Addressing the meeting, chairman Mel Perkins explained that he had taken the position twelve month go "to steady the ship" after a couple of difficult seasons.  Acknowledging that he wasn't the most dynamic chairman, he felt his experience had helped to stablise the region and the clubs could  look back on 2009 with some satisfaction.

Perkins heralded the wealth of junior talent in the region, praising Ipswich and Kesgrave for their youth development programmes.  He was also encouraged by the growth of womens' racing.  The under-11 and under-14s leagues were a resounding success but the South-East individual championships were poorly supported with entries well down on previous seasons.

Colchester's continued improvement was recognised although Somersham, Spixworth and Harford Park "were in bad shape".  Perkins concluded his address by thanking club officials for their efforts, acknowlegding that "running a cycle speedway club is not an easy job".

Opening up the meeting for questions, concern was expressed that the regional committee had not taken stronger action against a rider who allegedly assaulted a referee during the Hethersett v Norwich match.  The chairman explained that the rider in question had been given a red card, before the assault incident, which warranted a routine £20 fine.  This had not been paid and the rider is now suspended.  However, member clubs were not happy that no action had been taken on the alleged assault charge, arguing that referee abuse is a growing problem in the region. As a result of the Suffolk association was asked to covene a formal disciplinary hearing against the rider.

Presenting the financial report, Mel Perkins, doubling up as regional treasurer, reported a minor loss of £10 on the season, however the region's finances remained healthy despite a significant loss on South-East individual championships.  Fines account for 25% of the region's income.

Reporting back from the regional conference, delegates said they would have benefitted from a pre-conference meeting of South-East clubs to guage views and raise issues.  It was agreed to hold a pre-conference meeting on 7 November 2010.

A suggestion from British Cycling hierachy to change the regional name to East in line with BC administrative areas was put to the vote and overwhleming defeated, no clubs voting in favour of a change.

National coaching officer Ian Grange outlined details of the new Youth Academy.  Two national training days will be held for riders on 21 February and 7 March and a regional event on 28 February at Ipswich.  All three events will have open to all riders between 15 to 18 (national) and 14 to 18 (regional). 

Grange went on to explain that the Academy had been set up to improve the performance of GB riders, suggesting that Britain had fallen behind Australia and Poland in the international standings.

Unfortunately it looked likely that the proposed national cycle speedway coaching conference will have to be deferred to the end of the year.

Representatives heard plans to launch a Women's League in 2010.  Initially this will be an inter-regional event between the four regions.  Ivan Pike was appointed to co-ordinate the South-East's role.  BY&JL regiional rounds wil be held at Colchester, Kesgrave, Ipswich and Norwich. 

Hethersett wil host the reginal qualifying round of the Grand Prix of Great Britian which will also double up as the South-East Riders Championship.

The regional committee, Mel Perkins, Glenn Grange and Kevin Smith, was re-elected en-bloc, Smith being promoted to the vice-chairman role.  Perkins continues to 'twin-hat' as non-executive treasurer and fixtures co-ordinator while Gary Brown remains as regional recorder.  Three nominations were received as South-East representative on British Cycling's Cycle Speedway Commission, Ivan Pike (pictured) winning a close vote from former Commissioners Terry Ashford and Dave Hunting.

A lengthy debate took place on league structures.  After much debate it was agreed to disband the Norfolk and Suffolk League and concentrate competitions at regional level.  Provisional entries were received as follows with clubs having up to 31 January to confirm their entries;

South East League One
East London, Great Blakenham, Hethersett, Kesgrave, Ipswich, Norwich
South East Combination
East London, Great Blakenham, Hethersett, Kesgrave, Ipswich
South East Youth League (under-16s)
Colchester, Kesgrave, Ipswich, Norwich and possibly Hethersett
South-East Under-14 League
Colchester, Great Blakenham, Ipswich, Kesgrave
South-East Under -10 League
Colchester, Great Blakenham, Ipswich, Kesgrave

Dates and venues for the various subsiduary competitions were agreed and will be published shortly.  In future, the region will pay referees ten pounds for appointed matches (ie not league matches).

Forging closer links with 'mainstream cycling' through the East Cycling Forum was discussed as was the Olympic Park legacy and missing trophies.  The meeting, which had been harmonious and positive, finished on an upbeat note with declarations of support for Harford Park, Somersham and Spixworth.  The Norwich park track has recently been resurfaced, Somersham would be taken under Great Blakenham's wing and veteran stalwart Roy Chapman hopes to provide some form of racing at Spixworth.

SOUTH-EAST CLUBS MEET - posted 22 January 2010

The South-East annual general meeting takes place this Sunday at Great Blakenham (11am). 

The  ill-fated meeting was postponed earlier this month because trecherous snow and ice made travelling impossible.  Now club reps will have to make some speedy decisions on league formats if the rapidly approaching fixture deadline is to be met.

One major talking point is bound to be the dwindling number of clubs operating in the region. London and Essex, considered by many to be the spiritual home of cycle speedway, is down to just two clubs and facing extinction while Eaton, Spixworth and Somersham are hanging on by a thread.

One club that won't be rejoining the South-East set up is Hellingly.  Rumours that the Sussex club would double up in both South-East and South & South Wales regions was firmly denied by stalwart administrator George Hollebon.

"Neither myself nor any members of my club have made contact with the South East League, nor have they made contact to us about joining their association in 2010" George told Spokesman.  ""I doubt the Norfolk and Suffolk clubs would be interested in travelling down to Hellingly
for one meeting a year."

"We are fully committed to racing in the newly named South and South Wales League. We have only seven home and away fixtures during the season, so if any clubs in the South-East region are interested in any home and way challenge matches, we would be willing to accomodate them as we have many spare Sundays available" pleaded Hollebon.

We hope to bring you a full report of the South-East meeting on Sunday evening.

ENTER SOUTH AND SOUTH WALES - posted 20 January 2010

SUFFOLK ASSOCIATION REFLECT ON A SUCCESSFUL YEAR - posted 4 December 2009

The Suffolk Cycle Speedway Association's annual general meeting was held at the Dove Street Inn in Ipswich.  All of the county's clubs were represented except Somersham.  Colchester were also in attendance.

Chairman Terry Ashford explained that the Association had looked into the possibility of staging the national indoor championship in Suffolk but "the various facilities had all presented problems."

In his report the chairman praised the efforts of Peter Mittell who had prepared the track at Somersham prior to the various events that had taken place there during 2009. He also stated that one of these, the Debbie Mittell Memorial meeting, had been a great success, with lots of support from the local riders. He stated however that he was disappointed that several Suffolk finalists had failed to attend the East Anglian finals, adding that there had been very little commitment from the senior riders in this competition.

He noted that Great Blakenham had failed to honour their place in the Suffolk Under 14s League, which meant that only three teams competed. On a brighter note, he was very impressed by the Suffolk Grand Prix series, especially within the younger age groups. The inclusion of Colchester into the Suffolk League had been a great success, not only for Suffolk, but for the club also, with increased membership during 2009.

Treasurer Jim Knights said that financially the season had been a very successful one which had generated a surplus of close on £250 during the year.  The Suffolk Grand Prix, the success story of the season, had attracted 115 riders.  Altogether 21 trophies were purchased  which no doubt contributed to the increase in numbers. He praised the promoting clubs for collecting the fees for the Grand Prix series, which made his job very much easier. Jim stated that he would also like to thank the three sponsors for the Suffolk Individuals plus the Suffolk U14 League, namely Dove Street Inn, Terry Ashford and Dave Hunting.

Like those before him, the County Secretary felt things had gone very well indeed in 2009, and that Suffolk was obviously a hotbed for encouraging new junior riders into the sport, as proved by the success of both Ipswich and Kesgrave in the British Youth & Junior League. He also felt that it had been a great success to have invited Colchester into the Suffolk League, with both Colchester and the league benefiting from their joint amalgamation. Like the Treasurer, he stated that he was very impressed with the current position of the County funds, and hoped that this would continue into 2010. Communication with certain members of the Committee had been a problem in 2009, and requested that this is attended to before the new season starts.

It was felt that the Suffolk Grand Prix should remain the same for the U9s/U11s/U13s/U15s, but that the U17s should be raised to an U18s, whilst the U19s should be scrapped and these riders be included in the seniors. There was much discussion about the vets, and this competiton wil be reviewed as the season progresses.  The four younger age groups would be raced over five rounds on a Wednesday night, whilst the age groups of U18 upwards would be raced over three rounds on a Tuesday night.

The Suffolk Individuals would remain the same, with the girls being raced within two categories, the U10s with the U13s, and the U16s with the seniors, with one trophy available for each age group. The top eight riders from all Suffolk Individuals will go through to the East Anglian Finals, where they will be joined by the top eight riders from Norfolk. 

The Suffolk U14 league would be changed for 2010, with a formula being used where riders raced in pairs rather than as individuals.  The teams would consist of four riders plus a reserve, and meetings would be raced at the four affiliated Suffolk clubs. There was also a discussion into  racing an U10 League, but this would be raced using the formula of one rider from each team per race, again with four riders plus a reserve.

Racing would continue to be arranged at the Somersham track, but with suggestions that the club  would not be affiliating to British Cycling in 2010, Great Blakenham had agreed to take Somersham under their wings as a secondary track.

David Knight agreed to build a Suffolk Association website, where all clubs could find information relating to Suffolk matters, including closing dates, newsletters, etc. The cost of developing thsi would be met by the Suffolk Association.

The following officers were elected for 2010 - Chairman - Terry Ashford, Vice Chairman - Keith Brooks, Secretary - Dave Hunting, Treasurer - Jim Knights, Recorder - Gary Brown

Seldom does a league AGM afford a unanimous endorsement of a racing season and the committee performance but that is exactly what clubs in the South West did in their annual meeting at Southampton today. This was highlighted by the successful completion of all events, a major impact at national competitions level and a significant growth in participation levels as the region now accounts for a third of all rider registrations nationwide.

Under the chairmanship of Geoff Gamage, the committee which also comprises Rob Absolom, Mike Legge, Andy Collett and Ian Sizer were returned en bloc with some adjustments to their individual responsibilities. Early indications point to a similar league structure in 2010 but with the strong liklihood of a reversal of the Newport/Filton situation which will once again see a full race programme at the International Sports Village circuit. Meanwhile Filton will concentrate on young riders through participation in the BYJL.

One of the most exciting innovations for 2010 sees the intruction of the South West Club Championship which will be awarded to the club with the highest aggregate performance in SWL Division One, Conference and Combination leagues together with the seven regional  BYJL rounds. This is designed to reflect on the importance of the contribution made by riders of all age groups and encourage recruitment and participation levels.

When it came to feedback for the CS Commission, a number of concerns were expressed which will be taken forward to the forthcoming annual conference. Once again the lack of a more direct say in decisions and major developments is still causing frustration and the handling of the Dave Hunting affair came in for considerable criticism as did the facility for riders to change clubs in-year, effectively allowing them to compete in national championships for two different clubs in the same calender year. The recent club facility grading list also caused a stir and and a clearer explanation of the criteria will be sought.

Lively debate about secondary licences occupied a considerable part of the meeting but there was no real support for regional restrictions being applied with the rider grading system prefered as the tried and tested method of ensuring competitive team strengths.

In 2010, the SW Individual Finals day will be staged at Horspath while the Gold Cup goes to Southampton and the Rose Bowl to East Newport.  The first four rounds of the BYJL will be staged at Horspath (April 17th), Southampton (May 8th), Newport (June 5th) and Swindon (June 26th). Later rounds will be at Exeter and Poole with the Finals days also at Poole on October 2nd.