Speedway At The Crossroads

[2ndbendbeerhut]

Don't know if this has been mentioned yet but this is taken from http://www.lovespeedway24.co.uk/

Speedway is at a crossroads and if ever the sport needed strong leadership it’s now.

With the British Speedway Promoters’ Association members meeting next weekend and the Sky TV deal up in the air, the sport is in limbo.

But does it have to be? I don’t think so.

British promoters needn’t wait for Sky before deciding what to do with their sport.

They need to decide not only what is best for their businesses now but what is best for their businesses going forward.

It’s time for change.

SKY - DEAL OR NO DEAL?

Much is being made on whether or not Sky continue their involvement with British Speedway. There is little doubt they have done a super job covering speedway, but have attendances rocketed because of the coverage? No.

Speedway isn’t football, so why do some promoters try to run it as such?

In the last Sky deal, Elite League clubs received about £70,000 per club per year and, like football, most of that was gobbled up in riders’ wages rather than promotion of the sport. What a waste!

Hopefully, Sky will keep on board with speedway although if they do, it is likely on a much-reduced cost to the satellite broadcaster.

But you can’t blame Sky.

They don’t dictate how speedway runs, they just want the viewing figures. It’s up to the promoters to provide the entertainment, not Sky.

If the Grand Prix series was receiving such huge viewing figures, why did Sky pull out? Clearly because the viewing figures weren’t worth it.

If it’s not exciting, people won’t watch, even if it is the world’s best riders

GRAND PRIX RIDERS

The Grand Prix series was always going to unsettle the sport and now it’s at a tipping point.

Greg Hancock’s return to Poole at the end of last season was a case-in-point.

For GP star Greg to race a dozen or so meetings at the end of the season may have helped Poole out of an injury hole but it suited the popular American equally as much.

Greg is a great guy, but why didn’t he join Poole in March when the season started? Because his schedule was too busy, that’s why.

The top riders, especially the GP riders, want it all.

The freedom to race in all leagues and in the GP series when they want and at times to suit them.

You can’t blame them for that.

Quite simply, if GP riders’ schedules don’t fit into the British speedway fixture list, just do without them. You can’t have the tail wagging the dog.

Having Britain’s Tai Woffinden as world speedway champion is great, but the sport as a whole in this country is the bigger picture and while Tai being world No.1 is a boost, it’s not going to solve the sport’s ills.

You can’t tell me clubs would lose hundreds of fans by not having GP riders in their sides. I don’t believe it. Fans invariably go to watch racing and their team, not individual riders.

DOUBLING-UP

I actually found myself hunting through all the Premier League team make-ups one day during the season just gone as I tried to find out who Kyle Howarth rode for.

Don’t get me wrong, Kyle is a great rider, but I got so confused with which Elite League club he was doubling-up with let alone which Premier League club he was attached to, I had to look it up!

That’s absurd.

I know my speedway but when someone like me who writes about the sport on a daily basis can’t work out which rider rides for which club, then something is sadly wrong.

One rider, one team, has to be the way forward. I care not how. I care not about the outcry.

If the sport wants to be taken seriously and fans to understand it more, doubling-up has to go.

LEAGUE STRUCTURES

Sky’s decision on whether to carry on with their coverage shouldn’t make any difference to changes in the League structure next season.

A maximum payment system, no GP riders, north and south divisions with an all-in KO Cup plus play-offs at the end of the season and every club to have AT LEAST two local challenge meetings to kick the year off.

You could peg, even reduce admission prices without the better rides eating into the profits – and the fans will still come if the entertainment is good.

But bring back second halves. You can’t justify £15 for 15 races over 15 minutes in this day and age and call that a full night out.

NO ‘i’ IN TEAM

In most forms of sport, ‘the team’ harbours far more interest than the individual and speedway is no different.

Fans go to support their team, whether the Witches, Bees, Fen Tigers or Stars. Fans have individual favourite riders within the team, but team is all in most fans’ eyes and speedway has a huge advantage over most motor sports that it enjoys successful team racing.

Think about it.

If you are a Man U fan:

Do you want Man Utd to win or Michael Carrick to score a hat-trick but Man U lose?

If you are an England cricket fan:

Do you want England to win or Joe Root to get a century but England lose?

If you support King’s Lynn Stars

Do you want Niels-Kristian Iversen to win the world title, or Lynn to finish top of the Elite League? (You can’t have both).

Speedway promoters need to protect their own businesses.

Riders are happy to make choices, so promoters should too.

Return the sport to the fans who just want to watch their team race each week.

The riders have had their say and many current stars, including Nicki Pedersen, Tomasz Gollob, Jarek Hampel, Andreas Jonsson, Antonio Lindback and more have made their choices – British Speedway is not their bag. If top riders want to commit, great. If not . . .

Fans don’t want two-weekly racing or racing on one night of the week just to suit half-a-dozen GP riders.

They are not desperate to see top stars racing against Premier League reserves. They just want good, solid team entertainment.

I know I bang on about second halves but it’s only because fans talk to me about how much they crave their return. Some things ‘back in the day’ were good you know!

These days, meetings drag on, people in the pits oblivious to the frustrations of the fans who just want the action to come thick and fast, not truncated in the laborious fashion it can be.

And why is it if there is a threat of rain, suddenly eight heats can be run in half an-hour? No excuses, it can be done and fans know it can be done – so do it every week.

Grab the bull by the horns promoters. Riders come and go . . . clubs and their fans are permanent fixtures, buck your ideas up.

Start listening to the fans – before it’s too late.

Thoughts?

[foamfence]

Nothing particularly new or ground breaking.

[Cockney Rebel]

Wow! A lot of good relevant points in that, particularly regarding Speedway as a team sport NOT an individula sport as the FIM seem to be trying to turn it into. Would like to see "proper" second halves back but I fear most riders would not be interested and if the top riders were involved that would add more to the cost. Perhaps this article could be sent to the BSPA as it seems to encapsulate all the things us fans have been saying for the last couple of years. Kudos to the writer, whoever he/she is.

[Steve Shovlar]

Just another rant like we get on here by the woe is me brigade. Nothing to see. Move along.

[phillipsr]

Very interesting points but i have to say some i do disagree with. Theres nothing more boring than when two home riders hit the first corner then just sit side by side not racing at all. I realise im probably alone but i prefer individual speedway where the riders actually race eachother. I also would be lost to speedway if all the top riders are drummed out

[ch958]

Nothing particularly new or ground breaking.

 

 

well you make some suggestions then

Just another rant like we get on here by the woe is me brigade. Nothing to see. Move along.

 

 

thats because, where the sport is concerned, there is woe

 

not at Poole, obviously, but you can't ace against yourselves every week

[foamfence]

well you make some suggestions then

 

 

 

thats because, where the sport is concerned, there is woe

 

not at Poole, obviously, but you can't ace against yourselves every week

I've made plenty in the past, as have numerous other people. I don't disagree with the report, but it doesn't contain anything new.

[ch958]

I've made plenty in the past, as have numerous other people. I don't disagree with the report, but it doesn't contain anything new.

 

fair enough

[Gearhead]

Some excellent points,aside from the only real money club-Poole,who can really afford the top GP riders next year without the Sky cash? I'd rather do without them for the sake of the sport,some of the wage bills being talked of are mind boggling,back to basics and rebuild from there I say

[Bellers101]

Same old story every season in that this agm

will be the most important ever. Its like a broken record!

[Canadian Star]

No good hoping to get any sense from that tart from the South Coast, the attitudes emanating from down there are exactly what is ruining the sport. I was in favour of keeping the turbo twins intact, simply because they were draw cards in a product very much devoid of any other interesting fayre. The fact remains that there is a need for a degree of equality, within the League and certainly we need the top riders to be here if possible. Once we have decided we either can or cannot afford the best, by that I mean the league or the sport as a whole. Then we must go forward and somehow make speedway attractive again, we need to find a way to make speedway the close racing spectacle it once was, don't ask me how, but that is the basis point to which we must return, or we might as well put the shutters up.

As others have said, 15 minutes of racing featuring a smattering of world class riders duelling with Premier League reserves who are about half a lap behind, doesn't seem to be working. We must have equality of some kind. We must have a quality that enough people are prepared to pay to come and see.

I agree that in an ideal world, every club would have the riding staff and financial clout that Poole have at there disposal. it would make for an attractive League, and you cant knock them for trying, but it isn't in the best interests of the sport.

Sadly the best interests of the sport have been neglected badly both here and throughout Europe since 1978, but for a few brief years in the early 80's the sport has continued its serial decline in this country especially.

We now have a new English World Champion, this presents both an opportunity and a risk, lets hope the promoters take advantage of the first option.

[Midland Red]

Wow! A lot of good relevant points in that, particularly regarding Speedway as a team sport NOT an individula sport as the FIM seem to be trying to turn it into. Would like to see "proper" second halves back but I fear most riders would not be interested and if the top riders were involved that would add more to the cost. Perhaps this article could be sent to the BSPA as it seems to encapsulate all the things us fans have been saying for the last couple of years. Kudos to the writer, whoever he/she is.

 

That's why I have often suggested that the second half rides count towards qualification for the * * * * * * * League Riders Championship at the end of the season, thereby making the second half races more meaningful than just "Rider of the Night" and hopefully ensuring that team members appear in the second halves rather than flit off to the next country they are due to ride in

[paulboy]

Just another rant like we get on here by the woe is me brigade. Nothing to see. Move along.

 

What a pointless, pompous, patronising post!

[Guest]

Some excellent points,aside from the only real money club-Poole,who can really afford the top GP riders next year without the Sky cash? I'd rather do without them for the sake of the sport,some of the wage bills being talked of are mind boggling,back to basics and rebuild from there I say

 

Back to basics indeed. I am all for that. I think that the sport should drop all team competitions and experiment for at least two seasons using the USA style of meeting format - individual events over scratch start and handicap start.

After the 1928 UK start for speedway the following year (as we all know ) team racing was brought in. But somehow from being a then easy-t-follow basic format it has become complicated an involved and long lost the basic team principle of club organisation because of averages, rider-replacement and "what have you".

Two seaons of American-tyle individual racing could be the stimulation British speedway needs to recapture the interest of the sporting public at large. If it fails to dramatically improve the general public's interet in the sport then - and onl then - bring back team racing - but more akin to the format of the old days - 1929 to mid-1950s.

Edited November 12, 2013 by Guest

[Fromafar]

There's nothing wrong with Team Racing if you are watching YOUR team every week not Guest riders,Rider replacement and even reserve replacements how you you expect fans to get interested in THEIR team.They need to introduce a Squad system that covers the teams and not having every rider riding for every team in the league it makes a mockery of the team ethic.

[Guest]

There's nothing wrong with Team Racing if you are watching YOUR team every week not Guest riders,Rider replacement and even reserve replacements how you you expect fans to get interested in THEIR team.They need to introduce a Squad system that covers the teams and not having every rider riding for every team in the league it makes a mockery of the team ethic.

 

I agree with your comment. That part is OK. It's all the other factors that have damaged the team racing system. Speedway's decline can be traced back to the mid-1950s when the first failing was the introduction of guest riders. And it has gone slowly but surely into decline since then because of the many add-ons that have taken place.

[blueherb777]

Just another rant like we get on here by the woe is me brigade. Nothing to see. Move along.

 

Typical Poole response.I am alright jack,chequebook speedway.Pathetic.

[SteveLyric2]

For those fans that want 'all the top riders', who are we actually talking about and how are we going to get them all and spread them among 9, 10, 11 or 12 'top level' teams?? Its just not on!!

 

If we're '(un-) lucky', we may get a rule change that introduces ' a max of one GP rider per team' - but as others have said - what use is that in providing decent racing over 15 heats??

 

The sport has to re-group - with or without a major sponsor, TV or not! - lets get back to weekly team racing at a reasonable cost to the supporters!

 

Typical Poole response.I am alright jack,chequebook speedway.Pathetic.

Maybe a typical ss response, but not typical of all Poole fans!!!!

[blueherb777]

For those fans that want 'all the top riders', who are we actually talking about and how are we going to get them all and spread them among 9, 10, 11 or 12 'top level' teams?? Its just not on!!

 

If we're '(un-) lucky', we may get a rule change that introduces ' a max of one GP rider per team' - but as others have said - what use is that in providing decent racing over 15 heats??

 

The sport has to re-group - with or without a major sponsor, TV or not! - lets get back to weekly team racing at a reasonable cost to the supporters!

Maybe a typical ss response, but not typical of all Poole fans!!!!

 

For those fans that want 'all the top riders', who are we actually talking about and how are we going to get them all and spread them among 9, 10, 11 or 12 'top level' teams?? Its just not on!!

 

If we're '(un-) lucky', we may get a rule change that introduces ' a max of one GP rider per team' - but as others have said - what use is that in providing decent racing over 15 heats??

 

The sport has to re-group - with or without a major sponsor, TV or not! - lets get back to weekly team racing at a reasonable cost to the supporters!

Maybe a typical ss response, but not typical of all Poole fans!!!!

 

Fair enough.Should of said SS.

 

 

 

[greyhoundp]

The vast majority of Speedway fans prefer to support a Team, ie where did the majority of Heathens fans go during our sabbatical ?, they stayed at home apart from the odd meeting. Yes it needs a squad system, Yes its time Speedway lived within its means ie PL Teams have to, so why not, so called Elite Teams. Definately a North & South, with a Grand Play Off Final at seasons end, but please, please lets see a reduction in admission costs, to reflect the standard of riders that we watch.Handicap racing should be confined to the 2nd half of meetings, or make it compulsory to have Development Teams in the 2nd half.

Edited November 12, 2013 by greyhoundp