Title Partner
NEWS Saturday 18th November 2023, 11:45am
Edinburgh Monarchs
The British Speedway Promoters AGM concluded this week, paving the way for a great season of racing in 2024.
British Speedway will launch a new programme for youth development in 2024 as part of a concerted effort to bring through the next generation of stars with all Premiership and Championship clubs signing up to a new three-tier structure following discussions at this week's AGM.
The far-reaching structure will involve each club having the option of competing in the National Development League, staging events in a new National Individual series or taking part in a youth programme to be run in second halves following senior meetings. As part of the bold strategy, it is now compulsory for each club to select at least one of the options.
Six clubs have already stated their intention to take part in the NDL next season, with more details to be confirmed on the Monarchs Academy side shortly.
At senior level, the Premiership will welcome two new clubs in 2024 as Birmingham and Oxford step up to join the top-flight.
Meanwhile, the Championship will welcome Workington back into senior racing for the first time since 2018 after the success of their opening season in the NDL at Northside. Oxford will also continue to operate in the second tier.
The points limit has been set at 38 and the Knock Out Cup and BSN Series competitions will feature once more, with draws and group structures to follow.
The Championship play off format has been revised and will now match the Premiership, with the top four clubs qualifying for the semi finals.
The 2024 Championship will feature 9 teams, including Berwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Oxford, Plymouth, Poole, Redcar, Scunthorpe and Workington.
Other key changes to the operation of the sport include:
Starting Procedure: A random electronic starting procedure, as seen in the Grand Prix series, will be introduced to improve fairness at the start of each race.
Guest Facilities: Where a club has one absent rider in their top five, they now have the option to use a guest or rider replacement in any of those positions. Previously one absent rider fourth or fifth in the team order had to be covered by the rider replacement facility.
Heat 15 Rider Selection: Any rider in a team is now eligible for Heat 15, regardless of points scored to that stage or their position in the team.
8-Day Guest Rule During Play Offs: The eight-day rule for guests will not apply during the play-offs, meaning a club would be able to utilise the same guest were they to stage home play off fixtures in successive weeks.
Guest Riders: A rider may only guest for one team throughout the play-offs, or indeed a Cup semi-final and/or Final. This is in addition to the regulation that a rider cannot guest for another team in the play-offs if his own team is also involved.
Transfer Window: The traditional end-of-August transfer cut-off has been replaced by a transfer window, which will close when a club has completed 75 per cent of their regular league matches.
Monarchs are already working on big plans for the 2024 season with details to be announced over the coming months.
2023 Highlights Show: Part 1
Don't forget, the first of the winter shows is coming up next Friday at Napier Craiglockhart from 7:30pm. Join us as we look at the best bits of 2023 and hear from the promotion about what's in store for 2024.
© Edinburgh Monarchs Speedway 2024
Bathgate Road
Armadale
EH48 2PD
