Is Speedway still viable in the UK?

[Eyejay]

Us diehards I guess ? 

[Mike.Butler]

One of the major cancers affecting british speedway is the farcical way in which the published league fixture list is ripped up by some clubs on a whim. 

Is it any wonder hardly any fans travel away now.? Booking an overnight stay even a week in advance has proven to be a very risky thing to do as some clubs treat potential visiting fans with potential long journeys with utter contempt. One wonders if any clubs will ever arrange any formal  away travel ever again...

I cannot imagine any credible sport allows individual clubs to cancel fixtures like we have to put up with. Totally unprofessional and the fact they are allowed to do it so regularly sums up the awful lack of  governance of our sport. To be honest I don't think they deserve us fans they still have. This season has been so awful with so many fixtures still outstanding which was totally avoidable. The whole prevalence of self-interest  by so many clubs is galling and a major reason why the sport is losing fans.

 

Edited September 18, 2018 by Mike.Butler

[Wolfsbane]

'Hello Dragons, I'm the Chairman of the BSPA and we're looking for an investment of £200,000 for a....'

'We're out'.

[Gismo]

7 hours ago, Mike.Butler said:

One of the major cancers affecting british speedway is the farcical way in which the published league fixture list is ripped up by some clubs on a whim. 

Is it any wonder hardly any fans travel away now.? Booking an overnight stay even a week in advance has proven to be a very risky thing to do as some clubs treat potential visiting fans with potential long journeys with utter contempt. One wonders if any clubs will ever arrange any formal  away travel ever again...

I cannot imagine any credible sport allows individual clubs to cancel fixtures like we have to put up with. Totally unprofessional and the fact they are allowed to do it so regularly sums up the awful lack of  governance of our sport. To be honest I don't think they deserve us fans they still have. This season has been so awful with so many fixtures still outstanding which was totally avoidable. The whole prevalence of self-interest  by so many clubs is galling and a major reason why the sport is losing fans.

 

I couldn't agree more, promoters need to do more for visiting fans, pull in more visiting fans and your likely to attract more home fans back.

Last season Workington Comets had a meeting away to Peterborough put back to a 17.00pm start from  a 15.00pm start, this was not an issue as they had gave 7 days notice. However,  Peterborough then announced they had parted company with Kenneth Hansen and had signed Chris Harris as replacement, this was shortly after they were beaten  away. It was also announced that the meeting with Workington had now been put back another 2 hours to 19.00pm giving fans 48 hours notice before the meeting. That meeting never went ahead as the heavens opened barely minutes before the 19.00pm start. I have no doubt that if Hansen had not been released, that meeting would of gone ahead at 17.00pm as stated and there would of been a result. If that had happened in football or rugby, there would of been repercussions for the club, fines and point deductions would likely have been enforced. 

Edited September 18, 2018 by Gismo

[Byker Biker]

8 hours ago, kelvinlapworth said:

I like this idea but would the B*** be prepared to let us paying supporters sit in on one of their secret handshake meetings? They are a corrupt bunch only interested in their own interests. A friend of mine who used to have close links with the committee who I obviously won't name pointed this out to me once. The B*** is probably rife with tax evasion and money laundering.  Why on earth would any sensible businessman/woman pour their money into something that would make a loss unless there was something on the side ..... just saying. 

To a degree it's this cynical approach that probably means it will never ever happen. Why don't you buy a Speedway Club and then you can go to the meetings?

[waytogo28]

The only "paying supporters" the BSPA would ever allow into their decision making meetings would be those around every club who are "Yes Men or Women" and see eye to eye with everything about how the club is run. There would, therefore, be no valuable creative "other ways of doing things" ideas considered. Yes, it is their business ( from a commercial point of view ) and thus they can do as they wish ( as they do ). But UK speedway is like a long lease which has run down to a few short years left on it and the building or business is worth less and less ( as it is ). Soon you could buy a club for very little because it is worth very little and it's not a viable business - secretive or not.

[MARK246]

2 hours ago, Byker Biker said:

To a degree it's this cynical approach that probably means it will never ever happen. Why don't you buy a Speedway Club and then you can go to the meetings?

With no voting rights for three years. In which time the other promoters have taken your assets, reduced your crowd, because the weak teams you put out continually get beaten and you run on a day that suits them, not your customers.

If that hasn't destroyed your enthusiasm they will change the rules to push you out.

[jenga]

54 minutes ago, waytogo28 said:

The only "paying supporters" the BSPA would ever allow into their decision making meetings would be those around every club who are "Yes Men or Women" and see eye to eye with everything about how the club is run. There would, therefore, be no valuable creative "other ways of doing things" ideas considered. Yes, it is their business ( from a commercial point of view ) and thus they can do as they wish ( as they do ). But UK speedway is like a long lease which has run down to a few short years left on it and the building or business is worth less and less ( as it is ). Soon you could buy a club for very little because it is worth very little and it's not a viable business - secretive or not.

a good post . 

[Whisperer]

3 hours ago, MARK246 said:

With no voting rights for three years. In which time the other promoters have taken your assets, reduced your crowd, because the weak teams you put out continually get beaten and you run on a day that suits them, not your customers.

If that hasn't destroyed your enthusiasm they will change the rules to push you out.

To be honest 1 vote isn't going to change a lot in General or League Council and you are entitled to join the debates anyway, a former Promoter who has attended 3 AGM's could bring a vote if they became a licensed Co-Promoter. In most cases it's the interpretation of the decisions after the event that causes a lot of the problems and disputes.

The only way other members can "take" your assetts is if the club has been annulled and they are liquidated to pay in house debts. If your talking about riders finding other jobs whilst acquisition of their parent is in progress that's different but you can apply to have your assetts protected during this process providing the acquistion is completed by the AGM. Where this has gone wrong before is when a club sale has fallen through in January or February or a new owner changes their mind about the riders they use and leave somebody out of work. Simple solution, get the debts paid and the purchase monies deposited with the BSPA well before the AGM but you can't blame anyone for employing riders who have an uncertain future.

Similarly putting out a weak team can be avoided with everyone moving at a sensible pace.

The race day farce this year is well documented but there are historical precedents set for priority race day and alternate days as well as the protocol of consultation with those clubs who have priority on your off race night (if you are going to choose any old race day apart from those agreed). If you acquire a club then you acquire that race day unless the club has no continuity or it has moved up/down leagues (then you lose it).

Edited September 19, 2018 by Whisperer

[adonis]

12 hours ago, Byker Biker said:

To a degree it's this cynical approach that probably means it will never ever happen. Why don't you buy a Speedway Club and then you can go to the meetings?

kelvin removed the original post , probably because we all know that his "friend " who had close links with the b*** ,is more corrupt than the whole of the B***  put together 

 

[Byker Biker]

3 hours ago, adonis said:

kelvin removed the original post , probably because we all know that his "friend " who had close links with the b*** ,is more corrupt than the whole of the B***  put together 

 

I was saving that as my "Coup de Grace"

[JamesHarris]

14 hours ago, adonis said:

kelvin removed the original post , probably because we all know that his "friend " who had close links with the b*** ,is more corrupt than the whole of the B***  put together 

 

Hello Simon

[adonis]

44 minutes ago, kelvinlapworth said:

Hello Simon

hello kelvin

[Booey boy]

On 9/11/2018 at 3:45 PM, adonis said:

In the case of Woffinden and hancock  they gave british speedway the elbow because neither of them have any integrtity nor loyalty / gratitude  to the country/supporters ,that gave them the opportunity in the first place , 

 

They left British speedway for the money and to give there families a better life as anyone would a speedway riders life at the top is short unless your name is Greg Hancock

[adonis]

4 hours ago, Booey boy said:

They left British speedway for the money and to give there families a better life as anyone would a speedway riders life at the top is short unless your name is Greg Hancock

That of course is your opinion , one which you are welcome to , but the facts of it are no more valid than mine ,  

[MattJ81]

Not including his stint with Poole Hancock rode 18 seasons in Britain, which I think puts him level with Hans Nielsen in terms of time spent in the British League.  Nielsen quit the UK when he was 35, Hancock when he was 37 (or thereabouts).  I don't think you'll find anyone claiming that Hans owes the UK anything, who did much the same and rode his final years in Europe.  Forgive me if my stats or memory has let me down - I've taken them from Wikipedia but it seems about right.  

The main difference is that Hancock has carried on riding at the top level long past the usual, and perhaps by his mid thirties felt he didn't want or need to chase around Europe every day of the week unless the money was silly, which it isn't going to be in the UK.  He certainly isn't the only one to make that decision

I will admit being a Cradley fan of a certain vintage makes me probably a little biased