KING’S LYNN owner Keith Chapman says there is great enthusiasm amongst club bosses ahead of the 2018 season.
Chapman is returning to the UK after fronting the British Speedway AGM in Tenerife over the weekend where a host of key decisions were made.
He remains chairman of the British Speedway Promoters’ Association for a third successive season.
Chapman said: “Both Rob Godfrey (vice chairman) and myself would like to thank all promoters for delivering positive outcomes from the AGM.
“All promoters left the meeting with great enthusiasm towards the 2018 season.”
Chapman also says hard work continues behind the scenes at King’s Lynn with several riders getting in touch wanting to sign for the club.
“There’s a lot happening which will become more apparent as the winter progresses and we are planning some announcements after Christmas to start the build-up to the new season,” he said.
Stars know they will be hosting meetings on Mondays or Wednesdays after a decision was taken to nominate those nights as Premiership race nights with no Championship racing permitted in a bid to avoid fixture clashes and allow maximum rider availability.
And in what is sure to be a popular move with fans, the traditional tactical substitute is back to replace the black and white helmet for double points.
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.
