workington ..

[singy13]

20 hours ago, M.D said:

I do apologise, I didn't wish to come over as being superior to anybody.

I wish the best of luck to Workington and any new club trying to get the sport back.on track

Sorry M.D. It's just that I don't like to hear what is bad news for all us hoping our new track succeeds.

Speedway is clearly an expensive sport to administer.

 And somehow that needs to filter down to the riders who, rumour has it said, bleed the promoters almost dry.

Common sense needs to prevail for the long term future of what I believe is a fantastic sport.

[M.D]

1 minute ago, singy13 said:

Sorry M.D. It's just that I don't like to hear what is bad news for all us hoping our new track succeeds.

Speedway is clearly an expensive sport to administer.

 And somehow that needs to filter down to the riders who, rumour has it said, bleed the promoters almost dry.

Common sense needs to prevail for the long term future of what I believe is a fantastic sport.

Perfect words singy13 and I'm right behind you with your thoughts as I'm sure speedway fans in general will be.

We need to build the sport if it's going to continue in this country but I fear a major step backwards  will need to happen before any building blocks can be put in place for its  future.

[bruno]

Sorry to go off track re Workington but maybe THJ or someone can answer. What level of rider are professional only over here. I.E championship reserves, heat leaders? I heard even some NDL just ride speedway with no other jobs. Surely this can't continue with the current fan base. I'd have thought only top league should be professional and maybe championship No 1s . Be interesting to know

[mc131]

1 hour ago, bruno said:

Sorry to go off track re Workington but maybe THJ or someone can answer. What level of rider are professional only over here. I.E championship reserves, heat leaders? I heard even some NDL just ride speedway with no other jobs. Surely this can't continue with the current fan base. I'd have thought only top league should be professional and maybe championship No 1s . Be interesting to know

Well you say only champ no1 a pro, but take jason Edwards for example nl no 1, cl reserve prem no7 and Poland u24 rides most nights imo I'd say he's a professional speedway rider

[TotallyHonestJohn]

2 hours ago, bruno said:

What level of rider are professional only over here. Be interesting to know

 

1 hour ago, mc131 said:

Well you say only champ no1 a pro, but take jason Edwards for example nl no 1, cl reserve prem no7 and Poland u24 rides most nights imo I'd say he's a professional speedway rider

It would be nice to know..  and you have a valid answer above..  quite a few make a full time living out of Speedway however I am hearing that more and more riders now are taking second jobs in the UK... so the honest answer from me is I dont know but I know a few who have very supportive families who pump in thousands to keep the dream alive... they call themselves full time Speedway riders but if it wasn't for the families they could never earn enough to eat let alone run two bikes...

Regards 

THJ

[Fortythirtyeight]

On 7/18/2022 at 10:56 PM, Sings4Speedway said:

Buxtons major problem (apart from Pipe) was that it refused to accept it was any different to other clubs and refused to approach things in a different way. If they had been forever open that the track isnt the greatest, we don't pay much but we are loyal to our riders it would have gone a huge way. Instead they were generally belligerent and chopped riders in and out the sides constantly. A weekend track with training and second half options could have churned out riders year after year but instead "we know best" closed a venue that was potentially ahead of its time.

Oh ! So lack of crowds and finance had nothing to do with it ? Thanks for clearing that up.

sounds like Rob Grant was in charge.

[Sings4Speedway]

47 minutes ago, Fortythirtyeight said:

Oh ! So lack of crowds and finance had nothing to do with it ? Thanks for clearing that up.

sounds like Rob Grant was in charge.

Crowds will come if the product on offer is decent. Riders didn't care that they stepped into the changing rooms at Buxton and then there feet were directly on the floor, they cared that the track was dodgy and that a great lump of concrete kept poking out of turn 1 every meeting. If that was dug out over a winter, the track re-laid with the equipment and offers of help that were there the rest could have sorted itself. Offer regular second half rides to emerging youngsters with the chance to progress to the main team and a conveyor belt begins. Finances might have been tight but a weekend track for a rider starting out is a huge lure. 

There are problems that all track face but with more clubs looking at venues away from established stadia and pricey landlords Buxton was ahead of its time, with a little more open minded approach the club could still be running sustainably now.

[Fortythirtyeight]

39 minutes ago, Sings4Speedway said:

Crowds will come if the product on offer is decent. Riders didn't care that they stepped into the changing rooms at Buxton and then there feet were directly on the floor, they cared that the track was dodgy and that a great lump of concrete kept poking out of turn 1 every meeting. If that was dug out over a winter, the track re-laid with the equipment and offers of help that were there the rest could have sorted itself. Offer regular second half rides to emerging youngsters with the chance to progress to the main team and a conveyor belt begins. Finances might have been tight but a weekend track for a rider starting out is a huge lure. 

There are problems that all track face but with more clubs looking at venues away from established stadia and pricey landlords Buxton was ahead of its time, with a little more open minded approach the club could still be running sustainably now.

Sounds like your the answer to all Buxton’s problems.

[Sings4Speedway]

16 minutes ago, Fortythirtyeight said:

Sounds like your the answer to all Buxton’s problems.

The cause of and solution to all of Buxtons/Speedways/Lifes problems.......

.....all im saying is that there are plenty of venues that can/could have been run sustainably and there are clubs operating similar models that make it work. Venues without over baring and over charging landlords have a far better footing from the off.

[mikebv]

10 minutes ago, Sings4Speedway said:

The cause of and solution to all of Buxtons/Speedways/Lifes problems.......

.....all im saying is that there are plenty of venues that can/could have been run sustainably and there are clubs operating similar models that make it work. Venues without over baring and over charging landlords have a far better footing from the off.

Sheffield running on the Sunday I think ultimately "did for Buxton"...

As most of their fan base seemed to be Tigers and Aces fans when I went, (3 or 4 times a season)..

Maybe it could have worked for them with Sheffield open the same day but it probably wouldnt have..

Saturdays could have been a possibility I suppose but plenty of 2nd Div meetings took place that day meaning NDL heat leaders already in action...

The track certainly wasnt the best but it did bring through a fair few riders in their early development.. 

They still do the "skid days" there I believe...

A bit of track reshaping (quite a bit of space still around the track for widening), and a big screen put up to stop quite a few people paying to watch the Stox and their Speedway for free and it could still be a decent NDL venue...

A good way to spend a pleasant Sunday afternoon when the weather wasnt arctic...

And when it was, sit in your car and enjoy the racing from there...

[Fortythirtyeight]

10 hours ago, Sings4Speedway said:

The cause of and solution to all of Buxtons/Speedways/Lifes problems.......

.....all im saying is that there are plenty of venues that can/could have been run sustainably and there are clubs operating similar models that make it work. Venues without over baring and over charging landlords have a far better footing from the off.

Now your sounding like you need to be chairman of the BSPL.

[Sings4Speedway]

9 hours ago, Fortythirtyeight said:

Now your sounding like you need to be chairman of the BSPL.

Im not that corrupt 

[jenga]

8 hours ago, Sings4Speedway said:

Im not that corrupt 

so you admit you are a tiny bit corrupt ! lol .

[Sings4Speedway]

4 hours ago, jenga said:

so you admit you are a tiny bit corrupt ! lol .

I am very corrupt and definitely not to be trusted but still far below those who "run" the sport

[ruffdiamond]

On 7/22/2022 at 11:02 PM, Sings4Speedway said:

I am very corrupt and definitely not to be trusted but still far below those who "run" the sport

Maybe you need to practice a bit more? 

[Marksman]

On 7/17/2022 at 11:50 PM, TotallyHonestJohn said:

Here's a thing... just a daft question regardless of what league the comets end up in... (Champ or NDL) 

Power (and floodlights) to the site could be an issue so start 12.00 on the Saturday before the football or 12.00 Sunday before the Rugby?

Then if we get power to the site (mains or genny) what would the prefered day/night be and what start time would best suit the MAJORITY of the supporters?

Regards 

THJ

Just getting round to replying to this now and have some thoughts..

I think a 12pm start on a Sunday would be a good idea if floodlights weren't available to the site early days. There is certainly a lot less to compete with on a Sunday and the idea of getting the punters money in first is a great one.

The only problem I see with Sundays is getting a meeting in before the Rugby starts at Derwent Park, they've kicked off at 2pm for a couple of seasons now, so it doesn't give fans much hope of attending both if it was a 12pm start.  I don't know how much of a goer an 11am start would be given the travelling distances involved. Town moved kick off forward to 2pm because they were seeing people stay away to watch the 4pm 'Super Sunday' kick off on TV, usually involving Man Utd or Liverpool. Doesn't take much for people to stay away these days!

Running Saturday wouldn't be a great idea in my opinion, I always said this in the later days of the last Comets era. Times changed and the die hards would go as it was our ritual but easy for the casuals to stay away. The promotion obviously tried with Fridays, but didn't work out mainly due to things out of their control as we know...

There is/was always too much to compete with on Saturdays now whether that be any kind of general family commitments (weddings/birthday parties/general events etc.) I would guess it's also far more likely for someone to be at work on a Saturday than on a Sunday if you were to question a wide range of people for example.

All popular local amateur summer sport is ran on saturdays too such as rugby league and cricket, both of which get fairly large followings with many different teams around the county. Carlisle United also have a large west cumbrian following if they are at home on a Saturday afternoon, albeit it has limited crossover with the Speedway season.

[Neila]

From recent reports coming out of Derwent park looks like town are in deep do do big wage cuts and win bonus cuts, but that's safe as only won once,, looking to off load players and appealing for sponsors to help them out of trouble !!! I won't put a smiley face on,  but 

Speedway may not have to compete against the rugby 

[soupy]

On 7/25/2022 at 10:07 PM, Neila said:

From recent reports coming out of Derwent park looks like town are in deep do do big wage cuts and win bonus cuts, but that's safe as only won once,, looking to off load players and appealing for sponsors to help them out of trouble !!! I won't put a smiley face on,  but 

Speedway may not have to compete against the rugby 

I thought they where going into a joint venture with Whitehaven?

[Neila]

6 hours ago, soupy said:

I thought they where going into a joint venture with Whitehaven?

Apparently the jam eaters are in as much trouble as town, chairman quits struggling to get people on the board to run the club

[jenga]

congratulations Simon Lawsom  . some effort ..