mikebv

Should be printed off and handed out pre AGM to the Promoters.... Great post... Clear demarcation between leagues will generate aspirational improvements for both riders and clubs.. With financial rewards commensurate to each level... Time to stop the ego trip of too many who want to be seen rubbing shoulders with GP superstars and get real... One rider/One club, with each team riding on nights they feel they can attract the best crowds... If you want to ride in GB them you make yourself available for every meeting or you don't ride over here... For the promoters part they put out a fixture list by the end of November, and everyone is signed up by mid December. Promoters also commit to not planning any meeting at any time knowing riders are elsewhere.. Time for GB to stand alone, it cannot compete with Sweden or Poland so don't... Get the product credible, at a realistic admission cost, and start again from there.. All agree reduced ticket prices for away fans like the Premier League do in Football (easy to ensure integrity as the away team can sell the tickets at their own track).. And all contribute to employing a marketing company to get brand "Speedway GB" out there.. Let's be honest, 99.9% of the population don't go to Speedway and not many of that number even know about it.. A huge opportunity for a progressive marketing company you would think to earn themselves some big commission given the raw material of the racing to work with... Time to stop keeping doing what hasn't worked and start doing something different and new...

Teams that use bibs make all the guests that get used look the same as the rest of the team... Having four guest riders in bibs and three of their own riders in club kevlars looks ridiculous.. Even more so when guests use their own clubs kevlars under the bib...!

Common sense at last... Well done, great post... Both superb riders... One fantastic from the start who can pass riders using a very smooth technique, and seems to set up the move strategically well before the almost inevitable execution of it.. The other, not so good from the start, more animated physically on the bike, finding extra grip that no one else could, in areas of the track not many ventured to use, meaning he had a more 'raw' technique, but one he used it to pass riders like it was shelling peas.. Both great to watch in their way and for me, Tai, given his greater starting technique, would have the edge between the two.. But only just though... In my fantasy match race he would end up beating PC by the width of a tyre after leading by 20 yards or so after the first lap...

Often on here, we bemoan the lack of mainstream media coverage, and the very poor following the sport has considering over 60 million people live in the country, with many of them living no more than an hour away from a Speedway track.. Howerver, due to the (almost weekly) way the Sport is so dreadfully ran (in the UK)... Maybe it really is better that hardly anyone knows about Speedway in the UK, as just imagine the weekly laughing stock it would deliver if put out to a wider sporting community...? Better to stay under the radar I would suggest and keep it 'Mickey Mouse'... Who knows, maybe one day Disney may finally see the obvious synergy and come onboard with a multi million pound sponsorship?

You are right... Best leave it to the professionals... If only Lakeside had said 'bring a friend' it could all have been so different...

Got to say if many free tickets got into the hands of regulars then I would suggest the marketing plan isn't a great one... 2.5 Million people live in Grt Manchester... About 1400 go to BV... (And some of them are from further afield than McR).. So not too many should get into the regulars hands given those odds... And given the huge market to go at, the size of the prize should withstand the odd ticket finding its way to a regular surely? However, when I spoke with the Promoter it was a long time ago and time has moved on, and giving out free tickets physically is no longer required given the digital age, meaning a far easier way of targeting your market.... As several have said, the sport cannot attract 'kids' as they are not interested therefore it should target the 30+ somethings that hopefully can vaguely remember it when it had a decent following... Geting a couple of hundred of 30/40 (and above) year olds would be a bit easier to achieve than getting kids and their parents there.. Do it via a professional social media campaign and start some constant engagement with your potential customer base.. Or alternatively put some leaflets on cars in Supermarkets or ask your regulars to 'bring a friend'...

I wonder if any track tries to get local 'celebrities' to follow them on Twitter? Given the reputation of the BV board for example you would think they could know someone who has the 'ear' of the likes of Mourinho, Guardiola or maybe some of the players..? Maybe getting a few retweets off them may get their followers noticing the sport as it could be taken as an endorsement from them..? At the NSS for example the Mayor of Mcr, (Andy Burnham) is a very high profile person on social media and has a desire to end homelessness.... BV should latch on to this and see how they can help out by being a pillar of the community... The world has changed from "let's put leaflets on cars in supermarket car parks"... Sometimes you think Speedway seems to see leafleting cars in car parks as quite "cutting edge" when it comes to marketing..

Suggested something similar to a Promoter about 20 years ago... He spent the next two minutes after my suggestion working out how much it was going to cost him in 'lost revenue' by giving away free and discounted entry over several weeks... That would be 'lost revenue' that wasn't actually there in the first place because the people being targeted were those that were never attending....!!! He also was concerned that these tickets could end up being received by fans who actually did attend and this would hit income... I tactfully tried to explain that given the fact that as more than 99.9% of the 2.5 million people living less than 45 mins away don't attend, it was probably 'not too likely' many actual fans would gain from it but obviously there may be an odd one.. Bottom line is that the sport in a team guise (in the UK), is a busted flush... And has now gone too far to ever get credibility to be regarded as 'proper' by national mainstream media and treated seriously by them. And without that coverage crowds can never improve...

No doubt this Mickey Mouse nonsense is allowed because it's "in the interest of British Speedway" tigerowl...! Dont quite see the irony of that by those who run it do they?

I am not sure about that... Just because the same business plan has been used for the past fifteen years or so and failed, doesn't mean it won't be a roaring success this time...! Maybe one day, British Speedway will be revered the World over as being one of a very select group who have proved Einstein wrong...

Correct.. Tennis is another example... For donkeys years Britain had no chance of a Grand Slam winner yet for two weeks every summer you had hundreds of hours of coverage, watched by people who hadn't heard of 90% of competitors. Public courts actually had players on them too.. The day after the final no one gave a toss once more about Tennis until the same two weeks the year after.. Sometimes minority sports in the UK, like Tennis and Formula One, simply get their coverage down to the huge sponsorship which is attracted by its global following.. It becomes such a cash cow that it simply will never be allowed to disappear off the TV screens and newspapers regardless of the actual following.. And the reason it becomes such a cash cow is largely down to the socio economic grouping of its followers.. Plenty of A's and B's, white middle class, males and females, covering a wide demographic.... Perfect for high end companies sponsorship... Speedway on the other hand has a somewhat different profile of followers....

Maybe they could run the Cup Comps in October? Get the play offs complete by the end of September when the weather should be at its best.. Then for the Prem, first week in October the quarter final (), 2nd week the semi and the final in week three. Leaving one more week for rain offs etc.. For the Championship they will need the full month due to more teams.. Poland and Sweden are finished so all riders should be available.. It gives the teams with zero chance in the League something to strive for.. And prevents the Cup going on for months which sadly devalues it so much... Maybe they could do the draw based on the final league positions? In the Prem, Top v Eighth, Second v Seventh etc.. (Presuming they can keep eight teams in it obviously) That would hopefully leave the top two in the final if the seeding worked... Having a Sept end date for the League would also focus the mind on getting the League finished and result in more meetings taking place during the key summer holiday period of July and August.... If doubling up prevents this happening as riders will need to be in two places at once in October then run one of the Cup Comps in the first month of the season.. Or they could just carry on doing what they do now...? It works so well..

Excellent Post Hawk127 Promoters often bemoan how the dodgy weather in this country can knock off the gate those vitally required couple hundred or so that make all the difference to them... Then plan in no fixtures for weeks during the hottest summer for decades.... I think I spot a flaw in their cunning plan... And even if they say they didn't know the weather would be scorching, I would suggest there's a better than evens chance of running in July and August than running in October..

Not at all... Unless it is allowed to by an operating model bordering on insanity. (That word again)... Nature and Economics both have a way of naturally culling populations and businesses whose numbers are too great and pose a threat to their very existence if not checked... Speedway needs to have a strong top league, ran with credibility and integrity, to attract crowds... Do that and it gives itself at least a chance of a greater amount of sponsors, and that so important national mainstream media coverage... With that sponsorship and media coverage will then grow more awareness, and ultimately, more fans.. A virtuous circle having been completed... In football for example, the EFL lives off the coat tails of the Premier League... The huge focus on the PL naturally permeates down to the secondary competitions and they then can exist positively in some of this reflective focus.. If the PL allowed guests/ringers, and allowed competitors to appear each week for any amount of teams, and then allowed them to have more than one contracted club, it would be (quite rightly) regarded as being contrived and Mickey Mouse... And I can guarantee, enjoy nowhere near the same level of financial rewards or coverage it has today.. With the lower leagues enjoying nowhere near the same reflective spin offs it currently has.. In short, the overall entity of Football has become a 'behemoth' in England, but if ran like British Speedway, it would not be anywhere near the size it has evolved into... In Speedway the Premiership should be clearly seen as the 'alpha league', the pinnacle for every team to aspire to be in.... Therefore. Get this league right, run it properly, and put all the resource you can in pushing it out to the public, many of whom are currently oblivious to its existence.. Speedway will never evolve, grow and get stronger when riders can ride for teams in various divisions as there is simply no aspiration to get to the top. Which means the top league will never be a true pinnacle.. As an example. Craig Cook this year has rode for Glasgow and Belle Vue, therefore what is Glasgows motivation for moving up? They already have a top ten Premiership rider riding for them in the 2nd Divison so why bother moving out of this league? And for Craig himself, where is his 'growth' going to come from? He will never evolve as a rider by dropping down a level to take on lesser opponents. He has been there and done that so at best will stagnate.. No criticism intended of Craig Cook by the way, as I feel the more riders with Craig's commitment and attitude to British Speedway the better the sport will be. However he should be evolving as a rider not stagnating, or even regressing.. Get the top league ran with credibility and integrity to the best level the teams in at can afford and push this to the awaiting populous.. Give any marketing budget and media focus to these teams in this league and let them be the standard bearers for all other tracks to aspire to.. Then develop clear opportunity for promotion to this league, and through all leagues, so clubs of all levels can show the required ambition to individually better themselves through natural evolutionary growth.. Or, at least be able to participate at their natural level of capability.. Simply. Without evolutionary growth, the Sport can, and will, never move forward.. Without aspirational opportunity, no evolutionary growth can even take place and you will stagnate.. And if you stagnate, eventually you will wither and die..

But I bet they still will use guests...

I admire your optimism.. We will still be running finals on cold, dark rainy nights in October...

Charles Darwin had a theory.. For a species or entity to evolve and keep in existence, it is reliant on that species or entity to continually get stronger and develop itself to help prevent its removal from the face of the earth.. To that end, he decided it was the 'Survival of the Fittest' that would lead that species or entity to grow. With the thought process being that the strength of its 'alpha example' would lead the overall continued evolution and growth of the whole species or entity.. Another eminent Scientist, Albert Einstein, suggested that doing the same thing over and over again and each time expecting a different result was actually a sign of insanity... Both Darwin and Einstein have become revered by millions the world over through their work with their thoughts and findings influencing decision making and positively impacting billions of lives on a daily basis.. However.... British Speedway has a 'better idea' than the ones those two managed to come up with... 'Survival Of The Weakest' and 'There Is No Alternative' being what would appear to be its chief observations and belief.... If I am honest though, I am not entirely convinced Messrs Chapman and Godfrey, (and indeed the many others in charge over the past 20 years or so), will be held up in years to come with quite the same level of esteem and reverence for their ideas that 'Charlie and Bert' have received for theirs.... Maybe 'Quality not Quantity' could be a suggestion they may think about taking on board, as possibly could be 'Less is More'...?

Tai seems to have some momentum gathering with the Beeb. Maybe the start of a larger relationship with them and more coverage to come?

Need to get Tai on 'Strictly' or 'I'm a Celebrity'... And as IACGMOOH is set in Australia he won't have far to go to get there either... Buddum Tish... Seriously though Tai ticks so many boxes from a demographic marketing potential.... Its just a shame British Speedway cannot raise its level to meet his....

Read it a while back.. Some very astute observations as you say... All though, (as per all previous astute observations made), will be totally ignored... For me, the only chance the Sport has is to collectively market itself... Stop spending thousands individually on riders whom the local populous have never heard of, and therefore have no wish to see ride, for a Speedway Team they don't know actually exists... Instead, spend thousands nationally with a marketing company who may be able to make riders better known and, if nothing else, make the Teams and Sport better known within its own locale... The NSS, for example, delivers great Speedway racing... However many of the population even within a one mile radius of it, have never heard of the Belle Vue Aces, and have never heard of Speedway.. This I am sure can be said for the vast majority of tracks around the Country (the lack of awareness rather then the great Speedway possibly?!)... Bottom line is.... If no one knows about you, no one will visit you... And if that stays the case then you can have Tai, Emil, Bartosz and Majic lining up at the tapes.. The stadium will remain no where near full enough to pay for them..

I take it you must have read a leaked copy of some far reaching, root and branch investigation in to the future of the Sport RD? No? My apologies... I just presumed you were quoting its final recommendation!!!

As you say Scunthorpe could have run with a half a team of NL riders.... Or they could have scoured Europe for replacements if not enough available in the UK.. Or they could have pulled out of the League... And if they did that they would have at least freed up their non injured riders to replace other injured riders in other teams.. Bottom line is... Maintaining guests = Maintaining zero credibility.. Maintaining zero credibility = Maintaining almost zero mainstream media interest.. Maintaining almost zero mainstream media interest = Maintaining low crowds due to the lack of the publics awareness of it.. Maintaining low crowds due to the lack of the publics awareness of it = Maintaining zero interest in sponsoring it from large national companies.. Other sports have injuries to competitors, often several competitors from the same team. And they have to carry on.... Speedway cannot use 'ahh but this is speedway' as its catch all bollocks, get out of jail card.. If there are too many teams and not enough riders then completely change the dynamic.. Put simply, dont keep on using the same failed operating model over and over again.... As guess what? It doesn't work!

Ironically on this occasion ALL of them will be guests... I take it all are available for this? Any of them due on another pre planned break at the same time elsewhere in the World?... If they did need to invite replacements, would their luggage need to weigh less than the rider they are replacing or as it will be a big plane can they carry an extra 5% more.? I'll get me coat..

Followers of any Sport can never complain about a lack of mainstream media coverage when that Sport they follow allows 'horses for courses' ringers to be brought in.. It simply isn't (and can never be) a true sporting contest when teams are contrived and cobbled together, and farcically often done so using competitors who are competing for the same prize.. And there is no way the guest system can be used without the accusations of manipulation.. There is zero chance of any blue chip sponsors getting involved either.. Imagine one of them sponsoring this year's play off final and getting the decision to allow Adam Ellis to ride for both teams explained to them? And then later getting told that instead of that ludicrous situation now being allowed, two Swindon team mates will go head to head instead representing both clubs... This would be a major company who will be having its name associated with such brand damaging carnage... If theres not enough riders then reduce the number of teams... Or keep the same number of teams and reduce the number of team places per team.. Either way, you need to have supply exceeding demand to ensure replacements are available, just like in other Sports, (they have injuries too amazingly!).. Maybe the top league could be ran 'properly' with any replacements needed coming from the lower league? With the caveat being that once a rider rides for a top league team he cannot ride for any other that season and can only represent that team again if needed.. And on that basis put all the focus on the top league, and try selling it as a bona fide Sporting Championship with the aim to gain media coverage and sponsorship which could have a reflective positive fall out to the other leagues...

If you cannot run it properly as a Team Sport then don't... You will never be a success...