Pieman72 Posted December 3, 2016 Report Share Posted December 3, 2016 Looking at the situation with regards to Coventry and other teams 'teetering on the brink'. I think it's time that supporters and promoters alike start to take a serious look at how the sport is run. There seems to be a bunker attitude that everything will carry on as normal as long as we keep doing the same. Making connotations to the National League in the 1960 is a valuable historical premise but then there was a thriving Provincial League. On every level there needs to be change i.e. admission prices, expensive foreign riders, making the bikes cheaper and more available to experienced and novice riders alike, entertainment value, marketing and above all reaching out to a new audience. Unless something is done I fear that the sport will cease to exist. Any idea's either serious or fanciful will be welcome and contribute to the future of our wonderful family sport Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starman2006 Posted December 3, 2016 Report Share Posted December 3, 2016 Looking at the situation with regards to Coventry and other teams 'teetering on the brink'. I think it's time that supporters and promoters alike start to take a serious look at how the sport is run. There seems to be a bunker attitude that everything will carry on as normal as long as we keep doing the same. Making connotations to the National League in the 1960 is a valuable historical premise but then there was a thriving Provincial League. On every level there needs to be change i.e. admission prices, expensive foreign riders, making the bikes cheaper and more available to experienced and novice riders alike, entertainment value, marketing and above all reaching out to a new audience. Unless something is done I fear that the sport will cease to exist. Any idea's either serious or fanciful will be welcome and contribute to the future of our wonderful family sport Sorry to down your post but i think we've done this to death elsewhere. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagpuss Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 I think there does need to be an overhaul for speedway to prosper but in all likelihood it will stumble along as it has done for the last thirty odd years if not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Thumper Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Looking at the situation with regards to Coventry and other teams 'teetering on the brink'. I think it's time that supporters and promoters alike start to take a serious look at how the sport is run. There seems to be a bunker attitude that everything will carry on as normal as long as we keep doing the same. Making connotations to the National League in the 1960 is a valuable historical premise but then there was a thriving Provincial League. On every level there needs to be change i.e. admission prices, expensive foreign riders, making the bikes cheaper and more available to experienced and novice riders alike, entertainment value, marketing and above all reaching out to a new audience. Unless something is done I fear that the sport will cease to exist. Any idea's either serious or fanciful will be welcome and contribute to the future of our wonderful family sport There's life, Jim but not as we know it. The future of speedway is National League. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skid Sprocket Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 I know its easy for seasoned supporters to come on here and want changes in the way the sport is run and rightly so, changes are needed. The biggest problem is getting new faces through the turnstiles and a new face is going to see what must be one of the most action packed sports in the country and not be bothered about the backstage problems, at least not for the first few meetings. Our new promoter at Redcar said recently in his first statement that all supporters are promoters and can do their bit by spreading the word and bringing family and friends along. Bringing in new supporters is something we can all do alongside lobbying for changes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foamfence Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 I know its easy for seasoned supporters to come on here and want changes in the way the sport is run and rightly so, changes are needed. The biggest problem is getting new faces through the turnstiles and a new face is going to see what must be one of the most action packed sports in the country and not be bothered about the backstage problems, at least not for the first few meetings. Our new promoter at Redcar said recently in his first statement that all supporters are promoters and can do their bit by spreading the word and bringing family and friends along. Bringing in new supporters is something we can all do alongside lobbying for changes. Well he's certainly got an attractive side to promote, it'd be worth going just to watch Garrity and Barker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveLyric2 Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Speedway will always continue in one form or another - even if it becomes more of a semi-professional sport again! Anyone who still truly believes that it is a 'family sport' and should continue to be promoted as such needs their head examined in my opinion!! Comments as above like 'it'd be worth going just to watch Garrity and Barker' are hardly 'family-friendly' and rightly so. Much more should and could be made of the thrills and spills, grudges between teams and riders etc etc. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Thumper Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Speedway will always continue in one form or another - even if it becomes more of a semi-professional sport again! Anyone who still truly believes that it is a 'family sport' and should continue to be promoted as such needs their head examined in my opinion!! Comments as above like 'it'd be worth going just to watch Garrity and Barker' are hardly 'family-friendly' and rightly so. Much more should and could be made of the thrills and spills, grudges between teams and riders etc etc. As Don Truman C of C at Mallory Park used to say at the end of his Drivers' Briefing:- Motor racing is dangerous - Let's keep it that way. Yes, Skidder1, let's keep it raw and noisy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluPanther Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 I give it 25 years at best, the decline is irreversible as most youngsters have no interest in attending.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pieman72 Posted December 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Keep the thread going. Some excellent very pragmatic comments. Fundamentally we need idea's and proposals to be fair anything. My feeling is that the sport needs reorganising from the top down with people who look outside the box and not in it recycling tired old idea's used way back in the halcyon days of the 70's. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skid Sprocket Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 What exactly makes speedway not "family friendly"? You could take a 5 year old and a 95 year old and they would both get something from their experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moxey63 Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 (edited) The basics of anything should be foundations. It seems speedway is being ruined by a forever requirement of changing things. It is a waste of complete time and effort, blood and emotions, if the sport's rules are about so flimsy that you need to review them annually. We have a re-branding every winter but in another 12 months on we have another. One of the dangers of speedway... is that the forever changing rules is a put off. It is in danger of leaving many fans behind, who just can't be arsed keeping up. As a fan of over 30 years, as I was then, I was shocked when I couldn't answer a question another fan asked about one particular rule. I realised about then, that the exit door... it was primed for a hasty retreat. It was the fact that one new rule too many had just overtaken me. I know nothing.... Edited December 4, 2016 by moxey63 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balderdash&piffle Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Speedway is a simple sport, with very complicated rules. Get the rules back to basic, based on 4 riders getting out of the gate as fast as possible, keep turning left for 4 laps, and try not to knock each other off. As opposed to a referee deciding that a rider, got too good a start, and call them back, stating that somewhere in the rule book he can find justification for doing so. Only an example, otherwise I would be here all day. It might help if speedway rules were the same globally, never mind that we had 3 sets of rules in the UK alone 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Science Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 As Don Truman C of C at Mallory Park used to say at the end of his Drivers' Briefing:- Motor racing is dangerous - Let's keep it that way. Yes, Skidder1, let's keep it raw and noisy! Unfortunately its not as noisy as it was. Speedway is a simple sport, with very complicated rules. Get the rules back to basic, based on 4 riders getting out of the gate as fast as possible, keep turning left for 4 laps, and try not to knock each other off. As opposed to a referee deciding that a rider, got too good a start, and call them back, stating that somewhere in the rule book he can find justification for doing so. Only an example, otherwise I would be here all day. It might help if speedway rules were the same globally, never mind that we had 3 sets of rules in the UK alone Surely jumping the start is gaining an unfair advantage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsunami Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 I know its easy for seasoned supporters to come on here and want changes in the way the sport is run and rightly so, changes are needed. The biggest problem is getting new faces through the turnstiles and a new face is going to see what must be one of the most action packed sports in the country and not be bothered about the backstage problems, at least not for the first few meetings. Our new promoter at Redcar said recently in his first statement that all supporters are promoters and can do their bit by spreading the word and bringing family and friends along. Bringing in new supporters is something we can all do alongside lobbying for changes. Bring a friend has a far better chance of getting a real supporter of the sport, that presentations, leaflets, Meeting vouchers, advertising, etc, but you still have to do it just in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Science Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Looking at the situation with regards to Coventry and other teams 'teetering on the brink'. I think it's time that supporters and promoters alike start to take a serious look at how the sport is run. There seems to be a bunker attitude that everything will carry on as normal as long as we keep doing the same. Making connotations to the National League in the 1960 is a valuable historical premise but then there was a thriving Provincial League. On every level there needs to be change i.e. admission prices, expensive foreign riders, making the bikes cheaper and more available to experienced and novice riders alike, entertainment value, marketing and above all reaching out to a new audience. Unless something is done I fear that the sport will cease to exist. Any idea's either serious or fanciful will be welcome and contribute to the future of our wonderful family sport Speedway firstly needs to lure back the thousands of fans that have stopped going for whatever reason,, most I know because the product is not good enough rather than the issue of rules. You can attract as many new fans as you want , if the product is not good enough people wont stay on board for long. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagpuss Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Much more should and could be made of the thrills and spills, grudges between teams and riders etc etc. Couldn't agree more. On a different thread one or two people are still bellyaching about Cook and Woffinden's exploits in the Play Off final but we need more of that kind of stuff to get the crowd going rather than falling asleep in their seats / camping chairs. A little bit of controversy does speedway the power of good when it happens as long as nobody gets injured. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pieman72 Posted December 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Speedway is the same format, same people, same rules, same bikes and what people enjoy is mixing it up. For example different make/size/fuel/engines/frame, scratch races grasstrack type supension for the more agricultural tracks and above all admission prices that reflect out current financial climate. Empty stands do not make for a good atmosphere. You can change rules make the racing more competitive but fundamentally to get people through the turnstiles change has to occur. Speedway is a wonderful spectacle particularly under floodlights and the smell of 'R' is something special but we need to attract individuals who are not as an anoraky as myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Think we definitely need to see more needle, whether real or not between the riders and opposing team managers. Take a look at the banter between Eddie Jones and Michael Chieka ahead of the weekend rugby international. All the talk created lots of column inches and stirred up interest ahead of the game. Barry Hearn has managed to create "personalities" in Darts and all we really have is Nikki P. Surely with the likes of Craig Cook, Jason Garrity etc we can come up with more sound bites and nicknames that attract a younger audience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trees Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Haven't people been wondering this since the 60s lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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