gamble..

?? Their largest outgoing is employee wages... They are one million percent in charge of that..

If you want to keep team racing then run it properly with credibility and integrity, at the correct level decreed by the clubs' fan base levels, not the level that the ego"s of the promoters want their clubs to race at.... And run it on days when you can get your best crowds in, not when your employees tell you that they are available.. And do this once a fortnight but more if your fan base supports it... And dont charge more than £15 for an adult and definitely not more that £30 for two adults and their kids, but if you do charge more than £30, then dont expect most of these families to pay it more than once per month at best.. And if you cant meet the costs using that max £15 price point (£30 family ticket), then reduce your outgoings accordingly until you can..

1991 it may be but several times before, and since, it has needed restructuring... I've said before, domestic UK Speedway massively lived off the back of a world beating set of English riders who were beamed into millions of homes on Saturday afternoons celebrating victory after victory.. Then circa mid 80's, English Speedway had lost PC, Michael Lee and Kenny Carter within just a few years. Names who were recognised nationally as elite successful sportsmen and not just known within the Speedway following fraternity.. Instead ITV started to show each week American and Danish riders celebrating on the top step of the podiums, and as this went on regularly for several years, 'floating fans' in particular started to lose interest, but more importantly, so did the TV and Newspapers. This lack of success was then accelerated by UK clubs who, seeing the US and Danes dominate, decided to instead of developing UK riders, started signing up anyone and everyone from the US and Denmark and then slowly from anywhere at all around the globe.. Bringing in literally hundreds of journeymen riders to be often replaced by hundreds of other journeymen foreign riders... Now all UK Speedway has is a Mickey Mouse operating model (that has been in various guises always there but in a modern social media age you cannot get away with), no major sponsors due to no 'proper' TV, Audio or written media coverage, and a measure of success quoted by the chairmen as being "getting all teams through the season".. It needs a root and branch review and radical overhaul as the operating model is failing abysmally and needs throwing out and a new one bringing in... But, as this 1991 document shows. That wont ever happen.

Are there Covid restrictions on crowd levels still in Sweden ? Crowds seem well down on the norm of pre Covid days a couple of seasons ago.... And even those crowds at that time seemed well down on crowd levels of five or so years ago...