20.05.22 - Scunthorpe v Newcastle (league, BSN)

[kevin bass]

8 minutes ago, Paul Johnson said:

Ok so if its raining when i wake up check if its on. if its not raining then presume its on and set off.....also there are other reasons why meetings get called off..i am quessing these people who turned up would be in the older age bracket? they probably have no mobile or ipad etc,

Like i posted earlier if the fanbase was 80% under 40's then haps they'd be up to speed with Facebook, Twitter and various club/speedway websites, but it's the other way round and the fanbase is probably 80% over 60/70's and the majority of them don't use social media or even know what it is or how to actually use it.

[IainB]

16 minutes ago, Paul Johnson said:

Ok so if its raining when i wake up check if its on. if its not raining then presume its on and set off.....

Not quite as cut and dried as that though is it... you'd obviously look at the forecast, in the good old days you may have looked at yesterday's forecast and thought, chance of showers, if they get one, unlucky, the track is going to ride heavy, not, i wonder if they'll call it off anytime between when i leave and when i get there even though there hasn't been any rain

Edited May 21, 2022 by iainb

[Paul Johnson]

3 minutes ago, kevin bass said:

Like i posted earlier if the fanbase was 80% under 40's then haps they'd be up to speed with Facebook, Twitter and various club/speedway websites, but it's the other way round and the fanbase is probably 80% over 60/70's and the majority of them don't use social media or even know what it is or how to actually use it.

and in the old days the clubs had someone on the phone at the track, looks dodgy then give them a ring to see if its still on

[IainB]

3 minutes ago, Paul Johnson said:

and in the old days the clubs had someone on the phone at the track, looks dodgy then give them a ring to see if its still on

Didn't really look that dodgy though earlier in the day yesterday

[kevin bass]

3 minutes ago, Paul Johnson said:

and in the old days the clubs had someone on the phone at the track, looks dodgy then give them a ring to see if its still on

Exactly, my local club Ipswich always had t phone manned certainly midday onwards and could just phone up for an update if the weather looked dodgy, not sure if it's the same these days coz i just check on here if i need to.

[Paul Johnson]

maybe not in lesta

[kevin bass]

To be fair i've saved my parents many a wasted trip by checking on here or even got them to turn round on route if their already set out for a meeting an hr or so up the road.

[ruffdiamond]

17 minutes ago, kevin bass said:

To be fair i've saved my parents many a wasted trip by checking on here or even got them to turn round on route if their already set out for a meeting an hr or so up the road.

That's very thoughtful and considerate of you,,, thas probably one or two on here that wouldn't tell them, just for a laugh!!! 

[IronScorpion]

My previous post, on page 2, mentions that I saw a forecast on Thursday(tea time news then Look North) of the potential of bad weather that could curtail the speedway. The older generation, who do not use social media or play with their phones 8 hours a day, might have a sit down early evening watching the tv while having a meal.

I am pretty sure that if you wanted to phone the track, it is actually the number for the garage so you will get a direct answer from Gail, co-promoter of Scunthorpe Speedway.

[StevePark]

1 hour ago, marko said:

People will only check when they perceive a need to, if it’s a dry day you can’t blame people for assuming a meeting will be on.

If every track postponed a meeting because it might rain in the evening, we might as well not bother.

I'd rather a club call off early and get it wrong, than gamble that the forecast will be inaccurate and get it wrong.

[StevePark]

4 hours ago, lucifer sam said:

They do.  With Scunny if it's called going to be called off, it depends slightly where the away fans/riders are coming from. For instance, for Sheffield, Rob Godfrey knew he didn't need to make a decision by around 2.30pm-3pm, whereas if it is Glasgow, Edinburgh or Plymouth, it will be first thing.  But if anyone checks before setting off, they will find the answer before they leave.  With Newcastle yesterday, it was off a good 2/3 hours before anyone needs to leave Newcastle to get to Scunny.

Fans, yes, but many riders would have a greater distance to travel to get there.

[IronScorpion]

And there is the contrast of 2 meetings with a similar weather forecast, ours & Glasgow v Poole(read their thread pages 3 & 4. Sods law. Their meeting went ahead with a very heavy track(see updates).

DAMNED IF YOU DO, DAMNED IF YOU DON'T.

[OldtimerRay]

There will always be 2 sides to any story, mine was should I go as it’s only Newcastle but then again the racing is sometimes better with a struggling team visiting, in the end the choice was made for me

[marko]

You can have the best information system there is but you still need people to want to access it.

You can bet the people who turned up for this meeting, left home in the dry and drove in the dry, why would they need to check?

The only person who should be able to call a meeting off is the booked ref or a local ref who would turn up and declare the track unfit based on its condition at that point i time,  not what it might look like later.

[IainB]

10 minutes ago, marko said:

You can have the best information system there is but you still need people to want to access it.

You can bet the people who turned up for this meeting, left home in the dry and drove in the dry, why would they need to check?

The only person who should be able to call a meeting off is the booked ref or a local ref who would turn up and declare the track unfit based on its condition at that point i time,  not what it might look like later.

I agree, but clearly times have changed with the drop in crowds and no drop in running costs calling off meetings based on weather forecasts is now how they operate. I do think it would help if the powers that be could get all their ducks in a row so we as fans know where we stand

[mac101]

1 hour ago, IronScorpion said:

And there is the contrast of 2 meetings with a similar weather forecast, ours & Glasgow v Poole(read their thread pages 3 & 4. Sods law. Their meeting went ahead with a very heavy track(see updates).

DAMNED IF YOU DO, DAMNED IF YOU DON'T.

yes defo but the problem with that is it always seems to help the away team more than the home team i can remember a good few 50/50 weather meetings and when they went ahead glasgow struggled in every one 

[scunny1]

National weather forecast was showers, local weather forecast was showers, club made early call off , what more information do these prats want??? If you want to travel long distances  with a dubious forecast, you take that risk, if you want to ignore the information put out in good time, then you reap what you sow  end of!!!

[Paul Johnson]

i think the arguments are is wasnt dubious in Newcastle

Edited May 21, 2022 by Paul Johnson

[ruffdiamond]

8 minutes ago, scunny1 said:

National weather forecast was showers, local weather forecast was showers, club made early call off , what more information do these prats want??? If you want to travel long distances  with a dubious forecast, you take that risk, if you want to ignore the information put out in good time, then you reap what you sow  end of!!!

Yeah, but it's just commonplace now to blame anyone else for your failings.  

[IainB]

11 minutes ago, scunny1 said:

National weather forecast was showers, local weather forecast was showers, club made early call off , what more information do these prats want??? If you want to travel long distances  with a dubious forecast, you take that risk, if you want to ignore the information put out in good time, then you reap what you sow  end of!!!

Yes but you're not only 2nd guessing the weather, now you're 2nd guessing the promotion as well... probably safer just to stay at home unless there's no sign of rain on the radar