Bspa Meeting...

[The Third Man]

So the major outcome seems to be an increase in guests, so that should save me even more money next year than it did this

[oldtimer]

Oldtimer has a major problem with the term "Director of Speedway". In fact, he's brought this up so many times he's obviously scarily obsessed with it.

 

It's been explained to him on here why he was labelled with that title, but for some bizarre reason he just won't let it lie.

 

The title "Director of Speedway" was used in press releases because at the time Chris Louis took over the day to day running of the club, he didn't have his promoters licence and wasn't allowed to use the term "promoter/co-promoter".

 

He's now had his promoters licence for some years, but the "Director Of Speedway" tag has stuck with some media sources, although on the BSPA website in which I assume Oldtimer has taken his quote, they quite clearly state "Co-promoter" and not "Director Of Speedway" as this sad fool states in his post.

I took the quote from Speedway Star who still call him Director of Speedway. You are obviously a fan of Chris and agree with his statement that speedway is in safe hands. I promise I will not mention his title again.

Speedway should advertise in old peoples homes as that is the cliental that make up most match attendances. Clubs could sell fold up chairs and blankets with the club logo on them.

[oleoleole]

Speedway must be the only professional sport in the country that doesn't have a sponsor for its leagues.

 

Is the product really that bad or are the BSPA that bad at promoting the sport?

[E I Addio]

What if a rider walks upto the tapes with a pooper scooper? AKA "does a Tai"? TBH, as I see it, the riders have 2 minutes to be ready to race. If they're not ready then exclude then, as happened in the Coventry vs Swindon meeting this season.

They have to come to the tapes when the start marshal calls them up. A few years ago at a televised SWC qualifier Chris Gay excluded Matej Zagar for wasting time at the start. Everyone else behaved for the rest of the meeting. If more referees took that line the problem would soon be ironed out, but they don't.

[Hodgy]

3 points home win and black and yellow helmet colours ,CROWDS WILL FLOCK BACK in there thousands head in sand.

Sand in thousands.

[dontforgetthefueltapsbruv]

Speedway must be the only professional sport in the country that doesn't have a sponsor for its leagues.

 

Is the product really that bad or are the BSPA that bad at promoting the sport?

the article about the Parliamentary group mentioned the awards were sponsored by Travis Perkins - small scale in itself perhaps but hopefully there are similar irons in the fire for the leagues

[E I Addio]

Have the BPSA done anything at the AGM about finding a sponser for the EL. Instead of just sitting and chatting they should be out there trying to get a big name firm to come in to put a bit of needed cash into the sport.

I could see no problem going for someone like McDonalds and having posters in all of their branches, advertising speedway, or can they manage to plod along now they have lost the few million that Sky gave them every year.

The sport needs a major advertising campain and they need to get off of their fat backsides and do something positive for speedway.

To much talk and very little in the way of action from them.

Speedway must be the only professional sport in the country that doesn't have a sponsor for its leagues.

Is the product really that bad or are the BSPA that bad at promoting the sport?

The Elite League has a sponsor. It is the same sponsor as ice hockey. The clue is in the title of the top league in each sport. Go and work it out.

[SCB]

The Elite League has a sponsor. It is the same sponsor as ice hockey. The clue is in the title of the top league in each sport. Go and work it out.

British ice hockey has a proper sponsor. Rapid Solicitors - the people that sponsor Leicester.

 

There in lies the a problem, why when David Helmsey was sitting down with the nice people at Rapid Solicitors (or Mick Horton and Mr Buildbase etc etc) would he say, "nah, don't sponsor Leicester, sponsor the whole league in stead". Who is out looking for league sponsorship? As the BSPA is all the individual clubs, so anyone out talking to sponsors will want to keep them for themselves.

[Mike.Butler]

funny how one can get a bit sentimental about a sponsor...i started going when it was the GOBL.

just rolled off the tongue....

 

 

unlike the durex tests i watched..yuk!

[oleoleole]

The Elite League has a sponsor. It is the same sponsor as ice hockey. The clue is in the title of the top league in each sport. Go and work it out.

I'm not sure if you are being sarcastic or just too clever for me but Ice Hockey does have a sponsor of their Elite League (Rapid Solicitors). British speedway does not.

[Humphrey Appleby]

Is the product really that bad or are the BSPA that bad at promoting the sport?

 

It's the demographic and image of the sport. Speedway doesn't have much of an active following nowadays, and its supporters are probably not the most cash rich either. Combine that with a down-at-heel image and stadia that sponsors wouldn't want to be seen dead taking their clients to, and that's why British speedway hasn't had a proper sponsor in years. The last one was the Coal Board, just as everyone had pretty much stopped using coal and the pits were being closed. Sums speedway up.

 

Ice hockey is probably a similar bed fellow, but at least ice rinks are indoors and are generally a slightly more pleasant place to spend an evening.

[Shale Searcher]

Wonder if any of the larger Garden Centres/Landscapers and what about some of the large aggregate companies? Would they be interested? And why don't the BSPA employ a sales person?

If he was paid on performance, it would be a no lose situation, no sponsors, no pay? Big sponsors, lots of ££££!!

[E I Addio]

I'm not sure if you are being sarcastic or just too clever for me but Ice Hockey does have a sponsor of their Elite League (Rapid Solicitors). British speedway does not.

 

 

 

The Sky Sports Elite League denotes where the major income comes from. Given the nature and structure of the sport its difficult to see where a bigger source. of income could be obtained other than from a TV company, The major expenditure in the sport is by the individual riders and the clubs. It makes more sense that sponsorship should be sought on that basis, Speedway , like almost all branches of motorsport could not survive without sponsorship, but relative to it size there is quite a lot of sponsorship already in speedway, The mere fact that someone is a "sponsor" is meaningless without knowing how much money they put it. . In speedway as in many other sports some clubs sell their brand much cheaper than others, and there is also a lot of private or anonymous sponsorship . Chris Harris for example once told me he never pays for anything so obviously has more sponsorship than outward appearances suggest. The same applies to certain clubs,. Far better that sponsorship should, in the main go directly to where its needed rather than the BSPA creating another level of administration before the money gets passed on.

 

Also as HA has pointed out the pointed out the demographics of speedway do not really lend themselves to overall sponsorship not least because of having to use run down stock car stadiums they don't own, but it is an attractive proposition for businesses fairly local to the clubs,. Its not like sports where the competitors have relatively low personal outlay. promotions do work quits hard to get sponsorship in ways that some fans don't realise, and for people like weatherwatcher for example posting they sit on their backsides doing nothing demonstrates a lack of knowledge of sponsorship as a whole. Even in Poland where the sport is very big a lot of Poles have never heard of the sport so the opportunities to reach a wide audience by advertising are limited, and even the Poles these days are struggling to maintain sponsorship levels , such is the modern world.

 

So personally I would say that having got Sky on board (and trying to keep them) I would rather see all promoters trying to keep their clubs afloat financially in these difficult economic times and other sponsors going direct to the riders..

Edited November 19, 2014 by E I Addio

[oleoleole]

E I Addio. I agree with the points made in your post except that, as far as I know, since last year, it was no longer known as the SKY Sports Elite League. I've no idea how much extra SKY paid for the naming rights (if anything at all) but surely extra money coming in at the top end has to help.

 

I would have thought at the very least that a sponsor should be pursued for the British finals at all levels, particularly the youngsters.

 

However on the other side of the coin I am involved with the NSSC and in addition to our continued sponsorship of the Under 16's we supplied tyres to all 16 riders in this years Under 19 Championships (costing £640). We were title sponsors, the hosts at Sittingbourne and the programme was very good but our friends at the Speedway Star made no mention of the NSSC in their report. If I had been a company making the effort to sponsor an event I would expect more exposure than that.

[SteveLyric2]

Quite right Ole, 2013 was the final year of Sky Sports sponsorship of the league(s).

 

2014 was the first year of a 5-year agreement to televise a certain number of meetings.

 

I'm sure its Terry Russell that has the responsibility of seeking new sponsors for the league(s).

[SCB]

I'm sure its Terry Russell that has the responsibility of seeking new sponsors for the league(s).

But doesn't Terry still part own Swindon? So any sponsor he finds he's surely going it direct towards Swindon and not the "Elite League" and who could blame him.

[weatherwatcher]

As you said Sky no longer sponser Speedway in this country and from this year they only took on the TV rights, not sure what they pay but nowhere near the amount that they where handing over when the sponsered the EL.

I was not saying that the promoters of clubs sit on their backsides and failed to find sponsers, they all do a great job to keep our clubs going.

What I was saying is that with Sky stepping down as the major sponser of the EL with not just a few pounds but a total of £1 a year in sponsership, then I can't see how the BPSA can sit back and fail to replace Sky as the main sponser for the EL.

This is nothing to do with the local clubs this is about sponsoring the EL.

If they can justify losing that sort of income a year then they have some strange idea's, even so the money they got from Sky from what I heard was just wasted.

The other pointof using old run down Stockcar stadiums is a good point. I saw the item today about the break in at Stoke, it is very sad when something like this happens and there is a big chance that the club may have to stop racing as they can't find the money to replace the item damaged in the break in.

But I must say that the photo from the local paper, shows a picture from the stadium with some of the damaged item, the thing that drew my eye though was the state of the boarding around the fences, it was in such a bad state of repair and had even been painted over, when it was falling apart. This is going on at stadiums all over the country, that seem to think that us the fans, like to attend meetings in something that looks like it came from the 1930.s.

I am sure that the clubs have enough money or the say to the people who rent these stadiums, that it is time to bring them up to scratch.

How long is it since any work has been done to your local track, there are a few that have bothered to keep their stadiums tidy but far to many seem to see that it is not an issue and the supporters can either lump it or like it..

Far to much is now being spent on riders wages these days that it leaves very little money to play about with. All I can say is with a big tidy up then they may just get more people attending and major sponsers who would be willing to have their name associated with the EL.

The money that came in should not be wasted on riders air fares and wages but should be used to bring our stadiums, that are in some cases in dire need of an update, with the money that came in from a big name company that sponsered the EL.

[E I Addio]

E I Addio. I agree with the points made in your post except that, as far as I know, since last year, it was no longer known as the SKY Sports Elite League. I've no idea how much extra SKY paid for the naming rights (if anything at all) but surely extra money coming in at the top end has to help.

 

I would have thought at the very least that a sponsor should be pursued for the British finals at all levels, particularly the youngsters.

 

However on the other side of the coin I am involved with the NSSC and in addition to our continued sponsorship of the Under 16's we supplied tyres to all 16 riders in this years Under 19 Championships (costing £640). We were title sponsors, the hosts at Sittingbourne and the programme was very good but our friends at the Speedway Star made no mention of the NSSC in their report. If I had been a company making the effort to sponsor an event I would expect more exposure than that.

 

 

Well, we are getting off the point of the point of the thread here because sponsorship is not really a matter for AGM announcements, but having said that I have to agree that the British Final would be a good candidate for sponsorship , and now you have mentioned that point it would be interesting to know what if anything is being pursued in that direction,

 

I was, in the first instance thinking of weatherwatchers claim that they are, as he put it sitting on their fat backsides doing nothing when they should be having an advertising campaign. People say these things and others believe it. Now, I am all for constructive criticism, and for those responsible being held to account, but when people make OTT comments it only stirs up more discontent.

 

In many ways speedway , and its ability to attract sponsors is a victim of events and problems that have built up over decades, some of which has been of the sports own doing and other things outside the sports control., and these things cannot be sorted out at one AGM. I think what has been done this year and last is a new direction, which I welcome but whether it is too little too late remains to be seen.

 

But lets be realistic. You make a good point in suggesting sponsorship for the British Final, but what do you offer the sponsors ? A field of riders that consists of a world champion, two riders who were once genuine internationals but now past there best, but those three have dominated the competition for years and still there is nobody remotely likely to give them a serious rune for their money, the rest of the field being riders who are not really even 2nd heatleaders, or riders from the lower league. Not really an attractive product is it ? How much would a sponsor want to pay for that when he probably gets no more exposure than he would for an ordinary league match. ?

 

I remember a few years ago reading in Speedway Star about Castle Cover sponsoring Poole. The sponsorship had all kinds of local benefits even encouraging staff recruitment, which saved the company money but those benefits would not have been as great if it were a national sponsor as it would have meant very little to people in Manchester or Norfolk, so you see my point.

 

I as I follow Lakeside only really see what happens there although I would imagine some other clubs are very similar. The obvious route for Lakeside would be to advertise in the shopping mall a mile away but the costs are horrendous, several years ago someone told me that just to have a stall in the car park for one day would be £120, and to put a tiny advertisement in the toilets would be about £600 a year. A major advertising campaign with costs like that are prohibitive. However the club do take another route. There is plenty of information on the website and programmes about activity in the community. Riders go to local schools and clubs, even hospitals, and several times a year we see groups of school children being taken onto the centre green to watch a couple of races. These are the fans of the future so interest is being cultivated in ways that are not obvious to casual observers especially those who only watch the sport from their armchair

 

I am not trying to defend or excuse the BSPA but much of the criticism I read on threads like this is totally misdirected and misses the point of what is really wrong. If as you say you are involved at grass roots or junior level, I respect you for that and you will be far more face to face with some of the real problems in the sport than some who come on here moaning about helmet colours being changed.

[Tsunami]

Have the BPSA done anything at the AGM about finding a sponser for the EL. Instead of just sitting and chatting they should be out there trying to get a big name firm to come in to put a bit of needed cash into the sport.

I could see no problem going for someone like McDonalds and having posters in all of their branches, advertising speedway, or can they manage to plod along now they have lost the few million that Sky gave them every year.

The sport needs a major advertising campain and they need to get off of their fat backsides and do something positive for speedway.

To much talk and very little in the way of action from them.

Seems like you did say it WW.

 

So by your way of thinking we should stop paying wages and flights for needed overseas riders, but spend the money on tidying up their stadiums that they don't own. Yea right.

[Grand Central]

Promoters have always been able to bring sponsorship into the communal 'pot' and get paid on results.

 

Terry Russell was able to trouser 200K per season out of the old deal with Sky for combined broadcasting and naming rights.

He went out and did the deal.

So he got 20 per cent.

 

Anyone who did similar would have got the same 'finders fee'.

 

El Tel can get a lot of flak. Some of it justified.

But the fact remains he is just about the only guy who has ever achieved anything on this front.

Credit where credit is due.

.

Edited November 19, 2014 by Grand Central