Tai Woffinden's Views On Single Night Racing In Uk

[Trees]

why not. its what most would do. and me. you go where the money is best surely

Sometimes you don't chase the money if you like your job, the people you work with or perhaps you feel less pressured, not always about the money.

[topaz325]

My post from the Birmingham thread:

 

Sad to hear of Birminghams demise, really feel for the Brummies fans ...it seems incredible that a major city cannot support Speedway, about three years ago i visited the stadium for the first time to see a Cradley meeting and the crowd was bigger tha most PL/EL teams can muster!!

 

I usually feel quite optimistic about the future of Speedway in this country but with Birmingham closing and the future of Eastbourne looking very doubtful for next year things do not look good.

 

With many clubs struggling to encourage fans to attend it seems that only Poole and Lakeside are maintaining good attendances, im sure someone will put me right if im wrong.

 

 

 

Things fans are not happy with include double uppers/downers (many teams missing riders virtually every week) no continuity with fixtures (maybe we need to have fortnightly matches instead of every week?), long drawn out meetings, i know crashes cannot be accounted for but sometimes this is no excuse for matches taking nearly three hours for 15 hts of Speedway.....

 

Also many promoters taking supporters for a ride with rained off meetings and no monies being paid back......not really legal...oh and the dreaded Joker/double point rule....get rid of it!

[ruffdiamond]

only spend what you can afford to,,, if top riders are off elsewhere earning more, let them and give their place to someone who wants it,,, am sure there is plenty of budding riders out there to fill their boots, they might not be very good, but given the chance and if they ride regulally they might make it,,, stop all this doubling up/down, your either in or out, a no some won't agree and speedway might be crap for a while, but in time it will just become the norm :-)

[Tsunami]

But Sainsbury's, Tesco hand the local newsagent all know they have to stock a range of products from budget to top quality to cater for all tastes. British Speedway needs riders of some degree of quality if not GP riders. If Tesco stocked budget products only they would lose a lot of customers. Same with speedway.

You mean like Aldi and Lidl.

[ruffdiamond]

You mean like Aldi and Lidl.

dunno about Lidl, (wor lass like's it),,, but there's nowt a marra with Aldi, fair anuf, you gotta do a lot of looking for yourself, the staff are'nt always around to show you where stuff is, ye might wait a while in the que and have gotta be sh!t hot at packing your stuff,,, but some of the food is really good,,, the 'specially-selected' sausages are the dogs bollocks,,, av often wondered what happens to all thier nads when their newted,,, now I know :-)

[blueherb777]

The Elite League in this Country is finished without having a day when all can ride.

It needs top riders as they draw decent crowds,that has always been the way.

Speedway is going down the pan fast and unless something is done soon it will cease.

Mr Rising and Tai talk sense,as that is the way it is.

[DiamondsRock]

Typically selfish rider's point of view.

 

If you're tired, don't cream off the dollar in both Poland and Sweden and have a kip on Sunday or Tuesday.

 

Then what? Stay here and make pennies?

 

I don't blame Woffinden, it would be good all round to have one set race night, or the top attractions will just bugger off. British Speedway has no bargaining power whatsoever, and in ten years time will have no tracks either.

[Hunty]

I always forget which countries ride on which days!

 

But putting EL one day, PL another and NL another would still keep the current Double Up for some riders but then the top riders would be more open to ride in Britain if all EL clubs rode on a Monday!

 

Its has to be done but it wont be due to some tracks refusing or unable to!

[frigbo]

All well and good saying go one night and get top riders back. Admission would be 20 quid plus, meetings would still take too long, teams will still flaunt the rule book and people still won't go as a result.

 

I really don't think it will benefit anyone but the riders, who already play a huge part in the root of the problems with their attitudes and salaries.

[lucifer sam]

Speedway needs to be set up to cater for the fans, not the riders.

 

All the best

Rob

[robinsgirl]

Put the fans first for a change as without us there will be no UK speedway.

 

 

Best point made so far tonight but sadly I suspect not one that too many in the sport will take any notice of

What does putting the fans first mean??

[Daniel Smith]

I've been on the same wave as Tai for many years but 1 single race night would be impossible. After a little bit of homework though it does look like all EL tracks could race Monday's or Thursday's. No excuses

 

8-10 teams

Have the league set to 1 home and away fixture against each team (16-18 fixtures) + playoffs

Only 1 fixture per week home or away

The Premier League can't race on these 2 nights

All riders outside the GP's / SEC can ride for Premier League clubs (also excluded are those riding both Swedish & Polish Elite)

1 British U24 at reserve

1 U20 Fast Track Rider at reserve (National League rider in the last 3 years)

Adjust current race format having the home U24 reserve racing with his home top 2 heatleaders but not meet the away top 2.

The home U20 FTR races with the home 3rd Average Rider but not against any of the away top 3 Average Rider's

Scrap the 2nd reserve race

Fixed team positions according to averages

 

1. Top Average Rider

2. 4th Average Rider

3. 3rd Average Rider

4. 5th Average Rider

5. 2nd Average Rider

6. Brit U24

7. U20 FTR

[Bruiser McHuge]

Riders just use the set up of the Elite League as an excuse not to ride here...whilst they continue to make money in the Polish and Swedish Leagues on top of the GP's they will not go out if their way to ride here..

A switch to one day a week won't suddenly mean extra hundreds or thousands through the gate...it won't mean loads of extra revenue for clubs to increase their budgets to pay for these missing top riders....let's face it , many are struggling to pay for the weak teams on offer now....where's the extra money coming from for the missing stars ?

At the end of the day it's a ready made excuse for riders to miss the Elite League and even if one day a week did happen then a rider like Tai would still need to jet into England on a Monday and jet out again for Tuesday abroad...and let's face it , with the amount of teams in the Elite League he is not actually riding loads of away matches every day, every week is he....

It's all a good sound bite but if it ever happened the clubs wouldn't suddenly be flooded with missing stars , the terraces wouldn't suddenly be heaving and the riders would still find an excuse to not ride here.

[pandorum]

Can't blame Tai for wanting to maximise his earnings.

Non of those who criticise him would ride for peanuts here when they could make real money in Poland or Sweden.

It's not his fault that speedway is dying on its arce here.

He WAS loyal to the sport in the UK and has spent this season as World Champion here but next year he may do what most of his rivals have done and give us a miss.

Good luck to the lad and hope he makes a mint out of this speedway lark.

 

One night speedway will never happen and the sport could not afford the top blokes even if it did.

The only way for the sport to survive is take a step or two backwards to go forwards.

Dump the EL and that idiotic double point rule and go back to the basic model and train Brit talent.

 

It's obvious to a blind man that the EL is breathing it's last so what happens next we will have to wait with baited breath.

One thing that cannot happen next year is NOTHING.

STATUS QUO is not an option

Although ironically UK speedway has a lot in common with Status Quo

Edited July 19, 2014 by pandorum

[Bruiser McHuge]

I'm not criticising Tai or any other rider for maximising their earnings ...I well remember my brother in law saying often enough that speedway was a job and he rode for money.....and if riders earn more in Poland and Sweden then good luck to them

The Elite League is in a critical condition and if going one day helps improve it just a bit then go for it if it's practical

What I'm saying is that the main reason the riders don't ride here is money and I can't see that changing, but if they can give it a go and see then I'm all for it

[E I Addio]

 

 

A set race day (say Monday) would be a tough step to take, but I think in the long term it is the only way forward.

 

 

Not if clubs are going under in the short term.

With many clubs struggling to encourage fans to attend it seems that only Poole and Lakeside are maintaining good attendances, im sure someone will put me right if im wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

Lakesides attendance is based on an 8pm Friday night start when parents can take their kids who don't have to be up for school the next day. When Andreas Jonsson rode for Lakeside a few years ago some meetings were switched to Wednesdays when AJ had a GP at the weekend and attendances plummeted. Even AJ could not pull in a profitable crowd on a mid-week night. The result was that they had to let AJ go and have never employed a GP rider since, in order to maintain Friday race nights. Stuart Douglas said that he might as well stand on Dartford Bridge throwing suitcases of money off as race on a mid week night. Jon Cook said he would like to have more Saturday meetings if he could because the crowds are better still on the 2 or 3 Saturdays they do race at home.

 

This is the trouble. People come up with these brainwaves about single race nights without looking at costs implications and the effect on attendances or the availability of the stadium.

[Wolfsbane]

I'm not sure the analogy works but seeing as someone mentioned them......

 

Tesco were seen in the 80s as a bunch of cowboys & spivs. In the early 90s, in desperate straights, they embarked on a huge consultation with their staff & more importantly, their customers. The revival followed. In the mid 00s they decided they knew best after all, with well documented disastrous results.

 

Now if you pop the BSPA, riders & fans in there instead........

 

Once you stop (or never start) listening to the folks who pay the money you're on the way to the poor house, or worse.

[BWitcher]

I'm not sure the analogy works but seeing as someone mentioned them......

 

Tesco were seen in the 80s as a bunch of cowboys & spivs. In the early 90s, in desperate straights, they embarked on a huge consultation with their staff & more importantly, their customers. The revival followed. In the mid 00s they decided they knew best after all, with well documented disastrous results.

 

Now if you pop the BSPA, riders & fans in there instead........

 

Once you stop (or never start) listening to the folks who pay the money you're on the way to the poor house, or worse.

 

Spot on.

 

And no point listening to those that still turn up each week bleating this isn't possible, that isn't possible. Listen to those that have STOPPED going and find out why.

 

Every year we have this debate. Every year the same old naysayers bleat it's not possible for 1 night a week racing and too expensive for top riders. Every year costs are cut. Every year more fans are lost. Every year the clubs lose even more money.

 

This year we've had fast track reserves paid very little, a massive saving for clubs yet STILL they're losing money hand over fist.. why? Because once again the standard has been lowered and more fans have walked away.

 

Many other sports have had to radically revamp themselves and change from what has always been the 'way its done'.

Edited July 19, 2014 by BWitcher

[Wolfsbane]

 

Spot on.

 

And no point listening to those that still turn up each week bleating this isn't possible, that isn't possible. Listen to those that have STOPPED going and find out why.

 

Every year we have this debate. Every year the same old naysayers bleat it's not possible for 1 night a week racing and too expensive for top riders. Every year costs are cut. Every year more fans are lost. Every year the clubs lose even more money.

 

This year we've had fast track reserves paid very little, a massive saving for clubs yet STILL they're losing money hand over fist.. why? Because once again the standard has been lowered and more fans have walked away.

 

Many other sports have had to radically revamp themselves and change from what has always been the 'way its done'.

I'm ready, willing and able to help with that one

[kbt]

If one night racing was introduced,you would also have to introduce squads,there could be no facility for guest riders as they would all be riding on the same night,not a bad thing!!