crescent girl

Ben Barker will be riding in all this weekend's requirements, at Ipswich, Edinburgh, and the Berwick practice. (Original post had referred to Newcastle, but that is the following weekend -- my ooops)

Club e-Newsletter this morning tells of closed-door practice at the weekend, some news of Bandits riders at other tracks and some new announcements for VIP Club members -- a meet'n'greet with the team this Saturday, and free admission deal at the speedway museum.

From club website: There will now be FOUR of our Dixon Building Bandits -- more riders than any other club will provide! -- racing in Theo Pijper's 'Night of Champions' at Armadale Raceway next Friday, March 20th. Ben Barker has volunteered his services to the popular Dutchman, joining Claus Vissing, Kevin Doolan and Thomas Jorgensen in honouring Theo's contribution to our sport. The meeting -- and the northern season -- begins at 7.30pm. In addition, Thomas Jorgensen will now join Ben Barker at Sheffield on Sunday 22nd for Ricky Ashworth's Big Day, which begins at 5pm that day.

You are correct in identifying the increase in lengthy delays in this 21st century. The old attitudes of "drag him to the side, put the rest on two minutes" are gone forever! This situation has been increasingly addressed by the promotion, and by last season (especially after the totally unpredictable situation of a paramedic disappearing mid-meeting on a night there wasn't another man available) the club had back-up medical cover at, I think, every meeting. Even then, on the Sky night, there was a very long delay after the crash in Heat 14, despite two ambulances being in situ, a doctor and a paramedic on duty and two more ambulances arriving within a few minutes! This despite every pressure (from the television aspect) for the match to continue as quickly as possible. Simply put, present-day attitudes require every possible precauction being taken before and after a rider is moved from the track (no-one can insist otherwise, surely?) and despite having a 'spare' ambulance and extra medic on hand, delays will occur more and more as every year H&S restrictions demand ever-greater care and attention. Berwick is not the worst example of medical demands delaying (and even bringing meetings to a premature end) is it?

Less than quoted above. Check with Lani Rae on 07779-227535

Another e-Newsletter has arrived, with plenty to read. Perhaps an item worth immediately highlighting is this one: SPRUCE UP THE STADIUM:This Sunday (March 15th) is going to be 'Spruce-Up The Speedway Day' at Shielfield, with staff (and possibly a rider or two) going hard at it to smarten up our speedway facilities in time to have everything ship-shape for our Press & Practice sessions on Saturday 21st. Any willing volunteers will be more than welcome to come along on Sunday and assist in getting things tidied up. We'll be getting going about 10am.

Posted in Berwick's e-Newsletter yesterday: FROM CINDER TO SHALE:The marvellous collection of old speedway bikes and equipment at Loanhead, Midlothian, owned by former Bandit Ian Paterson has announced the only five remaining Sundays on which the display will now be open to the public in 2015. The dates are April 12, May 10, July 12, August 30 and November 1st. All Sundays, and each time they are open from 10am until 4pm. We are detailing these days now, letting interested parties plan ahead as Ian tells us the collection will ONLY open on these five dates -- they no longer have a facility to open on any other days. Those who have been up there a number of times never fail to find something they previously missed! In the words of one multi-World Champion: "This is, for certain, the best, most absorbing exhibition of speedway stuff I have ever seen". High praise, but truly earned. If you like speedway, and can spare a Sunday, please indulge yourself. We know of no-one who has visited and then expressed disappointment. It is that good. The 'Cinder To Shale' exhibition is based at Edgefield Road, Loanhead -- just a minute or less from Straiton Junction on the Edinburgh City by-pass -- and the postcode for a sat-nav is EH20 9TB.

Czaja was in the World U-21 Final in 2013 (rode at Berwick) but surely wouldn't give up his PZM licence to ride PL in the UK.

Not now. He's back in Cornwall, living just a couple of miles from the old Moto Parc site, former home of the Trelawny Tigers. His postcode places him, erm, 500 miles from Tweedmouth!

Hmmmm, I wonder who'll end the year with the better average between BB and CC?

Another e-Newsletter out tonight.... Since people don't seem to want them replicated here, I'll just post the lead story and say they are further items tonight on Claus Vissing, Thomas Jorgensen, the Newcastle match, Gordon Inglis, Ian Paterson's superb museum, the press & practice, another rule change, Gordon Inglis, 2015 ticketing and hospitality bookings.. To read the whole e-Newsletters, all that's required is to go to the Bandits' website, enter your e-mail address in a box and click! BANDIT BEN There are some of us who can still hardly believe Ben Barker, fresh from the podium at last season’s British Championship, is a Bandit – but it’s true, it’s true! 26-year-old Ben (his birthday is next Tuesday, for anyone aiming to give him a card) has joined up as our new No 1 and is ready, willing and able to make his first Shielfield season a superb success. “I’m really looking forward to getting up there” he told Banditmail this morning. “It’s all so positive, my friends have got me very well-organised, there’s a place to stay and work on the bikes when I’m in the north, and when I get my motors back from service and my new kevlars delivered, I’m good to go!” Our cheerful Cornishman’s frank admission that things such as engines and racewear aren’t completely organised is refreshingly honest – and so much better that sky-high promises from others in the past which proved a little, shall we say, optimistic – boding well for Ben’s stature at our club. He will continue to live at home near Trelawney – exactly 500 miles from Shielfield Park – and if he has no other racing commitments (he’s signed up in Poland, has a number of German bookings and “as many Elite League guest opportunities as come my way” planned) intends to travel up on a Friday, to remain fresh for our home matches. “But the Bandits – beg your pardon, the Dixon Building Bandits – are top of the list at present” he assures us. “Berwick’s fixture list comes first, then I’ll look at other meetings”. Ben’s stature in the sport is perhaps a reason that we have no home meeting on June 13th – that’s the date set for the World Team Cup Final at Voyens in Denmark, and with his name surely an automatic choice for Alun Rossiter’s Team GB, why shouldn’t we be prepared to settle down in front of the telly that night and cheer on ‘one of our own’ as (provided they make the Final) the British boys go for gold? He will be arriving at Shielfield for our press’n’practice evening (less than three weeks away) in the middle of a busy spell of early-season skidding. Starting at Swindon this Sunday (8th) with the BenFund Bonanza – he is deservedly proud of being the only rider to have raced in every Bonanza to date – he’ll then drop in at Peterborough on March 15th where he’s in Rosco’s GB select squad, next to Ipswich for the Billy Sanders Memorial on Thursday 19th and, after checking in for our own photocall on the Saturday, there’s the little matter of Ricky Ashworth’s big day at Sheffield on Sunday 22nd. All of which will fine-tune Ben’s skills nicely for his first real test at the top of our team, when Newcastle’s Diamond geezers come calling on March 28th. Ben Barker’s a Bandit – we can STILL hardly believe it!

Not exactly! It was 1981. They were withdrawn from the league after 26 matches, but allowed to continue in the KO Cup, reaching the final, .

Yes they were. In 1994 they were in Division III. They were also in the lowest league in 1995/96, although a pedant (on this forum?) might say the amateur Academy/Conference competitions were technically the second tier, as the top two leagues had amalgamated. To answer your question, Berwick in effect were an amateur, third division, club for these three seasons.

Yes, you have. "Full and personal control" means sitting astride the bike.

Another 500-odd subscribers get another e-Newsletter from Berwick tonight: MATIC ON THE WAY! As our 48th season of speedway gallops towards us -- just four-and-a-half-weeks until our opening meeting at Shielfield Park -- we have been talking (rather awkwardly, as Google Translate appears to have some difficulties going back and forth from the Slovene language to English) to new recruit Matic Voldrih. Matic tells us he feels his preparations for his first season in the UK are going fairly well. "There are a lot of things going on in order to be fully set up for when I get to Berwick" he explained this morning. I'm just back from the Czech Republic, where I had to go to buy some speedway equipment. I need two additional engines, which are going to be ready for me soon". I had wanted to have some practice on one or other of our tracks here in Slovenia, but the weather has been very bad, lots of rain and I'm not sure if I'll be lucky in that respect". "I will arrive at Berwick and settle into my accomodation in Tweedmouth about March 12th, and will immediately arrange for practice on a British circuit that Saturday". "Right now, I am still working at my winter job every day, and go to the gym here three times a week to get in good physical condition". "I obviously hope I will get used to the tracks in the UK, their shape and surface, as they are different from the tracks in mainland Europe --- and I also hope that I will learn English quickly! I am already working on this -- in the meantime we are relying on Google to translate me!" VIP CLUB MEMBERSHIPS INCREASING: For whatever reason, a recent surge in VIP Club membership applications is gratifying. Are you in the Club yet? Speedway is an expensive sport to stage, and -- as is currently being proved by need for the formation of a brand new Club at Glasgow and this week a Supporters Trust at Edinburgh -- turnstile income alone can no longer balance the books at any track in Britain. As a result, if groups of fans can get together and provide funds -- by running regular raffle draws and other fund-raisers in conjunction with the promotion -- such infusion of direct funding can go a long way to ensuring the continuation of speedway at your local circuit. On behalf of the promotion, Ryan Anderson recently confirmed that every tenth sign-up to the VIP Club will receive free entry to the meeting of their choice during 2015, as well as getting several incentives to join up. When season-ticket holders join as VIPs, they will receive a free pass for a friend to use. For an annual membership fee of £20, VIP supporters will be afforded the opportunity to make a privileged pits visit for a few heats during a meeting, and then spend a further couple of races viewing proceedings from the centre-green. Members will also be invited to make the presentation of a VIP award to one night's most-entertaining rider and -- if they have kids who attend matches -- can nominate their young 'uns to be mascots. Ryan also explained that plans were in the pipeline for further 'treats' coming the way of VIPs, and suggested "watch this space". "These won't be the last wee extras we've got up our sleeve for VIPs" he confirmed. "We want to draw together our fantastically-loyal and enthusiastic family of Berwick's Dixon Building Bandits fans, and what'll happen is, the more VIPs we sign up, the better the scope of benefits to members". Already announced is the offer that VIPs will receive a 50% discount of tickets for dances, etc, organised by the promotion, on certain nights they will receive a generous discount on merchandise from the Club Shop and on booking hospitality will be granted 10% discount if a full party (30+ visitors) is booked in. To join the VIP Club contact Lani Rae on lani@berwickbandits.co or call her on 07775-227535. DOOLAN'S DONKEY NO MORE: When Kevin Doolan referred to his old bike as a "donkey" last year, the phrase stuck -- despite Kev investing heavily mid-season in engine tuning tricks which allowed our ever-cheerful Aussie finishing the season in style -- but he is now taking pains to emphasise his days on top of the donkey are long-finished! "Yes mate, the old donkey's off to the glue factory!" he told us this week. "Instead, I've got a couple of sleek, slick, speedy thoroughbreds ready, all servived and ready to go!" "I'm not too keen on messing around in this weather, so I haven't been out on them yet -- I'll wait until just before the start of the season, then get in a solid week of spinning wheels on proper tracks". 2015 TICKETING: Commercial boss Lani Rae has her usual bag of super ticket-deals waiting for you this year in the shape of regular season ticket deals, and the highly-popular five- and ten-meeting mini-season tickets. To let you plan your speedway viewing in 2015, we can confirm our regular admission price will be £15, with concession admission £11. As always, all children are admitted free. A full season ticket for fifteen meetings (all 12 Premier League and three League Cup matches) costs £199 (concession price £149) and you can download application forms from our club website. The ten-meeting books are £139 (£99) and five-match deals only £70 (£50). These five- and ten-meeting tickets are handy gifts for family and friends, and can be obtained by contacting Lani on 07779-227535 or on e-mail at lani@berwickbandits.co. MORE NEW RULES: Having explored some of the amendments to the regulations governing Premier League speedway in 2015 in the last Banditmail, we thought we might take a look at a few more tweaks this time around. Let's see..... This year the bikes will have attachments to their silencers called heat shields. These are designed to prevent anyone getting burned by a hot exhaust if they come in contact, and as such have to be a nod to further safety in speedway. Note: If a heat shield falls off during a race, the rider won't be disqualified -- although to our eyes, a heat shield flying off and whizzing back towards a following rider creates a whole different risk situation! Next, there are to be no more helmet-carrieras -- if in-race footage is wanted, a camera will have to be fitted to the bike itself. As has been pretty-widely circulated, riders aren't allowed to get off their bikes at the starting-gate to dig out a trench. What this means for riders with wee short legs, I don't know -- Derek Sneddon or Steen Jensen might have had real problems if they'd been racing in 2015. But apparently it is OK to spend time smoothing a path away from the gate, as long as a rider stays astride his steed! If he gets off for a shuffle, he'll find himself suffering the same punishment (15m handicap or exclusion) as if he had touched the tapes. Then there are re-runs. If there's a false, or unsatisfactory start, riders are to be banned from going back into the pits -- if they, or their mechanics want to fiddle with a clutch or something, they'll need to do it on the track within a strictly-imposed two-minute warning. If a rider is disqualified for tape-touching or the like, the same rule will apply, except there will be an extra minute allowed for the line-up to be adjusted. HOSPITALITY -- A WARNING! In view of our Saturday-night home dates now being confirmed (see website) we can obviously invite you to fpick your favoured night to take advantage of our superb Hospitality deals during 2015. We are happy to report a number of good Bandit-people have already jumped on the Hospitality bandwagon, booking themselves in for one of this year's Saturday-night parties! Of course we still have many dates to be snapped up -- why not be one of the snappers? Only £35 per head (with a minimum of ten guests) which includes your stadium admission, a free programme, a pre-match group photograph with one of the Bandits, a supervised visit to the infield during racing to see what it all looks like from a very different perspective -- and of course, our legendary buffet meals with generous complimentary refreshments! Maybe you've been meaning to take a friend, family, customers or colleagues to Hospitality "one of these nights" but haven't quite got around to it, well -- now's your chance, but you'll need to book your Saturday party sooner, rather than later............ Contact the lovely Lani on 07779-227535 or lani@berwickbandits.co to reserve your place(s) in the Suite -- you certainly won't regret it -- and we'll be pleased to have you join us! THEO PIJPER: Although Theo raced as a Bandit for only a short period (in 2007) he has been a respected visitor since first arriving in Scotland in 2002 to join Edinburgh Monarchs, and spending a couple of years more recently on loan to Glasgow Tigers. All of which means we are happy to advertise his long-awaited Testimonial will take place as the season-opener up at Armadale on Friday, March 20th. This despite Theo having this week joined Scunthorpe Scorpions as a stop-gap replacement for injured Australian Ryan Douglas. While the full line-up, or indeed the format of the meeting, has not been announced, we do know Claus Vissing was one of the first riders to be named for the event. (In fact, Claus' appearance will be sponsored by the Dixon Building Bandits!). We will be reporting on further additions to the field in our Banditmail issues leading up to his big night.

Practising, or just watching?

Whoosh!

As sung by Joni Mitchell. About Exeter, Hull, Bradford, Newport, Ellesmere Port, etc, etc......

Have to say it: Good post!

The poster above quotes rule 16.1.2 which says that an arrangement can be made to give Panthers priority if he belongs to an NL club. What's not to understand here?

No unauthorised rider can appear on any track at which even one paying spectator is still present -- 'closing the meeting' means nothing other than the meeting referee's offski. Imagine the financial implication stemming from the scenario of a bike going into the crowd and injuring paid-in spectators, and the rider had no right to be there? Promoters carry huge Employers Liability insurance of up to £10 million in respect of claims -- which would be totally invalidated by a non-legal rider appearing in any second-half. A 'closed door' practice is allowed, usually termed 'non-competitive training' but only if there is an ambulance, a driver and ambulance attendant present.

Insurance liability?

plenty of reading in tonight's Banditmail.......... LUKE BACK IN ANGER: Our young recruit Luke Crang, who has spent many winter hours in the gym working his way back to fitness after sustaining back injuries while racing for Workington at Redcar last July, has now been back on his bike in anger, pushing himself to confirm his return to rude health. Luke reports no ill-effects, and will continue to find track-time wherever he can in the coming weeks leading up to the season's start. He is also racing in the National League this year, and will be on parade at Brandon for the Blaze's press day on March 13th. NEW REGULATIONS: As the new season approaches, we thought we should go over a few minor amendments to the regulations governing Premier League speedway in 2015. None are game-changers, and some seem (in our eyes) unecessary, however the powers-that-be want to refine a few things. Let's see..... Firstly, if a home team wins a match -- whether by one point of forty points -- they will be awarded three league points. If they win by six points or less, the visting team will get a bonus point, but this year a win is a three-pointer, regardless of the scoreline. We will see less black-and-white helmets this term. In PL matches, a losing team can only use the tactical facility once, it being available when a team is ten or more points behind the opposition in heats 5 through 12 (inclusive). The tactical facility willl not be available during the PL play-offs, in the KO Cup or the later stages of the League Cup. The PL play-offs will again be contested by the top six clubs in the final table. However, the format of the play-offs is refined. This year the third-placed club faces the sixth finisher in one quarter-final and finishers four and five meet in the other. The winners then progress to semi-finals, where the winners of the first quarter-final face the table-toppers, and the runners-up race against the team coming out of the second quarter-final. Obviously, the two winning semi-finalists then contest the Premier League Championship Grand Final. One other minor adjustment -- welcomed by traditionalists -- is the full-time return of the yellow-and-black helmet to replace yellow for the fourth rider in a heat. This at the request of referees, who have found it difficult to distinguish between white and plain yellow covers under murky conditions. BENFUND BANDITS: Two of our Dixon Building Bandits will get an early-season run-out on Sunday, March 8th in the annual BenFund Bonanza event, to be staged this year at Swindon. The meeting will comprise a quadrangular tournament between Australia, England, Denmark and Poland. The Danes have announced Thomas Jorgensen in their team, and Ben Barker -- who has the magnificent record of turning out in every single Bonanza meeting so far staged -- will be in the English squad, alongside Edinburgh ace Craig Cook and Glasgow's latest big-money signing Richard Lawson. In addition to the BenFund event, Ben will have another meeting under his belt before arriving at Shielfield for our Press & Practice session (on Saturday 21st March) when he will be at Ipswich -- his 2013 club -- to take part in the Witches' annual Billy Sanders Memorial event on Thursday 19th. MUSIC POLICIES: While we are aware that spectators come to Shielfield Park on a Saturday night to watch motor-bikes going sideways rather than attend a disco, we have at times received intense communications from customers who want to comment on the music played between races. Of course, we carefully read all suggestions, and in this instance find that -- of the minority who care -- there is virtually no common ground! Experience tells us there are about 5% of our weekly audience who want bang-up-to-the-minute thumping modern pop, hip-hop and house music, 5% who want the hit sounds of their rock'n'roll youth and a further 5% who seek gentle background music without any interference to their chatting! But that in truth, the remaining 85% don't give a hoot what we play..... In short, we certainly cannot please everybody -- but will continue to provide as variable a mixture of music as possible between races, incorporating old ones, gold ones, new ones and blue ones -- and we will continue to pass all requests for any particular artistes or musical styles to our presentation team. Enjoy! KO CUP: This season's Premier League KO Cup competition will be sponsored by Travel Plus Tours. In the first round, your Dixon Building Bandits have been drawn to race Ipswich Witches (home leg is on May 9th, away return at Foxhall Heath on Thursday, 21st). The winners of this tie will face either Rye House or Workington in the quarter-finals. PRESS AND PRACTICE: Our official Press'n'Practice session this year will take place on Saturday, March 21st. All contracted riders will be in attendance of course, and will take to the track after their usual photo-calls and media interview sessions. The Track Shop will be open, and sales of VIP Club memberships and our various season ticket packages will be available. THEO PIJPER: Although Theo raced as a Bandit for only a short period (in 2007) he has been a respected visitor since first arriving in Scotland in 2002 to join Edinburgh Monarchs, and spending a couple of years more recently on loan to Glasgow Tigers. We also remember last year, as the rain lashed down on Shielfield and we desperately dragged our track covers out to try to get the planned GP Challenge meeting on, Theo -- who was to be racing -- was right in there among our soaked staffers, pulling covers around with the best of them! All of which means we are happy to advertise that Theo Pijper's long-awaited Testimonial will take place as the season-opener up at Armadale on Friday, March 20th. While the full line-up, or indeed the format of the meeting, has not been announced yet, we do know Claus Vissing was one of the first riders to be named for the event. (In fact, Claus' appearance will be sponsored by the Dixon Building Bandits!). We will be reporting on further additions to the field in our Banditmail issues leading up to his big night. RICKY'S MEET: As we have previously noted in our Banditmail, there will be a meeting at Sheffield on Sunday, March 22nd (the day after our press'n'practice session) to add to funds raised for the rehabilitation and continuing recuperation of our grievously-injured Bandit Ricky Ashworth. Detail;s of the event are now emerging, and some of the names of riders taking part. Our own Ben Barker will be racing for Ricky, along with (among others still to be announced) Simon Stead, Freddie Lindgren, Peter Karlsson, Jakob Thorsell and Chris Harris. The meeting itself will be a 20-heat individual event, plus two semi-finals and a final. VIP CLUB MEMBERSHIPS BUILDING UP: With only six or so weeks until the bikes first roar again, it is tremendous to report the Bandits' promotion's initiative in setting up the new VIP Club is being rewarded by memberships coming in - are you in the Club as yet? Ryan Anderson announced the first of what will be several extra offers to boost membership of the new VIP Club, announcing that every tenth member signing-up to be a Bandits' VIP will receive free admission to the regular-season meeting of their choice during 2015. "This won't be the last wee extra we've got up our sleeve for VIPs" he confirmed. "We want to draw our fantastically-loyal and enthusiastic family of Berwick Bandits together, and what'll happen with this part of the deal is that every tenth VIP, member number 10, 20, 30, etc, will quite simply be invited to come to the next meeting -- or another night if they can't make it -- as our guest. When season-ticket holders join as VIPs, they will receive a free pass for a friend to use" "We will have further benefits for members in addition to what's already been announced" Ryan went on. "But we wanted to tell people about the free ticketing idea right away, so they can apply for membership sooner, rather than later, and hopefully get one of the lucky numbers!". For an annual membership fee of £20, VIP supporters will be afforded the opportunity to make a privileged pits visit for a few heats during a meeting, and then spend a further couple of races viewing proceedings from the centre-green. Members will also be invited to make the presentation of a VIP award to one night's most-entertaining rider and -- if they have kids who attend matches -- can nominate their young 'uns to be mascots. Further, VIPs will receive a 50% discount of tickets for dances, etc, organised by the promotion, on certain nights they will receive a generous discount on merchandise from the Club Shop and on booking hospitality will be granted 10% discount if a full party (30+ visitors) is booked in. To join the VIP Club, and those who have already signed up -- and you just might be a 'tenth member' -- contact Lani Rae on lani@berwickbandits.co or call 07775-227535.

Interesting -- it was well-known that old Jimmy was as gay as they came!

Maybe there won't be this year!