20/11//04 Ade Gale

The sport has been shocked by the sudden death of Ade Gale.
Ade was admitted to hospital two weeks ago and diagnosed as suffering from advanced leukaemia. Sadly Ade died in the early hours of Sunday November 14. He was 41.
Ade made a tremendous contribution both to Poole cycle speedway club and the sport in general. The many tributes already paid show how fond the sport was of him.

22/8/04 Cash for Stars

Somersham CSC has been awarded a £500 grant from Suffolk County Council. Since the club staged a Come & Try It session earlier in the season, local youngsters have taken to the track in their droves. The session attracted around 10 newcomers, and regular practice sessions since then have seen a study increase in numbers, with over 20 attending last week. This unexpected explosion of interest has caught the club out and the money will be used for racing shirts, helmets, gloves and track bikes. Track manager Peter Mittell was instrumental in negotiating the deal, and the club would like to thank local councillor Ros Scott for her support.

25/6/04 New team forming reports Rob Absalom

Good news from Wales is that 10 brand new riders have confirmed that they will be riding next year once the track at Underwood Estate, Llanmartin has been reopened. The plan is for a target of 30 riders to compete in the SW Junior League and then National JL. The club will be known as Casnewydd Dragons.
Funding from Sportlot is being sought for new equipment whilst materials for rebuilding the track is being provided by sponsorship gained from companies that see cyclespeedway as a worthwhile investment.

25/4/04 International Opening reports David Cooke

Easter April 10th saw The Grand opening of the first International Cycle Speedway track in the USA. In celebration the Town of Prescott Valley AZ and Cycle Speedway USA Inc staged the USA youth vs Great Britain youth "Festival of Cycle Speedway". Riders and Officials from Great Britain arrived earlier in the week and they wer joined by the Edenton Cycle Speedway group to take part in the meet and give much needed help.
Celebrations began Thursday night when the Town Council hosted a reception for all concerned, presentations were made and various speeches of congratulations were heard from local dignitaries and the Great Britain Team representatives.
Saturday morning dawned and the historic day began. After various introductions the local High School Marching Band led a parade of riders. The National Anthems were played for both Countries and a ribbon cutting Ceremony took place. Ron Tarrant veteran cycle speedway rider who drove all the way from Canada to be present, did the Honors. The much anticipated moment was here - the first race at the new track, the tape rose, and the crowd roared enthusiastically as the riders put on a great race to the finish Great Britain taking the honours 7-2.
The racing that followed was exciting for all, riders and spectators alike. The first US victory came when local rider Adam Peakeman (born in Scotland) took advantage of a mistake from the British pair and raced to the line first, the crowd erupted as Adam took to the track for a victory lap, and so the day went on with other US victories from David Cooke Jnr, Aaron Kubaska, David Robertson and others. At the interval our tots took to the track the race that followed being no less intense than the older riders, the crowd, especially the moms cheered them on. Racing went on and a great day was had by all, excitement was handed out in large quantities and the crowd roared its approval all day long.
The final scores
Under 13,s USA 79 GB 101
Under 16,s USA 55 GB 95
Sunday saw a trip to the Grand Canyon for all and a welcome rest from Saturday's activities.
Monday saw more racing this time the senior riders became involved and as always happens when old rivals get together the racing was intense and belied the age of many of the contestants. A best of three challenge was held between David Cooke Snr and Martin Gamble, old team rivals from the seventies in Sheffield, The $20 challenge as it was called resulted in one win each and a tie in the third heat, in the third heat, riders crossed the line with there hands locked in friendship, it should also be noted that Martin was suffering from the altitude, (cough) this was much appreciated by David.
What a tremendous weekend, a Historic first in the USA, great battles between the USA and GB youth riders, and a sometimes tearful reunion between old rivals.
All at Cycle Speedway USA would like to thank all those who made a tremendous effort to take part in this event and make it the success it was. We look forward to sending a Prescott Valley team to GB in the near future, and to renewing the friendships that have been formed in this historic event.

13/4/04 Poole Nominated reports Pete Young

Poole Cycle Speedway Club have been nominated for the "Team of the Year" award at the British Bicycle Awards 2004, which are being held as part of The Bike Show at the NEC Birmingham on Friday 16th April. This is a fairly prestigious award and it is unusual for Cycle Speedway to even be quoted in such a mainstream cycling show

26/3/04 International CS coming to US Report from Martin Gamble

The inaugural cycle speedway Junior Test Matches between the United States and Great Britain will take place on Saturday 10th April at the brand new Prescott Valley circuit in Arizona. This is the first official fixture between the two countries and heralds the potential of a new era for Cycle Speedway as the Americans add another sport to their portfolio.
Interest in the States is enormous with sponsors, such as US Postal Service, famously associated with Lance Armstrong, backing the new venture. Prescott Valley is the second new circuit to be built in the United States following the new track at Edenton, North Carolina, and the Americans' first appearance in World competition in Poland last year.
The Test Matches will be at Under-14 and Under-16 levels with Great Britain taking a mixed squad of thirteen riders plus a few senior riders to compete in friendly fixtures with locals. The squad includes Leicester's Lucy Whitehead and Astley & Tyldesley's Becky Heslop, two girls who, having been placed in national Under-13 competition in 2003, have thoroughly deserved their selection. Also included are third, fourth and fifth ranked riders from last year's British Under-16 Championship - Nick Myhill, Simon Gamble and Tom Sensicall - plus Scottish Junior Champion, Mikey Hewitson from Edinburgh-based club, Scotia.
GB squad:- Nick Myhill and Jaz Abbott (Hethersett), Tom Sensicall, Carl Jarvis, Lucy Whitehead, Ashley Doughty (Leicester), Becky Heslop (Astley & Tyldesley), David Ball (Sandwell), Mikey Hewitson (Scotia), Josh Brookes and Thomas Pike (Ipswich), Jamie Brown and Simon Gamble (Sheffield)
Tour Director:- Pete Barnes (Poole)
Team Manager:- Ivan Pike (Ipswich)

20/3/04 On the move

The following riders have changed clubs for the 2004 season:

Rider	From	To
Adam Peck	Gt Blakenham	Poole
Dave Solomon	Gt Blakenham	Kesgrave
George Solomon	Gt Blakenham	Kesgrave
Gary Colby	Gt Blakenham	Eaton
Joshua Herring	Gt Blakenham	Eaton
James Studd	Gt Blakenham	Wednesfield
Craig Newsome	Scotia	Stoke
Dave Hemsley	Poole	Leicester
Shaun Brown	Eaton	Norwich
Alan Evans	Eaton	Norwich
Dave Palfreman	Hawbush	East London
Alan Nation	Horspath	Poole

And the following secondary registrations have been made:

Rider	1st club	2nd club
Ewan Tulloch	Scotia	Astley & Tyldesley
Garry Pearce	Stoke	Astley & Tyldesley
Frank Finnigan	Stoke	Astley & Tyldesley
Joe Twiss	Stoke	Astley & Tyldesley
Terry Norman	Stoke	Tameside
Adam Peck	Poole	Gt Blakenham
James Studd	Wednesfield	Gt Blakenham
Richard Williamson	Wednesfield	Somersham
Peter Williamson	Somersham	Wednesfield
Mikey Hewitson	Scotia	Heckmondwike
Alan Smith	Scotia	Heckmondwike
Dave Murphy	Newport	Southampton

28/2/04 Restricted

The SE League has published the list of riders who will be restricted from division 2 action for those clubs competing in both divisions. The list is subject to change if any riders transfer.
East London: Lee Galley, Les Stevens, Steve Woodroof, Toby Millen, Tony Ridgewell.
Eaton: Darren Slater, Elliott Jones, Alan Evans, Daniel Pike, David Martin, Richard Hunt.
Hethersett: Phil Howells, Nick Bedson, Nick Myhill, Leigh Cossey, Mick Skinner.
Kesgrave: Jason Ashford, Lewis Osborne, Peter Ingram, Mick Osborne, Ryan Bartram, Glen Wildon.

28/2/04 Sponsorship Delight Courtesy Mike Hack

Astley & Tyldesley Miners' Welfare Cycle Speedway Club are delighted to announce two sponsorship deals for the new season.
Tyldesley computer dealers, CTA Direct, of 168 Elliott Street, have agreed to be the team's sponsors for the fourth successive year. Company proprietor Roy Heslop is keen to see the club maintain their steady progression over the past three years and had no hesitation in renewing his support to the club. So, once again the full A & T club will be kitted out in green and black colours bearing the CTA Direct logo.
In addition, Motor Body Services, of Salford, will be sponsoring the 13th annual Astley & Tyldesley Festival meeting at the Gin Pit circuit on 29th May.

22/2/04 Sheffield Stars Presentation Evening Report by Shaun Hudson

The Stars held there annual presentation evening at the Dial House social club in Sheffield on Saturday night February 21st. A buffet and disco were laid on for the Riders, Officials,families and friends of the club and various people were honoured for there contributions to the Sheffield Stars over the past year.
A new award was instituted that being the " Harry Pearson Memorial Shield " which is to be given to the Rider of the year as voted for by the club members. Harry was the Grand Father of popular Stars rider Peter Pearson and attended many fixtures both home and away before being taken ill last year and having to go into hospital where he sadly passed away. The first winner of the Shield by an overwhelming majority was Jono Birks who has just been invited to tour Australia in 2005 with the British Lions.
It was Harry's wish that a trophy be given to the club and a substantial donation. This was presented by the Pearson family at last nights event. A spokesman for the club said " What a marvellous gesture by Harry who was a true gentleman in every sense of the word.He was an ardent supporter of the team and will be sadly missed by everyone at the club"

08/2/04 Suffolk Association AGM

The Suffolk CSA held their agm today and organized Suffolk competitions for the coming season.
2004 events will follow an almost identical pattern to last season with a mix of events being staged on Wednesday nights from May until August. One key change this season is that the Suffolk Championships will only be open to riders whose primary registered club is affiliated to the association.
Unfortunately vacancies were left open on the committee after Pete Ingram and Gary Brown stood down from representing their clubs. Their respective roles of secretary and recorder were not filled by the small attendance.

01/2/04 South East Gather for AGM

The South East region gathered today for their important AGM and to plan their region's racing in the season ahead.
The best news came from Eaton's Alan Brown who hopes to create a new club at Long Stratton, near Norwich. The League accepted the request to join Division 2 depsite a lack of track and riders. Brown was confident though of resolving both issues and will receive assistance from the Norwich club while the project gathers pace.
There was a good turnout for the meeting, and some sensible decisions made which should help to increase the professionalism of the sport after a rather disorganised 2003. One of the most important changes is that the fixture list must be adherred to and any changes will be subject to a fine and penalty points. Additionally, clubs will be fined on an increasing scale for failing to send match programmes to the league recorder. Referees weren't forgotten either - clubs must provide a shirt or white coat for the man in the middle.
The league structure will remain similar, but there will be no conventional Essex & London league. Colchester are set rejoin Division 2 while Long Stratton take Norwich's place, as they move up to Division 1. An Eaton B side will also compete in the 2nd division but Gt Blakenham were undecided about their plans. The Norfolk & Suffolk league continues, although none of the Norfolk sides wished to compete!
There were also changes on the Executive Committee. Long standing chairman Terry Ashford finally found someone to take over, while Glenn Grange also stood down. Alan Brown became the new Chairman after a (somewhat bizarre) vote, Ivan Pike fills the vacant secretary post, and Dave Fleming was labelled disciplinary officer.
The East Anglian Association also met for their meeting. Much was discussed but the only major change concerned the East Anglian Grand Prix. This was offered to the South East region to become the South East Grand Prix so that more riders could compete.