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INTERNATIONAL
LONDON EURO U-TURN - posted 7 January 2012 The 2012 European championship finals will not be held in London after all. Following discussions between East London, British Cycling and Newham Council, is has been agreed that it is simply too impracticable to host the finals at Canning Town when Olympic boxing, table tennis, weight lifting and Greco-Roman wrestling is taking place at nearby Excel on the same day, Sunday 5th August. "It would be a logistical nightmare" said a club spokesman earlier today. The subject will be discussed at tomorrow's South-East annual general meeting in Ipswich. We hope to bring you more news following that meeting. ICSF secretary Dave Murphy has clarified the position of Euro Explaining the position Murphy said "Initial feedback from Kalety, via club member Steve Harris, had indicated their desire to follow the same format used successfully at Bury in 2010 which involved 16 clubs". In such case, the ICSF secretary had suggested to British Cycling that the entry process would need to set up based on the following assumptions: Eight places available for clubs from GB, eight places available for clubs from Poland. If less than eight British clubs enter, the additional places will be offered to Polish clubs. In such case Poland would most likely set up a Polish qualification competition, prior to the event. Murphy added "Based on previous stagings of this competition, it's debatable whether more than eight British clubs will enter. However, if more than eight British clubs make an application, the ICSF will be prepared to look at the option of expanding the competition to include additional clubs from both nations. In such case we should assume that this may reduce the amount of racing for those clubs eliminated in the early stages." The ICSF statement also clarified that "There is no agenda to exclude clubs from the event should there be significantly more clubs interested than anticipated - however, we are currently working on the suggested format, as used at Bury, that will operate with 16 clubs." The ICSF are also in the process of confirming requirements with the Polish Federation and, via the PFKS, identifying lines of communication with the organisers at Kalety, to ensure that their needs are met. Murphy concluded by encouraging clubs to respond asap to the request from Paul West by stating, "If clubs wish to be involved in this competition, a prompt response will help the ICSF evaluate the level of interest and then decide whether the format needs to be reviewed to accommodate any significant increase on the numbers anticipated." Just eight places are up for grabs for the 2012 European Club Championships to be held at Kalety, near Katowice, Poland on 1st to 3rd May. Organisers have announced that only eight places are available for UK teams with Elite League and Premier League teams getting priority. If there are more than eight applications, the remaining teams will be drawn from the hat. Entries, together with a £50 refundable deposit, must be received at British Cycling headquarters by Monday 16th January. Deposits will be refunded provided teams start the first round with a full squad and, of course, to those teams which enter but do not gain a place. After weeks of rumour, the Polish Federation has finally confirmed that the 2012 Euro Club Championships will be staged at Kalety on May 1st-3rd. Kalety is a small town approx 30km from Katowice. British Cycling has unveiled provisional arrangements for the 2013 World championship in Australia. It is proposed that the British Lions touring party will leave Heathrow on Saturday 2nd November, arriving in Adelaide on Monday 4th November 2013. The race programme is scheduled between Thursday 7th November and Sunday 24th November with the tour party returning from Adelaide on Monday 25th November 25th, arriving at Heathrow on Tuesday 26th November 26th. More details are expected to be released by British Cycling shortly. British Cycling has today confirmed cycle speedway's international team managers as follows: Great Britain (Men) - Dave Murphy, Great Britain (Women) - Geoff Gamage, Great Britain (Junior) - Ivan Pike, England - Pete Barnes, Ireland - Gary Colby, Scotland - Gavin Kennedy, Wales - Nicky Evans Just two months after opting not to apply for the position of Scotland team manager for the period 2012-13, Gavin Kennedy has agreed to continue in the role on an interim basis. Speaking exclusively to Spokesman-Online, Kennedy revealed the reasons behind his decision to continue in the role. "The challenges I faced in getting a side to the USA earlier this year were fairly well publicised and with the 2013 World Championships due to be held in Australia I was reluctant to commit to the job for another two years. I had hoped that one of the senior riders might have shown an interest in taking on the role, however unfortunately that hasn't been the case. "I've put a lot of effort into identifying talented young riders who have Norfolk cycle speedway is celebrating today after the announcement that the county will host not one but all three international matches between Great Britain and Poland next season. The matches will take place at Harford Park, Hethersett and Eaton Park on consecutive evenings, 30 July, 31 July and 1 August. The allocation of the three prestige meetings is seen as reward for the Norfolk clubs following their successful staging of the 2011 Finals Weekend. "We are delighted" said a local spokesman, somewhat understatedly! Great Britain and the Home Nations managerial appointments for 2012/2013 have been made as follows GB Men’s Team Manager – Dave Murphy, GB Junior Team Manager – Ivan Pike, Women’s Team Manager – Geoff Gamage, England Team Managers – Pete Barnes and Colin Sutton, Ireland Team Manager – Gary Colby. Applications are being sought for both the Scotland and Wales team managers posts. The Wales cycle speedway team recently displayed unity with a Welsh Cycle Speedway Association initiative, at the Celtic Cup International with Ireland, by publicising awareness of CRY He added "Cycle speedway, and sport in general, is clearly good for the health and well-being of most individuals. However, it's important to be aware that some young people may be at risk, as a result of undetected cardiac issues and CRY is aimed at identifying this." Caretaker Wales manager Dave Murphy is keen to point out that it was Ian Sizer who led Wales to victory against Ireland (at Norwich) and Scotland (at Newport) last year, followed by a recent one-point win over Scotland last month after Murphy took the managerial reigns. Murphy was a team member, under previous manager Sizer, for the first two matches so he wants to see his contribution through to the end of the
The Celtic Cup (pictured) is formally named the 'Alistair G Kennedy Memorial' and is a fitting tribute to Gavin's father as well as those who have competed, and keenly contested the event, for their National teams Racing at East Newport commences at 1pm with a B-International between Wales 'B' and Ireland 'B' followed by the main event, at 3pm, which should be witnessed by a decent crowd at the 'Polo' circuit - the crowd hopefully buoyed by a Wales victory in the Rugby Union World Cup semi-final, which will be earlier in the day! Ireland team manager Gary Colby has unveiled his squads for next weekend's Celtic Cup match against Wales at East Newport. There will also be a B international between the two countries.
The top six who will definitely be riding in the Celtic Cup are Phil Adams, Lee Clarke, Wayne Clarke, Tom Doyle (captain), Craig Norton and Adam Stephenson. The B squad is Barry Copping, Steve Copping (captain), Harley Hammill, Patrick Kruger, Kevin Lowey, Lewis Roberts and Charlie Rumbold. Colby has pulled a rabbit out of the hat by tempting Kevin Lowey back to the international arena. The Poole flyer has not raced for three seasons but has been talked out of premature retirement by the persuasive and ultra-enthusiastic Colby. Two riders, Lee Clarke and Harley Hammill could make their international debuts if they are included in the Celtic Cup team. Although Wales have already won the Celtic Cup, a six match competition run over two years, Colby will be keen the finish the year on a high note. "Our riders will be giving it everything at Newport. Unfortunately I couldn't include Coventry's new find Liam Maquire in the squad because he is working but I am excited to have several youngsters available, especially Lewis Roberts who has been doing really well for Ipswich in the Premier League. He'll be the first to admit he had a disappointing junior Home International when he slipped off a couple of times but he'll have learned from the experience and be better for it. "The Celtic Cup goes from strength to strength. The B internationals are an important addition and next year we could see a women's Home International as well. It's just a shame Gavin Kennedy is not carrying as he did a great job as Scotland manager." The Wales squad for the Celtic Cup match against Ireland, at East Newport on 15th October, has been announced. The big news is that they will be without some leading riders for this fixture, which will decide the outcome of a tournament involving Wales, Ireland and Scotland's international teams. Wales captain Mark Winwood, who was instrumental in the recent victory over Scotland in Edinburgh, needs to be in Sheffield on Saturday evening and, although he looked at options that could get him from Newport to South Yorkshire after the match, it's proven impractical to combine the Celtic Cup match with his pre-booked arrangements Another big loss for Wales is the absence of Ben Mould, due to work commitments, but the Welsh camp now has an abundance of talented riders waiting in the wings for the chance of international action. The loss of Winwood, as an experienced campaigner, has been balanced out by the inclusion of two old-hands in Danny Harper and Neil Power who have been selected by caretaker manager Dave Murphy to capitalise on their track knowledge of the East Newport 'polo'. Wales squad is based on the manager keeping faith with five riders who were part of the team which clinched the all important victory at Edinburgh, while Aaron Hughes has been rewarded with selection after some good performances in recent weeks. Murphy told Spokesman "Mark Carmichael, Jack Harrold and Leigh Tippins all showed, at Edinburgh, that they've made the transition from junior to senior Internationals and this bodes well for the future". He added, "Although I felt the need to include the experience of Harper and Power along with a middle order of Nicky Evans and Chris Davies, it's great that the core of the team are junior riders such as Carmichael, Harrold, Tippins, Hughes along with Dan Bock who has been added to the squad as standby reserve".
The addition of a Wales 'B' versus Ireland 'B' fixture to support the Celtic Cup will give Bock a chance to stake his claim for a place in the national team. Both Murphy and Ireland manager, Gary Colby, will be naming 'B' teams consisting of some junior and veteran riders so as to provide a platform for those on the cusp of International selection as well as to recognise club stalwarts who have given great Wales squad for Celtic Cup: Mark Carmichael, Chris Davies, Nicky Evans, Danny Harper, Jack Harrold, Aaron Hughes, Neil Power, Leigh Tippins and Dan Bock.
IAN SIZER REPLACED AS WELSH MANAGER - posted 01 August 2011
In the light of today's developments, Spokesman caught up with Dave Murphy who was more than happy to clarify his position. He revealed "Yes it's correct that I was offered the role as interim Wales manager just over a week ago and that this opportunity was confirmed between the BCF and myself during last week". Murphy has confirmed that he will act as team manager for the remaining Celtic Cup matches in 2011 involving Scotland v Wales and Wales v Ireland before the BCF confirms its new International team management appointments from January 2012. Although not wanting to get drawn into any discussion as to why Ian Sizer was no longer in the role, Murphy pointed out that Ian has, where possible, spoken to many of the riders during the last week as part of a handover of the role. Adding to the speculation surrounding Sizer's sudden departure, Murphy added "As for the reasons, it's not a matter for me to comment on. My focus revolves around answering the call to manage the Wales team to a successful conclusion of the Celtic Cup campaign" said Murphy. While currently the GB team manager, Murphy had previously managed Wales between 1993 and 2009 and returns to the role stating that, while he has utmost confidence in his own capability, he has learnt from the Ian Sizer approach in the way Wales' management and coaching structure has evolved during the past two years. "I did it on my own for 17 years and often the backroom support wasn't available but, in latter years, I probably should have searched out the support that was clearly available - Ian Sizer did this successfully and I will learn from his approach." The Celtic Cup match, against Scotland, will go ahead on Saturday Sept 10th in Edinburgh. Murphy is now contacting Welsh riders (via their clubs) to confirm their availability prior to making travel arrangements etc. After the well deserved victory by Wales in the recent Junior Home International, the England management team are more than keen to seek the opportunity of revenge in a full eight-a-side fixture later this season. Whilst Wales "supremo" Ian Sizer had indicated earlier this year that dates were unavailable, it would now appear that this may not now be the case. Bearing in mind the 2013 World Championships in Adelaide, it is without doubt the perfect opportunity for both nations to look at selections that would in turn be eligible. Hopes that a Great Britain v Poland international match will be held in this country after a break of four years have been thwarted. Despite best efforts of the Polish Federation, and their nominated UK-based team coordinator Lukasz Nowacki, it has been confirmed that the proposed GB v Poland test match will not be staged at Poole on 30th May. Dave Murphy and Lukasz Nowacki finally came to this conclusion after various avenues had been explored to look at possibilities to assemble a Polish team. As Murphy explained "The choice of Poole for the venue was suitable, as it followed the Ade Gale Laurels with many top riders already in Dorset for Poole's major individual event. However. once the venue was chosen and with potential dates restricted by both Polish and British race calendars, there was always going to be the challenge of identifying sufficient Polish riders to compete on May 30th, which is why it was disappointing that details of the fixture were published before "Such a problem may not have occurred two years ago when a large number of Polish riders were domiciled in the UK, but the trend appears to have reversed in this post credit-crunch era" added Murphy. Full details of this tour will become available once the Polish Federation are able to confirm the tracks, allowing the British officials to identify costs for flights and accommodation with a view to our riders competing in Poland v GB matches involving senior, junior and ladies teams. Some final words of optimism from Murphy focussed on options for 2012 when he concluded that "The current ICSF calendar has the European Championships earmarked for Britain in 2012 and this could also present an opportunity to stage GB v Poland test matches while Poland's top racers are in the UK for these championships."
"Just a little moan about the planned international test. I find it amusing The exciting news that the Cycle Speedway Commission has finally managed to broker a deal with the Polish Authorities to hold a Great Britain versus Poland test series appears to be "premature". Despite selecting a track for the home match of the three-leg tie, it is by no means certain that the event will go ahead. British Cycling had asked Poole to stage the home event on 30 May, however it appears that this was subject to the Polish Federation agreeing to the date - and that is still awaited. To compound matters, there is a full programme of Polish League racing on 29 May, meaning it will be impossible for Polish riders to make the trip to the UK in time. Leading light behind the initiative to hold an international series, Dave Murphy, explained the difficulties. "The the Polish Federation is trying to identify if they can get sufficient riders from Poland to race at Poole on 30 May but it is looking doubtful. Even Steve Harris says that he will struggle to get back in time! My personal opinion is that this date may prove impractical meaning that they will have to delay a Polish visit until 2012" said a disappointed Murphy. However, it is likely that at at least two Poland v Great Britain matches wil take place on Polish soil in August. "My proposed GB visit to Poland in August for midweek Poland v Great Britain test matches, has full approval of both the BCF and Polish Federation. I'm currently waiting for the Poles to confirm venues, so that we can make travel arrangements and commence formal selection process for squad members" explained Murphy. Poole have won the race to stage one of the top matches of the season. The Dorset club will host the prestigious Great Britain v Poland international match at Baiter Park on Monday 30 May. To use footballing parlance, team manager Gary Colby (pictured) was "over the moon" after Ireland recorded their first victory in the Celtic Cup and won the Murphy Shield following their dazzling display against Scotland at Harford Park at the weekend.
"I was pleased with the Dave Martin/Tom Doyle pairing. They had a good understanding and really gelled well while Adam Stephenson did what he does best, cleaning up everywhere he goes. "It was a pity about the weather. It would be great to have at least one match in the middle of the season. The next Celtic Cup match is not until 15 October at Newport. "I'd like to say a special thank-you to Gavin Kennedy and his team, not only for making the long journey to Norwich but for putting on such a good and sporting show in dreadful conditions. Thanks as well to Tuckswood Community centre who put on a buffet after the match and a sausage and chip supper later in the evening" added Colby. British Cycling is planning on staging a series of test matches against Poland this season. Although details are sketchy, the sport's governing body has sent an email to selected clubs this evening, inviting them to stage the domestic event on Monday 30th May. No reference is made to the remaining two matches which, it is believed, will be held in Poland. Clubs with International I graded facilities have until midday on Monday (4 April) to express their interest in staging the match. "It is appreciated that this is not long to put an application together" said cycle speedway Events Development Officer, Paul West "but with time moving on we need to move quickly on this. The BC CS Commission will be advised of those bids received at that time and a final decision made public, on, or before the morning of Thursday 7 April" added West.
"Naturally, I'm disappointed that we lost but I was delighted both with the attitude and effort shown by the guys in what were very difficult conditions. I think home track advantage played a big part in our defeat, particularly before the rain came and you saw the difference in the second half of the meeting when the track was much slippier.
"Last but not least, I'd like to say a huge thanks to Gary and Theresa Colby and all the other members of the Norwich club for the hospitality they provided over the weekend. I've no doubt that they'll stage a Hull cycle speedway club have had an enquiry from a contact in South California asking how he can start a local club and spread the cycle speedway gospel in the United States. "I have recently discovered cycle speedway and I want to be apart of this form of cycle racing. I have been reading as much as I can about the sport and have found out that the lack of speedway support in the USA has made my searches short. I did find on your website that there are two registered clubs in the USA but one has closed due to lack of support" wrote Tommy Cooper. "I live in Southern California and there is a lot of cyclist that live here but I am not sure there are any that are involved in speedway racing.I am writing in hopes that I might get some direction and help in finding more information and how a club is formed and registered. Basically I was looking for as much information on the sport as possible. Like I have stated above I am very interested in this style of cycle racing and would like to help grow interest in the USA." Hull's Adam Stephenson has already been in contact and has also directed Tommy to spokesman-online. We'll keep you advised of developments. Scotland team manager Gavin Kennedy has named a full-strength side for this Saturday's Celtic Cup opener against Ireland at Harford Park, Norwich. The side is Chris Shylock (Poole), Craig Newsome (Edinburgh), Jake Slight (Edinburgh), Josh Colby (Norwich), Mikey Hewitson (Edinburgh), Nathan Groves (Birmingham), Pete Young There is growing speculation that cycle speedway could return to Holland in the near future. Following a meeting of key players in the Netherlands earlier this week, hopes have been raised that the sport could return to its spiritual home, Hilversum. It appears that the local council is keen to see cycle speedway re-established in the town after a break of several years. Hilversum was the setting for the famous Minckelerstraat tarmac track, which hosted the inaugural World championship in 1958. In recent years, the centre of activity switched from Hilversum to Almere, some 40 minutes drive away. Constant vandalism and difficulties in attracting local youngsters forced the track to close. Now cycle speedway could return to use the facilities at the redundant Hilversum BMX club or to a new site identified by the Town Council. Established organisers Johan Koudijs, Donald Reiche and Fred van der Dolder met with former Cycle Speedway Commission chairman Dave Hunting to consider the options. We hope to bring you more news of this exciting development soon. Following the recent debate on our Viewpoint pages, the managers of Ireland, Scotland and Wales have issued a joint statement, expressing their concern that a lack of funding could seriously impact on future international events. The full statement reads As managers of the Celtic nations, we welcome Dave Murphy's support for the continued inclusion of Ireland, Scotland and Wales in World Cup racing. In his most recent contribution on the subject he makes a very important point, namely that we must be given the necessary support to field competitive teams. One of the United States top officials has been in touch with organisers of the recent indoor event in Seattle. David Cooke, driving force behind the Prescott Valley club, in Arizona has contacted organisers of Holeshot, featured recently on spokesman-online, and sent them videos, rulebooks and photographs of cycle speedway. Following the success of last season's inaugural Celtic Cup competition, dates have been finalised for the 2011 competition. The first match takes place on Saturday 26th March when Ireland take on Scotland at Norwich's Harford Park. Last season's winners Wales then make the long trip to Edinburgh to race Scotland on Saturday 10th The teams will be competing for the magnificent Alistair G Kennedy Celtic Cup, named in memory of Scotland manager Gavin Kennedy's late father who passed away last summer. Alistair was a regular visitor to Redbraes Park and his grandsons, Ewan and Louis, regularly turn out for Edinburgh Falcons junior side.
"When I took over the national side, things were at a bit of a low ebb with a number of senior riders having retired from international racing and Marcus Wadhams defection to England. Since then I've worked hard to identify talented young Anglo-Scots who have the potential to become established international riders and this year we managed to "I've also persuaded the likes of Pete Young, Chris Shylock and Richard Hunt that they've still got something to offer the national side and the mix of youth and experience is beginning to gel nicely on and off the track. However, I'm conscious that our rider base is probably the smallest of all the Home Nations and with that in mind I'd like to hear from any Anglo-Scots who are interested in riding for Scotland. They can contact me by email (kennedygavin@hotmail.com) or phone (0798 869 2248)." ICSF SECRETARY CALLS FOR GOVERNANCE CHANGES - posted 4 December 2010 ICSF secretary Dave Murphy is calling for a revamp on how international cycle speedway racing is managed and coordinated. The governing body for each member country (such as BCF, Polish Federation and South Australian Council) currently provide nominated representatives to meet and make decisions on World and European championships under the facilitation of the ICSF secretary. This format, although democratic, has resulted in a series of decisions being made and subsequently changed at subsequent meetings as representatives have been changed. Murphy added, "The current process creates inconsistency in how the sport is managed at international level and this lack of a consistent approach is causing confusion and frustration across the cycle speedway world". He has offered spokesman-online the following example: In 2009 the ICSF met in Adelaide and unanimously voted to continue the alternation of World Championships between Northern and Southern Hemispheres - (i.e. 2011 in the Northern Hemisphere at Edention, then 2013 the championships would return to Australia followed by Europe in 2015 and Australia again in 2017). However, 12 months later the ICSF (minus Australia) met in Leszno. Following a proposal from the Polish delegation, it was agreed that the alternation between hemispheres was no longer acceptable and both the Polish Federation and the BCF voted for a 'round-robin' allocation of World championships which meant that both 2015 and 2017 Championships would be in Europe, hosted by Britain and Poland. "A key factor from my viewpoint", explained Murphy, "is the inconsistent approach and differing views that arise from changing representatives at these meetings" - (i.e. Poland was represented by Janusz Danek at the 2009 meeting and Janusz Bak in 2010, while Bob Prince was a BCF delegate in 2009 and replaced by Ian Brown in 2010"). The ICSF secretary further explained that "Australia subsequently opposed the 2010 proposal, but with GB and Poland voting together and with USA abstaining the decision was carried. Now, with the emergence of New Zealand as a new cycle speedway nation wishing to join the international scene, there is some weight behind the Aussie argument to return to the alternation between North and South Hemispheres, which will no doubt be an agenda item at the next meeting". Murphy is further frustrated by the mixed reaction about the 2011 Championships in Edenton USA and commented "We now have a situation where some nations are not able to fully support the 2011 Championships, even though it was their representatives that proposed and agreed for Edenton to be the staging venue." It was at Poole in 2007 that the proposal (from the BCF representative) went unopposed and this resulted in Edenton being awarded the 2011 staging. This meeting was fully attended by representatives from all nations although the South Australia Council subsequently flagged their concerns about the suitability of Edenton. Murphy completed his feedback on how frustrating ICSF matters have become by pointing out that "It's ironic that Australia, the one country who opposed the allocation to Edenton, are currently the only nation that has fully confirmed their intention to send a 9-rider squad to the USA, although I'm sure that Pete Barnes is working hard to ensure good English participation also." Returning to the need for a revamp, Murphy revealed that some Federations have demonstrated a desire for international cycle speedway to come under the governance of the IUC (which governs International racing for other cycling disciplines). He concluded by saying "This may be the answer or, at very least, we need a separate and stable international committee with a mandate to govern international racing without different representatives, from one meeting to the next, and the inconsistent decision making process that can result - I'd be interested to know what others think." |
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One of the World's top riders has expressed his surprise that British Cycling's Cycle Speedway Commission have selected a track to host a Great Britain v Poland test match without consulting the Anglo-based Poles.
"I was immensely proud of my team" Colby told Spokesman. "The team spirit in the pits was superb and the riders rode their hearts out in difficult conditions. They all impressed me especially Ben Collins. He has been training hard during the winter, doing a lot of work with Phil Howells and Nick Myhill at Hethersett. That's the best I've ever seen him ride. He was brilliant" enthused Colby.
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