The continuing decline of Speedway

[thebaron]

On the subject of programme contributors ?; having done this myself for a number of years; including once ending up the editor by default; it is an extremely time consuming thing to get involved in. For my part; I was effectively a member of staff; so was allocated a staff pass; I would have willingly paid to go in; but it might have been a bit mean on the management's part not to recognise my considerable efforts at the time. The reality is that it is very likely to be a supporter who will have the depth of detail and interest that it takes to put together a Speedway programme. Very often I found the people running it and taking part are consumed by their day to day involvement to be interested in how many appearances Bent Handlebar made for the club; his race statistics and CMA.

But putting that aside; after yet another rider crashing out with very serious injuries (Lewis Kerr at Lynn last night ). Get well soon Lewi !

Plus the Rye House shambles coming this week.

I'm calling for an INDEPENDANT ENQUIRY INTO THE SAFETY RECORD OF SPEEDWAY and while we're at it a 2nd INDEPENDANT ENQUIRY TO REVIEW THE OPERATIONS OF SPEEDWAY AND SECURING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR THE SPORT !

[Hamish McRaker]

Start with a top league of 6 clubs.(Super Six)

Glasgow, Belle Vue, Sheffield, Wolverhampton, Ipswich, Poole.

These are a combo of big cities, and well-established Speedway venues. It runs on Thursdays ONLY. Each team plays the other once home and once away. Grand 2-legged final between top two sides. Five-man teams, with a No.6 rider who can be brought in as a substitute either tactically or injury replacement.

Below this level, a national competition having no race night restrictions, with the Super Six clubs also eligible to take part. This could possibly be organised on a split north/south sections basis.

[TesarRacing]

The decline has been going on for 70 years and seemingly no-one at management level has the slightest interest in reversing this trend. 

[GWC]

1 hour ago, TesarRacing said:

The decline has been going on for 70 years and seemingly no-one at management level has the slightest interest in reversing this trend. 

The decline in those days would be say 5000 less attending each meeting than last season.

Crowds were still huge but entrance was cheap and the government took 50% in entertainment tax - the real killer then.

[Thornaby48]

 

It's time for the annual reorganisation of our favourite sport. I think it's obvious that the two leagues now have to merge. Make it a 16 team premier league initially, with the rest in the national league. 16 teams makes it easy to run subsidiary comps like a league cup ,  a knockout cup and a fours comp. Start the league comp in the 3rd week of May with every team racing one home and one away each week and ending in September.Prior to this date ,and after the subsidiary comps can be raced. For next season lower the points limit until teams are settled and it can be amended in the following years. Limit the scourge of guests to only the injured no 1 rider, no one else and further limit it to a guest can only be used ,say ,6  times in the league season otherwise use a new system of r/r. Bring back the old 13 heat formula and start a second half regionalised reserve league to bring on New riders. To make races more exciting,which after all is what we pay our money for, handicap the heat leaders to give the lesser riders a chance to shine. Well  thats my 10 pence worth.

Forgot, speed way has to advertise, no business can survive if people don't know it exists.

 

In following years the 2nd tier championship league can be revived

Simplest.

[ch958]

46 minutes ago, Thornaby48 said:

 

It's time for the annual reorganisation of our favourite sport. I think it's obvious that the two leagues now have to merge. Make it a 16 team premier league initially, with the rest in the national league. 16 teams makes it easy to run subsidiary comps like a league cup ,  a knockout cup and a fours comp. Start the league comp in the 3rd week of May with every team racing one home and one away each week and ending in September.Prior to this date ,and after the subsidiary comps can be raced. For next season lower the points limit until teams are settled and it can be amended in the following years. Limit the scourge of guests to only the injured no 1 rider, no one else and further limit it to a guest can only be used ,say ,6  times in the league season otherwise use a new system of r/r. Bring back the old 13 heat formula and start a second half regionalised reserve league to bring on New riders. To make races more exciting,which after all is what we pay our money for, handicap the heat leaders to give the lesser riders a chance to shine. Well  thats my 10 pence worth.

Forgot, speed way has to advertise, no business can survive if people don't know it exists.

 

In following years the 2nd tier championship league can be revived

Simplest.

trouble is you haven't addressed the 64000 dollar question - at what standard? It has to be viable for Redcar, Workington, etc as well as Poole, Swindon, whoever.

The former teams would go bust if its too strong and the latter group would go do lally if they had to weaken.

this is why an independent body has to make decisions based on hard headed economics for survival and a plan going forward for growth

[Halifaxtiger]

On ‎7‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 9:27 AM, Daniel Smith said:

You can't go around blaming freeloaders for the sports decline. You don't like money and that's fine but back then the sport could afford the freeloaders. 

The issues are the paying customers are disappearing. Surely you ain't putting the sports decline on the fans??

As a man who has and maybe still do, work within a club, what do you generally put the lack of fans down too????

The only answer is poor management from the BSPA. If you believe that not to be the case we wait with open ears.

As a recent walk away fan (and I've had some pop's at money too in the past) some of the stuff he posted I can now understand as an outsider. It doesn't and shouldn't stop us from having an opinion as at the end of the day I still love Speedway. All I enjoy now though is the SGP's, World Cups and Ekstraliga. British Speedway just looks amateur, with no value for money for it's supporters. 

They certainly don't do the sport any favours and Tsunami is right, they are despised by the paying fan. 

With regard to the BSPA, if you are referring to the management committee alone that is harsh. Individual promotions must take some of the blame, because it is they who are responsible for what happens at their tracks. 

The problem I have with Moxey's posts is that he is someone who is fully aware of speedway but doesn't go, wouldn't go if it was free and doesn't even watch it on a cable channel that he is paying for.

Given that he has no intention of going at all and has no idea whether it is good value or not why on earth should we consider that his opinion has any degree of credibility whatsoever ? 

Edited July 5, 2018 by Halifaxtiger

[Thornaby48]

The current premier league has to weaken if they want to survive ,with only 7 teams now it cannot be  a viable attraction to new and old supporters.

[ch958]

someone's posted on FB that Lakeside are shutting - apparently Southend Echo running the story but i couldn't see it

[moxey63]

17 minutes ago, Halifaxtiger said:

The problem I have with Moxey's posts is that he is someone who is fully aware of speedway but doesn't go, wouldn't go if it was free and doesn't even watch it on a cable channel that he is paying for.

Given that he has no intention of going at all and has no idea whether it is good value or not why on earth should we consider that his opinion has any degree of credibility whatsoever ? 

1

Fair points. But I have stated in the past why I no longer go - a few offhand,  from replacing the old tac subs to the ridiculous double points rule, allowing riders to race here , there and the moon and back, team speedway is now individual speedway as many ride for the same team with men they are enemies against on another night, another town another. A season-long qualifying system that allows so much behind the scenes cheating to enable teams to sign new riders and strengthen up in time for the Play-Off, which are supposedly money spinners but people forget how many pick and choose to attend the qualifying matches from March-September as they aren't the be-all and end-all. I can't watch a sport that has no credibility, I have seen so many races being manipulated. I cannot judge now whether an overtake is a good one or wasn't just the leader allowing it for vested interests of his team or personal gain. it is built on sand.

[Halifaxtiger]

1 minute ago, moxey63 said:

Fair points. But I have stated in the past why I no longer go - a few offhand,  from replacing the old tac subs to the ridiculous double points rule, allowing riders to race here , there and the moon and back, team speedway is now individual speedway as many ride for the same team with men they are enemies against on another night, another town another. A season-long qualifying system that allows so much behind the scenes cheating to enable teams to sign new riders and strengthen up in time for the Play-Off, which are supposedly money spinners but people forget how many pick and choose to attend the qualifying matches from March-September as they aren't the be-all and end-all. I can't watch a sport that has no credibility, I have seen so many races being manipulated. I cannot judge now whether an overtake is a good one or wasn't just the leader allowing it for vested interests of his team or personal gain. it is built on sand.

If you have no time for speedway, don't go and have no intention of going and won't watch it on television, what on earth are you doing on a speedway forum ? 

[The White Knight]

16 minutes ago, Halifaxtiger said:

If you have no time for speedway, don't go and have no intention of going and won't watch it on television, what on earth are you doing on a speedway forum ? 

He is a disillusioned former Supporter, who is as entitled to his views and to air them, as you or I.

At the end of the day - that is what the Forum is for HT.

There are a lot less People Posting on here these days - I wonder why?

[foamfence]

3 minutes ago, The White Knight said:

He is a disillusioned former Supporter, who is as entitled to his views and to air them, as you or I.

At the end of the day - that is what the Forum is for HT.

There are a lot less People Posting on here these days - I wonder why?

Too much ganging up.

[Daniel Smith]

15 minutes ago, The White Knight said:

He is a disillusioned former Supporter, who is as entitled to his views and to air them, as you or I.

At the end of the day - that is what the Forum is for HT.

There are a lot less People Posting on here these days - I wonder why?

Absolutely, the views of those that do not attend are far more important to the future of the sport than those that see no wrong. The ever decreasing spectators is a massive massive problem yet the voices are not heard and constantly shot down, it's like tracks are getting gates of 5000+ how promoters and some fans behave.

[Halifaxtiger]

13 minutes ago, The White Knight said:

He is a disillusioned former Supporter, who is as entitled to his views and to air them, as you or I.

At the end of the day - that is what the Forum is for HT.

There are a lot less People Posting on here these days - I wonder why?

He is, WK. My point is why he would want to do so and why he seems to believe that others would find them credible. 

In addition, he's not just a disillusioned ex supporter. He's someone who doesn't go and has absolutely no intention of ever going or watching speedway again. That means his posts are overwhelmingly negative without a good word to be said and as bad as things might be, speedway can still be a hugely entertaining sport. 

You yourself were a disillusioned former supporter (thankfully, not any more ), but there is no comparison between your previous position and his.

 

 

[Halifaxtiger]

3 minutes ago, Daniel Smith said:

Absolutely, the views of those that do not attend are far more important to the future of the sport than those that see no wrong. The ever decreasing spectators is a massive massive problem yet the voices are not heard and constantly shot down, it's like tracks are getting gates of 5000+ how promoters and some fans behave.

In your case, they are worth listening to because there's a chance you'll come back.  

But what is the point of listening to someone who doesn't go, doesn't watch it on television, never says a good word about it and wouldn't go if it was free ?

[The White Knight]

1 minute ago, Halifaxtiger said:

He is, WK. My point is why he would want to do so and why he seems to believe that others would find them credible. 

In addition, he's not just a disillusioned ex supporter. He's someone who doesn't go and has absolutely no intention of ever going or watching speedway again. That means his posts are overwhelmingly negative without a good word to be said and as bad as things might be, speedway can still be a hugely entertaining sport. 

You yourself were a disillusioned former supporter (thankfully, not any more ), but there is no comparison between your previous position and his.

 

 

I find the whole Sport very depressing at present HT. What has happened at Rye House has got me wondering who will be next?

Sadly I find it quite feasible that a number of other Clubs could go the same way. I was stunned to hear Belle Vue mentioned as being possibly among the Tracks we need to be concerned about.

Where will it all end - I wonder?

[moxey63]

53 minutes ago, Halifaxtiger said:

If you have no time for speedway, don't go and have no intention of going and won't watch it on television, what on earth are you doing on a speedway forum ? 

There was a time I followed speedway, and I think that gives me some kind of say in what the sport has to offer now. Remember, we are talking about the continuing decline of speedway. Well, because of that, I am one person who has bothered to still tune in to this website. I didn't just swan off and give up on it completely. I gave some of the reasons I stopped attending. The double bubble points have now been sent to the refuse tip of one-time good ideas. But how many fans waled away when one bright idea went too far - like the It's A KnockOut when they introduced that double point rule? Again, how many fans felt they'd had enough when Jon Cook gave us that Man O' Man farce in the KO Cup? I think we all have a limit that speedway tests us, whether it's standing for endless gaps while the trackstaff repair the track they've had all week to do, and then, like me, they walk away. They gave it one last chance. They were pushed one time too many. Rye House is gone, could it be Lakeside next. And you're asking why I am hovering on this site when I don't go to speedway anymore. You could be a promoter with that sort of mentality. The sport is soulless. But, never mind, fingers crossed, the cavalry of new fans will arrive when the promoters finally get their arses in gear and see the ship taking in water. With Coventry recently gone, Belle Vue almost, and now Rye House, surely more effort should have been made keeping fans instead of driving them away. Speedway gave me 40 years of entertainment. I have the experience of what started to turn me off as a fan and why I don't even want to watch it live on telly. I trudged on for five years before I stopped going. I knew it was a great sport, still is, great action. But there's more to it than the racing, the spectacle. Or else it'd be stockcars. We have a league that is worthless until August. We have Play-Offs that when raced leaves the remaining weeks of the season feeling like it had finished ages ago. And you really expect the sport to survive. Where are the newcomers that live TV should bring... who don't have the patience to see a string of re-runs before we've reach Heat 4. Then again, we're set for another winter to thrash out the problems. One big league could be a lifesaver, stop the riders riding for more than one team or in other leagues. That's how a professional sport would start to look. Until I feel it is a credible sport, I could not enter a stadium. Unless there was a Golden Greats meeting where you knew results were secondary. Riders need all the matches they can get, you say, and then one of them begging for extra dates spends £20,000 building a new garage for his equipment. The riders are agency workers, no team loyalty. Forty years ago Alan Wilkinson was confined to a wheelchair. Perhaps growing up in the days of such icons spoilt my judgement on what I expect from riders now. But men today have to earn a living... but so did Wilkie, and we didn't see him riding for anyone but the Aces.

Edited July 5, 2018 by moxey63

[The White Knight]

28 minutes ago, foamfence said:

Too much ganging up.

So very, very true ff. 

[Halifaxtiger]

3 minutes ago, The White Knight said:

I find the whole Sport very depressing at present HT. What has happened at Rye House has got me wondering who will be next?

Sadly I find it quite feasible that a number of other Clubs could go the same way. I was stunned to hear Belle Vue mentioned as being possibly among the Tracks we need to be concerned about.

Where will it all end - I wonder?

I don't know, my friend.

Phil Rising's comment that it is the worst he has known in 50 years - and he's been involved for at least that long - was scary. I can only hope there will be a resurgence, but can't see how. 

One thing though, I have no doubt that speedway - of some kind - will survive.