PHILIPRISING Posted November 5, 2018 Report Share Posted November 5, 2018 Amazing article in this week’s Speedway Star special by Tomasz Lorek on how Polish speedway has TV companies fighting for rights with mind-boggling figures. It’s a must-read for every British promoter and fan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRDukes Posted November 5, 2018 Report Share Posted November 5, 2018 30 minutes ago, PHILIPRISING said: Amazing article in this week’s Speedway Star special by Tomasz Lorek on how Polish speedway has TV companies fighting for rights with mind-boggling figures. It’s a must-read for every British promoter and fan. Not that long since the BSPA had a very good deal with a certain Sky TV - for some reason(s) and after many years of enjoying the cash, they don't appear to have done anything with it? Unless you include giving out a commission to a certain Mr R or paying "top" riders more than they could afford to do so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmc43 Posted November 5, 2018 Report Share Posted November 5, 2018 Not posted on here before but I grew up in Cheshire in the 70s and watched BV on Saturday nights. In the 80s and 90s - I toured the country weekly doing about 3 meetings at different tracks each week for about 15 years. Like many people I’ve generally moved on - I do the occasional BV meeting when I’m in the North and I’ve been to Cardiff a few times but I do about the same number of meetings in a year now that I used to do in a week. I hear all the discussions re rule changes and leagues etc. But as a sport Speedway disappeared up its own arse years ago; a simple and potentially exciting sport has been overly complicated by stupid rules that make limited sense and only serve to scare off new customers. Speedway has used and abused its faithful for too long and failed to appeal to or attract a new generation. I stopped going because the fun and excitement disappeared too few teams, the same riders week after week, promoters manipulating the rules, slick tracks, long drawn out meetings, once you stop going you find other things to do and you don’t miss it. I honestly wish Speedway all the very best it was a big part of my childhood, Wilko, Collins, Morton et al but I watch domestic speedway on tv and it’s a bit of a shambles at times - the whole format, presentation, structure needs a root and branch overhaul but the people running speedway don’t have the vision to deliver what is required. Just to highlight my point, I used to watch Lancs as a kid at OT - County Cricket and the Gillette Cup - cricket has a reputation for being conservative and boring but compare speedway at Hyde Road in 1975 with the present product at the NSS and then compare a Gillette Cup game at OT in 1975 with a T20 game at OT now - it might have its critics but T20 has revolutionised cricket, brings people through the gates in droves and has engaged young people. The average age at a speedway meeting is probably 60 - so the future is bleak, very bleak. I wish you well but like many others I’m afraid ‘I’m out’. The promoters need to look at a product like T20 at their AGM and find something similar to revolutionise the sport - it’s an ailing sport ( the list of tracks that have folded in the last 30 years is heartbreaking) and they need to act before it’s too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A ORLOV Posted November 5, 2018 Report Share Posted November 5, 2018 (edited) 10 hours ago, Dodger Blue said: I think the first morning will be like a market with promoters, who are trying to sell their clubs, all standing behind suitcases having donned sheepskin coats and cloth caps shouting at the passing punters in broad cockney accents .... 'I'm not asking 20,000 I'm not even asking 10,000' etc etc!! Selling today only, for £10 Edited November 5, 2018 by A ORLOV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted November 5, 2018 Report Share Posted November 5, 2018 On 11/4/2018 at 4:15 PM, PHILIPRISING said: SPECIAL pre-AGM edition of Speedway Star next week ... plenty of fans voicing their opinions about the way ahead for British speedway. I fear it'll be a waste of paper and ink... You'd be better off extending the classifieds section... Club for sale, all offers considered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner85 Posted November 5, 2018 Report Share Posted November 5, 2018 1 hour ago, PHILIPRISING said: Amazing article in this week’s Speedway Star special by Tomasz Lorek on how Polish speedway has TV companies fighting for rights with mind-boggling figures. It’s a must-read for every British promoter and fan. Compare that with BT sport getting Speedway for supposedly peanuts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuxtonTiger Posted November 5, 2018 Report Share Posted November 5, 2018 I can see nothing to suggest that anyone from the National League will be at the AGM. Until ALL involved with the sport are involved, how can any positive progress be made. (or should I just join the rest and keep my head in the sand and assume all is perfect). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILIPRISING Posted November 5, 2018 Report Share Posted November 5, 2018 1 hour ago, Gunner85 said: Compare that with BT sport getting Speedway for supposedly peanuts CANNOT compare British speedway with what takes place in Poland. We are lucky that BT have continued to provide a TV platform for speedway in this country. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILIPRISING Posted November 5, 2018 Report Share Posted November 5, 2018 THIS week's edition of Speedway Star will be something we have never done on this scale before. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgy Posted November 5, 2018 Report Share Posted November 5, 2018 Poland. How and why did they become such a dominant force that now appear to dictate Speedway? What was the catalyst for such a rapid increase of supporters and numerous willing sponsors? Fall of communism, Gollob, Zloty, Investment, Promotion, Marketing??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted November 5, 2018 Report Share Posted November 5, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Hodgy said: Poland. How and why did they become such a dominant force that now appear to dictate Speedway? What was the catalyst for such a rapid increase of supporters and numerous willing sponsors? Fall of communism, Gollob, Zloty, Investment, Promotion, Marketing??? None of that really made much of a difference... The key things they did which drove the success of the Sport in Poland were the following... They found great success in letting riders dictate to clubs when they would be available, meaning they had to ride on nights to suit the riders earnings rather than when the spectators wished meetings to be ran... They also saw great benefit and positive feedback from the mainstream media by allowing meetings to take place with the two teams in attendance regularly being made up by any random couple of septets who happened to be available. Septets that had been cobbled together on an adhoc basis on any given evening, to wear the colours of the two clubs competing.. Another master stroke was ensuring that as many riders as possible were contracted to as many teams as possible, preferably covering (thus impacting), three leagues, which meant "guests" were in great demand, bringing that much needed lack of credibility to almost every match that takes place.. Possibly their finest idea was to produce a fixture list and then systematically dismantle it halfway during the season so plenty of "guests" can always be available. (And spectators who had booked time off work, and maybe hotels to watch their team, become disillusioned). A fixture list which had been put together in the first place with a clear plan to avoid running meetings during the warmer, dryer Summer months, and instead, cramming in as many meetings as possible towards October and November when it becomes colder and wetter. With the genius add on of running "dead rubber" League meetings to qualify for the play offs, AFTER the play offs have been completed and the League has already been won.. Add in an admission fee that has no correlation to the entertainment value on offer, but goes up by inflation busting amounts annually, allied to a year on year reduction in the overall quality of riders on show, and you surely have the perfect recipe for success.. Cannot think why the BSPA don't run something along similar lines.. Sure to be a winner... Edited November 5, 2018 by mikebv 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILIPRISING Posted November 5, 2018 Report Share Posted November 5, 2018 THE biggest difference and the greatest advantage for Polish clubs is that they are representative of the towns and cities in which they are situated. That has not been the case with speedway in the UK for generations and will not change. Polish speedway clubs are akin to soccer teams in the UK. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE DEAN MACHINE Posted November 6, 2018 Report Share Posted November 6, 2018 (edited) 40 minutes ago, PHILIPRISING said: THE biggest difference and the greatest advantage for Polish clubs is that they are representative of the towns and cities in which they are situated. That has not been the case with speedway in the UK for generations and will not change. Polish speedway clubs are akin to soccer teams in the UK. If you really believe that it will not change then there is no point in having team speedway and just make speedway pay to enter Edited November 6, 2018 by THE DEAN MACHINE 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trees Posted November 6, 2018 Report Share Posted November 6, 2018 42 minutes ago, PHILIPRISING said: THE biggest difference and the greatest advantage for Polish clubs is that they are representative of the towns and cities in which they are situated. That has not been the case with speedway in the UK for generations and will not change. Polish speedway clubs are akin to soccer teams in the UK. What do you mean they are representative of their towns and cities? Do you mean that their 'councils' and local businesses pump loads of money into the clubs? Or that the towns people support/love/are proud of their clubs? If the latter, there are a number of locals at every UK club that feel the same but unfortunately not enough.... I was at the Norwich Speedway Dinner last weekend and I remain convinced that if a new club was formed in Norwich it would be a huge success, unfortunately it may never happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILIPRISING Posted November 6, 2018 Report Share Posted November 6, 2018 4 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said: If you really believe that it will not change then there is no point in having team speedway and just make speedway pay to enter THAT'S not what I said and as someone who has visited Polish speedway towns no doubt you know that. Of course there is a place for team speedway in the UK. It is the only type that can possibly work. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILIPRISING Posted November 6, 2018 Report Share Posted November 6, 2018 3 hours ago, Trees said: What do you mean they are representative of their towns and cities? Do you mean that their 'councils' and local businesses pump loads of money into the clubs? Or that the towns people support/love/are proud of their clubs? If the latter, there are a number of locals at every UK club that feel the same but unfortunately not enough.... I was at the Norwich Speedway Dinner last weekend and I remain convinced that if a new club was formed in Norwich it would be a huge success, unfortunately it may never happen. EVEN if speedway in Norwich was a huge success it would never rival soccer in the shape of Norwich City. Places like Torun, Gorzow, Leszno, and Zielona Gora are towns where speedway is the undisputed number one sport, it is what they are synonymous with, and the fans that attend are doing so in support of not just the club but the town itself. The whole culture is different and is reflected in the media at all levels including TV. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trees Posted November 6, 2018 Report Share Posted November 6, 2018 1 hour ago, PHILIPRISING said: EVEN if speedway in Norwich was a huge success it would never rival soccer in the shape of Norwich City. Places like Torun, Gorzow, Leszno, and Zielona Gora are towns where speedway is the undisputed number one sport, it is what they are synonymous with, and the fans that attend are doing so in support of not just the club but the town itself. The whole culture is different and is reflected in the media at all levels including TV. For now yes and good luck to them, if only our townsfolk had the same pride in their speedway clubs! We can't dwell on what Poland are doing, our clubs have never been afforded the backing of councils and businesses like they have and are. Mind you they soon go downhill if something goes wrong, take Bydgoszcz, so the support is not set in stone! I believe the Stars get bigger crowds than the Linnets lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted November 6, 2018 Report Share Posted November 6, 2018 (edited) 5 hours ago, PHILIPRISING said: EVEN if speedway in Norwich was a huge success it would never rival soccer in the shape of Norwich City. Places like Torun, Gorzow, Leszno, and Zielona Gora are towns where speedway is the undisputed number one sport, it is what they are synonymous with, and the fans that attend are doing so in support of not just the club but the town itself. The whole culture is different and is reflected in the media at all levels including TV. The whole culture is different because the Sport has credibility.... If Poland ran their Leagues in such a 'Mickey Mouse' fashion as British Speedway does then simply they wouldn't enjoy anywhere near the same coverage... Part of the Polish success story (and the success story of any team sport at whatever level) is that 'tribal loyalty' that is built up through the identity of their teams... Polish fans simply wouldn't stand for the No1 rider of their fiercest rivals wearing their colours and representing them on an adhoc basis... As it fundamentally goes against what team sport should be... I remember how hard it was for Darcy Ward to be accepted by his own ZG fans when they signed him, as they saw him as a Torun man.. In Britain in one single week you could be a Wolverhampton rider on a Monday, a Somerset rider on a Wednesday, and a Swindon rider on a Thursday and actually be the Belle Vue No1....! (Who also represents his contracted team of Glasgow on a Friday, but rides for Workington on a Saturday and Newcastle on a Sunday)... Simply nonsense... And will never generate any decent national mainstream media coverage as it simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny... As it wouldn't in Poland if they ran the Sport the same way... Edited November 6, 2018 by mikebv 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnieg Posted November 6, 2018 Report Share Posted November 6, 2018 4 hours ago, PHILIPRISING said: EVEN if speedway in Norwich was a huge success it would never rival soccer in the shape of Norwich City. Places like Torun, Gorzow, Leszno, and Zielona Gora are towns where speedway is the undisputed number one sport, it is what they are synonymous with, and the fans that attend are doing so in support of not just the club but the town itself. The whole culture is different and is reflected in the media at all levels including TV. Some interesting stats here: http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/avepol.htm For example Torun is over 100km from it's nearest ekstraliga team (Plock) [ditto Gorzow and Szczecin] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgy Posted November 6, 2018 Report Share Posted November 6, 2018 13 hours ago, mikebv said: None of that really made much of a difference... The key things they did which drove the success of the Sport in Poland were the following... They found great success in letting riders dictate to clubs when they would be available, meaning they had to ride on nights to suit the riders earnings rather than when the spectators wished meetings to be ran... They also saw great benefit and positive feedback from the mainstream media by allowing meetings to take place with the two teams in attendance regularly being made up by any random couple of septets who happened to be available. Septets that had been cobbled together on an adhoc basis on any given evening, to wear the colours of the two clubs competing.. Another master stroke was ensuring that as many riders as possible were contracted to as many teams as possible, preferably covering (thus impacting), three leagues, which meant "guests" were in great demand, bringing that much needed lack of credibility to almost every match that takes place.. Possibly their finest idea was to produce a fixture list and then systematically dismantle it halfway during the season so plenty of "guests" can always be available. (And spectators who had booked time off work, and maybe hotels to watch their team, become disillusioned). A fixture list which had been put together in the first place with a clear plan to avoid running meetings during the warmer, dryer Summer months, and instead, cramming in as many meetings as possible towards October and November when it becomes colder and wetter. With the genius add on of running "dead rubber" League meetings to qualify for the play offs, AFTER the play offs have been completed and the League has already been won.. Add in an admission fee that has no correlation to the entertainment value on offer, but goes up by inflation busting amounts annually, allied to a year on year reduction in the overall quality of riders on show, and you surely have the perfect recipe for success.. Cannot think why the BSPA don't run something along similar lines.. Sure to be a winner... That’s not what I was asking. We all know the numerous reasons British Speedway is where it is. Speedway in Poland grew rapidly and just interested in why we think this is. It hasn’t always been like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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