Boom or Bust
Here we are again the end of another season - they seem to come around
quicker and quicker – it must be me age !
Nothing new, loads of speculation about what may happen in the new year
– probably more of the same. Politicians all seem to agree that we have to move
away from the boom bust economy well in speedway it almost seems a way of life.
One year you are up there winning the championship so next season, well
obviously you have to be fighting for survival in a relegation play off. Not because
of bad luck or a club’s bad management, that’s how it’s scripted, those are the
rules. Where would we be without rules ? FRANCE well that’s no good they
haven’t got any speedway. Mind you neither will we if we carry on like this !
First off something has to be done to attract new fans. That probably
means that promoters will have to do something a lot of them have never really
done – promote. Its no use just putting on meetings expecting customers to turn
up. They don’t read the Speedway Star and wouldn’t know about the info on
teletext. They have never heard of a quaint little sport involving four blokes
chasing each other round a dirt track on motor bikes for four laps.
Then what, well take a cold hard look at the product. 15 races but let’s
face it I’m using that term loosely. I was at the fastest track in the country
the other night and there were only around 3 or 4 actual races, the rest were
over at the first turn, an argument levelled at speedway for years. I’m sorry
but the spectacle of the speed, roar and smell of the bikes is not enough to
captivate an audience week in week out. Add constant track grading and sundry
other delays into the mix and it does not bode well for attracting new
spectators. That’s without even considering the condition and facilities
available at some of the less salubrious venues. Maybe a handicap system like
Wolverhampton’s Olympique would be the answer to turn processions into races ?
This all may point to why the Sky coverage has not been converted into
increased numbers on the terraces. Generally speaking the sport seems dependant
on two types of hard core supporters – those who go to their own track to watch
their team win and those who go to watch the racing and they will often be the
ones who attend a number of tracks on a regular basis not really being too
concerned who wins.
All too often promoters pander to the wants and desires of the former
group which is to a large extent understandable, until that is of course your
team begins to lose home matches. Then things change, wide expanses of open
terracing and the slide into oblivion, always a possibility when the quality
and integrity of the product has been compromised. The independent supporter
looking for good racing is unlikely to keep returning to a venue where
regularly the contest is over after the first turn.
Whatever changes are introduced for the coming season they have to be
given time to take effect, thought has to be given to the development of the
sport over the next few years – there is no quick fix.
The main problem is that there is no game plan for speedway it all seems
fragmented and the vested interest of particular promoters etc seem to drive
speedway in different directions each season.
There have already been dissenting voices over the promotion and
regulation system. If there is no will to make it work then it clearly won’t,
but I have to say that it has a good chance of making speedway more credible as
a sport. Clearly there should also be a system of payment to any team changing leagues
to make sure they have a chance to compete or a “parachute” payment to make
sure they don’t go under. And here’s the point, all the teams have to work
together for the good of the sport as a whole. For too long now promoters have
concerned themselves solely with own their enterprise in splendid isolation in
some cases.
What supporters have been asking for for years is an independent body to
run speedway. Until this happens I fail to see how there can be any direction
or progress.
This season has really highlighted some of the short comings of the
present system or in fact lack of it. In what other sport for instance would a
whole team fold and cease operations following the death of the
owner/manager/chairman ? No matter how untimely or unfortunate, how can a team
be allowed to operate in a so called professional sport without any contingency
plans or arrangements?
What about rider payments? There was the well publicised story regarding
Hans Andersen but I suspect that this is only the tip of the iceberg. And
really speaking what kind of outfit suspends its employees for withholding
services when in fact they no longer wish to work for nothing? It also seems that in doing so you may be
black balled by other teams or “the management”!
Then just when you thought things could only get better, they take a
turn for the worse and the very highest level too, the German GP. The finale
the coup de grace an indoor meeting called off due to a waterlogged track. That
really takes some doing and it could only really have been achieved by speedway
promoters. That is of course if you believe everything you read. In speedway
speak it may really mean “lack of interest/ticket sales”. Still no matter, go
for the low risk strategy of going back to Poland for a 3rd time. Those
Poles really need to get out more !!
Just one more question, why would you give a track a 24 ht meeting when
it struggles to complete 15 before the curfew on a regular basis ? – Answers on
a post card please.
And to end on a positive note, and god knows its difficult, if
Wolverhampton is unfortunate enough to drop down into the Premier at least the
rest of the clubs will have an object lesson in how a meeting should be run !!
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