Trees Posted September 6, 2017 Report Share Posted September 6, 2017 No it doesn't - I lost my Track 43 years ago but I still enjoy watching it on the Television.The passion of supporting your team, there's nothing like being on the terraces willing/shouting at your team to win 😁 Yeah we all watch it on TV... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted September 6, 2017 Report Share Posted September 6, 2017 The passion of supporting your team, there's nothing like being on the terraces willing/shouting at your team to win Yeah we all watch it on TV... Although I left Oxford (repeat it again for the sake of some!) during the 2004 season not sure what I would have done after the closure of Cowley (2007) if I had remained there. Would I have gone to Swindon (the sworn enemy) or been lost like so many others who lost their team over the years? As it was I never had to make that decision and was happy that Dad (who died in 2006) never witnessed the closure having first gone to Cowley in 1949 and was an ardent fan. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 The passion of supporting your team, there's nothing like being on the terraces willing/shouting at your team to win Yeah we all watch it on TV... That is very true Trees. I would not argue with you about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmauger Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 The passion of supporting your team, there's nothing like being on the terraces willing/shouting at your team to win Yeah we all watch it on TV... That too ^^. I don't follow the rules as closely as I possibly should anymore, s'pecially guests, R / R, doubling up / down rules. I just enjoy 4 riders going heck for leather, 4 laps turning left at each end, no gears, no brakes, getting well sideways: that part hasn't changed.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moxey63 Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 Threads like these come and go, and we never get the real answers, just a list of no-doers and still-doers. But the sport will arrive at the tapes next spring, full of optimism and fueled by remaining fans paying more to make up for the lost fans in what will be another weakened league structure. Another thread asks what tracks have question marks regarding their 2018 plans, and that in itself doesn't make the remaining loyal fans smear those who've become disillusioned. Speedway, as Coventry's demise proved, is about as certain as a Tory manifesto, suppose it always has been, but in 40-odd years I have never seen this. Makes you think whether the BSPA have anything to do with this Brexit thingy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post barrybishop Posted September 7, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 Hi Everyone, It has been very interesting for me to read this thread on the forum and in particular the references to Poland, Czech and Europe in general. Like many of you I have been going to speedway, long track and grass track across Europe for many years from the very first days of the GPs and before budget airlines opened the east right up. It was always by car and always worth the trouble. Why is that... this is the question....? For me, and from what I read it is the same for many of you, it was for the whole package - the whole experience..... an event. What I have found with speedway over the years in the UK, is that because we didnt have an event as such, we went to speedway because of the group of friends we met there, our children wanted to go, or in the hope to see that race or meeting we will all talk about for years to follow. So, on the Island we have tried to make each meeting a family, event as best we can.... We want people to entertained from the moment they step through the gate to the moment they leave, so speedway in effect becomes part of the bigger show. Other things we have included are access to the pits, mini warrior races, 200 club draw, mascots, autographs, selfies, competitions, beat the starter, plus the speedway but most importantly an interpersonal relationship between fans and riders - this happens all night from mascots in their kit, to riders answering questions and selfies before meeting, opening the pits up and so on. Combine that with a great presentation team, a friendly welcoming environment and we have seen our crowd increase this year, we have a great atmosphere plus some really great racing even with our unfortunate league position. We also do lots in the community really, attend every show we can, advertise, and try to be in the public as much as we can. We also really do try to be positive. Positivity is so important believe me and even when we are having a tough time on or off the track we are always mindful that we are in the business of entertainment as well as motorcycle racing so we take posivity from everything we do... if we lose heavily, then we focus on the success of one rider, how brilliant the kids race was and aren't the mascots improving weekly. We also take the time to listen and to read and while we have a long way to go, in general I believe we have made real progress on the island to become a fun family night out which offers entertainment, is fun, friendly and good value. I would say also that we do tend to focus on kids too, having kids meeting new friends, following the speedway, taking part and being involved is really wonderful. We back that up too with the speedway school, which we have invested heavily in equipment and bikes, so that kids can come and try speedway (so can adults) for what we believe is a very cost affective gift price or indeed a price that kids and adults want to come back. We also know this works with several kids and adults now buying their bikes and equipment... We love it. I also know that when crowds get bigger another key factor in maintaining them is people like to spend time with their friends. So, when I know a new family has come I speak with them, try and involve our regular fans with them as quickly as possible to ensure they get the feel and the buzz of the whole experience. I go into our stands every meeting and there are always the same groups of friends and families that enjoy each others company and being part of the speedway night, the bigger the crowd of course the more group of friends that you have The final thing I would say, well ask really is that it is so easy to say negative things but it is much harder for us all to say what is good or has been done well. We dont have a perfect rule book by any means, there are changes that chould improve the overall speedway experience for fans that hopefully will come to fruition, and there lots of things clubs can do to improve the overall interaction with fans. I would like to say that it is not cheap or easy to run a speedway team. Our objective is to break even and this is without Martin or I taking anything including travel from the club. We work tirelessly on sponsorship and increasing our crowd numbers so that we can achieve our goals, we reinvest everything from the speedway school to the club, we rely on our volunteers so much and this is why we try our best to make it as much fun for them as it is for you/us the fans - (I am a fan too). And really finally, when you come to our stadium, I view it as though you have come to my home for dinner... I would truly hate it for you to be disappointed or not had a great time, that hurts.... the results, well I wish we won of course, but most important to us is that our fans, visitors, guests, volunteers and sponsors have a blast... See you trackside... and come and visit us soon, I think you will enjoy it. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILIPRISING Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 MORE like you would be a massive help Barry 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 Hi Everyone, It has been very interesting for me to read this thread on the forum and in particular the references to Poland, Czech and Europe in general. Like many of you I have been going to speedway, long track and grass track across Europe for many years from the very first days of the GPs and before budget airlines opened the east right up. It was always by car and always worth the trouble. Why is that... this is the question....? For me, and from what I read it is the same for many of you, it was for the whole package - the whole experience..... an event. What I have found with speedway over the years in the UK, is that because we didnt have an event as such, we went to speedway because of the group of friends we met there, our children wanted to go, or in the hope to see that race or meeting we will all talk about for years to follow. So, on the Island we have tried to make each meeting a family, event as best we can.... We want people to entertained from the moment they step through the gate to the moment they leave, so speedway in effect becomes part of the bigger show. Other things we have included are access to the pits, mini warrior races, 200 club draw, mascots, autographs, selfies, competitions, beat the starter, plus the speedway but most importantly an interpersonal relationship between fans and riders - this happens all night from mascots in their kit, to riders answering questions and selfies before meeting, opening the pits up and so on. Combine that with a great presentation team, a friendly welcoming environment and we have seen our crowd increase this year, we have a great atmosphere plus some really great racing even with our unfortunate league position. We also do lots in the community really, attend every show we can, advertise, and try to be in the public as much as we can. We also really do try to be positive. Positivity is so important believe me and even when we are having a tough time on or off the track we are always mindful that we are in the business of entertainment as well as motorcycle racing so we take posivity from everything we do... if we lose heavily, then we focus on the success of one rider, how brilliant the kids race was and aren't the mascots improving weekly. We also take the time to listen and to read and while we have a long way to go, in general I believe we have made real progress on the island to become a fun family night out which offers entertainment, is fun, friendly and good value. I would say also that we do tend to focus on kids too, having kids meeting new friends, following the speedway, taking part and being involved is really wonderful. We back that up too with the speedway school, which we have invested heavily in equipment and bikes, so that kids can come and try speedway (so can adults) for what we believe is a very cost affective gift price or indeed a price that kids and adults want to come back. We also know this works with several kids and adults now buying their bikes and equipment... We love it. I also know that when crowds get bigger another key factor in maintaining them is people like to spend time with their friends. So, when I know a new family has come I speak with them, try and involve our regular fans with them as quickly as possible to ensure they get the feel and the buzz of the whole experience. I go into our stands every meeting and there are always the same groups of friends and families that enjoy each others company and being part of the speedway night, the bigger the crowd of course the more group of friends that you have The final thing I would say, well ask really is that it is so easy to say negative things but it is much harder for us all to say what is good or has been done well. We dont have a perfect rule book by any means, there are changes that chould improve the overall speedway experience for fans that hopefully will come to fruition, and there lots of things clubs can do to improve the overall interaction with fans. I would like to say that it is not cheap or easy to run a speedway team. Our objective is to break even and this is without Martin or I taking anything including travel from the club. We work tirelessly on sponsorship and increasing our crowd numbers so that we can achieve our goals, we reinvest everything from the speedway school to the club, we rely on our volunteers so much and this is why we try our best to make it as much fun for them as it is for you/us the fans - (I am a fan too). And really finally, when you come to our stadium, I view it as though you have come to my home for dinner... I would truly hate it for you to be disappointed or not had a great time, that hurts.... the results, well I wish we won of course, but most important to us is that our fans, visitors, guests, volunteers and sponsors have a blast... See you trackside... and come and visit us soon, I think you will enjoy it. Interesting comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE DEAN MACHINE Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 MORE like you would be a massive help Barry I feel the IOW are doing the right things in the right way but are being held back by the sport Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buttons Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 The last few has seen Speedway become too expensive, at best speedway is a £10-£12 sport, which proves the point when promotions drop the price when TV cameras are in town. It seems soon as crowds fall, the promotions only answer is to put the price up! The presentation at MOST tracks, not all, is non existent, nothing being said by the announcers when delay for two rides on the trot etc, and very little enthusiasm when they do, Helmets being put on before the teams have been introduced to the crowd. Some riders not wanting to interact with fans, ie celebrating a win, surely this all part of what Speedway use to be, and still should be. Long delays between heats, and worst of all you hardly ever see the full team of riders that were signed at the beginning of the season, due to all the doubling up. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedibee Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 I sort of see both sides of the coin. During the dog track years I did sometimes use to wonder why I was still attending every match because the quality of racing was far removed from the Hyde Road days but obviously and despite the poor teams we often had, there was still enough enjoyment to keep me going. However, since the move to the NSS and despite the best efforts of the BSPA to destroy the credibility of the sport by their often ridiculous decisions and inconsistent interpretation of the rules my enthusiasm for the sport is as strong as it ever was. The joy of watching close, exciting racing overcomes the politics and incompetence. It is a five hour return journey for me to get to Belle Vue but well worth the effort and the cost. I've said it before but the NSS has proved that given the right setting Speedway can be as thrilling as it ever was. If only somebody sensible could take control of the BSPA. 5 hour round trip to Belle Vue on a Friday . well I suppose that's a drawback of living 3 miles away .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrybishop Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 The last few has seen Speedway become too expensive, at best speedway is a £10-£12 sport, which proves the point when promotions drop the price when TV cameras are in town. It seems soon as crowds fall, the promotions only answer is to put the price up! The presentation at MOST tracks, not all, is non existent, nothing being said by the announcers when delay for two rides on the trot etc, and very little enthusiasm when they do, Helmets being put on before the teams have been introduced to the crowd. Some riders not wanting to interact with fans, ie celebrating a win, surely this all part of what Speedway use to be, and still should be. Long delays between heats, and worst of all you hardly ever see the full team of riders that were signed at the beginning of the season, due to all the doubling up. Pricing is a tricky one.... for example Plymouth only charge £10 to get in and I dont believe they have seen growth on that.. we charge £12 (and other prices) for entry and our crowds have increased and I am told that in general speedway crowds are on the up - personally I am not sure about that fact but lets run with it..... but how I qualify numbers for pricing is what are our costs and what is our pricing comparable to.... for example... it's a tenner to go to the cinema, £12 is around 3.5 pints, 4 coffees, 2 gallons of fuel, a takeaway - its cheaper than ice hocky (Milton Keynes is £18), it's certainly cheaper than most family attractions on the Isle of Wight, so for me, while we are very concious of pricing (kids are free, young adults and student £7, Seniors and Service £9, Carers free) I dont believe it is where we are going wrong.... it is about perceived value of the entry fee.... if I pay to come to speedway and I am entertained, valued, interacted with, excited, then £12 is really good value, - higher prices is value in my book.... but there are many instances where that "value for entry price" is not met, and even if every speedway meeting was for free, people would not come if they were not entertained... they value their time more. Also if we discuss pricing in Poland and other countries, I would say we must compare income... In Poland, for example the minimum wage in Poland is around £380 per month (UK £7.50 per hour = £1,200), with average income around £900 per month, so the income in general in Poland is lower, hence the cost of living is lower, so I prices is lower to enter speedway (or any sporting event when compared to the UK). I do know that in Germany speedway is cheaper to enter than the UK (with higher minimum wages and average income) but in my view it is made up again because it is an all day event, and other revenue streams make up for the entry pricing. Riders should interact with fans and sponsors as much as possible - its an easy way to improve chances of support and sponsorship. As a side note I believe promoters should to and this is why I do it. Long delays between heats for sure, not ideal...but a filled half time with entertainment should be encourage...not entertainment... no half time.. push through - who wants to thumb twiddle. Completely agree on riders and teams.... challenge for that is of course rider numbers and the lack of them. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedibee Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 Pricing is a tricky one.... for example Plymouth only charge £10 to get in and I dont believe they have seen growth on that.. we charge £12 (and other prices) for entry and our crowds have increased and I am told that in general speedway crowds are on the up - personally I am not sure about that fact but lets run with it..... but how I qualify numbers for pricing is what are our costs and what is our pricing comparable to.... for example... it's a tenner to go to the cinema, £12 is around 3.5 pints, 4 coffees, 2 gallons of fuel, a takeaway - its cheaper than ice hocky (Milton Keynes is £18), it's certainly cheaper than most family attractions on the Isle of Wight, so for me, while we are very concious of pricing (kids are free, young adults and student £7, Seniors and Service £9, Carers free) I dont believe it is where we are going wrong.... it is about perceived value of the entry fee.... if I pay to come to speedway and I am entertained, valued, interacted with, excited, then £12 is really good value, - higher prices is value in my book.... but there are many instances where that "value for entry price" is not met, and even if every speedway meeting was for free, people would not come if they were not entertained... they value their time more. Also if we discuss pricing in Poland and other countries, I would say we must compare income... In Poland, for example the minimum wage in Poland is around £380 per month (UK £7.50 per hour = £1,200), with average income around £900 per month, so the income in general in Poland is lower, hence the cost of living is lower, so I prices is lower to enter speedway (or any sporting event when compared to the UK). I do know that in Germany speedway is cheaper to enter than the UK (with higher minimum wages and average income) but in my view it is made up again because it is an all day event, and other revenue streams make up for the entry pricing. Riders should interact with fans and sponsors as much as possible - its an easy way to improve chances of support and sponsorship. As a side note I believe promoters should to and this is why I do it. Long delays between heats for sure, not ideal...but a filled half time with entertainment should be encourage...not entertainment... no half time.. push through - who wants to thumb twiddle. Completely agree on riders and teams.... challenge for that is of course rider numbers and the lack of them. You must be doing something right ,an increasing crowd with the added expense/time of a ferry crossing is quite an achievement , proper promotion including added attractions must account for some of the increase , it's a model that could work in any tram in the UK . and cannot even be attributed to success on the track , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waytogo28 Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 I feel the IOW are doing the right things in the right way but are being held back by the sport Yes all that Barry Bishop wrote about how they promote and run speedway on the IOW is great to hear, truly. But for those who post what is feedback ( not just negativity ) which BB values highly and which appears to be ignored by individual local promoters and the BSPA. This is the case at my local track King's Lynn where feedback is ignored for whatever reason. To say that all is well within speedway would be foolish in the extreme and although I think speedway in it's present form will die out, I don't want it to. I want to contribute positive ideas about how the efforts on the IOW can be replicated everywhere. Just read the comments in the SS this week by the Scunthorpe promoter and they were "negative". Positive promotions are being held back, not by the sport but by the BSPA, who I suppose are the sport? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 I have to say that Steve Purchase (One Time Oxford Promoter) was always one to engage with fans and would comment on The Oxford Speedway Forum. He even invited me along to a pre-season behind closed doors meeting as he felt that I had something to offer in the way of ideas and/or suggestions. I liked the Purchases...genuine nice people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 The thread title IMO needs clarifying. It is given as 'How Many Of Us Are Losing Interest?' IMO not many Posters have lost interest in the ACTUAL RACING side of speedway which is, by and large, in my understanding, fairly competitive. What many people have lost interest in is the ORGANISATIONAL side of speedway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waytogo28 Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 The thread title IMO needs clarifying. It is given as 'How Many Of Us Are Losing Interest?' IMO not many Posters have lost interest in the ACTUAL RACING side of speedway which is, by and large, in my understanding, fairly competitive. What many people have lost interest in is the ORGANISATIONAL side of speedway. Oh Yes! Or the dis-organisational side of speedway. It can hardly claim to have been "organised" over the last two or three years. A good, close race in 1957 and in 2017 is just as satisfying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aces51 Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 5 hour round trip to Belle Vue on a Friday . well I suppose that's a drawback of living 3 miles away .. There are times when the last three miles can feel like it's taken 5 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keef robin Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 Hi Everyone, It has been very interesting for me to read this thread on the forum and in particular the references to Poland, Czech and Europe in general. Like many of you I have been going to speedway, long track and grass track across Europe for many years from the very first days of the GPs and before budget airlines opened the east right up. It was always by car and always worth the trouble. Why is that... this is the question....? For me, and from what I read it is the same for many of you, it was for the whole package - the whole experience..... an event. What I have found with speedway over the years in the UK, is that because we didnt have an event as such, we went to speedway because of the group of friends we met there, our children wanted to go, or in the hope to see that race or meeting we will all talk about for years to follow. So, on the Island we have tried to make each meeting a family, event as best we can.... We want people to entertained from the moment they step through the gate to the moment they leave, so speedway in effect becomes part of the bigger show. Other things we have included are access to the pits, mini warrior races, 200 club draw, mascots, autographs, selfies, competitions, beat the starter, plus the speedway but most importantly an interpersonal relationship between fans and riders - this happens all night from mascots in their kit, to riders answering questions and selfies before meeting, opening the pits up and so on. Combine that with a great presentation team, a friendly welcoming environment and we have seen our crowd increase this year, we have a great atmosphere plus some really great racing even with our unfortunate league position. We also do lots in the community really, attend every show we can, advertise, and try to be in the public as much as we can. We also really do try to be positive. Positivity is so important believe me and even when we are having a tough time on or off the track we are always mindful that we are in the business of entertainment as well as motorcycle racing so we take posivity from everything we do... if we lose heavily, then we focus on the success of one rider, how brilliant the kids race was and aren't the mascots improving weekly. We also take the time to listen and to read and while we have a long way to go, in general I believe we have made real progress on the island to become a fun family night out which offers entertainment, is fun, friendly and good value. I would say also that we do tend to focus on kids too, having kids meeting new friends, following the speedway, taking part and being involved is really wonderful. We back that up too with the speedway school, which we have invested heavily in equipment and bikes, so that kids can come and try speedway (so can adults) for what we believe is a very cost affective gift price or indeed a price that kids and adults want to come back. We also know this works with several kids and adults now buying their bikes and equipment... We love it. I also know that when crowds get bigger another key factor in maintaining them is people like to spend time with their friends. So, when I know a new family has come I speak with them, try and involve our regular fans with them as quickly as possible to ensure they get the feel and the buzz of the whole experience. I go into our stands every meeting and there are always the same groups of friends and families that enjoy each others company and being part of the speedway night, the bigger the crowd of course the more group of friends that you have The final thing I would say, well ask really is that it is so easy to say negative things but it is much harder for us all to say what is good or has been done well. We dont have a perfect rule book by any means, there are changes that chould improve the overall speedway experience for fans that hopefully will come to fruition, and there lots of things clubs can do to improve the overall interaction with fans. I would like to say that it is not cheap or easy to run a speedway team. Our objective is to break even and this is without Martin or I taking anything including travel from the club. We work tirelessly on sponsorship and increasing our crowd numbers so that we can achieve our goals, we reinvest everything from the speedway school to the club, we rely on our volunteers so much and this is why we try our best to make it as much fun for them as it is for you/us the fans - (I am a fan too). And really finally, when you come to our stadium, I view it as though you have come to my home for dinner... I would truly hate it for you to be disappointed or not had a great time, that hurts.... the results, well I wish we won of course, but most important to us is that our fans, visitors, guests, volunteers and sponsors have a blast... See you trackside... and come and visit us soon, I think you will enjoy it. Good work...we watched the Islanders about 6 years ago when on holiday, friendly club, good set up, about 150 there that night. What crowds are they getting now? Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrybishop Posted September 8, 2017 Report Share Posted September 8, 2017 Good work...we watched the Islanders about 6 years ago when on holiday, friendly club, good set up, about 150 there that night. What crowds are they getting now? Good luck. Double that out of season and 3 times plus in the holiday season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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