AGM November 2018

[Tsunami]

12 minutes ago, stevehone said:

that's why i think if it's anything to do with the riders it will stay as it is.

i have thought for a long time that the AGM should be held during the July SWC break, with discussions every month with every promoter

And that was the rub. There used to be General Council meetings every month upto the 00's and I gathered that,  due to poor attendances during the season and nothing seriously happening on a regular basis, it was decided to just call meetings on an adhoc basis if something required a full quorum. 

Answering Bruvs point above, there has always been pre AGM meeting/s every year to discuss the future, and sort out the finances owed between the promotions and the BSPA to finalise  the financial statement and shareout, before the AGM.

[Tsunami]

21 minutes ago, stevehone said:

that's why i think if it's anything to do with the riders it will stay as it is.

i have thought for a long time that the AGM should be held during the July SWC break, with discussions every month with every promoter

Possibly now the emphasis should be on the sport in general and the fans for greater consideration.

[Gemini]

16 hours ago, iainb said:

The dog is probably having a better time than you! Especially at BP 

Yes unfortunately you are probably right.

[g13webb]

9 hours ago, Tsunami said:

Possibly now the emphasis should be on the sport in general and the fans for greater consideration.

I would have thought the emphasis would have always been on the sport in general and the fans.   Running a sport for the sole benefit of the riders  was always a recipe for disaster.  I feel we only have ourselves to blame, cause anybody with any sense could see the figures don't add up ,  yet we continued making petty changes believing the product is right and the public will come back.

At last, it seems the penny has dropped,  now everyone is talking of change,.  Lets hope the  people in charge have the strength to make anew beginning, and come up with a workable idea,  that can take the sport forward for years to come.  

NB   I must say, I was well impressed with that SUPERHEAT SPEEDWAY.   What a brilliant idea.     We need to do something drastic because  the tired and trusted league formula has lost its appeal.   Why should we expect the public to come and watch league meetings when they mean nothing.       Probably if there were more emphasis put on each meeting the fans would find them more appealing.. 

[Pirates Of Poole]

Interesting the final set of averages have not been put up on the BSPA website, normally this is put up the end of October. Is this because plans afoot will mean averages will be changing? 

[IainB]

13 hours ago, g13webb said:

 I personally appreciated the views of DAVID HOWE who tried to explain the costs involved for the rider,   He spoke openly about the rising costs that need to be addressed.    It is obvious that the sport cant go in this same way.... 

I've not read it but I hope to grab a copy at the weekend... Did David Howe or anybody for that matter also mention how much the riders are earning from the sport? Or is this still the world's best kept secret?

[steve roberts]

23 hours ago, orion said:

We gone over this before .last year they brought in a rule of fixed race nights to help stop guests etc ..what did the fans say to that ? well they moaned that they wanted there race nights back ...

Swindon etc had the best year in many years for keeping there 1 to 7 intact last year ,but did it help the crowds ? not at all ...Speedway biggest problem is that the standard of rider has dropped, sadly even thou that is quite clear most on here what to  lower that Standard even more thinking that 7 crap riders who turn up  every week will bring the crowds in 

Thank goodness that this wasn't the case back when I used to attend (1970's & 1980's) otherwise I couldn't have taken in White City (Wednesday), Oxford (Thursday) and Swindon (Saturday) and occasionally Eastbourne (Fridays and Sundays). Obviously fans used to travel around a lot more back in those days but of course that scenario has changed dramatically with the downturn the sport has been experiencing over the last 20 years or so for all manner of reasons.

I talk to many people at my place of work (tourism) who say that they used to go to speedway...a common observation amongst people now.

[Daniel Smith]

One thing that should be taken no notice of at this AGM is the opinion of rider's. Clubs need to look at reducing cost and encouraging larger spectator levels.

Riders in British Speedway are the ones that need to look at themselves. Example, do I really need a PJR (or equivalent) engine to be racing in British Speedway? The answer is no.

Do they really need super lightweight frames? No

Do they need different coloured wheels rather than the standard? No

etc etc

So, the BSPA just need to look at 2 things, bringing costs down and more spectators. These 2 go hand in hand as more spectators = better profits or at worst, smaller, controllable loses.

I still say that all the rider's in the leagues should be paid the same, whether a heatleader or a reserve. 

Premiership = £140 per point

Championship = £80pp

National League = £20pp

 

[bloom89]

1 hour ago, iainb said:

I've not read it but I hope to grab a copy at the weekend... Did David Howe or anybody for that matter also mention how much the riders are earning from the sport? Or is this still the world's best kept secret?

In the article Howe said he was on the same money this season as he was in 2009 a think it was. 

[Gambo]

2 hours ago, Pirates Of Poole said:

Interesting the final set of averages have not been put up on the BSPA website, normally this is put up the end of October. Is this because plans afoot will mean averages will be changing? 

I believe that the final set will be on the BSPA site once they have all been confirmed and agreed at the AGM.

[steve roberts]

54 minutes ago, bloom89 said:

In the article Howe said he was on the same money this season as he was in 2009 a think it was. 

Remember being told that one of the Belle Vue 'Yanks' was on £500 a point back during the late 90's early 00's.

[IainB]

1 hour ago, bloom89 said:

In the article Howe said he was on the same money this season as he was in 2009 a think it was. 

 

12 minutes ago, steve roberts said:

Remember being told that one of the Belle Vue 'Yanks' was on £500 a point back during the late 90's early 00's.

So as usual we don't actually know any figures

[foamfence]

1 hour ago, bloom89 said:

In the article Howe said he was on the same money this season as he was in 2009 a think it was. 

Yes but he still gave up his job to go back to it.

[DBP]

1 hour ago, Daniel Smith said:

One thing that should be taken no notice of at this AGM is the opinion of rider's. Clubs need to look at reducing cost and encouraging larger spectator levels.

Riders in British Speedway are the ones that need to look at themselves. Example, do I really need a PJR (or equivalent) engine to be racing in British Speedway? The answer is no.

Do they really need super lightweight frames? No

Do they need different coloured wheels rather than the standard? No

etc etc

So, the BSPA just need to look at 2 things, bringing costs down and more spectators. These 2 go hand in hand as more spectators = better profits or at worst, smaller, controllable loses.

I still say that all the rider's in the leagues should be paid the same, whether a heatleader or a reserve. 

Premiership = £140 per point

Championship = £80pp

National League = £20pp

 

Agree with you especially the machinery, riders could save thousands by going back to basic bikes which in my opinion look like proper speedway bikes.

No fancy bike covers, wheels, guards, frames etc, I just want to see good racing it makes no difference to me if the are racing bikes that look like a F1 car.

Every time they crash they have to virtually rebuild the bike keep them basic and save shed loads of money.

 

[MARK246]

3 minutes ago, iainb said:

 

So as usual we don't actually know any figures

I heard from two championship riders they were on £60 and £70 a point this season. I was never told if there was any signing on fee or guarantee payment.

[waytogo28]

I hope that the AGM does not take too much notice of the opinions of Bomber Harris. If that is how the majority of British riders feel then speedway has no chance of rebuilding itself. "Can't go on" without doubling up. "Not worth the risk" without doubling up. Bomber is a terrific speedway racer but outside of his own backyard no-one in the outside world has heard of him and many of the 25,000 UK fans of speedway do not want doubling up. He needs to talk to more of them. If there were 250,000 UK fans prepared to pay to get in and were baying for Chris Harris then he might get the rewards he deserves for his racing skills.

What he did or didn't do at school is not the responsibility of supporters and he needs to really think about the day which comes to all riders ( except it seems Greg Hancock ) when they have to retire ( or want to retire or no-one wants to employ them ) life after speedway for all riders needs careful preparation and thinking about at a deep personal level.

[montie]

2 hours ago, Daniel Smith said:

One thing that should be taken no notice of at this AGM is the opinion of rider's. Clubs need to look at reducing cost and encouraging larger spectator levels.

Riders in British Speedway are the ones that need to look at themselves. Example, do I really need a PJR (or equivalent) engine to be racing in British Speedway? The answer is no.

Do they really need super lightweight frames? No

Do they need different coloured wheels rather than the standard? No

etc etc

So, the BSPA just need to look at 2 things, bringing costs down and more spectators. These 2 go hand in hand as more spectators = better profits or at worst, smaller, controllable loses.

I still say that all the rider's in the leagues should be paid the same, whether a heatleader or a reserve. 

Premiership = £140 per point

Championship = £80pp

National League = £20pp

 

you mention clubs reducing cost yet then seem to suggest a pay structure that would increase cost

there are very few riders in the Championship of £80/point now

 

sadly that level of payment would take 50% of the clubs out the league and bust the rest within 6 months  its basic ecconomics

[Sings4Speedway]

29 minutes ago, waytogo28 said:

I hope that the AGM does not take too much notice of the opinions of Bomber Harris. If that is how the majority of British riders feel then speedway has no chance of rebuilding itself. "Can't go on" without doubling up. "Not worth the risk" without doubling up. Bomber is a terrific speedway racer but outside of his own backyard no-one in the outside world has heard of him and many of the 25,000 UK fans of speedway do not want doubling up. He needs to talk to more of them. If there were 250,000 UK fans prepared to pay to get in and were baying for Chris Harris then he might get the rewards he deserves for his racing skills.

What he did or didn't do at school is not the responsibility of supporters and he needs to really think about the day which comes to all riders ( except it seems Greg Hancock ) when they have to retire ( or want to retire or no-one wants to employ them ) life after speedway for all riders needs careful preparation and thinking about at a deep personal level.

Bomber is a prime example of riders who are driving the price of the sport up. He spends season upon season complaining about engines and speed and throws money at them to generate results and therefore his signing on demands are high but with the right averages he is a good signing so clubs give him the money. 

Then at the end of the year everything is for sale. So for example a rider does 30 meetings per league per season. Very good bike with all the right bits costs 10k. If and its a big if a complete bike can be sold for 3k at the end of the year a rider has done well. Thats a 14k loss over 8 months that he is trying to find out of fees and points money before he has even started. I cannot believe that 1 bike cannot complete 120 races before being passed it, thats only 2 hours old!

Riders need to look at maintenance of machinery not immediate replacements, A bike should be able to easily do 2 seasons and in reality many would last far beyond that. 

Edited November 9, 2018 by Sings4Speedway

[IainB]

6 minutes ago, Sings4Speedway said:

Bomber is a prime example of riders who are driving the price of the sport up. He spends season upon season complaining about engines and speed and throws money at them to generate results and therefore his signing on demands are high but with the right averages he is a good signing so clubs give him the money. 

Then at the end of the year everything is for sale. So for example a rider does 30 meetings per league per season. Very good bike with all the right bits costs 10k. If and its a big if a complete bike can be sold for 3k at the end of the year a rider has done well. Thats a 14k loss over 8 months that he is trying to find out of fees and points money before he has even started. I cannot believe that 1 bike cannot complete 120 races before being passed it, thats only 2 hours old!

Riders need to look at maintenance of machinery not immediate replacements, A bike should be able to easily do 2 seasons and in reality many would last far beyond that. 

And don't forget he then doesn't work for 4 and a half months of the year... I remember a few years back when Jeremy Doncaster made his comeback and he said he was using an engine he found in his shed! He didn't do too badly on it either!

[dontforgetthefueltapsbruv]

5 minutes ago, iainb said:

And don't forget he then doesn't work for 4 and a half months of the year... I remember a few years back when Jeremy Doncaster made his comeback and he said he was using an engine he found in his shed! He didn't do too badly on it either!

Donkey is an absolute legend - he couldve pulled out his lawnmower from his shed and won races