Does British Speedway Have Future?

[Gresham]

Of course in my boy hood day riders always took kids around the track on their bikes during the interval and I remember collecting autographs in the pits as the riders were getting changed and dismantling their machinery and being in awe of my heroes...but good old H&S and all that!

H&S...the biggest load of bollox known to mankind...ruins everything. No common sense anymore...and it will only get worse, as these people have to think up new rules and reg's every day, just to keep their jobs. I love the way Europe always sticks two fingers up to it...but we as a nation follow subserviently....makes me sick.

 

I too used to hang out in the pits...even cutting tyres for the likes of Nigel Boocock as a kid...can you imagine that nowadays.

 

Even if speedway was more accessible to the public to get started in, I can't imagine many kids taking it up like they used too...all gone too soft.

 

Too dangerous. Kids are wrapped in cotton wool these days. I fear for this country...

[steve roberts]

H&S...the biggest load of bollox known to mankind...ruins everything. No common sense anymore...and it will only get worse, as these people have to think up new rules and reg's every day, just to keep their jobs. I love the way Europe always sticks two fingers up to it...but we as a nation follow subserviently....makes me sick.

 

I too used to hang out in the pits...even cutting tyres for the likes of Nigel Boocock as a kid...can you imagine that nowadays.

 

Even if speedway was more accessible to the public to get started in, I can't imagine many kids taking it up like they used too...all gone too soft.

 

Too dangerous. Kids are wrapped in cotton wool these days. I fear for this country...

Small point but I used to think that parades when riders didn't wear helmets after the introductions were made somehow made them more human as they encircled the track carrying out practice starts etc.

Edited December 17, 2016 by steve roberts

[ch958]

Small point but I used to think that parades when riders didn't wear helmets after the introductions were made somehow made them more human as they encircled the track carrying out practice starts etc.

 

this really spoiled to beginning of meetings for me - who the hell insisted on it and can they be disobeyed. Common sense ffs

[Halifaxtiger]

 

If you start to completely forget about getting kids to attend then where are you going to get future riders from?

I know it's difficult for most clubs due to stadium restrictions etc but the best way to get younger people interested is to make it easier for them to try the sport themselves. That is the ultimate problem, it's easy to get them interested in football, rugby, cricket, tennis etc because it is so easy for them to do those sports. Clearly speedway is entirely different but there are clubs who hold training days for little or no cost and they should be heavily advertised more than the sport itself. Get them interested in the bikes and riding first.

 

Hate to bang on about Isle of Wight again but check their face book page and 'my first skid'.

 

And, by the way, they also have sponsorship from a local radio station.

H&S...the biggest load of bollox known to mankind...ruins everything. No common sense anymore...and it will only get worse, as these people have to think up new rules and reg's every day, just to keep their jobs. I love the way Europe always sticks two fingers up to it...but we as a nation follow subserviently....makes me sick.

 

I too used to hang out in the pits...even cutting tyres for the likes of Nigel Boocock as a kid...can you imagine that nowadays.

 

Even if speedway was more accessible to the public to get started in, I can't imagine many kids taking it up like they used too...all gone too soft.

 

Too dangerous. Kids are wrapped in cotton wool these days. I fear for this country...

 

Things needed to change from when I was younger (I am 51) but its all got ridiculously out of hand.

 

Guards on machinery is one thing, stopping kids playing conkers is very much another.

[steve roberts]

 

Hate to bang on about Isle of Wight again but check their face book page and 'my first skid'.

 

And, by the way, they also have sponsorship from a local radio station.

 

Things needed to change from when I was younger (I am 51) but its all got ridiculously out of hand.

 

Guards on machinery is one thing, stopping kids playing conkers is very much another.

...or the story I read recently that a headmaster was considering banning children from running around in the playground in case they fell over and hurt themselves!

[wealdstone]

The primary culprits for all this are the so called claims management companies/

[Bagpuss]

I blame the yanks.

[Little Thumper]

Small point but I used to think that parades when riders didn't wear helmets after the introductions were made somehow made them more human as they encircled the track carrying out practice starts etc.

 

Although, it goes against the grain, I have to admit this is one of the few good things that happened at Stoke.

 

The riders would have a couple of minutes blast round without their helmets on with a bit of hand waving thrown in.

 

It was probably more dramatic at Stoke because they only turned any lights on a couple of minutes before the start and then suddenly there was this explosion of noise and light! If they had played some suitable music and whooped the "crowd" up a bit, it would probably have been the high point of the evening. But they didn't, so it wasn't.

 

Speedway needs to be a bit more edgy.

Ann Widdecombe once said of Michael Howard that he had, "Something of the Night" about him".

I think speedway needs to create this aura of being dangerous and dirty whilst at the same time being professional and well-organized.

 

After my first visit to the NSS, I expressed the opinion that it was too sanitized and promptly got myself shot down in flames.

If people want to watch sanitized, politically-correct sport then perhaps they should try Formula 1 or top level football.

[steve roberts]

 

Although, it goes against the grain, I have to admit this is one of the few good things that happened at Stoke.

 

The riders would have a couple of minutes blast round without their helmets on with a bit of hand waving thrown in.

 

It was probably more dramatic at Stoke because they only turned any lights on a couple of minutes before the start and then suddenly there was this explosion of noise and light! If they had played some suitable music and whooped the "crowd" up a bit, it would probably have been the high point of the evening. But they didn't, so it wasn't.

 

Speedway needs to be a bit more edgy.

Ann Widdecombe once said of Michael Howard that he had, "Something of the Night" about him".

I think speedway needs to create this aura of being dangerous and dirty whilst at the same time being professional and well-organized.

 

After my first visit to the NSS, I expressed the opinion that it was too sanitized and promptly got myself shot down in flames.

If people want to watch sanitized, politically-correct sport then perhaps they should try Formula 1 or top level football.

...or getting sprayed with shale (my brother used to collect it and store it in those 'tic-tac' mint boxes - he built up quite a collection too!). The sport was dirty but it used to thrill me as youngster trying to avoid the shale at tracks like Eastbourne and Newport!

[foamfence]

...or getting sprayed with shale (my brother used to collect it and store it in those 'tic-tac' mint boxes - he built up quite a collection too!). The sport was dirty but it used to thrill me as youngster trying to avoid the shale at tracks like Eastbourne and Newport!

We used to take a newbie and stand right up against the fence (you could in those days) and when the riders came by we would duck, the newbie didn't know to do that. I suppose it was a sort of initiation. A full tic-tac box would be worth money at some of today's rather bald tracks.

[Barney Rabbit]

We used to take a newbie and stand right up against the fence (you could in those days) and when the riders came by we would duck, the newbie didn't know to do that. I suppose it was a sort of initiation. A full tic-tac box would be worth money at some of today's rather bald tracks.

 

In the first few years of Panthers' existence, a speedway match used to be the last thing on two of the days of the Peterborough/East of England Show at the Showground and anyone still there from the show could watch the speedway free. You could tell the ones that had never seen the sport before because they always lined up leaning on the safety fence to get a good view of the action. They were warned to get back from the fence but most never heeded the warning. After the parade it was great to see the riders method of moving them back - a few well-executed turns ensured a good shower of shale went out covering these 'newbies' in the stuff. They soon moved back.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

We have got a future but it won't begin to improve till we address price for fans and our credibility and that starts with doubling up/ down , to anyone outside the speedway fraternity it looks a complete joke in team sport .

[Halifaxtiger]

...or the story I read recently that a headmaster was considering banning children from running around in the playground in case they fell over and hurt themselves!

 

We had a talk from the Council's chief H&S officer a while ago and he told gave us a couple of anecdotes which tend to put things into perspective a bit.

 

Every year, the Round Table in Hebden Bridge hold a huge bonfire and firework display - stalls, rides, the lot. Every year they are on the front page of the local rag, complaining about H&S saying they can't do this or that. As that simply wasn't true, one year the chap from the Council finally had enough of all the flak he was getting and phoned their top bloke up. The response was:

 

'Yes, I know its not true but we get a free front page advert'.

 

On another occasion, some old biddy at a bring and buy sale in a local hall slipped over and broke her arm. Turns out the dancing club had asked for the floor to be buffed up and the caretaker went a bit nuts. It was then reported that H&S were closing the dance club down (which wasn't true).

 

Our H&S bloke was eating his tea when his mother phoned him up, gave him a bashing about closing the club and slammed the phone down.

 

The upshot was that a compromise was arranged and the dancing club, which had been on the verge of closure anyway because of a shortage of participants, doubled its membership.

[steve roberts]

 

We had a talk from the Council's chief H&S officer a while ago and he told gave us a couple of anecdotes which tend to put things into perspective a bit.

 

Every year, the Round Table in Hebden Bridge hold a huge bonfire and firework display - stalls, rides, the lot. Every year they are on the front page of the local rag, complaining about H&S saying they can't do this or that. As that simply wasn't true, one year the chap from the Council finally had enough of all the flak he was getting and phoned their top bloke up. The response was:

 

'Yes, I know its not true but we get a free front page advert'.

 

On another occasion, some old biddy at a bring and buy sale in a local hall slipped over and broke her arm. Turns out the dancing club had asked for the floor to be buffed up and the caretaker went a bit nuts. It was then reported that H&S were closing the dance club down (which wasn't true).

 

Our H&S bloke was eating his tea when his mother phoned him up, gave him a bashing about closing the club and slammed the phone down.

 

The upshot was that a compromise was arranged and the dancing club, which had been on the verge of closure anyway because of a shortage of participants, doubled its membership.

As I've said elsewhere I used to be a safety rep during two previous employments and see the problem from both sides. Common sense should be the rule applied but we are talking about the public at large...and that's a commodity often lacking.

 

Slightly off beat but the old myth about clearing snow from your front door making you liable if someone then slips up. Total urban myth. People hide behind that assumption because they are often too bone idle to get out their and clear it away. Talking once to an American neighbour he told me that in the district that he lived it is a requirement that you clear snow from outside your property.

[Halifaxtiger]

As I've said elsewhere I used to be a safety rep during two previous employments and see the problem from both sides. Common sense should be the rule applied but we are talking about the public at large...and that's a commodity often lacking.

 

Slightly off beat but the old myth about clearing snow from your front door making you liable if someone then slips up. Total urban myth. People hide behind that assumption because they are often too bone idle to get out their and clear it away. Talking once to an American neighbour he told me that in the district that he lived it is a requirement that you clear snow from outside your property.

 

Dead right about common sense..............and the lazy bleeders who won't clear their paths.

 

Unfortunately, I don't remember much about the serious bits of the talk only that I laughed an awful lot that day.

 

I do, however, recall that he told us about a bloke in a sweet factory who fell into a tank full of marshmallow. Laurel & Hardy stuff, but we stopped finding it funny when he told us that protection wasn't in place and that the chap had suffered second degree burns and been scarred for life.

[steve roberts]

 

Dead right about common sense..............and the lazy bleeders who won't clear their paths.

 

Unfortunately, I don't remember much about the serious bits of the talk only that I laughed an awful lot that day.

 

I do, however, recall that he told us about a bloke in a sweet factory who fell into a tank full of marshmallow. Laurel & Hardy stuff, but we stopped finding it funny when he told us that protection wasn't in place and that the chap had suffered second degree burns and been scarred for life.

My Great Grandfather was operating a threshing machine and was balanced on a board when he slipped and lost his forearm when it got caught in the machine (no Health & Safety requirements during the 19th Century) and from that day on lived with a hook on the end of his arm instead of a hand. He came from Hook Norton (where the beer is brewed) and was known locally as 'Hookie' Eden!

[Trees]

In the UK, I can't remember - maybe 2-3 years ago but that's because I don't really live in the UK. I've been to meetings in other countries more recently though.

 

However, I'm precisely the person to be having an opinion because I used to go to speedway a lot (for 20 years or more), and then for various reasons didn't go so much which caused me to have a different perspective.

 

 

My point wasn't whether there are war cries at speedway now, but that some feel that bringing them back would suddenly make the sport more appealing.

 

 

My point is that the programme should be a thing of the past. People have smartphones now - why not think about selling an app that allows fans to follow the racing online, without the need for biros and tippex?

Some things like score cards and away from speedway, books, never age imo, whilst people still buy them they should produce them. I think in the future maybe more fans won't buy them but will rely on the electronic scoreboard. Of course programmes are dual purpose if you stand on a bend!

 

Re war cries, of course they are dated but football fans still chant and sing as do speedway fans in Poland, fans need to go to meetings up for a bit of chanting and fun, many of us are just not that way inclined, it's hard to get a cheer out of some people as they must think it's not cool or whatever!

 

Of course it's only when you feel a passion for your club that you become less inhibited, just going to a speedway meeting here and there won't give you that same feeling.

Edited December 18, 2016 by Trees

[Guest]

We have got a future but it won't begin to improve till we address price for fans and our credibility and that starts with doubling up/ down , to anyone outside the speedway fraternity it looks a complete joke in team sport .

 

...and the same applies to MANY of us who are credited as being within the orbit of having an interest in speedway. It has not yet reached 'sell by' date but sadly there are signs that happening is on its way IMO.

[steve roberts]

Some things like score cards and away from speedway, books, never age imo, whilst people still buy them they should produce them. I think in the future maybe more fans won't buy them but will rely on the electronic scoreboard. Of course programmes are dual purpose if you stand on a bend!

 

Re war cries, of course they are dated but football fans still chant and sing as do speedway fans in Poland, fans need to go to meetings up for a bit of chanting and fun, many of us are just not that way inclined, it's hard to get a cheer out of some people as they must think it's not cool or whatever!

 

Of course it's only when you feel a passion for your club that you become less inhibited, just going to a speedway meeting here and there won't give you that same feeling.

I made the same point regarding the younger generation possibly finding chanting somewhat embarrassing...but it doesn't stop them from doing it at football matches and/or pop concerts because it's deemed as 'cool'...whatever that means!

 

As regards programmes I wish, now, that I hadn't got rid of them as the old memory plays tricks and they were a good reference source.

Edited December 18, 2016 by steve roberts

[Guest]

​This is debate previously elsewhere on the BSF in regard to where league speedway has failed. Are there signs that we are about to witness - one the next couple of years - something very similar in the UK?

 

Years Gone By

 

Countries Where League Racing Has Failed

Edited December 18, 2016 by Guest