IOW 2020

[mikebv]

1 hour ago, ch958 said:

no it should be left here to shame the powers that be

And keep getting added too....

[barrybishop]

Tomorrow’s the big day Round 2 of the Cliff Peasley Trophy 3TT sponsored by John Carpenter  Speedway Spares

What’s happening

Gates open 5.15 ✅
Pits open to visitors 5.45 ✅
6.15 Alan Critcher Youth Races ✅
Alan Critcher Lady Racing ✅
6.45 Rider Parade ✅
Legend Bruce Cribb on an ICE BIKE ✅
First class presentation Team ✅
MPS Body & Paint Team Jawa V Metro Timber Ltd Team Weslake in the Upright Challenge ✅
Kids activities ✅
Wightlink Warriors V Oxford Speedway V Cradley Heathens Speedway ✅

minimum of 27 races ✅

Plus a welcome like nowhere else, high quality great value food, first class presentation, clean and inviting Stadium, modern bar and restaurant, souvenir shop, sweet stall, music to dance to, friendly and informative volunteers, rider interaction, sanitising stations, clean bathrooms, the “Royal Box” for wheelchair users, disabled bathroom, baby changing facility plus all your usual Warrior Way activity.

[barrybishop]

On 8/6/2021 at 7:14 PM, mikebv said:

And keep getting added too....

Your wish is our command 

 

[mikebv]

6 hours ago, barrybishop said:

Tomorrow’s the big day Round 2 of the Cliff Peasley Trophy 3TT sponsored by John Carpenter  Speedway Spares

What’s happening

Gates open 5.15 ✅
Pits open to visitors 5.45 ✅
6.15 Alan Critcher Youth Races ✅
Alan Critcher Lady Racing ✅
6.45 Rider Parade ✅
Legend Bruce Cribb on an ICE BIKE ✅
First class presentation Team ✅
MPS Body & Paint Team Jawa V Metro Timber Ltd Team Weslake in the Upright Challenge ✅
Kids activities ✅
Wightlink Warriors V Oxford Speedway V Cradley Heathens Speedway ✅

minimum of 27 races ✅

Plus a welcome like nowhere else, high quality great value food, first class presentation, clean and inviting Stadium, modern bar and restaurant, souvenir shop, sweet stall, music to dance to, friendly and informative volunteers, rider interaction, sanitising stations, clean bathrooms, the “Royal Box” for wheelchair users, disabled bathroom, baby changing facility plus all your usual Warrior Way activity.

But APART from ALL that Barry.....

What promoting are you doing??? 

Edited August 11, 2021 by mikebv

[Chris116]

2 hours ago, mikebv said:

But APART from all that Barry.....

What promoting are you doing??? 

That is already more than the entire Premiership put together! 

[barrybishop]

When you are as proud as we are, it means it means as much to us, as it does to you

Martin Widman, the volunteers, the riders, the sponsors and I, really really love race day and the build up to it.

The excitement for us, knowing in just a few hours people will be coming to watch our show, is absolutely exhilarating.

The pride we have in ensuring that we have done our best to make Smallbrook Stadium perfect for you is immense.

The joy we have seeing you all, hearing your screams, oooo’s, ahhhhh’s, your appreciation, is almost indescribable.

The wonder of our presentation - we always strive to improve, be the best we can be, to ensure that from music to toilets, we give fans the best night.

The pleasure we get from developing our youth, encouraging our riders, watching their progress and ensuring equality can never be underestimated.

So what am I saying… I just want you to know readers - how flipping proud we are of our volunteers, our riders, our sponsors which creates the show we deliver to you, our greatest asset, our fans. We are all so very proud of you.

We are so proud of what we do ❤️

Have a lovely evening, enjoy all the facilities, scream and shout, but most of all have fun. Gates open at 5.15pm.

[Ghosty]

On 8/11/2021 at 9:09 AM, barrybishop said:

Tomorrow’s the big day Round 2 of the Cliff Peasley Trophy 3TT sponsored by John Carpenter  Speedway Spares

What’s happening

Gates open 5.15 ✅
Pits open to visitors 5.45 ✅
6.15 Alan Critcher Youth Races ✅
Alan Critcher Lady Racing ✅
6.45 Rider Parade ✅
Legend Bruce Cribb on an ICE BIKE ✅
First class presentation Team ✅
MPS Body & Paint Team Jawa V Metro Timber Ltd Team Weslake in the Upright Challenge ✅
Kids activities ✅
Wightlink Warriors V Oxford Speedway V Cradley Heathens Speedway ✅

minimum of 27 races ✅

Plus a welcome like nowhere else, high quality great value food, first class presentation, clean and inviting Stadium, modern bar and restaurant, souvenir shop, sweet stall, music to dance to, friendly and informative volunteers, rider interaction, sanitising stations, clean bathrooms, the “Royal Box” for wheelchair users, disabled bathroom, baby changing facility plus all your usual Warrior Way activity.

Sounds like a good night, it won't be today but what are the ferry details & prices from mainland U.K. ?  P.S. Best wishes for tonight.

[barrybishop]

4 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

Sounds like a good night, it won't be today but what are the ferry details & prices from mainland U.K. ?  P.S. Best wishes for tonight.

depends on so many things, times you travel, dates you travel and size of vehicle.... we have a discount code for 20% via our website for Wightlink

[crazysue]

Is there anyone going to tonight's meeting who would be able to text updates to the Updates site? If so, could you please send me a private message which includes your mobile phone number.

Thanks

[barrybishop]

In summary…..

3 x Pee Wee Races
2 x 125 Demo
3 x Lady Races
Full parade and all individual rider intros
6 x Jawa V Weslake Races
15 x 3TT race
Half Time Kids race
Bruce Cribb Ice Bike Demo
More Pee Wee and Revvi Demos
Japs and upright demo
Track grade every 5 heats
Every race winner did a lap of honour

And all done by 9pm

That wasnt just entertainment that was a great welcome, great value, a great show....

By the way 6 riders on display last night came through My First Skid Speedway School not including the youths…

[JOS50]

Have to say it's great to see bikes going round with big wheels and no dirt deflectors.

[barrybishop]

Back to something positive with FEEDBACK - please read it all….

What a fantastic night. I thought I would just provide a few notes in feedback on my observations in case they are useful. Even now I could write twice as much and still have more to say
Customer Experience
Absolutely first class and something I have not experienced at speedway before.
I arrived at the stadium at about 4.30pm (taking account of Barry’s earlier message about the damp parking conditions). First impressions count and my first impression was of two extremely friendly and helpful car parking staff. I didn’t get either of the ladies names, but they set the standard for the visit and I couldn’t have been more impressed. An absolute credit to you. Of course, it didn’t stop there. Staff on the entrance, selling programmes, at The Retreat, during the event and on the way out of the stadium couldn’t have been more helpful, welcoming or more efficient. First class
The food at the Retreat was a better quality and value than at any speedway stadium I have been to. I don’t normally eat at stadia as the food is generally overpriced and poor quality, but made a point of doing so last night. I wasn’t disappointed, but glad I got in early as it was clearly popular. I’ll try the Premier Lounge next time.
I don’t think I have seen so many young people in a speedway stadium for years. Whistles, sweets, quizzes before they even get to the grandstand, centre green visits, running races on the track, Pee Wee races and My First Skid graduates in the main meeting – riders they can relate to and aspire to be. No wonder you have them coming back for more each meeting.
The stadium
Immaculate.
It frustrates me no end when I go to other stadia and they are unclean, grass uncut (either / or the centre green or the standing areas), dirty seats, toilets you don’t want to use and uncared for. None of that could be applied to Smallbrook. An absolute credit to you.
All the air fence panels clean, all the advertising A frames prominently positioned to maximise exposure. Your sponsors must be pleased.
The track
I’ve never prepared a track, so wouldn’t claim to be an expert, but it looked really good to me, especially given the weather we have had. I thought you applied enough water to keep the dust down, without making it too slippery for the riders. As far as I could see, the riders looked comfortable on the track – and given the range of abilities on show last night to prepare a track to suit all is a credit to your team.
Riders briefing
I was outside the pits when the rider briefing was taking place. The instructions you all gave to the riders were spot on. They could be in no doubt what was expected – entertain the crowd, acknowledge and engage the crowd, take the flag and do a lap of honour after winning a race and ensure you are ready to get out on track as soon as the previous race has finished. So often now riders go straight back to the pits after a race and don’t come round for the supporters so it was refreshing to see that that is part of the show, and your expectation. All building the relationship.
Pit walk
Always a good option if you can do it and I had the bonus of talking to Gordon Kennett
The racing
To get so many races run in such a short space of time was impressive, but never in doubt given the rider briefing and the standard set in the Pee Wee and Ladies races. Obviously that could be a challenge if there is an incident and that’s a risk in any form of motor sport.
I enjoyed the Pee Wee races – future stars in the making, and what an opportunity for them to ride in front of an appreciative and responsive crowd. In the ladies races I was quite glad that Steph Whitlock missed the gate in one, and then came from the back. Passing at an early stage – and this was only the pre-meeting!
The main event 3TT was entertaining, but also of a good standard – and, given the challenges you have had to face in permission to use riders, exceeded my expectations. It was unfortunate that Alex Spooner was not available, but seeing Chad, Danno, Luke, Charley and Connor supported by all the others on show ensured the racing was both competitive and exciting. Every race had interest. I was a bit sceptical about the  team manager handicapping option, because I feared that it would take away from the head to heads between the top riders – but Chad blew away that theory in heat 4 when he came from behind to beat Charley.
The Upright Challenge was a bit one sided, but that’s clearly based on rider and engine availability. Despite that, the two races where Nigel Coates came from behind to win, using the banking to great effect, were as well received in the grandstand as any other races. The one thing I think that would have helped the newer visitors understand why there were some older and more substantially built (!) riders in these races would have been a fuller explanation of the background to uprights v laydowns, and the background of the riders involved. There were a couple of new attendees near me, and others around them provided a bit of background which clarified it – only a minor point in the overall experience.
Bruce Cribb – well, what can I say. To ride one of those fearsome ice bikes at his age and I assume with limited practice was astounding. He may not be as quick as he once was but Bruce exceeded my expectations. Having seen the other ice bike on show on the first bend banking no one could have been in any doubt just how dangerous those spikes could be.
I confess I only caught a short sight of the JAP demo as I was out the back talking to others, but it did take me back to the late 60s and 70s when JAPs were still in regular use. Nothing like a bit of nostalgia.
I also liked the way in which you intersperse races from the different events during the programme.
Social media
So much content
Constant promotion of sponsors, regular updates, Facebook live – brilliant. Giving the fans up to date information and insight – essential in this day and age
Summary
A fantastic, positive night out. If I lived on the Island I would be there every week without a shadow of a doubt. If Wightlink re-instate the later Fast Cat I’d come more often.
To have a complete package in place that allows riders to come through the My First Skid programme, to progress to demos in front of a crowd and then into the Wizards and Warriors is brilliant. A real potential production line for British speedway.
I haven’t mentioned the entry price at all – but it was the best £12 I’ve spent for a while. The value for money was exceptional. About 30 races including the demos. Why the BSPL aren’t talking to you about your operating model is beyond me. I believe any other speedway (or event) promoter who came to one of your meetings, and also looked at all the social media content you put out, would be bound to find at least 1 or 2 ideas they could put into practice to improve their product.  
You have an absolutely incredible team working with you and I would like to say thank you to them all. Thank you to you both for putting the meetings on this year, and for taking the risk in doing so.

#TheWarriorWay

[barrybishop]

“We are all massively disappointed for Connor Coles who has been told he cannot be reserve for today’s British Final at Belle Vue solely on the grounds that he rode on Thursday on the Isle of Wight.

We are all in a state of shock at this approach by the organisers of this meeting and had hoped they would reconsider this approach.

The Isle of Wight is probably the only Stadium right now where tourist regularly have their first interaction with the sport and despite how we feel we commit to continue to positively promote the sport at all times, positively reflect and review our show and positively interact with you all, the fans our greatest asset.  

We just cannot see, at all, what anyone could possibly expect to achieve by preventing a member of such a great speedway family, legends in the sport, from attending this evening.

[cityrebel]

1 hour ago, barrybishop said:

“We are all massively disappointed for Connor Coles who has been told he cannot be reserve for today’s British Final at Belle Vue solely on the grounds that he rode on Thursday on the Isle of Wight.

We are all in a state of shock at this approach by the organisers of this meeting and had hoped they would reconsider this approach.

The Isle of Wight is probably the only Stadium right now where tourist regularly have their first interaction with the sport and despite how we feel we commit to continue to positively promote the sport at all times, positively reflect and review our show and positively interact with you all, the fans our greatest asset.  

We just cannot see, at all, what anyone could possibly expect to achieve by preventing a member of such a great speedway family, legends in the sport, from attending this evening.

Obviously they see that as a priority, compared to some tracks that are on the brink of closure.

[Sings4Speedway]

Disgusting petty action by the organisers. We are talking about a 2nd reserve berth but the chance to ride in one of the countries biggest meetings and therefore Connor was prepared to stand there and wait for a chance that may not come. To be denied by the "insert suitable expletives here" is just plain ridiculous. I believe Connor is down to ride on the Island again on Thursday and i hope he does, sticks more than 2 fingers up to the establishment and wins the meeting to boot.

[heathen52]

So the BSPL have stood Connor Coles down for riding on the IOW, they should be absolutely ashamed of themselves and i shall be contacting Godfrey to let him know my thoughts on the matter, i dont expect a reply but hopefully he will read it, Promoting most of the BSPL dont know the meaning of the word, I hope Godfrey realises this works two ways he has just stood me down from ever visiting Scunthorpe Speedway whilst he maintains the attitude of the BSPL towards the IOW and riders that appear there. Meanwhile well done to everyone on the Island for providing fans and a few none fans with some holiday entertainment.

Edited August 16, 2021 by heathen52

[phillwhitewasmad]

3 hours ago, heathen52 said:

So the BSPL have stood Connor Coles down for riding on the IOW, they should be absolutely ashamed of themselves and i shall be contacting Godfrey to let him know my thoughts on the matter, i dont expect a reply but hopefully he will read it, Promoting most of the BSPL dont know the meaning of the word, I hope Godfrey realises this works two ways he has just stood me down from ever visiting Scunthorpe Speedway whilst he maintains the attitude of the BSPL towards the IOW and riders that appear there. Meanwhile well done to everyone on the Island for providing fans and a few none fans with some holiday entertainment.

Is it the Bspl who have done this or is it an assumption. If it it's the former it's a poor state of affairs

[Chris116]

The Connor Coles situation must be very close to being restraint of trade in legal terms. I hope the whole sorry mess can be sorted before a rider takes the BSPL to court as I think it could land up with the BSPL being made to look even worse than they already do. 

[Sidney the robin]

On 8/12/2021 at 1:33 PM, barrybishop said:

depends on so many things, times you travel, dates you travel and size of vehicle.... we have a discount code for 20% via our website for Wightlink

Good luck for whatever things you have planned Barry in the future hopefully you will get a side up and running for the NL Next year will certainly be having a trip there with the  wife.Was going to go a couple of years ago v Leicester but could not get a late train home after 9.30.Contacted  you and your team and they advised me about the Portsmouth/ Southampton ferry and were terrific most tracks you don’t even get a response.

[Halifaxtiger]

17 hours ago, Chris116 said:

The Connor Coles situation must be very close to being restraint of trade in legal terms. I hope the whole sorry mess can be sorted before a rider takes the BSPL to court as I think it could land up with the BSPL being made to look even worse than they already do. 

That one would be most difficult to prove. Even if it was as a result of Coles riding on the Island (and I am sure it was ), they can simply say that for a one off meeting they chose to select someone else and deny any suggestion relating to his competing in one of the Warriors events. 

Even the BSPL aren't stupid enough to publicly or privately ban riders from league speedway if they ride outside their control because they will be fully aware of restraint of trade case law and the almost certain consequences of such an action.