GREAT DAY IN PROSPECT IN WEST MIDLANDS - posted 21 September 2011

The British Youth and Junior League reaches a thrilling climax on Saturday when youngsters from all over the country will contest the final round in the West Midlands.

Kesgrave have all but sown up the under-12 division but will be keen to maintain their 100% record by winning all four national rounds.  It's a very different story in the over-12s category however, where Ipswich and Poole are involved in a battle royal, just one point separating both clubs.

While attention will be on overall team results, the real focus will on the individual grand prixs where some great racing is in prospect.

Kesgrave's Lewis Brinkhoff has all but won the under-8s class, winning all three national rounds to establish a comfortable 14 point cushion between himself and the chasing pack led by East Newport's Richard Marrision, Astley's Thomas Whitwam and Kesgrave's Oliver Wright.

Ipswich's Jack Chaplin also has an impressive lead in the under-10s' section.  He heads the field by 12 GP points having dominated the national rounds ahead of rostrum contenders Bretford's Dan Price, Sean Bennett (East Newport) and Adam Turnbull (Astley).

Much travelled Will Tidball is the lad to beat in the under-12s.  Having supported all seven rounds despite being based in Exeter, Tidball leads the classification by nine points.  Having said that, he'll know he can't afford to slip up as Kesgrave's Pierce Bacon, Sheffield's Adam Watson and East Park's Brandon Whetton are breathing down the young Devonian's neck.

The top three places in the under-14 class are relatively clear cut but the rostrum places are far from settled.  Ipswich's Daniel Knights leads the GP table despite twice being beaten by his nearest rival Aaron Smith in the national rounds.  Hellingly's Jesse Moore is expected to hold on to third spot but faces strong opposition from Matthew Hill (Ipswich) and Kyle Holland (Sheffield).

Ipswich's Charlie Rumbold, currently third in the GP standings,  could cause a surprise In Saturday's under-16 classification.





The under-16s is by far the most competitive division.  Just four GP points divide the leadiing three riders.  Newly crowned national junior champion Aaron Morgan (Poole) leads on 137 from arch rival Ashley Hill (Ipswich) on 136 and team-mate Charlie Rumbold on 133.  Rumbold (pictured) may not enjoy the high profile shared by Morgan and Hill but he has literally improved with every round.  Having won the last national, he could yet snatch victory from the big two.  It should be quite a show down on Saturday.

HAVING FOUR NATIONAL ROUNDS IS A NONSENSE - posted 1 August 2011

There is no doubt that the combined effects of the recession, Government cuts, the spiralling cost of fuel and fixture overload are causing problems for clubs as highlighted by the comments on Inside Lines and the examples quoted are only the tip of the iceberg.  As the years have rolled by, it seems that the number of competitions has grown in inverse proportion to the number of clubs.
 
No-one would argue with the need to cater for the growth areas amongst younger age categories and girls but we cannot just go on loading up the racing calendar in these recessionary times. The talented list of volunteers who will be shaping our future under the direction of Ian Brown and colleagues must urgently adopt the same "leaner, fitter" criteria that applies in the wider sporting and commercial world. Lets take two competitions which regularly attract column inches on Spokesman-Online and elsewhere and have current "issues" to address.
 
Firstly the BYJL.  It seems there is fairly unanimous agreement that splitting the competition is spoiling the enjoyment of riders and families by taking away the whole togetherness ethos. An acceptable method of streamlining must be carried out to re-instate the tried and tested single BYJL entity.
 
Serious consideration should be given to whether the U18 event is required in view of the relatively small entry numbers and availability of competitive alternatives such as British U19's and team events. These days many eligible participants find the need to work their Saturdays to be a higher priority and looking at the cost of car insurance for new drivers, who can blame them. This understandable absenteeism means that many of the regional qualifiers can be staged in one or two sets of races!  

Most of the U18 riders are well catered for and compete in regional and Premier League racing, unlike those in the younger age categories whose day is currently being spoilt by separation of clubmates, families and friends. There are exceptions but the fact remains that the numbers in the younger BYJL categories are much healthier.
 
A one-off BYJL finals day should be seriously looked into as a way of keeping  riders and families together and significantly reducing the cost of travel and time commitment. Expecting  young competitors to travel in excess of 1000 miles to race four national rounds is a nonsense. If staged over a weekend, the team finals could perhaps be staged on day one and the individual GP finals, perhaps limited to 16 in each group, separately on day two. 

If the principle is agreed, the details can be ironed out. Those who are old enough to remember the old "Hungerford weekends" will testify as to how enjoyable this two day format used to be with plenty of time to socialise as well as compete! If necessary, the "finals weekend" could be preceded by a fifth regional qualifying round thus reducing the national BYJL race-day requirement from eight Saturdays to four or five plus a weekend.
 
Moving on to the Premier League.  Setting aside 14 exclusive race dates is too big a price to pay by those not involved and threatens the viability of non-PL clubs. As things stand within the league this season, the racing has not been consistently "premier". There is currently too big a  gulf between the top and bottom due to the fact that insufficient emphasis has been placed on the competitiveness of new clubs.
 
Matches between the 2011 newcomers are excellent and clubs of similar racing ability would comprise an ideal second tier and allow us to save four valuable Sunday race dates throughout the season by adopting a  two division (6+6) set-up with a significant travel cost reduction. In addition to the three recently announced new applicants, there are a number of other clubs around the country not currently racing in the Premier League which have either competed previously or have the potential to do so.
 
Two divisions may allow more riders to remain with their home town club rather than transfer or "secondary" to another.  A PL2 would also significantly increase the number of competitors racing on those matchdays. Importantly it would also allow the sport to reduce the size of the giant step - or is it a leap of faith - which new applicants currently have to take.

Opposition to a second tier from established PL clubs would suggest a continued desire to cream off talent from "satellite" clubs as their priority rather than the bigger picture.

These and other related issues have regularly commanded attention from Spokesman-Online contributors and it is high time these voices were heard. Whether British Cycling would welcome a reduction in income from a scaled down competition programme is debatable, but hard-pushed riders and clubs undoubtedly would at this time.

YOUTH AND JUNIOR WEEKEND WOULD BE A HUGE SUCCESS - posted 26 July 2011

The decision to split the national rounds of the hugely successful Youth & Junior League into two separate venues was a hot topic of conversation during the winter.  Some people said the growth in junior racing could no longer be accommodated at one venue.  Others, particularly families, said it would spilt up clubs and supporters and be a logistical nightmare. 

With 177 riders contesting the first national round, there is no sign that numbers have been affected by the changes.  So with the first national round done and dusted, what's the feeling now?  Spokesman asked two of the most respected officials in the game who have first hand experience of the BY&JL, Roger Ellis and Martin Gamble, for their opinions. Here's what they had to say.

Youth & Junior National Weekend Could Work

First Roger Ellis.

"When the British Youth & Junior League came on the scene, it was the best thing to happen at the lower end of our sport - very young riders taking part from a very early age, going through all age groups under 8s,10s,12s, 14s,16s,18s plus girls.

Over the years this has been a victim of its own success but yes we do need to look at it and trim it down.  In my view we need to take away the under-18s groups because most of these riders have got league racing in their own areas and at national level.  After all it's all about kids upto the age of 16 that's the flagship.

Take the first round of the nationals at Swindon and Horspath.  The two clubs done themselves proud on the day.  Breaking the age groups up maybe the answer - or is it?  I drove the Wednesfield mini bus to Swindon and Horspath that day, taking the riders to two tracks just over an hour a part from one another, stopping there till the Wednesfield riders had finished racing, then having to go back and pick up riders from Swindon.

From leaving Wednesfield 8.30am that morning and still not getting back to Ashmore Park until 10.30pm that night, then having to take the mini bus back as well, not getting back myself till 11.30pm.

Ok some clubs are lucky to have their parents take riders to these events.  This is not the case for some clubs around the country.  I do think we should just have one national round on a day in the summer months.  Maybe start at 11.30am or maybe a British Youth & Junior national weekend over two days with a hotel or camping.  It could work, then giving three spare Saturdays in the calender.  Just my thoughts.

Whatever we decide over the coming years, hopefully it will be for the good of this competition and in the best interest for our great sport of cycle speedway.

Six-Rider Races Could Ease Time Pressures

Moving on to Martin Gamble, he told Spokesman

"We mustn't forget that we are discussing the overwhelming success of the Wosskow Brown BY&JL.
 
The practicalities of sending riders to two venues simultaneously requires up to double the transport. Often the tracks are an hour or more apart - on a Saturday.  It can even take up to an hour to get from one side of Sheffield [Cookson Park] to the other [The Graves]. If tracks were on opposite ends of the same street, that might be a better option.  Having said that, there are probably hundreds of ways to develop the BY&JL.
 
Fortunately, we have a bit of a success on our hands and, as usual, we should be very diligent that we do not move away from the overriding principles that saw the BY&JL get established.
 
Whatever happens, the competition must remain a basic step ladder for clubs and riders alike who can aim their development and recruitment of younger riders. It's great to see clubs like Kesgrave embracing the BY&JL as their main priority for inter-city competition but, by the same token, the format allows the proverbial "club of one member" to compete on an equal basis.  Anything that does otherwise should not be considered.
 
Having said that, the competition days are becoming very long and tiring, especially on National Round days! We don't want to preclude anyone from taking part.
 
Looking at ways at reducing this? I don't have an answer but a few off the wall suggestions to knock about .....
 
Maybe reduce the number of teams in the National Rounds (restricting to, say, the regional winners only or the regional winners plus the winners of a repecharge for all the regional runners-up)? This would need an additional day on the calendar for the extra round or maybe run the repercharge as the first of the national rounds with the finals over three rounds only?

But this would keep more involved for longer and it would reduce the number of races on the National rounds by around twenty or thirty.
 
Or lose the under-18s - set up a Premier Under-18 League, aimed at 14-18 year olds, to replace the PL Combination (same rules on second claim riders, etc.) instead? This would give the under-18s their own competition.  The PU18L need not be strict 8-a-side, it could be run on a different format.
 
Or run all races over three laps? (this will reduce the time of each race cycle by around 10-15% which will typically make an hour's difference on the overall length of the day)
 
Or - as the Australians do - have six riders in a race?.  This will reduce the number of races by a third so, a 12-rider formula, for instance, will only need eight races instead of twelve as happens now. Time-wise, this will free up two or three hours on a competition day. Some tracks may not be wide enough on the start line to run off the "red grids" without some form of handicapping system, especially for older riders, or it may not be appropriate to run, say, 14s/16s and over with six riders but it's worth discussing.
 
Or maybe a temporary track, where possible, alongside or nearby the standard track and run matches concurrently?
 
Whatever we do, we need something really innovative to continue accepting the growth and once again the challenge is to provide these solutions that might not be so obvious.  Other than that, there can't be many occasions in sport where folk are grumbling because their competition to far too successful.

Editor's Note - Was splitting the National rounds a success?  Did it work?  - Let us know your views and we'll publish it on our popular Viewpoint page.

FIRST NATIONALS EAGERLY AWAITED - posted 16 July 2011

The Youth and Junior Leagues step up a gear today when the region's top team and racers come together in the first of four national rounds hosted in the South-West by the Horspath and Swindon clubs.

The under-8s wil be eagerly awaited, not least because it brings together three unbeaten riders, so something simply has to give.  All eyes will be on Dylan Hexley (Birmingham), Richard Morrison (East Newport) and Thomas Whitwam (Astley & Tyldesley) as they battle it out.

One rider hoping to retain his unbeaten run will be Bretford's find Dan Price but he faces stiff opposition in the under-10s class from Sean Bennett (East Newport), Jack Chaplin (Ipswich) and Adam Turnbull (Astley).

The under-12 division is undoubtedly the most competitive.  No one rider has dominated this category, so there's everything to play for.  At the moment Kesgrave's Pierce Bacon leads the group on 95 GP points out of a possible 100, closely followed by Will Tidball (Exeter) Brandon Whetton (East Park), James Elston (Bury) and Adam Watson (Sheffield).

The under-14 section has also been well contested at regional level.  Ipswich's Daniel Knights leads the GP table on 95 points but only eleven points, virtually nothing in GP terms, separates the top six riders.  Matt Haddock (Wednesfield), Jesse Moore (Hellingly), Kyle Holland (Sheffield), Lee Kemp (Bretford) and Richard Hudson (Sheffield) are the principal contenders.

Two riders, Asley Hill (Ipswich) and Jack Lush (Stockport) have dominated the under-16s and it will be interesting to see who comes out tops at Swindon this afternoon.  Mind you, neither rider can afford to slip up as Aaron Morgan (Poole), Daniel Garner (East Park), Jack Harold (Newport) and Matthew Lush (Stockport) will all be keen to close the gap on the leading two.

The under-18s is developing into a real ding-dong event with Jordan Stant (Ipswich), Scott Millward (Sandwell), Liam Webster (Sheffield), Joe Kemp (Leicester), Matt Smith (Sandwell) all in with a good chance of winning the round.

One of the highlights will be in the girls' division where Leicester's unbeaten Lauren Davies goes head-to-head with Sheffield rival Sandra Tamborska.  Livvy Horsley (Horspath), Laura Watson (Sheffield), Reanna Brindley (Wednesfield), Tiffany Collins (Hethersett), Lauren Hookway (Exeter) and Vicky Brown (Sheffield) are all expected to feature.

Six clubs will contest both the under-12 and over-12s league.  With regional points not counting at national level there is everything to play for and much will depend on how many riders each club can get to the event.

East Newport, Ipswich, Kesgrave, Poole, Sheffield and Wednesfield contest the under-12's league while Ipswich, Newport, Poole, Sheffield, Stockport and Wednesfield do battle in the over-12s class.

Poole and Kesgrave are anticipated to set the pace in the under-12s and Poole, Sheffield and Ipswich are the expected front-runners in the over-12 division.

One development which will be keenly watched is the decison to split the venues.  Racing gets underway at 12noon at Swindon where the over-12s are in action and then at 1pm at Horspath, the under-12s take to the track.

Editor's Note - Were you at either venue today?  How did the new system work?  Was it a success?  Let us know you views, however brief.  Drop us a line at the usual email address editor@spokesman-online.co.uk

DOUBLE 'A' FOR SMITH FAMILY - posted 19 June 2011

Aaron and Callum Smith were happy to share in a Fathers Day celebration with their Dad Kevin after they each won their A finals in round four of the Wosskow Brown BYJL at Exeter. Callum became the first rider this season to lower the colours of under-10 GP leader Sean Bennett while Aaron managed a similar feat against Jesse Moore in the under-14s. 

The two brothers have made significant progress since they started riding exactly 12 months ago while Poole Speedway legend Kevin has taken on the role of track curator at Harbourside this season and his expertise has been invaluable at the circuit.

RED-FACED OFFICIALS CONFIRM NEW LEAGUE SET-UP - posted 13 May 2011

Cycle Speedway Commissioners have been left red-faced after agreeing that the British Youth and Junior League should be run as two separate competitions - and they knew all about it after all!

At their meeting at the Eaton Hotel in Birmingham on 23 April 2011, Commissioners were seemingly unaware that the competition had been spilt into two sections with separate leagues for the under-12 and over-12s - despite details being officially published over six months previously.

Minutes of the 23rd April Commission meeting record that "Despite information being circulated to the contrary, this competition (viz BY&JL) is not split into two (under-12 and over-12) competitions."

However British Cycling circular number 16 published last October clearly states that the league would be split into two independent competitions, the Under 12’s (covering U8s, U10s & U12s) and  Over 12’s (covering U14s, U16s, U18s and 12-17 Girls).

The matter was brought to a head yesterday fiollowing an exchange of emails between competition organsier Mel Perkins and British Cycling headquarters.

COMMISSION DETERMINED BY&JL WILL REMAIN ONE COMPETITION - posted 11 May 2011

Although no formal decision has been made, it is understood that the Commission is determined that the hugely successful British Youth and Junior League will remain one competition and will not split into two separate divisions, the under-12s and over-12s.

It appears the first Commissioners were aware of the split was when the results appeared on Spokesman-Online.  While some Commissioners would like to limit the number of riders competing in the national rounds, they don't want to see fundamental changes to the competition.

An announcement is expected from British Cycling headquarters soon.

CONFUSION OVER POPULAR COMPETITION - posted 1 May 2011

Cycle speedway's most popular competition has been thrown into confusion after disagreement at the way it is run.

Organisers of the hugely successful British Youth & Junior League contend that the the competition has been split into two divisions but British Cycling argue that it remains one competition.

As a result of the huge number of riders competing in the four regional rounds, league administrator Mel Perkins proposed to split the competition into two separate leagues - the Junior (U8, U10 and U12) and Youth/Girls (U14, U16, U18 and Girls) but  now that has been thrown into doubt following last week's Commission meeting in Birmingham confirming that it was never the intention to split the competition.

A subsequent statement issued by British Cycling said

"British Youth and Junior League There seems to be a little confusion. Although the Under 12’s and Over 12’s Finals round venues have had to be split, purely for logistical reasons, there was never any intention to change the league structure which will remain as was for 2010."

The whole affair became even more clouded when British Cycling issued a supplementary statement to clubs saying:

"An update on the BYJL  tables is that we are working with Mel Perkins MBE on the split shown between the Under and Over 12’s competitions. This should however not affect the actual promotion of the Regional BJYL events this weekend."

Meanwhile, organisers, riders and parents attending yesterday's opening regional qualifying rounds were totally bemused by the mix-up.

"The kids deserve better than this" said one concerned parent.

IMPORTANT VENUE CHANGE - posted 29 March 2011

Readers are asked to note an important change of venue for a key British Youth and Junior League match.