2007 REVIEW 

2007 – A YEAR OF HIGHS AND LOWS – posted 28 December 2007

Cycle speedway 2007 was a year of contrast – one of highs and lows, celebration and commiseration, jubilation and despair.  It was a year that started with great optimism and promised so much.  There was a lot to look forward to – the World championships in Poland, the Junior Worlds in Poole, the extended Premier League, the new Midland League and of course, the on-going success of the Youth and Junior League.

Sadly it all went horribly wrong on Easter Sunday when two Premier League teams fixed the result of a non-existent Combination match.  The shockwaves from that senseless act reverberated throughout the season, decimated the Premier League calendar and caused more damage to the sport than anyone could possibly imagine, culminating finally in a tense annual conference at Sandwell in November. 

Track Improvements

Early in the year Birmingham was saved from the threat of closure after the local Council stepped in at the eleventh hour to fund improvements to the 40-year-old decaying Perry Hall raceway.  It was the first of many such improvements up and down the country as more and more clubs invested in their facilities, often with the aid of Sports Council or local authority funding.  Most notable improvement was at Poole which underwent a metamorphous as the South-West regional centre returned to its former glory.

Disappointing Worlds

The World championships in Poland were a massive disappointment – unless, of course, you were Polish!  The World Cup final produced the biggest winning margin since 1996, Poland taking the title on 70 points, 12 ahead of England.  The Poles stranglehold tightened when only one British rider, national champion Lee Aris, qualified for the World individual final, finishing equal ninth.  England took some consolation by winning the Junior World Cup in Poole and the Junior Pairs but once again our youngsters were edged out of the individual medals, Tom Colling finishing fifth.

International Series Abandoned

England’s woes compounded when Wales caused the shock of the year, finishing seven points ahead of England in the Home International at East Newport.  However some damaged pride was restored when England won the ill-fated series against Poland.  The matches produced some of the most competitive racing anyone could ever wish to see but like so much this year, a gloriously competitive series ended in disarray and embarrassment when the Poles couldn’t raise a team for the third rubber in London – and the series was abandoned.

Sport Collapses in Holland

Sadly, in mid-season, came the news that cycle speedway had died in Holland.  Johan Koudijs and his band of gallant helpers had worked wonders in keeping the sport going for 16 years but in the end, the inevitable happened.  Devoid of domestic competition and the constant attention of vandals, the track was closed down and redeveloped.  The emergence of a primitive form of racing in the Ukraine, However welcome, will do little to compensate for the loss of Holland as a cycle speedway nation.

Club Expansion at Home

Like in the Ukraine, new clubs sprung up in the UK with Bretford (West Midlands) and Southmead (Avon) registering riders for the first time.  Several clubs, including Bury, Colchester, Leicester, Norwich, Poole, Stockport and Wednesfield, returned their best membership figures since the new Millennium but overall the number of cycle speedway members was down by 2.5% on the previous twelve months, 819 members registering in 2007 compared to 840 in the previous year.
 
Year of the Aces

On the track, there were some superb matches, not least in the depleted Premier League where Hospath’s five-year reign was finally ended by Wednesfield.  The West Midlanders also scooped the British Club Championship – despite not winning any of the seven age-category events and only managing a solitary second in the Open Fours.  Wednesfield also took the other “developmental” championship, Where quantity outweighs quality, the British Youth and Junior League to complete a remarkable and memorable season, even by their High standards.

The Aces’ British team championship hopes were dashed in the qualifying rounds at Oxford, leaving the way clear for Horspath to take the title for the first time in their 53 year history when they beat defending champions Leicester by 95 points to 81 in a one-side match at Norwich’s Eaton Park.

Individual Achievements

Wednesfield’s Lee Aris re-affirmed his status as cycle speedway’s hottest property when he successfully defended his national individual title at Ipswich to set himself up for a unique hat-trick of victories at Poole next summer.  Meanwhile Ian Lawrence, the 50 year-old plumber from Cornwall who races for Edinburgh in the Northern League, re-wrote the records by winning both the Veterans (Over 40s) and Super-Vets (over 50s) titles – a remarkable achievement when you consider how little he races and the fact that in the Vets he was beating riders ten years his junior!

And there was much to celebrate in the Women and age-category competitions.  Jessica Lamb took the women’s title for the first time and the respective age category champions - Jono Birks (under-19s), Carl Jarvis (under-16s), Matt Beharrell (under-13) and Matthew Haddock (under-10s) – offer much optimism for the future.  Rachel Edge won the national under-16 girls' title.

Off-track John Murphy proved a popular winner of the Wilkinson Sword Award while Sandwell stalwart Brian Buck gave cycle speedway a real boast by winning BBC Television Midlands “Unsung Hero” award.

Referees Improve

Referees attracted less adverse attention as the policies adopted by the Cycle Speedway Commission, particularly in support of referee training and guidance, started to bear fruit.  That’s not to say there were no controversial moments.  There always will be.  On more than one occasion we saw referees consult spectator’s video replays to make sure they made the right decision – a development for the future perhaps?

Sad Goodbyes

Sadly we said “goodbye” to several well known names including national individual medallists Derek Knight and Drew Jackson – both victims of that terrible disease, cancer.  We also lost former Orwell rider Steve Mann and from another era, the ebullient and hugely popular Barry Woodcock (ex Galley Pirates).  Former Beckenham riders Pete Jarman also died during the year.  Further afield, long standing Findon official Robert Ferguson suffered a heart attack and died while out shopping in Adelaide.

Conference Theatre

Off track, the season ended in drama and sheer theatre at the national cycle speedway conference at Sandwell.  The Bury/Coventry saga which had been bubbling up all year surfaced in dramatic fashion with the Northern regional representative accusing his fellow Commissioners of “blatantly ignoring” the rules and holding a “kangaroo court”.

Confusingly the heated debate which followed raised more questions than answers – why were the Commission’s regional officials not consulted, why was there no formal disciplinary hearing, why were the clubs and individuals concerned not allowed to answer the accusations – and so on. 

In the end the national Operations Manager, who has overall responsibility for cycle speedway discipline, had little alternative but to make a “full apology” to the Bury club for the way the whole disciplinary affair was handled.

Police Investigation

Sadly as the season drew to a close, Police and British Cycling officials were called in to investigate an alleged serious incident at a well-known cycle speedway club.  While the enquiry is still on-going it would be inappropriate to comment further other than to say for many this alleged “incident” was the low point of an already troubled season.

Thrilling Finale

Thankfully, despite its trials and tribulations, its ups, its downs, cycle speedway remains resolute and buoyant.  Happily, the season ended on a high note, reaching a thrilling climax at Salford in early December when the Northern Alliance staged two magnificent days of all-out indoor action.  It was a personal triumph for the remarkable Steve Harris, who took his sixth national indoor riders’ title – a truly oustanding achievement and a fitting end to an otherwise disappointing season.

Best Wishes for 2008

In any review of this nature it’s easy to miss something or someone out.  No doubt we have!  But hopefully as 2007 drifts away and 2008 dawns with all the anticipation of new beginning, we hope you have enjoyed this brief snapshot of cycle speedway in the year 2007.

To you and yours – a happy, healthy and enjoyable 2008 – from everyone at spokesman-online.