Tom Turner

Yes. A consumer making the decison not to spend their money on a product that does not cater to their requirements is very "adult like". What a foolish post.

I have tried so many times. I have spoken to many promoters and others involved with the sport, all the way to the top. I have even offered our services free of charge for a whole season just to show them what can really be done with the right minds in the right places. At worst I have been completely ignored and not even offered the courtesy of a reply or acknowledgement, at best I have been told that they are not interested. The promoters are sports fans and average businessmen, not marketing graduates who know what they are talking about and can really make a difference. With all due respect you are a perfect example of the ignorance shared by many of the promoters. They are not "supposition and maybe's", they are tried and tested methods employed by all top businesses but you are simply out of touch with them. Even Poole is far from the standard the UK is capable of achieving with the right minds in the right places. Spot on.

I love the sport with a passion, but I feel this is my last opportunity to protest. Actions speak far louder than words.

Oh dear, do you really believe that for one second? You couldn't be more wrong.

No this is completely wrong. You are a prime example of everything wrong with British Speedway. They do not need to take expensive measures at all! There are many entirely free marketing options that would help increase attendances across the UK without a doubt. I work for a marketing company which boasts an impressive array of clients and case studies. British Speedway does NOTHING in the form of marketing, or at least nothing of value. Speedway is a brilliant and exciting sport! There is nothing wrong with it except the complete lack of hype and knowledge. I have never met a single person my age who is familiar with speedway and that is the real issue. The die hard older generation will keep attending, so forget about them! We need to focus each and every one of our efforts on targeting new fans aged 12 - 30. The BSPA need to stop resting on their laurels as they are clearly not working. Audiences are overwhelmingly of an older generation and in years to come there will be no new blood in the sport to take over when they are no longer around. If the BSPA were to set up a designated marketing team who could handle the offline aspect of advertising and most crucially of all the online aspect of social media and advertising it would only take a very minimal contribution from each club. This alone could double audiences within just a couple of years! Reducing the quality of the product to minimize costs is not the way forward! It's like moving your straw around the bottom of the cup to suck up the last few drops when really it need's a refill. If you'd like to pretend these issues don't exist then be my guest, the BSPA have been doing it for the last 10 years

You can't change anything with that attitude. If you continue to attend you will allow a lower standard of product to become a precedent. The promoters are refusing to listen to us. They seem to think being a promoter makes them a celebrity and that nobody know's better than they do. And now look whats happened. The decisions the promoters have made do not support growth, they only support very limited retention. That is no way to run a business and is a recipe for disaster. It's time to speak with actions, not with words. The promoters have nobody to blame but themselves.

No of course I wouldn't. What a stupid thing to say. It is not mine, or any other consumers job to fund a sport dying at the hands of foolish and ignorant promoters who live in a dream world of their own. I would prefer it if British Speedway addressed the real issues rather than make stupid changes that will result in a poorer product for the consumer. However, I fear it will take a complete shut down before promoters will realise their mistakes.

It's simple, I won't be attending speedway in Britain next year and would urge others to do the same. I will save my money and travel to a Polish Ekstraliga match or two.

It's entirely comparable. If a product that I have come to know and love decreases signifcantly in quality then I will not enjoy it anymore. Even if the product was much cheaper, I still wouldn't purchase it. A large majority of speedway fans do not come on the forum and are not familiar with the politics of speedway. As far as they are concerned they see a product that no longer meets the standard they have come to expect and will reconsider whether or not it is worth their money. There is no point pretending this isn't a real issue because it is. There will be a further noticable decline in attendances this season.

Can you answer my questions?

I purchase Heinz tomato ketchup from the shop every week. I don't buy the own brand ketchup. I can't afford to get all of my shopping brand label but there are one or two products that I particuarly enjoy and I like to spend a little extra on. If Heinz came out tomorrow and said "Business isn't doing so well at the moment, so we are going to use lower quality ingredients to save costs. The flavour won't be as good, but there will be more of it" then I would no longer spend my money on Heinz tomato ketchup! Some supporters on here, particuarly the more outspoken members, seem to believe that we owe the sport, and that we should attend in times of good and bad, in a way that is true, but when the product has been drastically altered then that's not the case and as a consumer you should not accept a lower standard of product or you allow it to become a precedent. I am not saying that promoters should run themselves in to the ground maintaining a league they cannot afford, I'm telling them they need to open their eyes and look outside of the speedway box. Watch how the world around you conducts their business and learn a thing or two about modern day marketing and the power of social media.

Read my post above.

What happens when a rider gets injured and rider replacement is required? Will these 13 heats be shared amongst the 1-5? How would this work fairly? Surely that would mean that if a rider 5th in the averages becomes injured and a guest is not available only the rider in 4th be able take his place? This would mean that rider would have to take up to 10 rides in a night? The only way we could have a rider in all races is if all the riders took an extra ride for him but that is just opening the door for abuse! The rider at the bottom of the 1-5 is having a bad month and he's not on the pace at all so he is pulled out sick or with an injury allowing the number 1 and 3 to take rides for him? £10 says this is the first rule Matt Ford is accused of manipulating next season.

With the new rules allowing NL riders to mix with GP stars on a regular basis I have proposed some changes that will level the playing feild... After every lap completed the rider in 1st place must get off his bike and run the remainder of the race on foot. This should even things out nicely and will allow extra time for Kelvin Tatum to state the obvious during each heat.

I'm not surprised he's happy, I would be equally happy if I was gifted a promotion that I had not earned. No offence intended whatsoever but Richie Worrall isn't exactly my idea of "elite".

Yes, I asked because I didn't know. Thank you very much, I will do that now

Thank you so much. Very interesting to hear about the first 3 matches. What did the owner do wrong? I have watched a few Toruń matches online and the quality of racing is outstanding! Could a mod please move this topic to International Speedway? Thanks (Mod-no probs )

It's really simple Skidder. The internet can literally double crowds in less than a season or 2. I am so confident of this that I would work for any Elite League club free of charge for 1 season just to show you how effective this method is. The extra crowds will generate additional revenue. The additional revenue can be spent on better riders and better track surfaces that riders can race with confidence. Riders have said publically about how they are not confident to give it their all on a lot of our tracks and therefore the racing quality is heavily compromised. The high quality racing will support the online marketing and the attendances will snowball.

If anybody truly believes British reserves are to help rebuild British speedway or provide a better experience then you are sorely mistaken. The only reason we are using British reserves is because they are cheap and have nowhere else to ride. This will allow us to cut down on international riders who do not want to race such a large British schedule and in turn allows the promoters to stage more meetings in a year. This is a misguided approach to generate more revenue through less overheads and additional fixtures. It will not work. I am completely blown away by the ignorance of out of touch promoters who seem to think the internet can be ignored. When will they learn that GROWTH is key and not RETENTION! If online marketing was properly utilized it would not take long before we would have higher quality racing, higher attendances and lower ticket prices. So many businesses have went from zero to hero simply by using the internet to it's full potential. 75% of the UK is connected to the internet daily and it doesn't cost a penny to generate hype. There are so many missed opportunities that are slowly killing the sport. Why on earth anybody would think Sky is better for speedway than internet marketing I simply do not understand. People do not just turn on speedway to find out what it is!

I agree entirely. There is not a chance in hell that a NL/PL standard reserve will beat the likes of Darcy Ward in any Elite League race! Unless it is gifted to them through engine failure or tapes exclusion. Boring boring boring.

Riders should get off their bike and run 1 lap instead. This would encourage fitness and reduce costs all round.

I wouldn't say stupid, I would say out of touch or perhaps even incompetent. If anyone tried to run a business like the BSPA run British speedway it would inevitably crash and burn. The fact of the matter is massive marketing opportunities to support the growth of British speedway are dismissed entirely due to the ignorance of outdated and out of touch promoters. Diluting our leagues is not the right way to support growth, it is a last ditch effort to retain current supporters. And it won't work.

Hi guys, I would like to travel to Toruń in 2014 to watch an Ekstraliga match for the first time. There is not much in the form of English information online and Google translate does not translate very well. Can anybody offer advice on where I can find Ekstraliga fixtures, pricing and other information in English? Has anybody else travelled to watch an Ekstraliga match? Any help or advice is much appreciated

What a load of rubbish. Will not be wasting a penny of my money on British Speedway next season. You need to look at the sport like a business. It is losing money for a variety of reasons. The main issue with British Speedway is it's complete lack of marketing strategy. The internet is completely misused and under used. You cannot sell a product that nobody knows about, just having it on Sky Sports is not enough! We don't want to attract the odd channel surfer, we want to attract a much larger newer, younger, long term customer base. Speedway would benefit from a dedicated marketing team that each club pays a fee to monthly in order to manage their local advertising, online web site and social media management. It's not rocket science guys. The second issue with British Speedway is our tracks. The riders do not give it their all because the tracks are simply too dangerous for them to try. Our surfaces are littered with ruts and we still struggle with getting covers on the track when it rains. Diluting our product is not the answer. The reserves will frankly be boring compared to the standard you would expect with the title "Elite". It is an absolute joke to expect a completely inexperienced young rider to compete alongside the likes of Darcy Ward, even if it is one race. They will get walked over every time. If anything it will give their confidence a battering! Give the riders the tools they need to race properly. Utilize the vast power of the internet and use social media more effectively by handing control over to those who know what they are doing, young IT and Marketing graduates who can turn the sport around in a matter of weeks, not the old and out of touch promoters who frankly haven't a CLUE what they are talking about when it comes to modern day marketing and technology. I am currently watching Torun matches on YouTube. Spend 5 minutes having a watch and you will see why Polish league racing has 12,000+ in attendance every week. Step 1 - Harness the power of modern day marketing techniques and the vast power of effective social media management Step 2 - With the extra revenue generated from simple and effective online marketing schemes invest in better quality track surfaces and preperation. Step 3 - Sit back and watch. The racing standard will improve as riders will give it their all and attack the track with CONFIDENCE. The attendance figures will rise in line with better quality racing and effective marketing strategy. British riders should not to be given positions in teams that they will not be competitive in. They will suffer drastically and their confidence will surely suffer. Riders should be given Elite League positions on merit alone, not through what can only be described as pity. The only way riders will be able to achieve these positions on merit alone is when there is a strong and prosperous speedway framework with the additional funds required to support the riders, their development and their equipment to allow them to excel. This will only happen when we take the steps above.

These are the real issues. Your average punter is more informed than you might think. 4 riders of equal ability does not mean good racing, it just means 4 riders who are all as bad as each other.