LEICESTER now know they will be staging Premiership action on Mondays or Wednesdays next season.
Club bosses Marc Bates and Neil Machin have spent the weekend locked in talks at the British Speedway AGM and agreement was reached for designated nights for the top level to avoid fixture clashes.
It also ensures greater rider availability for those who double-up with Championship clubs.
Said Machin: “We’ll try and stick to a Monday or a Wednesday but we are going to discuss this with other clubs who don’t have the luxury of stadium availability whenever they want.
“We’re very fortunate at Leicester we can race any day of the week so Monday or Wednesday is no problem. I think four clubs should designate Wednesday and four Monday – I’m happy to accommodate either.
“We are also now in the process of pressing on with our team and we will hopefully be in a position to make a further announcement soon.”
Meanwhile the Watling JCB Lions have drawn King’s Lynn on the first round of the Knockout Cup.
BRITISH SPEEDWAY AGM SUMMARY:
BRITISH Speedway Promoters’ Association (BSPA) has continuity of Chairman (Keith Chapman) and Vice Chairman (Rob Godfrey) and the Management Committee will be made up of Colin Pratt (Swindon), Stewart Dickson (Glasgow), Damien Bates (Sheffield) with Neil Machin (Leicester) and George English (Newcastle) as reserves.
THE BSPA would like to thank Chris Van Straaten for his invaluable contribution whilst on the management committee.
AFTER great collaboration between the two leagues the Premiership race days are fixed for Monday and Wednesday with consideration to Swindon on a number of protected Thursdays. Championship will continue to run on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
PREMIERSHIP and Championship leagues team points average increased to 42.5 with the Premiership permitted one rider of an average of 8.00 or more. Championship has no restrictions.
LAKESIDE will be joining the Championship with all other teams remaining in their current leagues.
CHAMPIONSHIP season starts with three league cup sections - 1) Lakeside, Peterborough, Ipswich 2) Scunthorpe, Sheffield, Redcar, Newcastle 3) Glasgow, Edinburgh, Berwick, Workington.
KNOCKOUT CUP first round draws for both leagues on a regionalised basis:
Premiership KOC 1st round: Leicester v King’s Lynn, Somerset v Poole, Belle Vue v Wolverhampton, Swindon v Rye House.
Championship KOC 1st round: Scunthorpe v Sheffield or Redcar, Ipswich v Lakeside or Peterborough, Berwick v Edinburgh or Glasgow, Newcastle v Workington.
TACTICAL SUBS: Black and White double points replaced with tactical substitution permitted in heats 5 to 14 (excluding heat 8) when a team is 6 points or more behind. For clarity there are NO double points.
THERE will be no promotion or relegations between the two leagues but the top four from each league will compete in their own league Play-offs.
A NUMBER of working groups have been established from within the association to further develop speedway for the medium and long-term.
BSPA has a strong proposal for the SCB that will significantly reduce false starts with further details being released after consultation with the SCB.
ALUN Rossiter and Neil Vatcher appointed Team GB Manager and Team GB U21 manager respectively for the next 12 months.
SCUNTHORPE asset Josh Auty is a granted a testimonial after celebrating 10 years of service in British Speedway.
SHEFFIELD asset and current team manager Simon Stead will celebrate a successful career by being granted a farewell meeting.
