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FINALS WEEKEND 2011 Exhausted, exhilarated, excited - the principal organiser of Finals Weekend has experienced all these emotions in recent days. On Monday, by his own admission, he looked tense before the curtain went up on one of the best cycle speedway meetings in years. Now it's all over, having breathed a huge sigh of relief, today Ian Grange was back on the day job, as Coaching Development Manager for Active Norfolk. Relieved and still on a high, Ian found time to speak to Spokesman-Online and to say some heart-felt thank yous, especially to Richard Shortis, managing director of Wilco and Spokesman-Online readers! Here's what he had to say earlier today. FOREVER GRATEFUL TO WILCO - posted 1 September 2011 "Everyone connected with both the Norwich and Hethersett clubs are "The 2011 finals has shown what can be done when you work together, two clubs united for this weekend and the result was all centred around the riders and supporters who travelled to Norfolk. "I personally have some big thank you's, to everyone at Hethersett who "Over at Hethersett on Sunday, Ivan Pike and Tony Stant did a "I'm taken back by the generosity of the cycle speedway public who all chipped in to sponsor the heats and fastest times for the under-16 and Open finals. On behalf of the receiving riders a massive thank you to all those people. Archie Wilkinson and Ian Brown made the Sky TV dream come true and I'm sure with the quality footage that Rob and Simon got on Monday, the end product will be massive for our sport in terms of promoting it and marketing it for future events and sponsorship.
"The 2011 finals has left a positive legacy for cycle speedway and the The all-important draws for tomorrow's two national individual championships were made earlier this evening as follows: Wilcon British Individual Championship Wilcon British Under-16 Individual Championship There was only one real surprise in today's national championship rounds in Norfolk and that came early in the day! British under-19 champion Mark Carmichael had a torrid day, crashing out of the senior preliminary qualifying rounds at Hethersett. Meanwhile at Harford Park, Poole's Tom Reed put himself under enormous pressure after being excluded in his opening race as the 'cause of a stoppage'. Undeterred, he managed to salvage 14 points from his remaining outings to go through to tomorrow's final as the last qualifier. Any hopes that Norwich would have a home rider in tomorrow's final were dashed when both dan Chambers and Lee Grange just failed to make the cut. Still there was some consolation for the host county as Norfolk-based Leicester star and twice national champion Phil Howells cruised into the final with ease. The under-16 semi at Hethersett was dominated by three riders, Newport's Jack Harrold, who went through the card unbeaten, finishing ahead of Poole duo Arron Morgan and Matt Mildon. see Results Page for full scorers RIDER INJURIES DEPLETE PROGRAMME - posted 28 August 2011 The list of abstentees for today's national qualifying rounds continue to grow. Hot on the heels of Jason Ashford and Mark Winwood's injury woes, comes news that several other riders have called off at the last minute because of injury. Zac Parsons, Richard Williamson and Pete Young have all joined the growing list of casualties. Readers are reminded that the all important draw for the open and under-16s final will be broadcast live on the internet at 9 pm this evening. The link is http://www.cyclespeedway.org.uk/bfw FINALS NIGHT SOCIAL - posted 26 August 2011 Riders, officials, supporters, families and friends are reminded that the pre-finals social evening takes place at Harford Community Centre on Sunday evening. It will be an opportunity to chat and share a beer (or two!) with old friends and acquaintances. In keeping with the theme of the weekend and the importance placed on the social scene, there'll be no deafening disco or karaoke. Instead highlight of the evening will be the all-important draw for Monday's grand finals which, once again, will be broadcast live on the internet from 8pm onwards. Just click on http://www.cyclespeedway.org.uk/bfw RADIO DISAPPOINTMENT - posted 26 August 2011 Organisers of this year's finals weekend in Norwich were left disappointed this evening when Radio Norfolk didn't broadcast a pre-recorded interview with Ian Grange as he previewed this weekend's racing. "I am really disappointed as I was aware several riders were listening on the internet" said Ian. "Unfortunately tomorrow's big football match, Chelsea v Norwich and the end of the cricket season took up too much time, so the cycle speedway slot has to be jettisoned." Earlier today we launched our "Fiver-for-the-Kids campaign, inviting readers to sponsor one of the 20 races in Monday's under-16 final. Already 13 of the 20 races have attracted backers. "Amazing response from the cycle speedway world!" said organiser Ian Grange. "I'd love to get all 20 races sponsored" he told Spokesman-online earlier this evening. If you would like to support our youngsters and would be willing to put a fiver in the kitty, please email Ian on ian.grange-2006@tiscali.co.uk. We will be aknowledging all donations on Spokesman-Online in the near future. PAGE THREE CYCLE SPEEDWAY - posted 26 August 2011 Finals weekend received an unexpected boost when championship sponsors Wilco placed an impressive advert in tonight's Eastern Evening News which is expected to be seen by close on 19,000 readers. The prominent page three advert sets out the venue and start times for Monday's grand finals and makes strong play at admission is FREE.
Weekend social organiser Theresa Colby has issued an open invitation to cycle speedway followers to visit Harford Cimmunity Centre any evening during the Finals Weekend. "Please could you let readers know that the community centre at Harford is having a weekend of entertainment and anyone from cycle speedway will be warmly welcomed. Friday night is a Charity Disco in aid of Make a Wish and Saturday night there will be live music. It's also the location of the draw on Sunday. "Harford Community Centre is only a few minutes walk from the Holiday Inn hotel. Just walk up Ipswich Road take the first right into Locksley Road and then the first left into Peterkin Road. The club can be found at the top of Peterkin Road just into the park past the flats. The drinks are very reasonably priced!" said Theresa. RADIO NORFOLK PREVIEW - posted 25 August 2011 Principal organiser Ian Grange will be interviewed on Radio Norfolk's prime sport's slot tomorrow (Friday) evening ahead of the national championship weekend. You can hear it live between six and seven o'clock on 95.1FM or 95.6FM or listen to it via the Internet at In the meantime Heart 102.4 have been regularly counting down to finals day at Eaton Park in their regular daily broadcasts. Reigning British over-40s champion, Jason Ashford, has been ruled out of this weekend's national championships. The Suffolk-based Leicester star has been nursing a back injury which failed to respond to treatment in time for Sunday's qualifying round. JUNIORS HAVE POUND-A-SECOND RACE TOO - posted 25 August 2011 Riders in Monday's under-16 final will have the chance to win a pound-a-second race! Following Spokesman's lead and encouraged by David Mould's suggestion that readers may like to make a contribution to the prize-list, former Hawbush rider Dave Palfreman has offered to match the open timing prize and put up a trophy for most exciting under-16 rider. Organiser Ian Granage was delighted with the offer. "I'm really grateful for Dave's kind offer in support of the under-16s. It's really appreciated" Grange said. In the meantime, Ladies final referee, Mick Knowles has kindly offered to waive his £25 match fee and donate it to the Women's prize fund. IMPORTANT NOTICE - posted 24 August 2011 The under-16 pre-qualifying round, scheduled to take place at Harford Park on Sunday 28th August 12.00noon has been cancelled following the withdrawal of two riders. As a consequence there will now be one 16-rider semi-final. The revised schedule for Harford Park is 1.30pm senior pre-qualifier, 3.00pm under 16 semi and 4.30pm senior semi. Visitors staying at the official heaquarters hotel, the Holiday Inn on Ipswich Road, will be delighted to learn that the pre-Finals party night at nearby Harford Community Centre is literally a stroll away. The centre, on Peterkin Road, is just 0.42 of a mile away and will take approximatley eight minutes to walk. On the subject of walking, there'll be plenty of car parking space available on Finals Day. Organisers have made arrangements for over-flow parking to be made available at Colman Junior School, which is literally opposite the main gates of Eaton Park on South Park Avenue, close to the Farmhouse pub. From there it's a pleasant walk through Eaton Park to the cycle speedway track. Read more about Norwich's biggest historic park by clicking on http://www.friendsofeatonpark.co.uk/ Bring your picnic chairs, blankets and vuvuzelas - that's the message from Finals Weekend organisers. With space limitations at Eaton Park preventing setting up spectator grandstands, the club will use the natural viewing banking along the back straight to accommodate what is expected to be a bumper crowd. No standing will be permitted against the back straight fence to allow spectators an uninterupted view, so supporters can make themselves comfortable by bringing their own chairs and picnic blankets.
It should be quite an atmosphere! The fastest rider around Eaton Park on Monday afternoon will pick up a cash prize, compliments of Spokesman-Online. Cycle speedway's favourite website will donate a 'pound-a-second' prize to the quickest rider (shared in the event of a tie). A pleasing new feature on finals day will be a designated marquee where riders from yesteryear can meet and chat about the good old days. The Veteran Cycle Speedway Riders Association (VCSRA) have provided the social gathering for the Vets as well as an opportunity to sign on new members. Cycle speedway's principal sponsors, Archie Wilkinson and Wosskow Brown have stepped in at the eleventh hour to save Sky Sports coverage of this year's British final. There were doubts about the coverage after the Finals Weekend organising committee struggled to put together a financial package to meet the filming and production for the programme to be shown on Sky Sports in October. Organisers had hoped that British Cycling would be able to make a £250 contribution towards the cost but the sport's governing body said there were unable to help. With time running out, it looked as if principal organiser Ian Grange would have to meet the cost from his own pocket but aware of Grange's plight, Archie and Karl Wilkinson and Ian Brown of Wosskow Brown Solicitors quickly stepped in to under-write the television production costs. A relieved Grange was delighted with today's news. "I can't thank Archie, Karl and Ian enough" he told Spokesman. "I, and the sport, owe them a huge debt of gratitude" said a delighted Grange.
"Wosskow Brown are going to fund half of the £500 production costs in exchange for banner space on Bank Holiday Monday. I just need to find the remaining 50%. This project has to happen as it's a fantastic opportunity for our sport. If I am unable to raise the money I will pay for it out of my own pocket" explained Grange. "I really want to stress that although this news is a blow, I want people to remain positive. The fact that our sport will be shown on Sky Sports is what counts and I can confirm this project will 100% be happening. I know that the news regarding British Cycling not providing any funding may frustrate some people and I completely understand why. I'm just as frustrated as anyone. That said, I want people to think of the positives. We have three teams representing British Cycle Speedway coming home from Poland. They have done a superb job and they should be getting the limelight. British Cycling should not be stealing the headlines. "All the preparations are just about completed for finals weekend. There are a couple of minor jobs to sort this week and we are ready. The live draw went down really well although there was a very small problem with the live feed. I know from speaking to the riders that they loved it. The people behind the scenes of the draw made it work, Ian and Kevin Wells in particular for their technical expertise and Paul West was a massive help at British Cycling in supporting the idea, so to all those people thank you. "Work is now being completed in preparing the tracks that will host the weekend's racing. Once the test series are completed in Poland it's all eyes on Norfolk ahead of this years championships and both the Hethersett and Norwich clubs can't wait to get the show on the road. In celebration of 60 Years of National Finals, the hosts of this year's championship are inviting as many former champions as possible to attend Finals Day in Norwich on Monday 29 August. Principal organiser Ian Grange has been delighted with the response and has confirmed that some of the biggest names in the sport's history have already accepted their invitation. These include Dave Hemsley, John Watchman, Kevin Greenhalgh, Jim Varnish, Roger Ellis - with more being added to the list every day.
The Australian national cycling media outlet, Cycle Sport News, will be covering the 2011 British senior individual and under-16 championships in Norwich on the 29th August. The Cycle Sport News on-line journal began as a “backyard enterprise” in 2004. It was the brainchild of a former Gold Coast U19 champion cyclist, Jamie Ford, who wanted to set up a national bicycle news site in Australia that encompassed all cycling disciplines. This objective not only included road and track cycling, but also BMX, mountain biking, handcycling, human-powered vehicles and of course, cycle speedway. Before 2004 there was no national coverage of cycle speedway in Australia, and regrettably, there has been no national coverage since this time, apart from the support received from Cycle Sport News. To give support to the grass roots of cycling has always been the main goal of everyone working at Cycle Sport News (or CSN as they prefer to be called). Cycle Sport News attracts a readership of over 70,000 each year, and the team proudly claims to be the world’s largest online publisher of Australian cycling news and results. The CSN coverage of the World Championships in Adelaide in 2009 attracted thousands of hits, and later this month, Editor, Peter Ford, will be hitting the shores of “Old Blighty” and heading off Norwich to get a first hand taste of “true cycle speedway” in the heartland where it all began, way back in the 1940s. “To get an opportunity to be present at a British Championship is almost a dream come true.” Peter told Spokesman-Online. “I really enjoyed watching the spirited Brits battle it out with the Aussies in Adelaide, and I think I am going to see this same passion when the guys line up in Norwich. This promises to be a very dramatic day of racing, and I hope I can capture all the excitement and action that makes cycle speedway such an enjoyable spectator sport.” “After losing in Australia, I don’t know if the British riders will appreciate an Aussie journalist sniffing around the traps, but perhaps I might be able to endear myself by putting together some colourful interviews and reports on the 29th.” “If I can lay my hands on a cold beer and a decent pie and sauce, it should be a pretty good coverage.” The Finals Weekend magazine, celebrating 60 years of the British individual championship, goes on sale at the weekend. The 40 page full colour publication, produced by The SoWell Group for the Norfolk association, will be available at Leicester on Saturday and at Sheffield on Sunday. It is expected the magazine will be widely available at other selected tracks in the run-up to Finals Weekend in Norwich at the end of August. For the first time the draw for the Finals Weekend championships was broadcast live over the internet this evening.
At its height 81 viewers watched the live broadcast. Technical adviser Ian Wells of The SoWell Group was happy with event but would have liked to have seen a few more viewers. The draw itself has resulted in two reasonably balanced qualifying rounds. Defending champion Mark Boaler gets his defence underway at Hethersett - in the company of Horspath team mates Steve Harris and Mark Carmichael. Multiple champion Lee Aris is drawn at Harford Park where he faces tough opposition from the likes of messrs Angell, Beharrell, Howells, Mould, Reed and Stephenson. The full draws can be viewed on http://www.cyclespeedway.org.uk/bfw Organisers of this year's Finals weekend in Norfolk are delighted with the number of entries. British Cycling has confirmed today that 51 riders will contest the open, there are 36 youngsters in the under-16s, 30 in the under-10s and 23 ladies competing. The draw will be broadcast live on the internet on Tuesday. Organisers of this year's Finals Weekend have announced that they plan to broadcast all the competition draws live on the internet. The news was confirmed after successful trials last night. Following hot on the heels of plans to publish a souvenir magazine instead of the traditional match-day programme, this is another exciting initiative by the organisers who also plan to broadcast the final draw direct from the eve-of-finals party at Harford Commiunity Centre. The live draw takes place on Tuesday 2 August at 9pm and can be viewed on www.livestream.com/cyclespeedway. PROMOTERS THRILLED WITH EARLY ENTRIES - posted 25 July 2011 The 2011 national finals in Norwich are gearing up to be one of the best in years. The close proximity of the tracks, quality accommodation at a very reasonable price, a great pre-finals party with drinks at social club prices, Sky Sports television coverage and the prospect of some amazing racing. It's certainly shaping up to be a great three days. Although entries don't close until 1 August, the promoters have had a sneak preview and are thrilled with the take-up. "Entries are looking great" said Ian Grange "I've just seen an up-to-date list and I'm really pleased. Seniors are very, very good!" said Ian excitedly. "I appeal to all riders to get their entries in for this year's championships. It's the most eagerly awaited yet and the hype is building! I think after seeing the entry numbers today, the excitement and nerves are kicking in a bit!" said Ian nervously. Riders in the senior, under-16, under-10 and Women's categories are reminded that entries close on 29 July. If you haven't got your entry you'd better hurry as no late entries will be accepted. The official draws will be made on Tuesday 2 August.
The magazine, the brainchild of Ian Wells of The SoWellGroup who specialise in website and graphic origination, contains 40 full colour pages, supplemented by accompanying free scorecharts. Commemorating 60 years of national finals, the special souvenir edition goes on sale early next month and will be available from selected outlets. The mag is modestly priced at £3. Staying at the campsite at Martineau Lane, Norwich for the finals weekend could be more expensive than originally thought. Social organiser Theresa Colby told Spokesman "The camp site at Martineau Lane is working out at £7.10 per pitch then £9.05 per person. I have had a quick look online and another site relatively nearby is at Marlingford. I have not called them but their prices are £5.50 plus £2.00 per person. This is their link http://www.swansharbour.co.uk/home.html." PROMO VIDEO LAUNCHED - posted 8 July 2011
As reported previously on Spokesman-Online, this year's British Finals weekend is to be sponsored by Wilco, part of the Shortis Group, the largest, family-owned, independent motor store group in the country with sales of over £38m. The group is managed by father and son team, Kevin and Richard Shortis. The formal announcement was made earlier today when local riders from the promoting Norwich and Hethersett clubs met with Wilco's Managing Director Richard Shortis to launch the sponsorship.
The British Finals are the major event in the Cycle Speedway calendar. The 2011 British Final, which is expected to attract well over a thousand people crammed into Eaton Park, is the only British Final, of any sport, to be held in Norwich this year. The Norwich-based car spares, accessories and bicycle retailer, Wilco, has stepped in to sponsor the showpiece event, which is being promoted as a community Bank Holiday leisure attraction and which will carry free admission to all. The family owned business of Wilco with its head office in Norwich, which includes `Fast Fit Tyres & Exhausts`, are delighted to be involved in a terrific grass roots sports event which will bring hundreds of competitors, officials and riders, from all over the UK, and in excess of 1,000 fans, into the city over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Richard Shortis, managing director of Wilco, said “As a major seller of bicycles, we are delighted to support the 2011 British Cycle Speedway finals, especially in the celebrations in marking the 60th anniversary of the finals this year. Norwich Stars do tremendous work in providing exciting and energetic activity to large numbers of young people weekly and we wish them every success.” Ian Grange, secretary of Norwich Stars Cycle Speedway club, commented “We are pleased to welcome such a major name like Wilco on board as the title sponsors of the 2011 British Finals. It promises to be a wonderful, free to enter, event for not only large numbers of outside visitors but scores of local families as well”. First held in 1951, the British Final is the blue riband event of the sport. The last Norwich-based rider to be crowned British champion was the explosive starting Phil Howells in 2003, repeating an earlier triumph in 2000, both in the colours of Hethersett Hawks. The reigning British champion is the robust Mark Boaler from the Oxfordshire village club Horspath Hammers. Boaler is likely to be a leading contender again this year, alongside Lee Aris of Wednesfield Aces of Wolverhampton and Birmingham star Marcus Wadhams. The British Final at Eaton Park on Bank Holiday Monday 29th August will be a culmination of three days of intense competition. Qualifying rounds and other age category finals will be staged on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th August at nearby Hethersett and Harford Park tracks. Formed in 2003, Norwich Cycle Speedway club have been one of the leading lights in the sport since its inception. The club have been members of the elite Premier League and have provided countless age category British finalists over many years. For further details of the full racing schedule of the 2011 British Finals, please go: http://www.facebook.com/BritishFinalsWeekend or ring the British Finals information line on 07814 752407 (normal mobile rates apply). Work on erecting Hethersett's new safety fence has been completed well ahead of schedule. One of the country's biggest motorist discount stores is to sponsor the British Finals weekend.
"We are delighted to have Wilco on board" said Norwich club secretary ian Grange who was instrumental in negotiating the sponsorship. "Not only wil the company be meeting the cost of the trophies and awards but will assist in promoting and advertising the event as well as having a product display stand at Eaton Park on Finals Day. Other exciting initiatives are also being planned by the company" said Grange. A formal announcement, launcing the sponsorship, is expected later this month. Click on http://www.wilcodirect.co.uk/ for more news of the company and its products.
Representatives at last night's British Finals Weekend planning meeting in Norwich heard that negotiations with a major sponsor are "well advanced". Talks earlier this week with a well-known East Anglian company were described as "detailed and productive" and that an announcement is expected soon. 18 representatives from the Norfolk clubs attended the meeting, the third in a series of events aimed at ensuring the championships, to be held in the county at the end of August, are a resounding success. Delegates heard that plans to upgrade the Hethersett track, including installation of a new safety fence, were well underway with construction works expected to start within the next few days. Ambitious plans are also underway the produce a special 32 page full colour magazine-style programme to commemorate the 60th British Individual Championship. A special publications sub-group has been set up, under the direction of Ian Wells, managing director of SoWell Promotions, a subsiduary of the SoWell Group of companies, to mastermind the publication. Social events co-ordinator Theresa Colby reported that bookings for the official hotel are going well with 75% of the available rooms now fully reserved. She urged those planning to attend the event, the make their reservations soon as the 'sold out' notices have already been posted at other hotels in the vicinity. "We are expecting all 40 rooms to be let soon" Theresa told the meeting. Editor's Note - See article below re booking arrangements. MEN AND WOMEN SHARE CENTRE STAGE - posted 30 April 2011 In a major change from tradition, the men's and women's national individual championship will be both be staged on Bank Holiday Monday. For many years it has been the practice to hold the senior and under-16 championships on the same day, Monday, with the women's final taking place on the Saturday. Following the growth of women's racing, the ladies will share centre stage with the men on Finals Day, the national under-10 and under-16 championships taking place on the Saturday. Sunday will be reserved for men's and women's qualifying rounds. The new arrangements come into effect in 2012. The prizelist for this year's national championships will be shared between the senior men and women. Traditionally British Cycling have made £1,000 available for the mens championship but there has been no prize money for the women's event. In future, individual race primes will no longer be awarded. Instead the top six in the men's and top four women will share the total purse, £660 going to the men and £340 the women. Finals Weekend social organiser Theresa Colby has acted quickly to scotch rumours that the championship hotel is fully booked. It appears that several riders and officials have phoned the hotel in recent days, only to be told the hotel is full and that there are no vacancies. "I called Holiday Inn today and there are still rooms available" Theresa told spokesman-online. "Bookings need to be made Monday - Friday between 8.30-5.00pm on 01603 730341 or 01603 730342 quoting CSC. It is really important to quote this reference", emphasised Theresa. "There are 20 rooms still available Friday night, 26 rooms Saturday night and 25 rooms on Sunday night. I'm guessing that if people have struggled to book, it maybe because they rang out of the times quoted and main reception are unable to use the group booking system so it would have appeared fully booked. Norwich club officials were pleased with the way the Norwich Grand Prix was promoted - despite drizzling rain that fell throughout the meeting. "We were using the event as a dry run for the Nationals" said club chairman Glenn Grange. "A lot of effort went into preparing the track which, given the time of year, was excellent. Track preparation will be one of our top priorities come August. At least we know the track holds up in the rain" smiled Glenn. Delegates at last night's Finals Weekend planning meeting heard the encouraging news that organisers are close to negotiating a "significant" sponsorship deal with a well-known local car accessories company. Leading official Gary Colby unveiled the exciting news at a well attended meeting held at Hethersett social club. It is expected the company will be the prime sponsor and principal backer of the blue riband British individual championship to be staged at Eaton Park on Bank Holiday Monday, leaving the way clear for other commercial backers to support the supplementary competitions, the womens, under-16 and under-10s championships. And the good news didn't end there. Committee chairman Mel Perkins was confident that a permanent safety fence would be in place at Hethersett in time for the Women's and under-10s final. Plans to use a contractor to carry out the work proved cost prohibitive. So backed by a sizeable grant from the local Parish Council, club members will now do the work themselves as a self-help scheme. The 17-strong committee heard that bookings for the hotel were going 'like wildfire'. "At just £25 per night person including breakfast, we thought the Holiday Inn, with its excellent facilities and close prominty to the tracks, would prove popular" said Colby. With hotel accommodation in Norwich over the August Bank Holiday weekend likely to be at a premium, riders and supporters were urged to get their booking in quickly. Already one national chain hotel on the outskirts of the city is fully booked. Rider and supporters were reminded to quote the cycle speedway code CSC (see below for booking details). And for those who prefer the outdoor life, organisers announced that they had negotiated special rates with a local caravan and camping site. Conveniently situated at Martineau Lane in Lakenham, the site offers an ovenight pitch for just £7.10. Further details are available on www.caravanandcampingclub.co.uk. Reservations can be made by ringing 01603 620060 but no calls after 8pm please.
The promoting tracks, Harford, Hethersett and Norwich outlined their plans at a well attended brainstorming session at Hethersett social club last night. All aspects were covered from supplementary car parking and additonal toilet facilities through to track surfaces and race primes. And there are some exciting 'firsts' being planned including jazzing-up the pre-finals draw and broadcasting it live on the internet. From the enthusiastic debate, clearly Norfolk is keen to put on a good show, balancing excellent racing tracks with a good social scene. More exciting news to follow soon... Keen to highlight the importance of the social side of the sport, organisers of this year's Finals Weekend in Norwich have negotiated bargain rates at a local hotel - and are hoping all cycle speedway vistors will use it. "In recent years, hotel accommodation has been fragmented" said co-ordinator Theresa Colby. "We want to get back to the days when the whole sport shared the same hotel, so arranging a value-for-money, quality hotel has been a priority" explained Theresa. This year's official hotel will be the Holiday Inn which is ideally situated on Ipswich Road, convenient for all three tracks as well as Harford Community centre, venue for the pre-finals social evening. The hotel offers excellent facilities including a swimming pool, spa, sauna, steamroom and gym. And if your lady doesn't fancy the racing one afternoon, why not treat her to a beauty treatment. Rates are an attractive £25 per person per night including breakfast. But that's not all. Children stay free although those 13-years plus will be charged £6 for breakfast. But you'll have to be quick if you want to bag a bargain. Only 40 rooms are available - and at these prices, they are bound to go quickly. Reservations can be made direct with the hotel by calling either Sheree 01603 730342 (reservations-norwich@ihg.com) or Jo 01603 730341 (jo.arnoup@ihg.com) Monday to Friday 8am - 5pm quoting reference CSC. A credit card will be needed to hold the room and cancellations will be accepted up to one month prior to stay. After that, the credit card will be charged with the full amount. SOCIAL NIGHT OF THE YEAR - posted 26 January 2010 Organisers of this year's finals weekend in Norwich have already booked the venue for the Eve of Finals social evening. The popular gathering will take place at Harford Community centre which is literally a stone's throw from the Harford track. "We are going to put together a really special evening" said social events organiser Gary Colby. "We'll be taking over the entire club. Drinks will be reasonably priced, so it should be a cracking evening" promised Gary. The team are already working on a couple of ideas to liven up the night. For the time being, they want to keep these under wraps but have openly stated their intention to stream the all-important final draw live on the internet.
Many of Norfolk's top officials, riders and supporters have been invited to the 'open forum' meeting to brainstorm ideas and suggestions for the milestone event. This year marks the national individual championship's 60th anniversary. The inaugural event was held at Hayes End Recreation Ground in Middlesex in 1951 and was won by Lew Grepp. |
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Jamie Ford seconded his father, Peter Ford, (pictured left) into the role of Editor-in-Chief, and the pair worked furiously over the next few years to establish a cycling web-site that promoted all forms of cycling, and at all levels of participation.
In a break from tradition, organisers of this year's National Finals Weekend are to publish a souvenir magazine instead of the traditional programme.
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