Star Lady Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 (edited) They need to make a living from it because during the season it's hard to find time to hold down a full time job while taking time off to travel to meetings, do the meetings and then there is the bike washes/bike prep after, some national league riders have jobs and then have to miss meetings due to work commitments then they get guests in for them, but then you get fans complaining about teams using guests, you can't please everybody, people don't realise how busy it is for riders/mechanics during the season, it's not like a spectator where they just turn up at home meetings every week or the odd away meeting now and then. Riders work during the winter to set up for the next season then when the season starts, most riders quit the job and rely on speedway to make it through the speedway season Strangely riders managed in the 60s and 70s when there were far fewer meetings and less motorways etc. Very few full timers then, must have been a much hardier generation ( insert smilie of your choice my mobile device doesn't want to lol) Edited October 12, 2016 by Star Lady 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenR195 Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 Strangely riders managed in the 60s and 70s when there were far fewer meetings and less motorways etc. Very few full timers then, must have been a much hardier generation ( insert smilie of your choice my mobile device doesn't want to lol) Exactly, fewer meetings and less travel, means less time off work, some riders have like 4 meetings a week plus travel and bike prep in between each meeting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillipsr Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 Plus it was a much less professional era if riders acted in that way now they would never progress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenR195 Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 Plus it was a much less professional era if riders acted in that way now they would never progress Exactly 👍🏼👍🏼 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star Lady Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 Exactly, fewer meetings and less travel, means less time off work, some riders have like 4 meetings a week plus travel and bike prep in between each meeting Thinking about it there were probably more meetings. Most clubs ran a meeting every week between March 15 to Oct 31. Plus it was a much less professional era if riders acted in that way now they would never progress The point being the majority acted like that so it was a level playing field Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenga Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 Any idea what points money riders are on? Like a no.1 2nd string and reserve would be interesting to know i do know , but first i need to know why you want to know and what is your pay rate . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CookieIpswich Posted October 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 I remember Dad was self employed down the docks and he took time off for his Speedway My current employer wouldn't let me take time off to race if i was to race lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenga Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 I remember Dad was self employed down the docks and he took time off for his Speedway My current employer wouldn't let me take time off to race if i was to race lol still didn't answer the question . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fromafar Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 Reserves from NL generally can expect to get £40 per point, with very little in terms of add ons at many clubs (ie, methanol, tyre, insurance, etc paid for by the club) unless the rider rides for Glasgow. Top reserve is normally £50-55 with expected add ons. Second strings are usually a bit on top of that, but will sometimes depend on the team structure. A rider may accept a little less than normal if it is likely they will get a run at reserve. Heat leaders can range a lot - they tried to limit it to £55 p/point a few seasons back but that just resulted in some 'alternative' payments. Heat leaders are high end double figures, triple figures in some cases. As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of other things to consider, ie other payments, which often include additional travel money if the rider is based a long way from their home track. If that is the case(andI don't despute it)it is easy to see why clubs are in financial difficulties based on crowd levels at most tracks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KN1 Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 (edited) I remember Dad was self employed down the docks and he took time off for his Speedway My current employer wouldn't let me take time off to race if i was to race lol And that sums it up cookie. Most modern day employers and contracts won't allow the random time off for speedway as I have said on this subject before, most employers want/prefer you to have your time off in blocks i.e week/weeks etc. Edited October 12, 2016 by KN1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fromafar Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 They need to make a living from it because during the season it's hard to find time to hold down a full time job while taking time off to travel to meetings, do the meetings and then there is the bike washes/bike prep after, some national league riders have jobs and then have to miss meetings due to work commitments then they get guests in for them, but then you get fans complaining about teams using guests, you can't please everybody, people don't realise how busy it is for riders/mechanics during the season, it's not like a spectator where they just turn up at home meetings every week or the odd away meeting now and then. Riders work during the winter to set up for the next season then when the season starts, most riders quit the job and rely on speedway to make it through the speedway seasonThe point being it is a sport they don't need to do it if they can't make a living out of it do the full time job as the majority of the fans do.!! Promoters and riders don't want to divulge their income and expenditure which is their prerogative but no good complaining if they are losing money.Speedway fans have keep many clubs running in the last few seasons with donations from their hard earned money(working full time ). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMungo Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 And that sums it up cookie. Most modern day employers and contracts won't allow the random time off for speedway as I have said on this subject before, most employers want/prefer you to have your time off in blocks i.e week/weeks etc. I know of one rider, who you know well, who had his contract terminated (ie, sacked), because he had to go to a presentation evening, and due to the distances involved was not able to go into work. Speedway and 'regular' work just does not work well together. The best a rider can hope for is to be either self-employed, work temporarily in the off-season, or to work part time (or ad hoc) and hope for a supportive employer! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CookieIpswich Posted October 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 Jenga I'm on about £10 an hour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben91 Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 (edited) They need to make a living from it because during the season it's hard to find time to hold down a full time job while taking time off to travel to meetings, do the meetings and then there is the bike washes/bike prep after, some national league riders have jobs and then have to miss meetings due to work commitments then they get guests in for them, but then you get fans complaining about teams using guests, you can't please everybody, people don't realise how busy it is for riders/mechanics during the season, it's not like a spectator where they just turn up at home meetings every week or the odd away meeting now and then. Riders work during the winter to set up for the next season then when the season starts, most riders quit the job and rely on speedway to make it through the speedway seasonIf you can't make it pay then give up and get a normal job, it's quite simple unfortunately. I know exactly what goes in to it, bike washing, tracvel etc. as do the riders. They choose to race, nobody is forcing them to. If you look at Mr. Mungo's post detailing the rough pay scale every point scored by a three point reserve costs almost the same as three adult entry fees at most tracks. That shows why teams are struggling financially and why things need to change. Edited October 12, 2016 by Ben91 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenga Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 Jenga I'm on about £10 an hour ABOUT! so you dont know ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CookieIpswich Posted October 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 give or take a fluctuating bonus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Skid Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 A PL number 1 with a decent business brain will clear 40k a season, without doubling up. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandit59 Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 A PL number 1 with a decent business brain will clear 40k a season, without doubling up. Really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clambo71 Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 Full time speedway riders.Maybe Part time would be the answer for them!nobody is forcing them to be a speedway rider.Speedway is in a mess,pure and simple. Part time riders would still have the same costs highlighted by benR195. And remember most riders live in the south so traveling hundreds of miles on reduced money would not be an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CookieIpswich Posted October 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 40k a season but what are the costs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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