waco Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 Arthur Cross love your idea of two different length races..Maybe the last two heats with nominated riders. with the 6 lapper maybe team managers could nominate a rider to go of 15meters for double points if they wished to .These kind of scenarios could bring added excitement to the end of a match.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moxey63 Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 It is true about having to get to an actual speedway meeting now and then, to make you realise what it's all about. A couple of weeks ago I went to the Buxton airfence meeting, all the old-timers riding, and the smell, the noise of the bikes made me realise there is nothing like the real thing. SKY ditching speedway might make stay-at-homes (like me) venture outdoors every now and again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWitcher Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 Not really, rather concentrate on someone who might come back. Here it is again, a perfect example of why the sport is in the mess it is. You have absolutely zero business sense and I mean ZERO. A paying customer has given feedback, feedback as to why he doesn't use the product more, you immediately dismiss it. Society has changed, get over it. And another pearl of wisdom! Can you imagine any decent business taking this attitude? "We're selling less than we used too, what shall we do to fix it?" "Ah, society has changed, get over it" Brilliant. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsunami Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 (edited) Here it is again, a perfect example of why the sport is in the mess it is. You have absolutely zero business sense and I mean ZERO. A paying customer has given feedback, feedback as to why he doesn't use the product more, you immediately dismiss it. In any business, you concentrate your efforts on the ones that might come back, or start coming. Why bother wasting your time and efforts on someone already out of it and likely to stay out of it. Would anybody waste their time with 'past it' folks like moxey or Oldace. There are bigger fish to fry. And another pearl of wisdom! Can you imagine any decent business taking this attitude? "We're selling less than we used too, what shall we do to fix it?" "Ah, society has changed, get over it" Brilliant. In business, you move with the times, not get on about the good old days that will NEVER come back. Note you are 'like'd by old codgers, not folks in the business or attending fans. Blows your case really, probably time for you to move on. Do you really feel you have any ability to run a business, or are you just looking for the fight cos it's me. Edited October 10, 2013 by Tsunami Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 In business, you move with the times, not get on about the good old days that will NEVER come back. Note you are 'like'd by old codgers, not folks in the business or attending fans. Blows your case really, probably time for you to move on. There is a well known quote: "You have no future if you ignore the past!" That's why the opinions of "old codgers" are important. They know what made for the golden good times and can trace where things started to go wrong - very much so. Therefore, by means of showing examples they attempt to illustrate why the seeming continuation and in some cases the expansion mistakes are slowly destroying speedway in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickthemuppet Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 Speedways successful periods have owed more to luck than judgement. The late 20's it was a brand new sport but began to decline within a few years. The introduction of league racing regenerated interest to take it through to the war. Of course post 1945 in a country starved of entertainment the speedway boomed but by the early/mid fifties it was back in serious decline and stumbled along until the formation of the British League this brought about speedways most successful period but by the early eighties it was back in decline again, a decline that has continued to this day In a 85 year history only approx 25 - 30 years have seen the sport booming with 50 years of struggling along All sports boomed just after the war. Even Football crowds are way down today than they were in the Fourties and Early Fifties. Mind you the entertainment tax helped to kill Speedway as it was nearly 50% cost of the ticket which made it too dear so people stopped going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsunami Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 There is a well known quote: "You have no future if you ignore the past!" That's why the opinions of "old codgers" are important. They know what made for the golden good times and can trace where things started to go wrong - very much so. Therefore, by means of showing examples they attempt to illustrate why the seeming continuation and in some cases the expansion mistakes are slowly destroying speedway in the UK. ....and here's a quote for you and your new found mate. "You can't steer a ship to new pastures by looking at the wash". anon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conkers in Gravy Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 ....and here's a quote for you and your new found mate. "You can't steer a ship to new pastures by looking at the wash". anon I understand your opinion that we mustn't get too bogged down in the sport's past and need to look to the future, but I think it is important to find out why people have stopped going. Equally, it would be good to find out why Sky are going to drop the sport (as seems likely). Is it just cost-cutting or is it the poor standard of the meetings over the last couple of seasons or the ramshackle stadia with sparse crowds or the haphazard, confused fixture list? If Phil Rising is correct it seems Sky will just let the contract run out and walk away without a word. It would be useful to know why this has happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWitcher Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 In business, you move with the times, not get on about the good old days that will NEVER come back. Note you are 'like'd by old codgers, not folks in the business or attending fans. Blows your case really, probably time for you to move on. Do you really feel you have any ability to run a business, or are you just looking for the fight cos it's me. Blows my case? Your case is well and truly blown by the fact that the sport is in the mess it is. In fact, quite frankly you don't have a case. I know full well I have the ability to run a business and do so every day, a business on the up with triple the turnover it had when I first took a leading role in it 2 years ago. You tell us in business you move with the times, so tell me, what has the BSPA done to 'move with the times'. This is your chance now, an open forum for you to explain to us the great strides you believe the BSPA has taken to as you say 'move with the times'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldace Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 In business, you move with the times, not get on about the good old days that will NEVER come back. Note you are 'like'd by old codgers, not folks in the business or attending fans. Blows your case really, probably time for you to move on.In any business, you concentrate your efforts on the ones that might come back, or start coming. Why bother wasting your time and efforts on someone already out of it and likely to stay out of it. Would anybody waste their time with 'past it' folks like moxey or Oldace. There are bigger fish to fry. It isn't hard to see why the sport is in the mess it is with thinking like that Dont you grasp that a customer who makes a complaint is giving you a vital opportunity. Most customers of any business don't complain after a bad experience, they simply dont go again. When two people (the ones you chose to name) with over 80 years of watching the sport no longer want to attend you should be actively trying to canvass their opinions as to why not dismissing them. Bwitcher is spot on, you have zero sense, business or otherwise 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyE Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 Tsunami probably thinks the Aces v Pirates shambles was a good advert for speedway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldace Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 Tsunami probably thinks Not very often though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 ....and here's a quote for you and your new found mate. "You can't steer a ship to new pastures by looking at the wash". anon ??? A ship in pastures? I thought that was land for cattle etc? And who's my "new found mate"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pandorum Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 And we're still having the same race-length (4 laps) for all the heats ... why not include one heat each meeting that's only 2 laps (ideal for gating tarts) and (providing fuel tanks are big enough) one heat that's 6 laps (more chance for the slow-starting overtakers) ? And people complain the double point rule is Mickey Mouse It's not the length of the races that are a problem as a 4 lap race between four evenly matched riders on a decent racing surface is entertaining. It's the clapped out stadia, the lack of investment in home grown talent, the attitude of the people who run the sport, the lack of investment in the most important part of a promoters business......his track surface. It's competition from other things to do, the expense of a night out watching the sport, the expense to the riders which adds to the expense to the customer, lack of identity between riders and fans which used to be a major factor in 'the good old days'. It's so many little things that have not been learned from the past with a view to looking to the future. Some are easy to fix whilst others are more to do with a society that has moved with the times and demands more for thier pound than speedway is seemingly willing to offer. Speedway is a great sport but needs to change drastically to survive. The basic idea is sound but everything around that needs a revamp in both style and substance. Presentation, promotion, value for money, investment in our own riders. The list is sadly long and it is evident even to a blind man that the BSPA are not up to such a task. Next season will be a watershed for the sport. An English world champion, a new National Stadium, probably no more TV exposure for our failed EL. What will they do with these things? The smart money is they will do what they usually do. Squander it with a few meaningless rule changes and leave the rest to Providence To the idiots that run our sport thier customers are an enemy to be ignored, exploited and insulted. One day they will find themselves with no customers as eventually even the most commited get tired of all the bulls##t and find something else to do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philfromcov Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 just a quick question, mid week meetings are difficult for most people with a job and with kids at school. weekend evenings have alot of things to do besides go to speedway where the setup is poor.. Why cant speedway be run during the day 3pm at weekends just like football? 1) The bus/transport links are working fine 2) No school in the morning 3) No work in the morning 4) The "old" can get back home to watch "striclty come dancing" 5) The middle aged can get down the pub/relax 6) teenagers can go down town meet friends etc isnt this why football works so well, an excuse not to go shopping? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Vega Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 Good point Phil could work ok in the summer but the other months when the football season is on, people will either be at matches or watching Soccer Saturday. Promoters have cancelled meetings in the past during the evening as the crowds would be low due to fans watching football instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveLyric2 Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 just a quick question, mid week meetings are difficult for most people with a job and with kids at school. weekend evenings have alot of things to do besides go to speedway where the setup is poor.. Why cant speedway be run during the day 3pm at weekends just like football? 1) The bus/transport links are working fine 2) No school in the morning 3) No work in the morning 4) The "old" can get back home to watch "striclty come dancing" 5) The middle aged can get down the pub/relax 6) teenagers can go down town meet friends etc isnt this why football works so well, an excuse not to go shopping? What about the folk who watch both football and speedway?! There is really only one month - mid June to mid July - when there is no overlap!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevePark Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 just a quick question, mid week meetings are difficult for most people with a job and with kids at school. weekend evenings have alot of things to do besides go to speedway where the setup is poor.. Why cant speedway be run during the day 3pm at weekends just like football? 1) The bus/transport links are working fine 2) No school in the morning 3) No work in the morning 4) The "old" can get back home to watch "striclty come dancing" 5) The middle aged can get down the pub/relax 6) teenagers can go down town meet friends etc isnt this why football works so well, an excuse not to go shopping? A lot of tracks share with Greyhounds who run on a Saturday afternoon. Berwick might have a problem starting a speedway meeting at 3pm as Berwick Rangers kick off at the same time at the same venue. It might be okay at some venues, but many would have a problem. Good point Phil could work ok in the summer but the other months when the football season is on, people will either be at matches or watching Soccer Saturday. Promoters have cancelled meetings in the past during the evening as the crowds would be low due to fans watching football instead. Trouble is that's only two months! The other four months of the speedway season cuts across the football season. June & July are the only months where it's football free, but they seem to be starting the football earlier every season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philfromcov Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 What about the folk who watch both football and speedway?! There is really only one month - mid June to mid July - when there is no overlap!! i might be wrong ( and probably am!) but i dont think there is a great cross over between the two sports? i take your point about having then to choose, but the the potential improvement from other areas of the population could be significant. the example i would give is if Cardiff was on a Wednesday night, how many of the 40,000 would turn up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A ORLOV Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 Swindon used to run on a sat night, and got lots of away fans because people did not have to get up early on a sunday etc. It moved to a thursday and the crowds went down. They now have dog racing on saturdays and with the gps and football on most saturdays a switch back to a saturday racing is unlikely. I would not watch football even if they paid me to go to watch it , but many speedway fans follow both football and speedway. We used to have major meetings on a sunday, including one after the Cardiff GP which many of the GP riders used to ride at but even these have now stopped. The Cardiff weekend was very good with fans going to Somerset friday, Cardiff saturday, Newport sunday afternoon then Swindon sunday evening. Many from abroad who came for the GP also came to Blunsdon. There are too many GPs and with them being shown on Sky, this has seen the reduction in weekend meetings. League meetings shown on Sky have a positive and negative side. People may see the sport on Sky and then visit their local track and become a fan. Others stay at home and watch a meeting rather than go because of the cost, or if the weather is iffy, or if the meeting being shown looks to be better than their local meeting. I hope speedway on tv continues, even if it is a highlights program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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