Jump to content
British Speedway Forum

Fixed race nights... early indications!!!


Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, A ORLOV said:

Well if last nights number at BV is continued there they will have trouble for  the rest of the season.

I think the crowds will generally be better than yesterday. Last night was particularly poor because of being on TV and I suspect that the Manchester City parade in the city centre may have had an effect. The poor weather at the start of the season has also not helped but there is no getting away from the fact that Monday nights have had a detrimental affect on crowd numbers. Last year we averaged 1500 but apart from the the recent bank holiday, have not got close to that figure for the team events.

The management are maintaining a relatively high level of publicity on social media but racing on a Friday was a much better option for attracting fans.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

53 minutes ago, Fred Flange said:

As has been pointed out, the number of missing riders has reduced, sadly it seems as though those moaning about missing riders (and there were loads on here) have just found something else to moan about and still not bother to attend.

In the meantime the predicted downturn in attendances due to the forcing tracks to run on a Monday seems to be even worse than I expected!

It should have been (at best) a win/lose but so far at least it has been an unmitigated disaster.

I think Stars fans have a right to moan. We have no idea where we stand with our 4 Danish rider's knowing Denmark take priority. It could be very damaging to our season

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, FAST GATER said:

Have we finally put FRN " to bed " they will not help the sport in this country , just "KILL" it  off more quickly IMO more weekend meetings would be the answer but we have the GP circus to thank for that not happening !

Pleased to see someone agrees with what I've always contended, that the main cause of the decline in British speedway is Ole Olsen's Flying Circus

Sadly, the damage is far beyond repair

Too many (failed) sticking plasters have been applied over recent years

The return of Friday and Saturday night tracks is essential, and an end to the pandering to the SGP and Poland

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, Midland Red said:

Pleased to see someone agrees with what I've always contended, that the main cause of the decline in British speedway is Ole Olsen's Flying Circus

Sadly, the damage is far beyond repair

Too many (failed) sticking plasters have been applied over recent years

The return of Friday and Saturday night tracks is essential, and an end to the pandering to the SGP and Poland

I would say that it is the actual "sticking plasters" that have caused the decline more than the Grand Prix.

A failure to address fixed race nights - and then, when doing it, doing it against Denmark on a Wednesday. A Thursday, as well as being Britain's protected night, is much more likely to attract people as it is a night when people start thinking of maybe going out again as the weekend approaches.

Low points limits. Constant rule changes. Tactical rides. Team full of guests due to clashing race nights. Constant rain offs. Old fashioned presentation. All these probbly had much more of an effect that the Grand Prix, which, if anything, should have attracted interest.

Yes, Friday and Saturday nights would attract more, but Swindon switched from Saturdays to Thursdays many years ago and did ok, but there is an effect there too. ButI don't see that as the main reason.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, which teams aren't actually happy with fixed race nights? It seems crowds aren't good at Belle Vue and Rye House is reports are to be believed. Although we haven't had many meetings at home for one reason or another, Somerset's crowds appear to be good. It'll be interesting to see how that continues into the summer. I think it was a blessing in disguise moving away from Fridays and the dreaded M5 traffic personally.

Poole, Kings Lynn (albeit with the cock up of the missing Danish riders), Wolves and Swindon have all maintained their original race night so they can only gain by not having missing riders galore as per previous seasons. So that only leaves Leicester, who I'm not sure how they are faring with the switch?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, PHILIPRISING said:

FIVE of the top six riders from King's Lynn and Leicester missing tonight ... so perhaps it isn't working

Wednesday's were always going to be a problem, which is why Thursday's were originally agreed to. Then the Premiership allowed the Championship Clubs to pull their pants down. It sounds selfish, but a strong (structured at least) top league is what is needed for the sport to survive in the UK. Championship Clubs should have been made to work around this by either accepting riders would be missing on these nights, or switching to any of the other available nights.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Reliant Robin said:

Wednesday's were always going to be a problem, which is why Thursday's were originally agreed to. Then the Premiership allowed the Championship Clubs to pull their pants down. It sounds selfish, but a strong (structured at least) top league is what is needed for the sport to survive in the UK. Championship Clubs should have been made to work around this by either accepting riders would be missing on these nights, or switching to any of the other available nights.

They should change the voting rules i.e.

  • A Premiership club vote is 2 points
  • A Championship club vote is 1 point
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Reliant Robin said:

Wednesday's were always going to be a problem, which is why Thursday's were originally agreed to. Then the Premiership allowed the Championship Clubs to pull their pants down. It sounds selfish, but a strong (structured at least) top league is what is needed for the sport to survive in the UK. Championship Clubs should have been made to work around this by either accepting riders would be missing on these nights, or switching to any of the other available nights.

Not sure that's true. Poole didn't want Thursdays.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

47 minutes ago, PHILIPRISING said:

Not sure that's true. Poole didn't want Thursdays.

Which part isn't true? Thursday's may not have been Poole's preference, but I am certain that Monday & Thursday was agreed as the fixed race nights for Premiership speedway. I'm led to believe Poole & one other were against this....for the other 6, this was their preference and was therefore what priority for these days was based upon with the other International Federations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, PHILIPRISING said:

AT the FIM meeting of the international speedway leagues (Denmark, GB, Poland and Sweden) it was agreed that the UK would have Mondays and Thursdays. But, at the BSPA AGM, held at the same time, they changed to Mondays and Wednesdays despite the obvious clash with Denmark. 

Does seem madness,knowing the clash that someone then goes out and builds a team with a majority of Danes!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, PHILIPRISING said:

AT the FIM meeting of the international speedway leagues (Denmark, GB, Poland and Sweden) it was agreed that the UK would have Mondays and Thursdays. But, at the BSPA AGM, held at the same time, they changed to Mondays and Wednesdays despite the obvious clash with Denmark. 

Prior to that FIM meeting of International leagues, and prior to AGM, at a meeting of all Premiership Promoters, it was agreed that protection should be sought at the above mentioned FIM meeting for Premiership to run on Mondays & Thursdays.

We are where we are and hopefully things will work out for all Clubs. I will say, although it's early in the season, Swindon don't seem to a have been affected so far in terms of attendances and guests/RR. Hopefully that continues when they run on non-Bank Holiday Mondays later in the season

Edited by Reliant Robin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Daniel Smith said:

They should change the voting rules i.e.

  • A Premiership club vote is 2 points
  • A Championship club vote is 1 point

I think you could create a complete split and breakaway league if that was proposed

Plus the vote to bring it in would be 1 for 1 so which turkey would vote for Christmas?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, iris123 said:

Does seem madness,knowing the clash that someone then goes out and builds a team with a majority of Danes!!!!

I suspect the team was already built and changing it would have meant a far less competitive side.

I guess we will know how mad it was once the number of matches missed is determined. Robin Brundle has suggested that tonight will be Puk's final absence but time will tell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So maybe two leagues are needed, each with identical team building rules.

A Thursdays - Saturdays league.

A Sundays - Wednesdays league.

Playoffs along same lines as the Pro14 Rugby Union.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Big Al said:

So maybe two leagues are needed, each with identical team building rules.

A Thursdays - Saturdays league.

A Sundays - Wednesdays league.

Playoffs along same lines as the Pro14 Rugby Union.

Where are the rider's to come from on those days?

Friday - Sunday is Poland, GP's, SEC all qualifiers etc.

Wednesday's are Denmark. 

Monday - Thursday are the best days all round. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Privacy Policy