Thoughts From A Newbie

[DazaXIII]

As a relatively new fan of the sport (less than a year) I wonder if my thoughts might be of interest. Obviously I am fairly naïve to ways of Speedway still but sometimes that innocence does throw up an interesting idea or two.

But then again if it is all complete rubbish, well hey I’m new here, what did you expect.

 

Find ‘em

At 40 I’m old enough to remember Speedway on World of Sport as a kid so I have known about it all my life. Reading boards such as these it would seem that there are plenty of people younger than me that don’t really know what the sport is and in some cases that it even exists.

The other love of my life is Rugby League and like it or not, that is a far bigger sport than Speedway. For a completely different set of reason RL also suffers from a lack of coverage, promotion etc in the media and if they can’t change it then Speedway doesn’t have a hope either. Much as it would be nice to have a meeting on prime time terrestrial tv once a week to pubicise us, it ain’t going to happen. So Speedway needs to promote itself in different ways and I would suggest via kids and schools.

Either centrally from the governing bodies or individually as clubs I think there’s mileage in perhaps a road safety awareness demonstration/seminar that could be put together and trotted around various schools. As school kids will be on two wheeled machines cycles and/or mopeds so what better than to have a guest who makes his living on two wheels as well. Correctly put together that could be very engaging, entertaining and might even do some good.

The ulterior motive though is then give away a “free entry when accompanied by a paying adult” ticket to every child.

In my case I did watch a few bits on sky and enjoyed it but I needed to go to a live meeting to be bitten by the bug. We all know and appreciate the noise, smell and atmosphere really adds to the experience so it’s a way of getting people through the doors who normally wouldn’t ever attend. When they’ve been once, you never know, a couple of them might come back again.

 

Hold ‘em

This one is right up my street as it’s what I’m going through now. I turned up at meeting one, realised it was a lot of fun and decided to keep coming back but then naturally wanted to learn more about my new sport. Some bits you pickup as you go along anyway but it would be very useful in my opinion to do something with the rules. Either,

A – Have them on the internet somewhere in a decent structure where a newcomer can read the basics to get them going and then also trawl through the more technical elements which would include decent explanations of how why etc.

B – Amend the rules to make them understandable anyway.

With this I’m referring to things such as the rider replacement rules which I’ll admit I still don’t fully understand and haven’t found anywhere where this information is readily and easily found. Due to a lack of knowledge in that area I do feel I’m missing out on something and whilst there’s no danger of me deciding not to come back because of that I do feel there could be more done such as the above to hold onto me and make my transition from novice to seasoned fanatic a lot easier.

 

Keep ‘em

If we don’t think of ourselves as top draw entertainment, neither will anyone else, so how about a little entertainment to drag Speedway into the modern era of what is expected at a top class sporting event. I’m not advocating some sort of freak show or circus but I’m sure something could be done.

Thinking about my home track at Brandon there’s plenty of room in the middle to stick a microphone and have a band or singer during the interval or maybe or even turn the tape girls into full blown cheer leaders to keep us amused pre match and during the break.

Additionally why there isn’t a mascot in his fluffy Bee costume to keep the kids (and adults) entertained I’ve no idea. Done correctly and with the right person in the costume that really does add to the spectacle and entertainment value for the day. At the rugby I can genuinely say I love Ronnie Rhino to bits basically due to the talent of the person who does it… and I’m a forty year old bloke… who doesn't even support the Leeds Rhinos.

 

So to sum up.

Give aways to get people through the doors in the first place. Understandable information that is freely and easily accessible to fans. Something more than just Speedway happening when you get there.

 

[Vince]

I think a lot of us have been around the sport so long that in truth we don't really know what would get new people 'through the door'. Therefore I think you are in a better position to comment than we are.

I think some of your ideas have been tried by individual clubs but not properly by the sport as a whole. I know some clubs have had riders go into schools and give away tickets. Personally I am not sure a safety seminar and Speedway sit too well together!

Like the 'hold em' ideas. 4 riders 4 laps shouldn't be as complicated as it has got.

Personally I would not be interested in a mascot but there might be many like yourself who would enjoy it so worth a go (the one at Reading seems popular). Perhaps local bands or even an inexpensive light show to go with the music being played could be effective between races.

I would very much like to see a roadshow with bikes, music and Speedway videos turn up at shopping centres and other highly visible areas throughout the UK. It wouldn't be that expensive in the scheme of things but could reach many thousands of potential fans. I would also like to see a large scoreboard at every track as I think it is crazy that a newcomer could lose track in his program and not know how the meeting is going.