No change next year?

[M.D]

1 minute ago, Grand Central said:

That's pretty much the job of every Clerk of the Course ..

Yeah but it's not working and the Clerk of the course is not independent.

[Grand Central]

Just now, M.D said:

Yeah but it's not working and the Clerk of the course is not independent.

And Phil Morris is independent ??? 

[M.D]

1 minute ago, Grand Central said:

And Phil Morris is independent ??? 

Sorry, I ment impartial 

[Grand Central]

Just now, M.D said:

Sorry, I ment impartial 

And so is the Clerk of the Course. 
It is his 'Clerk of the Course' qualification that he has that enables PM to do his job.

[Technik]

30 minutes ago, M.D said:

Something I think would be good for league meetings would be to have a guy to help with the running of a meeting out on track.

Along the lines of what Phil Morris does at GP level

Working with the ref, he would be responsible for the fast and smooth running of the meeting.

Getting riders up to tapes in time, when a re run is needed stopping too much time from riders fiddling around and getting them back to tapes in quick time for the re start.

Making sure that too much track doctoring is not going on from the home side between 4 heat breaks etc..

Just directing the meeting at track level to support the ref and making sure the meeting runs smoothly and quickly for the fans

You don't need any extra staff for that, Just a 2 minute clock, Make the riders be ready when it gets to zero & most importantly a Referee strong enough to exclude a rider when their not ready at zero

[M.D]

1 minute ago, Grand Central said:

And so is the Clerk of the Course. 
It is his 'Clerk of the Course' qualification that he has that enables PM to do his job.

And the clerk of the course is supplied from the home club

[mikebv]

To find out why so many fans of the sport don't go to UK Speedway anymore, the Promoters would first have had to notice that their crowd levels had dropped...

And I can only presume they haven't quite noticed this yet as otherwise they would have stopped doing what has driven so many away and started doing something that would entice them back....

Although there could also be a sneaking suspicion of course (given their penchant for doing the 'same old, same old, ad infinitum) that they don't see anything wrong at all with the way the sport is ran..

And it's the many missing fans (who still closely follow the sport), who are just delusional...

 

[moxey63]

1 hour ago, mikebv said:

To find out why so many fans of the sport don't go to UK Speedway anymore, the Promoters would first have had to notice that their crowd levels had dropped...

And I can only presume they haven't quite noticed this yet as otherwise they would have stopped doing what has driven so many away and started doing something that would entice them back....

Although there could also be a sneaking suspicion of course (given their penchant for doing the 'same old, same old, ad infinitum) that they don't see anything wrong at all with the way the sport is ran..

And it's the many missing fans (who still closely follow the sport), who are just delusional...

 

They always try to attract new fans while alienating old ones, when, going on history, it's the old ones who introduce the new ones.

Speedway is now like football matches at school, when teams were never constant as long as you had two sides. I can imagine wartime meetings were like they are now - make do with whoever wants to ride, let all tracks choose whoever is available.

And they expect fans to build up a bond with a team of make-do riders that won't be there next year and... at this rate, nor will the track.

It is a team sport first and foremost. Why does it feel like it's set up merely for the individuals? 

I don't trust the folks who run it here, either. For years they went on about losing so many thousands of pounds a match, but admitted they funded the losses from their own resources. And then we ask why the sport is in its worst state... ever. Even the 50s weren't like this. 

Edited September 17, 2021 by moxey63

[Trees]

16 hours ago, HackneyHawk said:

I must disagree with this.  Look at football, it's never off the telly and still gets good support.  Even lower leagues get much better support than Speedway.  Also other sports look at the Hundred in cricket etc etc.  If TV coverage were handled properly then it would entice people to support a team and go to a live meeting.

Yeah cos most fans have season tickets .....

[Trees]

9 hours ago, moxey63 said:

They always try to attract new fans while alienating old ones, when, going on history, it's the old ones who introduce the new ones.

Speedway is now like football matches at school, when teams were never constant as long as you had two sides. I can imagine wartime meetings were like they are now - make do with whoever wants to ride, let all tracks choose whoever is available.

And they expect fans to build up a bond with a team of make-do riders that won't be there next year and... at this rate, nor will the track.

It is a team sport first and foremost. Why does it feel like it's set up merely for the individuals? 

I don't trust the folks who run it here, either. For years they went on about losing so many thousands of pounds a match, but admitted they funded the losses from their own resources. And then we ask why the sport is in its worst state... ever. Even the 50s weren't like this. 

Here we bloody go again, there are loads of riders who have ridden for the same club for years.  SOME Lynn fans complained this year cos the promoter was "too" loyal, calling it jobs for the boys!

[IainB]

18 hours ago, HackneyHawk said:

I must disagree with this.  Look at football, it's never off the telly and still gets good support.  Even lower leagues get much better support than Speedway.  Also other sports look at the Hundred in cricket etc etc.  If TV coverage were handled properly then it would entice people to support a team and go to a live meeting.

You only have to look at the crowds in the early days of the televised Sky matches... was like a party atmosphere

14 hours ago, Grand Central said:

And so is the Clerk of the Course. 
It is his 'Clerk of the Course' qualification that he has that enables PM to do his job.

and the start marshal... totally impartial 

[Najjer]

17 hours ago, OveFundinFan said:

How does BSPL send out a questionnaire if they don’t know where people who used to attend live?

Via social media and their websites? There is lots of people who don’t attend anymore but still follow the sport and what is going on. They are the people who need to be attracted back in.

The biggest problem is promotors don’t like criticism and not only do they not like it, they can’t handle it. There has been countless stories down the years of fans being banned because they spoke out of turn instead of actually resolving whatever the issues were and continuing to take their money!

[cowboy cookie returns?]

As a chap who spent far too much of his life from the age of 10 to his early 30s traveling all over supporting not only his team but speedway in general I find myself in despair!

Throughout most my time as an active supporter the sport was slowly losing its way & losing customers. Towards the end of my time as a regular 2009/10 it had become noticeable worse.

Now on the odd occasion I've been in the last 10 years every time I attended you can see that it's gotten worse. It really is now at a critical point.

The reason for my despair is I'm now in my mid 40s with disposable income the type of ex fan who the powers that be should be trying to win back.

However when I go I am severed up a product that is poorer than the last time I attended & if I'm lucky only a couple of missing riders. 

It still appears that even though there are thousands of unhappy customers on here those in power do nothing about it or worse still come across as having no interest in trying to!

So looking at it 2022 will be another year of the same old same old with possibly 4 tracks having closed down.

No doubt more will follow after 2022 it really is a race to the bottom!

 

[moxey63]

6 hours ago, Trees said:

Here we bloody go again, there are loads of riders who have ridden for the same club for years.  SOME Lynn fans complained this year cos the promoter was "too" loyal, calling it jobs for the boys!

I expect riders who have ridden years for a club clouds my judgement by appearing for different other ones every season.

Edited September 18, 2021 by moxey63

[moxey63]

On 9/14/2021 at 4:29 PM, cowboy cookie returns? said:

Leagues of 'fun' speedway is what we have in the UK at present they are fun from professional.

I feel the only ones having fun from current day speedway are the riders, who still have a great living from the sport. The punters aren't getting value for money.

Matches contain line ups, not for serious league or cup rivalry, but more as a testimonial type thing. The riders can still have a great week, the matches they ride. 

I read a rider the other day, a rider I admire, saying he felt bad for inflicting defeat on another rider and stopping his maximum - because it's his team mate at another team! When you have so many team mates at other teams, surely the feeling by fans of being connected to that rider is one of the sport's problems, especially in the dwindling leagues.

[moxey63]

22 hours ago, Fromafar said:

No chance of a Questionaire as they won’t get the replies they want to here.Majority of fans have been questioning the league structure for the last 10-15 years.Many know just don’t bother attending anymore,I’m in the same boat as you regarding attending.

So true. There are vast numbers of fans who don't attend anymore, could fill many stadiums and are there to be won back. Promoters, or, let's face it, the people who think they know what they're doing, never seem to want to find out why crowds have leaked so badly. By crowds leaking so badly, the promoters lose money and the track's future becomes cloudy. Covid hasn't helped, but this day has been coming for years. 

A questionnaire on the internet, that could be sent to your email address, would be a start to try and get some lost fans back. Like me, ex-fans still stay in touch. But as time goes by, the sport you first attended begins to look so different to the one we have now. Some fans may have just got out of the habit of attending. Promoters left it so long to re-engage with them.

There has been an urge to re-event speedway for too long, bring in younger fans. Obviously we need new fans, but I would say most people who attend speedway were introduced by an old fan, friend or family members.   

Edited September 18, 2021 by moxey63

[ch958]

23 hours ago, OveFundinFan said:

How does BSPL send out a questionnaire if they don’t know where people who used to attend live?

well. they could use this forum for starters plus they have their own website where views can be expressed.

For me I want the prices lowered. The level should be 10/12 pounds and ways should be found to operate around that, not the other way around. McDonalds can't charge what they want for chicken nuggets, they have to operate within a market just as speedway has to operate within a leisure market. 

[LisaColette]

Speedway Social on Twitter: "Lots of calls for a change to the league format in 2022 - so what would your choice be? Comment below if you want something that's not included... Really interested to get as many people's thoughts as possible on this so feel free to RT to get a good sample size!" / Twitter

Poll on twitter, they are looking for a big sample size. Just in case anyone wants to vote and/or comment on it but hasn't seen it!