EVER THOUGHT ABOUT BEING A PROMOTER ?

Ever had that daydream where you won the lottery on a roll over week and you build your own speedway stadium. Well assuming it happens and you wanted to become a promoter you would have to apply for membership of the BSPA here is a copy of the official BSPA membership application form and the best of luck.

1) You are building a new speedway stadium. Do you tell the designer/builder to?

a) Position the referees box near to the fence so that it is in line with the start/finish line allowing the referee a good view of the start and any close finishes.

b) Position the referees box so that it’s so far from the fence that an area in front of the start/finish line must be fenced off to prevent people standing there otherwise the referee can’t see the start/finish line or position it in front of the start/finish line so that the clubs DVD camera man has a better view of the start/finish line than the referee.

2) Would anyone seeing your car realise that you are a speedway fan never mind a promoter

a) Yes I have a sticker in my car for my local track

b) You must be joking it’s a very expensive top of the range executive car and a sticker would make it look like a mobile advertising board and stickers for just for the great unwashed on the terraces.

3) You are put in charge of a new league for young riders, many of them still at school, whose aim is to produce the stars of the future. An assessment day is planned to judge if the potential riders are of the required standard. Do you organise this day for

a) For a weekend or during the Easter school days so that the young riders will not miss any school days and parents will not have to miss a day at work.

b) The day that the schools reopen after the Easter holidays. After all what is one days missed education in maybe 13 years and anyway the parents can always tell the school that little Johnny or Janet was ill. If the parents can’t give up a day’s wages then they are obviously not committed to their kids becoming speedway riders.

4) Do you believe that a league championship should be decided?

a) Over the course of a season so that the team which has been the most successful throughout the season wins.

b) Hold a series of qualifying matches to determine which teams will go forward to a knockout competition so that the league championship is determined after 3 matches held at the end of the season.

5) As a encouragement to your regular, and so you get their money up front, you sell season tickets, Are these tickets

a) Valid for all your home meetings apart from BSPA shared events and testimonial/benefit meetings.

b) Valid for home meetings apart from BSPA shared events, testimonial/benefit meetings and the play off semi final and final if you reach them. Your reason being that although the play offs determine the league championship they are not part of the league.

6) As part of your job as a speedway promoter you negotiate a sponsorship deal with a well know international company. Do you

a) Share the sponsorship money equally between all the teams in British speedway. After all it is called the British Speedway Promoters Association and its one for all and all for one.

b) Take a percentage of the sponsorship fee as your commission for doing your job as a promoter and share the rest out with the other promoter still receiving your share as track promoter.

7) You have been asked to host one the major meetings of the British domestic speedway season. One of the conditions is that your track as an air fence for this meeting. Do you

a) Tell the other promoters that you don’t want to have an air fence for this meeting but after much argument and to keep the meeting at your track you agree to borrow an air fence for this meeting from one of your other promoters.

b) Keep quiet and don’t tell the other promoters about your unwillingness to have an air fence, even an borrowed one, until ticket sales have started for the meeting hoping that the other promoters will bend the rules and allow you to stage the meeting without an air fence

8) You have been leading the league for most of the season. Looking at the league you think you have a better chance of reaching the play off final if you finish second in the league. Do you

a) Treat your final away match just like the others and do your best to win.

b) Lose it by such a large amount you also lose a bonus point with your riders giving the appearance that it is the first time they have been on a speedway bike and so finish second in the league and then reach the play off final.

9) You are a conference league promoter with one of the strongest teams in the team. One of your top riders is missing and you have an early season challenge match at home. Do you

a) Use the rider replacement facility and give the r/r rides to your number 8 until if it looks like you are going to get beaten and then give the r/r rides to one of the main team or take a chance move one of the reserves into the main team and use your number 8 as a reserve.

b) Use the rider replacement facility and give all the r/r rides to heat leaders/second strings

10) You are a Premier League promoter who also has a Conference League side. One of your PL team reserves is injured/unavailable. Do you

a) Promote one of your CL riders to see how he performs at an upper level of racing.

b) Use a rider from another CL team.

11) After your first season back in speedway you produce a brochure commemorating your tracks return to the sport. Does the brochure

a) Details of both your Premier and Conference League sides. After all the conference riders are the future of the club.

b) Only feature the Premier League teams achievements. After all the Conference riders are only juniors.

12) One of your former riders is killed. Your supporters have a collection for the riders’ family do you.

a) Hand the money over after adding something yourself as a thanks for the service the rider gave you.

b) Hand the money over minus the money you claimed that the rider owed you.

13) One of your young foreign riders is killed. Do you

a) Ring his wife who is living in this country far from home and tell that if she wants anything to let you know and you will sort it out for her.

b) Ring his wife a few days after he was killed and remind her about the loan that her deceased husband had from you and about it still needing to be repaid.

Award yourself 1 point for every questioned answered a) and 2 points for every question answered b)

So how did you score?

13 – 16

Sorry your application was not successful this time. If you wish to apply again please feel free to do so but a word of advise. You may think it advisable and to your advantage to forget you are a speedway fan and remember you are trying to become a promoter.

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Welcome to the club and I am sure you will be a valuable addition to the promoting community and you will be amongst like friends, back body armour with combined face mask available at cost to all members of the association.

MCM