mikebv

Since the GP riders effed off to Poland when the Sky money ended, this has been the only outcome... However. Steadfastly, season after season, it's been avoided by the promoters... Even COVID saw zero change and it was a free hit to be radical.. Why? No idea, the reality must have stared them in the face, yet they spent the best part of a decade fudging each week and pretending what they delivered had some relevance. (With the collusion of a compliant fanbase)... When Speedway was successful, the top 3 or so in each team were fully professional, with good sponsorship off setting the cost to the clubs.. The other four members of each team usually had jobs but were happy to earn a weeks money worth from their main job, each night, several times a week, by riding Speedway.. Now we have professional NDL riders.... And punters pay for this with ridiculous admission fees given the miniscule size of the sport, year on year.. Utterly effing crackers...

I used to pay a tenner EVERY meeting to watch the Colts at the NSS... A tenner for me AND my U16 lad... The crowds filled half the NSS 1700 Grandstand and I no longer was prepared to pay over thirty five quid to watch the "top riders" for us both, as the entertainment at NDL level was just as good.. Even if 3 seconds a race slower.. (And guess what, I didn't notice until the announcer told me).….

If you want to run a team sport.. It needs that emotional attachment .. "These lads, good, bad, indifferent, are my team"... UK Speedway does its level best to destroy that concept... Four guests and RR everyone? Let's get it on.... Give us your fifty quid for you and your missus...

It isn't whether the riders think it is important... It is whether the fans do...

And all to win something that the promoters very own operating model, devalues and destroys any kudos and credibility in winning... You really cannot make it up, can you...

On Phil The Aces FB page, Phillip Lanning goes into great detail about what the Aces are doing, (at some cost), to attract new fans... Sadly, they are missing the point.. Getting the "lapsed ones" back is what should be being focused on.. Dean says cost of living is an issue, and I agree.. I say Mickey Mouse WWE rules keep people away in 2025, (you could get away with it in 1975 to 1995, now you cannot)... (Four guests and RR anyone? Lovely, form an orderly queue, no pushing in)... Some say the overall entertainment package is poor, and they are correct.. The sport is trying to attract a younger demographic. And it is not the right target market.. These kids are either at Uni dreaming about a zero hours contract somewhere at the end of it... Or, already working on a zero hours contract, with a maximum 16 hours a week guaranteed... Those of us, of "ahem" a "certain age" had full time jobs, and pensions which had full time earnings feeding in to them... "We" (the many thousands of us), who used to go regularly, and still passionately follow the sport, but attend "now and again", are the ones to target... We have the disposable income to spend, the Under 30's often don't... First though, instead of reading and listening to "conjecture and theory" as to why crowds are down... EFFING FIND OUT!!! Get the facts!!! Dont waste marketing money on attracting a cash strapped younger singles and family demographic, who they expect to go once, spend £25 and upwards on something they have little knowledge of, and be immediately hooked, (again folly but that's for another time).. And instead, spend the money on market research to find out why more passionate Speedway fans WONT attend meetings this week than the numbers that will... Find out the collective generic 3 biggest barriers to attending... And fix the b*stards...

I am having less customers that last year... So... Should I? a) Do some research to find out the truth as to why and fix the issues? Or.. b) Increase my prices to those who still visit me to cover the shortfall? It must be such a tricky one to answer, hence so many promoters seem to opt for b)....

A surprising first 6 heats...

Have they not dispensed with that daft "nearly every team qualifies"?

Considering they made it so slick, it was a bit puzzling to see them riding mid track...

Important win for Wroclaw... You don't want to finish fourth... That would be season over .. The racing wasn't up to much but that was due to the very slick track.. Thomsen always seems to flatter to decieve....

Agreed.... Also, Drabik for me...

GP hangover too? Many Gorzow fans would have paid out some big money to attend last Saturday... Good to see a club do some "specials" though to try and bring a few more in to watch something which is live on TV...

Ultra slick too... They have obviously tried to negate the racers in Wroclaw's team...

Brady still injured....😀

There has been riders riding for Team A, who have been sponsored by Team B, as Team A hadn't the relevant criteria to be allowed to employ the certain "Tier" that is required... I presume Brexit has brought even more complications... One thing is for sure... You get caught employing overseas nationals, without the right for you to do so, or their right to be here, and you can face serious consequence...

If it is a visa issue, then they could have no choice but to prevent riders from riding with immediate effect. In the business I was in, we had to suspend anyone without the right to work immediately, or face a £28,000 fine per person.. And possible prison sentence for me!!!!😇 .... I would have been like Big Vern... "Ah'm doin' chokey for no man Ernie" "BLAM! BLAM!"....

Some businesses also sometimes need to use a third party to "sponsor" their employees, depending on how long they have been in business..

Very sad news .. His photo of Hans Nielsen doing a wheelie, whilst Mike lay on his back on the track, so took it from "underneath" Hans, was an amazing photo... RIP....

But that doesn't ever stop them usually does it? Four guests and RR anyone? Not a problem...

Rider bans don't stop meetings taking place do they?. Strange...

They haven't for the past two decades when they should have done, hence we are where we are today... Maybe those chickens have finally come home to roost...?

Dead rubbers .. So picking and choosing... Packed for Wroclaw and Torun I would think... And the play offs... A similar pattern to over here... But obviously they start with many thousands more so less impact financially. Hopefully a cracker coming up... @ShanoXtra give us a wave..😁

Heat leaders plus 4 to 5 for fhe Aces... The rest, plus 10 to 12 for the Witches...

Me and my lad will be there weather, (and rider availability permitting), so that is at least two more than last week... I don't have BSN simply because with Poland, Sweden, SEC, GP and domestic UK Speedway on TNT, all available to be watched, that is "quite enough".... By Monday I usually have "Speedway fatigue", especially as I am now retired, so I can watch Saturday's Polish meetings as well... Even Sweden on Tuesday can often be missed, (until the play offs).. UK Speedway hasn't moved forward one iota with the decades of regular national TV coverage since Sky started showing it, so maybe it's time to ditch it? Sponsors, however, may be impacted though and they do seem to be the "lifeblood" of many tracks looking at attendance numbers, so maybe the TV coverage is actally keeping some going?