Speedway Star

[Fromafar]

Not at that Price.

 

Print it along the lines of 'Motorcycle News' and reduce the Price accordingly and I would agree with you.

I can concur with all of the highlighted section of your Post.

 

I used to read it from cover to cover too. When I buy it now - I am very selective in what I read and then it is straight in to the bin.

Think you will find there is not a lot of difference in the price of MCN and Star,£117 for annual sub for MCN.Not sure of weekly cost these days.

[coventry1963]

Just renewed my subscription for a further year. For the price, I consider it very good value and enjoy the read each week but I have to say I agree wholeheartedly on the white print on dark background. I have perfectly good eyesight but that is hard to read (probably looks really good on a screen but it does not on paper!). Keep up the good work and try not to take too seriously the professional moaners that the forum suffers from on a too regular basis.

[The White Knight]

Think you will find there is not a lot of difference in the price of MCN and Star,£117 for annual sub for MCN.Not sure of weekly cost these days.

I said "along the lines of MCN". There would not be enough material to have a Paper as thick as that for Speedway. The Speedway Star is too glossy and just too expensive for a Sport that is shrinking in support Season on Season.

 

Just an opinion - but mine is as valid as anyone else's.

[AlanF]

I download it on my ipad every week and still love to read it. What is the actual circulation these days?

[brandonmole]

I said "along the lines of MCN". There would not be enough material to have a Paper as thick as that for Speedway. The Speedway Star is too glossy and just too expensive for a Sport that is shrinking in support Season on Season.

 

Just an opinion - but mine is as valid as anyone else's.

Of course your opinion is as valid as anyone else's. Mine is too - and for the record I think you are a miserable, tight-fisted old moaner. £2.90 is a steal for what Speedway Star offer on a weekly basis.

[martinmauger]

I continue to look forward to it dropping through my letter box every Thursday. I read it cover to cover (except for the grasstrack pages)

Same here, though I pay more attention to the Grasstrack section when speedway riders are competing. I subscribe, and pay for it myself, but the 'Star is stonking value at £2.17ish per copy when one 'subs'. Still cheaper than the vast majority of A5 proggies, even at full £2.90 cover price. If you don't like it, don't buy, but it's a great mag....

[Red Flag]

Speedway Star holds a place in my heart.

 

As a kid I would run home from school on a Thursday afternoon, and rush through the door to get my grubby mitts all over it.

 

I was gutted if it was ever a day late...I would cycle up to the Newsagents just to see if it had been delivered late and the paper boy had missed it.

 

Used to read it from cover to cover. Was overjoyed if a favourite rider was featured. Would go through the league tables and averages religiously.

 

Back in those days it was the only way of getting news. Nowadays it's just a click away on the Internet.

 

I still buy it occasionally...but never read it cover to cover like I used too.

 

Maybe it's me...but I really don't like overly fussy presentation. Clean, neat and simple is my preference.

 

It's a bit like Bike covers emblazoned with different colours and sponsors logos...you either love it or hate it.

 

Front and back cover for me....should just have one photograph, Speedway Star as a heading and the price...nothing else...just clean and classy.

I must be old I always looked forward to Wednesday's or Thursday's on a Bank Hol week

[BobC]

EVER since I joined this forum, initially to put right some misinformation being peddled about the actual ownership of Speedway Star, I have willing accepted criticism of the magazine. Everyone has a right to criticise although on occasions I do wonder whether those doing so have actually read or seen SS for sometime.

 

It irks me when people on the bsf say we are in hoc to the BSPA or simply cut and paste press realises. Neither is true.

 

But what particular disappoints is when people, as one did recently, call Speedway Star "crap."

 

That is more often than not balanced by others, including members of the general media, who are amazed how we manage to put together such a good weekly publication for such a small audience and with limited resources.

 

I am no longer involved with the day-to-day running of the mag and nor with its content but I am very proud of those who are.

 

This week for example SS includes:

 

POOLE may have been the all-conquering team of the Elite League era, but it wasn’t always so. In the first 46 years of the Pirates’ existence, they managed only one league title triumph – back in the formative years of the British League in 1969. In this week’s Speedway Star, we track down the surviving members of that Poole side in a fascinating seven-page feature. Returning to more modern times, we also talk to up-and-coming teenager Kyle Bickley about a big year ahead for the Cumbrian kid, plus interviews with the retiring Simon Stead and Jake Knight, new Plymouth promoters Laurence Rogers and Mark Phillips talk about their plans for the Devils, and for Scunthorpe supporters, it’s their side’s 2016 track review, which doesn’t always make the happiest of reading for Scorpions fans!

 

Cut and paste? I think not.

 

​Sorry Philip, that statement is totally incorrect!

 

The first 46 years, 1948-1994...

1951 Div3 Champions

1952 Div2 Champions

1955 National League Champions

1961 Provincial League Champions

1962 Provincial League Champions

1969 BL Div1 Champions

1989 NL Champions

1990 NL Champions

1994 BL Div1 Champions

 

Only one ever League title in 46 years?

 

Time to check with Tony Mac, me thinks!

 

Edited November 30, 2016 by BobC

[The White Knight]

Of course your opinion is as valid as anyone else's. Mine is too - and for the record I think you are a miserable, tight-fisted old moaner. £2.90 is a steal for what Speedway Star offer on a weekly basis.

Depends on how you view value for money.

 

I buy 'BackTrack' and 'Classic Speedway' Magazines on Subscription and think they are excellent value for money.

 

I don't believe that Speedway Star fits in to that category these days. I used to have it delivered from the Newsagents years ago and in those days, it was indeed value for money. Not now unfortunately.

[moomin man 76]

I wouldn't claim to know what budget Speedway Star operates from, but given the profile of the sport in the country now, I think that as fans we are lucky to have such a magazine published weekly.

There are some features I would do away with, such as coverage of the domestic grasstrack scene and I skim through the track by track news, but I'm sure other fans have their gripes too.

All in all, I'm glad I took out a subscription once again, but I actually get more pleasure from the other speedway magazine that I subscribe to - Speedway Sanomat from Finland, which is a true labour of love to compile and a magazine I would heartedly recommend to other speedway fans.

[BL65]

I have read every issue of Speedway Star from March 1952 to date. In my view it has maintained a high standard over the years and it has certainly retained my interest. On the whole I feel the magazine reports the news (and results) in a timely manner and allows readers to form their own views on events. I appreciate that on occasions a degree of investigative journalism can be enlightening in any publication, but if facts and events are reported comprehensively this gives the reader every opportunity to form their own views and reach their own conclusions. I am sure that anyone who feels there is a topic which has not been covered in a balanced way or in sufficient depth could air their views and promote further debate through the letters page.

[falkirkbandit]

Of course your opinion is as valid as anyone else's. Mine is too - and for the record I think you are a miserable, tight-fisted old moaner. £2.90 is a steal for what Speedway Star offer on a weekly basis.

 

Agreed. I've been buying the Star on a weekly basis since my teens in the 80's in Berwick. And i've lived in Banbury, 16 years in Inverness, then back to Falkirk since 2004. I've been in a new job since July 1st, full time contracted hours again. But was in a zero hours contract job before that for five years, weekly paid every friday. But every thursday, i cobbled together the loose change for my weekly Star.

 

Yes, we live in the internet age, and i'm as active on it as anyone else for a 43 year old. But i don't follow every club on Twitter or Faceache, nor do i really want to to be honest. And yes, i know the news from friends that retweet or share news on social media or the pages that i do follow. But Speedway Star is still the first thing in my trolley when i go shopping after work every Thursday. For £2.90 a week, it's a bargain whether you read it all or not!

[bigcatdiary]

I think it's excellent value and have had it on subscription for donkeys years, quality read with some very good articles.

 

Like others I would like to see the odd survey conducted as to problems with the sport and what supporters want.

[salty]

Have been a subscriber on and off for donkeys years - currently lapsed - but tend to pick a copy up at my local Sainsbury's. If I miss a couple of weeks it doesn't bother me. Prefer the off season editions and will try and get this weeks copy to read the article on the 1969 Pirates (my first season watching the sport).

Having said that I was disappointed with the coverage of the Hancock furore in Melbourne and I feel the increasingly prolific Paul Burbidge is a tad Piratecentric in his coverage. This season my favourite feature has been the Peter Oakes pages.

Edited December 1, 2016 by salty

[Fromafar]

I have read every issue of Speedway Star from March 1952 to date. In my view it has maintained a high standard over the years and it has certainly retained my interest. On the whole I feel the magazine reports the news (and results) in a timely manner and allows readers to form their own views on events. I appreciate that on occasions a degree of investigative journalism can be enlightening in any publication, but if facts and events are reported comprehensively this gives the reader every opportunity to form their own views and reach their own conclusions. I am sure that anyone who feels there is a topic which has not been covered in a balanced way or in sufficient depth could air their views and promote further debate through the letters page.

 

Agree,and anytime I have contacted them regarding a subject my letter was published.

[Gresham]

Have been a subscriber on and off for donkeys years - currently lapsed - but tend to pick a copy up at my local Sainsbury's. If I miss a couple of weeks it doesn't bother me. Prefer the off season editions and will try and get this weeks copy to read the article on the 1969 Pirates (my first season watching the sport).

Having said that I was disappointed with the coverage of the Hancock furore in Melbourne and I feel the increasingly prolific Paul Burbage is a tad Piratecentric in his coverage. This season my favourite feature has been the Peter Oakes pages.

Peter Oakes pages are also my favourite. The rest I can skim through.

 

Anyone remember the magazine 5-1? How long did that go for?

[moomin man 76]

Peter Oakes pages are also my favourite. The rest I can skim through.

 

Anyone remember the magazine 5-1? How long did that go for?

If my memory serves me correctly, it ran from 1995-97.

[stevehone]

I still enjoy reading the magazine, but it shows how people have different views even as early as the first page on here!

The grasstrack/longtrack section I still like, but then I love grasstrack and want to see more longtrack.

More and more of the articles are covered by one person and as mentioned that does add to a bit of 'samey' reporting, it's always good to see different styles and opinions from different people.

As a kid I used to look forward to seeing what would be on the back cover, what team or rider, whereas now it's generally an advert for Cardiff, and that is practically preaching to the converted

[New Science]

Depends on how you view value for money.

 

I buy 'BackTrack' and 'Classic Speedway' Magazines on Subscription and think they are excellent value for money.

 

I don't believe that Speedway Star fits in to that category these days. I used to have it delivered from the Newsagents years ago and in those days, it was indeed value for money. Not now unfortunately.

Have you any idea how much magazines cost for other sports ? £2.90 is excellent value in today's market.

Still enjoy reading the Star particularly articles on yesteryear but still stand by my criticism that the Star has too closer a relationship to its subjects namely B.S.I , the F.I.M and certain promoters in Britain that they regard as personal friends .

[waiheke1]

I agree with Phil that a lot of the criticism has been unwarranted, but at the same time there are instances where I feel it has been deserved - the Greg Hancock issue stands out, the Lindback on a 7 as examples.

But overall, for a minority sport, I think the Star is an excellent publication. Certainly I find it hard that anyone can argue it is poor value for money, when it is half the price of a pint! I also disagree with anyone suggesting it should go to a lower paper/print quality.

So - why then don't I but the Star? Firstly, living in NZ the postage doubles the cost of buying it. Still decent value, but the cost adds up. I tried a couple of online subsctipions, but prefer a pper copy, and with 70+ hour work weeks and a young family, I struggled to find the time to read it.

 

I used to love the Star primarily for the statistics, the results/match reports and the heat by heat details of major meetings. Now you can get the stats on line (in more detail), live match reports, and major meetings anywhere in the world you can watch.

So if I was to subscribe again to the Star, it would be for in depth articles. But, on current contentions topics (like Hancock for example), I found far more critical discussion on the BSF than what has been reported as covered in the Star. Similarly, when the new heat format for EDR was introduced, to my knowledge the Star didn't print anything querying how the obvious impact on averages was going to be addressed, wheras on here the potential issue was identified and sebated. Obviously the form has some numpties, but there can also be informed and rigorous intelligent debate on here.

What actually triggered me to subcribe last time was an article on my favourite rider of all time, Larry Ross. So, I'm going to disagree again with TWK, and suggest more features (especially in the off season) on prior years would be a good thing.