Berwick V Workington (27 August) 7pm

[allthegearbutnaeidea]

Really? Sure you're not just making some of this up and that both the things highlighted already happen?

As for having no alternative sports to compete with - have you ever been at Berwick station when Newcastle United are at home and seen how many people leave town to watch their sport.

Leaflets/posters are displayed in between 70 and 100 pubs and local businesses in the town.

No-one is saying that there isn't more that can be done, to say nothing is happening is, to say the least, untrue.

But fans don't like being ripped off, £15 for a border trophy meeting and then have the cheek to charge £2 for a programme half the size and quality of the normally very good one to try and save some cash, we should of been informed that the programme was going to be like that, the feel good factor has completely gone, along with the people who had an actual interest in the sport apart from Dennis high up.

[George Dodds]

But fans don't like being ripped off, £15 for a border trophy meeting and then have the cheek to charge £2 for a programme half the size and quality of the normally very good one to try and save some cash, we should of been informed that the programme was going to be like that, the feel good factor has completely gone, along with the people who had an actual interest in the sport apart from Dennis high up.

If you're asking me if the toughest sell is to persuade people that £15 for a couple of hours at the speedway is good value for money in a town where wages are low and disposable income tight then I would agree.

Where I work they would expect a couple of hours solid drinking and a bag of chips (coz they're classy like) for the cost of 15 heats of speedway. Before you counter with football - well 90 minutes action against 22 minutes speaks for itself.

[crescent girl]

There are lots of things you can do to raise awareness, there are free electronic signs in Berwick town centre, you can hire market stalls on a Saturday afternoon quite cheaply, you could give away a couple of free tickets on local radio, you could hand out leaflets (discounted?), none of which are done here.

 

I look on with envy at the likes of Glasgow (okay, dealing with a much bigger budget probably, but there are ways of doing similar things on the cheap) and you hear of the big efforts made by the Isle of Wight promotion, which are paying dividends. That could happen at Berwick, where we are in a fortunate position that we do not have a lot of alternative sports to compete with in the town. But unfortunately there seems to be little interest in promoting the sport and it suffers as a rresult.

 

 

While your constructive criticism -- the kind that is always welcome -- is appreciated, I have to take issue here on behalf of others.

 

The electronic signs DO regularly carry news of speedway events, there ARE regular activities featuring local radio and this year our commercial guys have continued as they began, with the regularly-updated posters in many, many more shops around town than ever before. The big banners are also out -- in regularly-rotated sites -- each weekend.

 

The Isle of Wight club are doing much the same, and will hopefully succeed in keeping the sport on the island. But it is a really tough task (down there and up here) nobly carried out by just a few hard-working folk who are prepared to actually do the jobs.

[jenga]

just like to add that Berwick speedway always get the tv footage on border ( itv , Cumbria ) and a good mention . pity they cant do it for the local team , (comets) .