Raising the bar 'info' wise (Read 1,267 times)

[gastech]

This is not a moan or sideswipe at anyone, but more of a challenge to the website operators etc.
Time after time, a National event passes by, and the entry lists are nowhere to be seen ( OK I have seen a 'few' with an emphasis on the word FEW)......but this is so frustrating, take this weekends 1st round of the Super Saloons, or the NZ Superstocks, who the hells going? is it worth going to watch? should I book accomodation? Who are the suprises? who can win? all questions that go unanswered until the big day/s pass right on by.
Its not a hard thing to do !!!! the motorsport I'm involved with had a National class championship recently, and the online entry list was avallible 4 months before hand, It was so good you could enter online, pay online, and even stats on the entries from regions/clubs/ motors/chassis and sponsors were all there! darn good when you can sift thru 115 entries.
Anyway thats my 5 cents for the morning, I guess its all about bringing the public and fans as much info as possible , and get them excited!

[NutZ]

Yay!!! ;D

[Ricoshea]

you are correct

but

there are a lot of stumbling blocks as i see it, it is still an amateur sport with both volunteers and competitors needing to pay their way in the real world.
resources can be stetched, most classes have a huge choice of events that can be contested.
i could be corrected, but other forms of amateur motorsport do not have the volume of meetings to choose from that speedway has.
i am quite certain promoters wish to be factual in information they present, and quite oftern they are let down by competitors.
a recent published statement here indicated there were quite a few no shows at kk on sunday ( example only )
usually there is a good reason for no shows, but it is difficult to be accurate in an everchanging landscape.
not all promotions are web savy, which is another twist.

but i do agree with you

[Admin]

Have you looked at the Super Saloon Series website
at a quick look it seems to contain the info .
www.sscar.co.nz/drivers.html

[gastech]

Thanks for that ;D

[Murray Guy (Grandad)]

Regardless of the number of meetings available, we have one promotion team per venue, all with access to websites, all with the ability to put in place better communication / publicity initiatives.

The communication initiatives referred to by 'gastech', for the most part, do not require additional resourcing or funding. It more a case of 'giving a darn', working / thinking smarter.

Regarding 'no-shows', this happens at all events due to the unforeseen, but more so when there is no penalty attached to competitors not meeting obligations and commitments.
A component of adopting a greater degree of professionalism could be that all tracks must apply entry close-off dates, that all entries incur a fee (non-refundable for no-shows) refundable on racing, as for SNZ Championship events. Failure to turn up could result in a 4 week stand-down or similar.

The present situation is not acceptable to take our sport in to the future, is not fair on promoters or the paying public.

[Deleted]

I'll go the opposite direction, and say that for the major titles a list of entrants isn't that relevant.

People have usually already decided whether to go or not, and there would be other more important factors that would influence those who may be undecided.

Not defending a lack of info here, and for more minor week-in week-out events, a list of entrants is definitely ideal.

But for something like NZ Superstocks or Modifieds, you can pretty much assume anyone who is much chop and currently active in the class will be there.

[kale]

The sucess of any event sits squarely with the quality of promotion. The seasoned fan will no doubt have picked the winner of an event long before it is run, however the average Joe lacks inside info and could well make thier decision to attend such an event based on the information avaliable.

Butts on seats equals dollars in the bank and if the sport can attract fresh converts with info - details - specs - competitor history or what ever, then the sport can only continue to grow.

[fearless]

As a spectator and at speedway somewhere every weekend . Nothing more frustrating looking at a list of entrants or publicity from the club or promotor saying how many cars are turning up to find only 1/2 the number their some times it almost down to false advertising.
Went to a national title NI's for a premier class and it was going to be two day meeting and they only had enough for one group! Plus a another national title being run one night format they had huge list split into two groups and again only had fields on eight in each.
I felt for all those who had seen the advertising and listened to the promo and that had turned up to watch they must have felt ripped,
I now never take any list promo for granted. Who turns up turns up.
Time for clubs to take a deposit and keep it.

[Admin]

Quite frankly I think us spectators are becoming too demanding at times with regards the info for many of the meetings .

The manawatu champs this weekend should attract good numbers based on the turnout of the meetings held thus far .

For the bigger championships I'm fairly happy to get some idea of entries a couple of weeks or so out from the meeting.

I suppose the situation is exasperated a little by the advance ticket sales that are happening way ahead of the meetings/info but really we all know there will be a worthwhile turnout of our top classes.

I more worry about the format/support classes etc. for the meetings before I make my decision to buy a ticket thus I rarely purchase a ticket way ahead of time .
An example of this is the NZ Superstocks , tickets are on sale but the info on the track site is lacking in detail about the meeting.

[The Godfather]

Also how can promoters advertise who's coming if they dont know themselves !!!

There are so many drivers that leave it to the last minute to enter, then moan when their details arent in the program etc....

We're one month out from the SI stockies, and to date I think there is about 4 entries . Sometimes the drivers are their own worst enemy.

[BarryB]

Using the NZ Superstocks as an example, entries don't close for some weeks yet, and websites cannot put up drivers names that have not entered. Where would be the sense in that? Yes, some clubs can be a little slack, some drivers are a little slack, but some expectations are too high also. Asking "who the hell is coming" for an event weeks away from closing, and months away from racing, is a little OTT I'd suggest....

[mintie]

i think in most cases it is only the hard core speedway supporter who goes to an event because of a named driver. it is more about the event and how you promote it.
perhaps because we know so many drivers and have our favourites we get a precious of our own expectations and not those of the "rank in file" spectator who goes to an event for entertainment and is happy to have some favourite drivers on the night, but is more expecting a show to be placed in front of him. drivers are just slack at entering early and therefore the promoters need to focus on the event and the spectacle and then we as knowledgeable speedway fans can decide if it the meeting we want to see or the driver and vote with our feet accordingly.

[eddiek]

With many competitors, if you advertise events and that entries close on the 15th of December then they will post the entry forms on the 15th of December. Sad but true. I just hope that these days entries are closed on the 15th with the expectation that the last entrants form is going to arrive on the 20th. ;D

Its always good to have lists updated much as how Nigel has endeavored to maintain Huntlys website over the last couple of years, which is a good effort because murphys law dictates you'll get a couple of entries in just after the UPLOAD buttons been clicked for the latest update!

[nzf2stocks.]

From a competitors point of view it is hard to confirm an entry to any given event weeks or months in advance. Its a catch 22 situation, you enter early and get your name in the programme and you get creamed the week before and just cant repair the car in time, sometimes you dont know the morning of the race wether you can get the car going! Or, you enter early then dont go to any meetings for a couple of weeks before to make sure the car will be OK and get bollixed by your club/spectators for being a prima donna championship chaser. Or you hold off your entry till the last minute to be sure you can make it and get moaned at for not providing details early enough.
We are in an amature sport, even though some would like it to be professional. Amatures have morguages, family commitments, work duties and time restraints that can interfeer with their racing. We do it for our own pleasure and hope to provide entertainment for the spectators, but you wont get NZV8 professionalism until you pay NZV8 gate prices at each meeting.

[eddiek]

Fair comment - and its easy to update a website entry list, a bit harder with printed programs though which need to be finalised days in advance.

For example for this weekend teams meeting, we had to provide images by Monday to make publication deadlines. Now I see Huntly's updated the entrants list on the web to include 883 Seth McConchie in the Alleycats side, but unless the printer got that information at the last possible moment, the program will still read 883 Murray Kitt, and quite possibly have a photo of Murray's car in it. Anything else that happens to individuals this week will also lead to anomolies in the publication. That sadly cannot be helped.

You can't always plan for the unforseen, but deadlines are sometimes a neccessary evil.