Promoter's Agm!

[Tsunami]

Unfortunately not by me. Surely I'm not the only one who isn't really interested in Individual Meetings?

You are right Gem. Individual meetings stopped becoming popular because the modern fans like to support their team. That is also shown by the disgust of the fans that have had to watch this teams made up of guests. It is now a team sport and I have heard staunch supporters say they wouldn't be at Brough the following week when there was an individual meeting on. Such meetings only attract some riders who want to try out something or when they need a booking for the money.

Test matches were great in the distant past, when the choice of riders available made it viable with eager crowds. Riders were already in the country, and the crowds could pay the extra costs. Not now of course, if the teams were made up of riders already over here, and who would ride for the poor money offered, as the meetings would not raise the money for two teams of heatleader standard. Like football, fans want to watch their team and not a filler for the sake of it. I could enjoy, and do, watching meetings like Berwick's Star of Tomorrow junior meetings where up and coming ridings, supplemented with young foreign riders in the meeting, do battle to get noticed. Some good racing, but of course it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Edited November 26, 2017 by Tsunami

[SteveLyric2]

Anyone care to comment factually on the rumour thats appeared on other threads that there is no longer a Premiership requirement to include 2 Brits (or 2 former/current NL riders)??

[ouch]

I like the odd individual meeting. Id like to see a UK GP with each track staging a round. You could have 14 permanent riders with the other two places plus reserves being filled from the staging tracks team.

The potential participants would need to be nailed down first and fully commit to all eight rounds and if they cannot you move down the list to find the next man.

 

It would line up something like this.......

 

Belle Vue Cook Fricke

Kings Lynn Lambert

Leicester Vaculik Nilsson

Poole Kurtz Andersen

Rye House Harris Nicholls

Somerset Josh

Swindon Morris Bellego

Wolves Lindgren Masters

[iris123]

Think is true that most fans aren't interested in much other than their teams meetings.I made a few mistakes when I got back into speedway worrying about the size of the crowd,so got to a meeting early only to find it was one man and a dog there. Denmark v Sweden @U21 in both Denmark and Sweden or a World U21 final etc.At the Danish test meeting it seemed like I was the only fan there and all the rest were family members!!!

[waytogo28]

I like the odd individual meeting. Id like to see a UK GP with each track staging a round. You could have 14 permanent riders with the other two places plus reserves being filled from the staging tracks team.

The potential participants would need to be nailed down first and fully commit to all eight rounds and if they cannot you move down the list to find the next man.

 

It would line up something like this.......

 

Belle Vue Cook Fricke

Kings Lynn Lambert

Leicester Vaculik Nilsson

Poole Kurtz Andersen

Rye House Harris Nicholls

Somerset Josh

Swindon Morris Bellego

Wolves Lindgren Masters

 

Like it but I feel it would be more interesting with NO current GP riders in ( wether they ride in England or not ).

[IronScorpion]

Hans Nielsen is looking at getting some early tests in for the young Danes,so maybe,hopefully one or two against a young Lions would be on the cards??A quick 5 test tour

It depends on how you read into this as we have had the Danish team "Testing" at the EWR in the past but it seems most posters have took it on to mean "Test Matches", which would not be a bad thing.

[ouch]

 

Like it but I feel it would be more interesting with NO current GP riders in ( wether they ride in England or not ).

Id agree with that. I think some of them would not take up the offer as it would have to be BSPA rates and I remember Cook not being happy with them on more than one occasion.

[The White Knight]

Unfortunately not by me. Surely I'm not the only one who isn't really interested in Individual Meetings?

I'm sorry you feel that way Gemini.

 

Hopefully, we can agree to differ.

[iris123]

It depends on how you read into this as we have had the Danish team "Testing" at the EWR in the past but it seems most posters have took it on to mean "Test Matches", which would not be a bad thing.

What I read was they wanted to carry on with the test matches they held this year.Think there were a number home and away against young Sweden

 

Found two tests at Slangerup and Vojens v Sweden end of September/start of October

Edited November 26, 2017 by iris123

[steve roberts]

I'm sorry you feel that way Gemini.

 

Hopefully, we can agree to differ.

The beauty of speedway, in my view, was that there was once an opportunity to watch meetings run under different formats to add a bit of variety...which I'm sure was unusual as regards most other sports?

 

However with people's tastes changing and being more selective in their choice of entertainment generally it's only the fixtures that 'carry weight' that appear to attract fans now.

[The White Knight]

The beauty of speedway, in my view, was that there was once an opportunity to watch meetings run under different formats to add a bit of variety...which I'm sure was unusual as regards most other sports?

 

However with people's tastes changing and being more selective in their choice of entertainment generally it's only the fixtures that 'carry weight' that appear to attract fans now.

I guess you are right.

 

I used to love the Four Team Tournament Competitions too.

[scaramanga]

Anyone care to comment factually on the rumour thats appeared on other threads that there is no longer a Premiership requirement to include 2 Brits (or 2 former/current NL riders)??

sure it was said 42.50 limit with no restrictions

think the compulsery 2ppointer rule was a big disaster so back to the old way

just let teams fill the places with whoever they think will do the job or fit the budget

[TheReturn]

It'a shame the money can't be found to pay decent money (rider expenses and promotion) for a speedway equivalent of Ashes series every two seasons alternating between down under (after the SGP) and the UK. I mean lets be honest, we would all love to stuff the whinging Aussies... (sadly I suspect they would stuff us right now), but I think could still be of interest.

[PolskiZuzel]

(...) It is now a team sport (...) Like football, fans want to watch their team ...

 

That might be so...but in my eyes speedway is an individual sport, like boxing or athletics, etc.

Of course footbal fans want to watch their team. There would be no football if there were no teams,

but speedway is one guy against three others.

[Tsunami]

 

That might be so...but in my eyes speedway is an individual sport, like boxing or athletics, etc.

Of course footbal fans want to watch their team. There would be no football if there were no teams,

but speedway is one guy against three others.

But if it's not a team match, it would be watched by a poorer crowd, unless it was a top quality field or of special interest.

[Gemini]

I'm sorry you feel that way Gemini.

 

Hopefully, we can agree to differ.

I must have felt differently years ago because I used to go to the Laurels and Internationale at Wimbledon, the BLRC at Hyde Road Belle Vue, Brandonapolis at Coventry and Golden Gauntlets at Leicester etc., but they just don't interest me any more as I much prefer team racing these days.

[martinmauger]

At Hull, Boulevard we had the Yorkshire Television Trophy individ meet from 1974 (or 75) - 1981. It drew big crowds with World Final-class line ups but as with many of these events half way through most riders were out of the top placings, had lost interest and so the racing wasn't great. But it looked great, better, on TV & was an almost unmissable annual event, much like the old British League Riders Champs (Div 1) at Belle Vue, Hyde Rd which was defo one not to be missed. Seem to recall one promoter saying such 'indivds' petered out due there being so many each season, at least one per track....

Edited November 27, 2017 by Martin Mauger

[TheReturn]

I must have felt differently years ago because I used to go to the Laurels and Internationale at Wimbledon, the BLRC at Hyde Road Belle Vue, Brandonapolis at Coventry and Golden Gauntlets at Leicester etc., but they just don't interest me any more as I much prefer team racing these days.

 

Is that because there's rarely a decent field of riders, or just a general lack of interest?

[Humphrey Appleby]

The beauty of speedway, in my view, was that there was once an opportunity to watch meetings run under different formats to add a bit of variety...which I'm sure was unusual as regards most other sports?

 

However with people's tastes changing and being more selective in their choice of entertainment generally it's only the fixtures that 'carry weight' that appear to attract fans now.

 

I think the main problem was that the 'novelty events' became devalued when the top riders started to be allowed to miss them, and especially when the lineups started to be whoever could be bothered to turn-up (which frankly is also the problem with the British Championship and Riders' Championship). Even more than for league meetings, you need to have some star names involved.

 

I've never been a huge fan of the 3TT format, but the occasional 4TT, pairs and individual meeting added some variety. I think that today you'd need to link such meetings into a wider competition to add context, but they could be used to fill some gaps now there's fixed race nights.

[The Third Man]

In the past Sheffield used to have a WC qualifying meeting, the occasional British Final, a Northern Riders Qualifier and the final, and usually at least one other individual meeting

 

i guess our preferences for the type of meetings we like to watch must have changed