Unprecedented stability reigns in Superleague as only 6 new teams enter the competition. Three of those are clubs relocating with Thomas Dilkes moving Wisbech to Leicester to become the Monarchs after taking over the Warriors towards the end of the previous season. The same fate befell Birmingham City Slickers as their franchise moved to Ipswich as the Cowboys with another ex-promoter, Tony Simmons, being a late season replacement for the previous management. Boston Bees came into being as Stephen Owens, who had been in charge at Dudley from the previous mid season, moved his club to their new home.

Newly promoted to Division 1 Long Eaton Invaders became the Lichfield Lightning while Oakley became the Border Bandits. The final change saw Glenrothes cease to be with Everton Steelers taking their place.

On the transfer front there was also unprecedented stability as most clubs stayed largely with the rider base they had at the end of the 05/06 campaign. This was due to a few factors but the introduction of a minimum 3.00 average as opposed to the previous 2.00 meant most sides juggled the middle of the team rather than the top end.

Another major reason for the fairly inactive market was the fact that WWLS restructured from 8 to 12 sides (Barcelona, Moscow, Prague and Warsaw being the new teams) and switched to Four Team Tournament mode rather than 7 a side. This meant the 8 existing clubs lost a rider but 16 new guys were still required and, as a consequence, no WWLS riders became available for Superleague clubs to purchase. The old WWLS scoring system is re-introduced too as every race point counts towards the overall total rather than 3 points for winning the match, 2 for second, etc. This should mean every single race is vital throughout the season.

The previous campaign had seen 9 clubs splash out more than £200,000 in transfer fees. This season only Division 3 side Boston topped that mark spending £243,000 on no less than 5 riders. Peter O’Brien topped their spending list costing £135,000 from Coventry while the Bees also parted company with £80,000 to secure the services of Chris Coles from Ipswich.

Most expensive transfer was the £150,000 Essex Gunners handed to Huntingdon for the signature of 34 year old Kim Sorensen. Billy Curtis’ move from Bexwell cost Walsall £130,000 and the only other 100k+ deal saw Peter King leave SL runners up London for Division 2 Wilmington for £110,000.

Ipswich also cashed in on Antonin Pavel who was snapped up for £75,000 with Mark Parmar heading to Suffolk. Houston recouped most of this outlay when selling Carsten Recht to London Spartans for £70,000 while Jamie Whittaker dropped from SL to Division 2 when a £75,000 deal saw him go from Yeovil to Bradford.

A few major deals which didn’t see much cash involved saw Luke Mills leave Swanage for Huntingdon for a fee of £65,000 with Kenny Rodman and John King heading to the South Coast while Rory McMillan left relegated Coalville for promoted Tipton with Marti Danielsson making the opposite trip in a cash free deal. Dino Mazzerati was also on the move from relegated, to Division 2, Southend to Division 1 promotees Lichfield in a deal which saw Tony Thompson and Sy Parrish go to the Sorcerers.

June

World Championships start of the season as the riders from Down Under start their campaign. And there is a major shock in the Australian Final as SL high flyer Lee Peron (Tipton) gets knocked off and injured by Houston’s Cane Richardson which ends the Redwings’ title ambitions after 4 rides. That apart, there are no real shocks. However, the super tough Australasian Final sees both Aussie final and NZ/South African Final winners Richardson and Luke Marriott (London) crash out. In fact, only 2 of the 6 podium finishers qualify. Leigh Langley (Huntingdon) takes the title again from Damon Taylor (London) and Carson Black (Prague). Ipswich’s Mark Parmar and Tipton’s Rory McMillan are the qualifiers as a host of big names are out.

The British quarter finals and semi finals are raced too with only a few unexpected casualties. Walter Norris (Bury), Mark Fossitt (Seaton) and Hayden Harris (Evesham) crash out in the quarters when they could have been reasonably expected to make the semi’s at least. Cradley’s Jamie Simmons is the big name to miss out at the semi stage but all of the really big names make the final.

In the USA all of the ‘names’ make it with one exception. Billy Curtis, the new Walsall recruit, is fenced by Costa Mesa’s Brad Simpson and is ruled out for 12 weeks with leg and arm injuries.

With only 2 matches gone it’s too early to tell how the leagues are shaping up but Aisha’s Motor and Peterborough both boast 100% records as do Cradley and Seaton in Division 1, London Spartans in Division 2 and Birmingham Bullets in Division 3. The biggest win is a huge 59-30 home result for Seaton over Sheffield while Jiri Jedek (Seaton) and Greg Goss get to record the first league full maxima on the same day.

Huntingdon’s Michal Molnar wins the first individual of the season when he takes the honours at the Golden Warrior at Wilmington. Seaton’s Mark Fossitt and home rider Andrew Lemon fill the podium ahead of top riders like Jan Kirsten, Lee Jarman and Tim Springfield.

The revamped YDL gets underway too. It’s now an under 16 competition and all 16 sides have a new crop of 5 riders. With no transfers available each side is stuck with what they have so it’s going to be a bit of pot luck as to how sides fare.  Irlam, Huntingdon and Aisha’s appear to have been lucky in the allocation of riders as they all run up big scores in their first matches.

Two rounds of WWLS are raced and the top 3 from last year (Vojens, Gothenburg and Sydney) already occupy 3^rd, 1^st and 2^nd. Gothenburg’s Martin Ekstrom starts the season well with a maximum and a 10 point score.

July

The early rounds of the World title hunt continue with the Continental Quarter finals seeing most of the fancied riders through. Pawel Sawiliczek (Ipswich), Mario Zovka (Bury) and Roy De-Veer (Wilmington) are the big casualties.

In Northern Europe Jan Kirsten underlines his class with a Danish title win, his 4^th, from WWLS riders Jan Kusmussen and Bo Larsen while Swanage celebrate a Swedish 1-2 with Marcus Gustafsson and Patrik Lindberg taking the plaudits. Martin Ekstrom takes third to cap his fine start to the season.

The Nordic Final sees Olli Nimi of Auckland take the crown with Coalville’s Marti Danielsson in second. Oslo’s Magnus Nils and Ipswich’s Rune Oscarssen fill the other 2 places after a tense run off which sees Bury’s Harri Lahti miss out.

On the international front England lose the first test to a strong Danish team by 46 points to 44 despite Houston’s Lee Jarman and Essex’s Jason Cross both hitting double figures.

The league is shaping up after 6 matches with Aisha’s Motor still on a 100% record and 5 points clear of the pack in SL. Yeovil are struggling with just 1 point while the rest of the sides are separated by 3 points.

Cradley top Division 1 with Seaton and Evesham in close attendance while Bexwell are the basement dwellers. Division 2 has London Spartans and Bournemouth tied at the top and Croxley Green are at the head of Division 3 with Everton and Irlam struggling.

YDL has completed 2 rounds and it is all change from the year before with Walsall sitting on top as the only side to have won both rounds and reigning champs Houston Bucks second bottom.

On the individual scene Matt Hayes of Boston shows his undoubted talent by winning the Boston Stinger in fine style against a field of sub 5.00 riders. Meanwhile, Lee Peron of Tipton takes the Scottish Open at Houston with a superb 14 point haul. World Champion Tomasz Kornicki takes second with Sheffield’s fellow Pole Andrzej Karasinski taking a very good third.

August

Six matches gone and it was time for the annual scramble that is the transfer window re-opening as sides try to rebuild to the newly increased averages.

And what a scramble the first week is as no less than 40 deals are concluded. Swanage are involved in the two big money deals as they sign Martin Cole from Birmingham for £140,000 and sell Jonas Jonsson to Bournemouth (the 500^th transfer between the sides) for £120,000. Ian Lawson completes the 3 way deal by moving from Bournemouth to Birmingham for free.

Other notable deals include veteran Aussie Peter O’Brien joining London Jaguars from Boston with Kiwi champion Luke Marriott moving the other way, star in the making Adam Kenton joins Bexwell from Walsall on loan and Yeovil snap up Nicki Samuelsson from the unattached list.

The World Under 21 Championship Final is held early in the month and it’s England’s Walter Norris of Bury who takes the honours defeating Coventry’s Rob Brackenbury in a run off. Third place goes to Croatian Tomas Davidoff of Barcelona while big favourite Julian Steele could only manage 8^th after mechanical problems affected his evening. Norris also books a place in the World Final to be held at Lonigo in February.

Only the British and American Finals in the World championships with Houston’s Lee Jarman taking the British Crown for a second time with Julian Steele of Croxley Green in second defeating Walsall’s Jamie Jackson and Jason Cross of Essex in a run off. The major shock is the exit of previous season’s World Finalist Ian Harding (Titirangi). Over the pond Bradford’s Billy Hicks wraps up the American title for the third time with a great pass in the run off with Costa Mesa’s Brad Simpson. Coalville rider Mark Olsen takes third.

There are loads of YDL matches (4 complete rounds) as the table really starts to take shape with Tipton and Huntingdon 3 points clear of Aisha’s. Southend and Essex are rooted to the foot of the table with only 3 points from 6 matches. WWLS also shapes up and Vojens are again top with Barcelona and Sydney close behind.

There are only 2 league matches but Aisha’s are still on a 100% record while only 1 point separates the top 4 in Divisions 1 and 2. Division 3 sees Boston and Croxley Green starting to break away from the pack.

On the international front England level the series against Denmark with a comprehensive 54-36 win at Irlam before taking the series 2-1 with a narrow 46-43 victory at Weymouth. Meanwhile, Scotland are defeated 3-0 by Germany.

In the KO Cup there is a notable casualty as Division 1 Sheffield humble SL Houston. All other matches where the sides are in different divisions see the higher division side win the tie.

September

A month of big injuries and big transfer deals as Essex lose Adam Hokonowski for 3 months with a broken leg and ankle, London lose Peter Hotter for 2 months with a broken arm and Yeovil see Carl Cash ruled out for the season with a broken thigh.

Almost £600,000 is splashed in 3 big deals during the month as Essex make moves to replace Hokonowski by splashing out £200,000 to take Eddie Millard from Peterborough while Boston shell out £180,000 to secure the services of Soren Sundberg from Irlam. However, the deal that gets everyone buzzing is the £300,000 Huntingdon part with to make 18 year old Scot Julian Steele an asset. Many had tried to sign him but with Steele looking more unsettled in Division 3 every week it was Huntingdon who made the bid that got Superleague’s hottest property…or second hottest property behind Matt Hayes if the Boston promoter is to be believed.

There are no World Championship matches and very little going on in YDL or WWLS as the league dominates proceedings and reaches the one third complete mark.

Division 3 has Boston and Croxley Green, weathering the loss of Steele brilliantly, still setting the pace. Birmingham and Border make up the immediate chasing pack while Southend, Essex and London Spartans have broken clear at the top of Division 2. Bury are bottom but are only 4 points behind 4^th place.

Division 1 has clear leaders in Cradley with Lichfield, Coalville and Seaton making up the chasing pack. Bexwell are adrift at the bottom but only 3 points covers 5^th to 9^th.

In SL Aisha’s unbeaten record is smashed when Walsall go to the Motor Arena and win. Defeats then follow at London and Houston as the Motor men are proved to be human after all. Titirangi are the only side to taste defeat to the Aisha’s side as the month closes. The Breakers are bottom with Yeovil only a point above while London, Walsall and Tipton are all 4 behind Aisha’s with Huntingdon a further point behind.

Internationally the first test between Scotland and New Zealand is cancelled while the Scots ensure at least a drawn series with a 48-42 win in Rivendell in the ‘second’ test. Individually Craig Kimble (Yeovil) takes the Eveshamapolis, Jamie Simmons (Cradley) takes London Spartans Iliad and Hayden Harris (Evesham) is victorious in Dover’s Battle of Britain. Meanwhile Coventry’s Sam Rea just holds off Huntingdon’s Andrew Livesy to take the British Junior GP title with his third win in the 5 round series.

October

Average change time and there are some big deals but the really big bucks don’t get spent till later in the month when the WWLS lets 4 of its big names go.

Per Nimni leaves Huntingdon for London Jaguars for a fee of £105,000 while Houston and Evesham get involved in a 5 rider deal that sees long time Pirate Rickard Reiner, Mats Lindqvist and Scott Parker join the Stars while Jonathan Phillips and Matty Oliver move to the Pirates. Tipton splash out a cool quarter of a million to acquire Darren Edwards from Bradford.

However, it’s later in the month that £1,186,000 is spent on 4 riders as Huntingdon spend £415,000 on Bo Larsen, taking their spending over the last two months to 715k.  Yeovil make Jens Kleinendorst a Crusader for £405,000 while Coventry splurges £201,000 on Rune Johnsen. Valentino Muzzi joins Croxley Green for £165,000 as the Cougars re-strengthen with some more of the Julian Steele transfer money.

It’s quarter final stage in the World Championships as Leigh Langley takes his second successive Overseas title by defeating American Champion Billy Hicks in a run off. Lee Jarman is the big name casualty. The Scandinavian Final sees the same top 2 as last year in the same order as Marcus Gustafsson again takes the title from Jan Kirsten. The Continental Semi’s see most of the main stars through but there is a major shock in both rounds. Firstly Rickard Reiner, on his ex-home track of Houston, takes a tumble in his third ride and crashes out while Danny Capirossi misses out at Huntingdon and for the first time ever won’t be in the World Final.

It’s not all bad news for Capirossi though as his club side Aisha’s Motor still top the SL but only just from Tipton. Huntingdon and Walsall are taking close order but Yeovil and Titirangi are adrift at the wrong end of the table.

Cradley still set the pace in Division 1 from Lichfield with Seaton occupying the play off spot while Bexwell are facing up to another long hard season as they are 8 points adrift of safety nearing the halfway point of the campaign. Division Two sees Essex and Southend pull away a little from London Spartans while Croxley Green are clear at the top of Division 3 from Boston.

Scotland complete a 2-0 series win over New Zealand while England take on the Rest of the World over 3 matches and lose the series 2-1.

YDL and WWLS both reach halfway with Tipton and Aisha’s duplicating their senior sides success as they are top 2 in the table. Huntingdon are 5 adrift with a match in hand. Vojens continue to sit atop WWLS but only 2 race points ahead of Gothenburg. 4 teams are 4 points behind.

Individuals see Lee Jarman win in Croxley Green, Matt Hayes take Atherstone’s Adders Trophy, Tomasz Kornicki winning Leicester’s Oscar Thomassen Farewell meeting and Markus Elts top dog in Swanage’s Purbeck Cup.

November

World Team Cup time rolls around again and Denmark end a four year hiatus since their last win taking the title with a 50-40 defeat of Sweden in the final. Surprisingly, this was the Swedes first final appearance as the Danes took the trophy for the third time.

England and Scotland both crashed out in the second round. Scotland had drawn with eventual winners Denmark in the group stages but went out to Italy while it was those Danes who saw England off with a 53-37 victory.

Not much in the way of league action with the World Cup, Pairs and Fours on this month as only 2 matches are raced with the tables remaining almost identical to the end of October although the top sides can all feel other sides breathing down their necks.

The Fours are taken by Tipton for the second year in a row and they become the only side to have won the competition twice. It took a last race victory by Rory McMillan over Huntingdon’s Bo Larsen to take the title by a single point. Bradford and Houston are also-rans in the final. Yeovil’s Craig Kimble and Jens Kleinendorst secure the pairs for the Crusaders. Could this be the spark the Somerset side need to kick start their season? Markus Elts of Peterborough secures second in a run of against Mark Olsen of Coalville.

WWLS sees Costa Mesa come out of the pack to tie the lead with Vojens with Berlin only 3 back and Warsaw a further 5 behind. Gothenburg and Sydney are still in the shake up with a match in hand.

YDL sees the cup competitions kick off and Aisha’s crash out to Yeovil after home and away defeats. Huntingdon hit 30 in their home leg against Irlam and keep that good form going in the league to tie at the top with Tipton. Aisha’s are just a point back while Coventry are the only other realistic challengers.

Danny Capirossi makes up for his World Championship exit by winning the Birmingham Shoot Out while Lichfield’s Dino Mazzerati is the winner of the Sheriff of Anglia trophy at Ipswich.

More big money splashed on the transfer market with Walsall enticing Matthias Korsten from London for £165,000 while Croxley Green sign Rene Hansen from Rivendell for £150,000 with Lee Carter and Darren Rice making the trip the other way.

Unfortunately there is more injury woe as Michal Molnar of Huntingdon breaks his hand and is sidelined until January while Irlam lose Paul Butler till the end of the season with a broken back.

December

The injury situation gets even worse early in December as Boston’s Luke Hewitt breaks his back, pelvis and both legs which ends his career.

SL sees Tipton catch up to Aisha’s but the long time leaders hold onto top spot courtesy of points difference while Yeovil and Titirangi continue to occupy the relegation places.

Cradley seem to have blown up big style with only 3 points in their previous 6 matches which sees Lichfield take over top spot and pull 3 points clear. Evesham and Coalville are both within 2 points of Cradley as the race to get out of Division 1 heats up. Bexwell and Tayside look forward to a bleak Christmas stuck at the foot of the table.

In Division 2 Essex are storming away with a 7 point lead over Southend with London, Bournemouth and Rivendell all on 25 points fighting out the play off spot. Ipswich and Wilmington are bottom but are only 6 and 7 points away from a promotion play off spot!

Croxley Green are 10 points clear of third placed Birmingham while Boston are 5 behind. Irlam, after a good run, Atherstone and Canvey are all right behind Birmingham and pushing hard. Everton are still rock bottom and thankful that there isn’t a Division 4.

The Cup quarter finals see Titirangi shock Huntingdon with a 2 point aggregate win while SL London and Walsall just ease past Division 1 opponents Evesham and Coalville. Sheffield beat fellow Division 1 side Lichfield to make the semi’s for the second successive year.

However, December’s big news is that Jan Kirsten is out of the World Final after only mustering a 5^th placed finish in the Eliminator after an 11^th place finish in the Inter Continental Final.

Walsall’s Jamie Jackson took the Inter Continental title from Rory McMillan (Tipton) and Leigh Langley (Huntingdon) with Magnus Karlsson (Aisha’s Motor), Craig Kimble (Yeovil) and Luke Mills (Croxley Green) also securing a place at Lonigo.

The Continental Final sees Tomasz Kornicki complete a double title triumph for Walsall ahead of Lichfield’s Dino Mazzerati and Sheffield’s Andrzej Karasinski. Jens Kleinendorst (Yeovil), Paolo Lorini (Coventry) and Markus Elts (Peterborough) also book a Lonigo place.

The Eliminator also took place this month with Essex’s Jason Cross taking a hard fought win over Bradford’s Billy Hicks and Houston’s Patrik Lindberg in a 3 way run off after all of them had finished on 13 points some 4 points clear of a field which included such luminaries as Kirsten, Gustafsson and Kebukin.

January

The league gets underway again after the Christmas break and Croxley Green keep the festive feeling up by increasing their lead in Division 3 and look pretty unstoppable in the promotion hunt. Likewise, Essex in Division 2 are well clear.

Boston are a comfortable second in Division 3 from Birmingham while London Spartans have caught Southend in Division 2. Only 6 points separates 4^th from 9^th in the rest of the table, with Wilmington needing to pull their socks up if they don’t want to be left behind.

Lichfield are still edging Cradley in Division 1 with Evesham and Coalville still keeping close order while Tayside and Bexwell are still adrift at the foot of the table. Titirangi and Yeovil can share their pain as they are in a similar position in SL while Swanage are battling with Peterborough to avoid the play off spot.

Aisha’s Motor are a point clear of Tipton with Walsall 5 behind. Houston, Huntingdon and London are all bunched together a further 2 points back.

Tipton are also going well in YDL and have stretched away from Huntingdon at the top. Coventry are still thereabouts but Aisha’s have fallen away and are in danger of being swallowed up by the rest of the pack.

Berlin take top spot in WWLS from Sydney but have raced a match more than their main rivals. Every team down to 8^th has a realistic chance of taking the WWLS title.

Tomasz Kornicki and Luke Mills are celebrating after taking the Cat’s Classic at London Jaguars and the Yorkshire Shoot Out at Bradford, respectively.

February

It’s World Final time again and the big question was could Tomasz Kornicki retain his title. The answer was a resounding yes as he put in a near flawless display to take his second World Crown. His only dropped point came to Walsall team mate Jamie Jackson when he recorded his only points of the night in a race win.

Fellow Pole Andrzej Karasinski of Sheffield takes second spot with Essex’s Jason Cross holding off Yeovil’s Craig Kimble in a race off for the final podium spot.

The British Under 21 title is also decided when Huntingdon’s Julian Steele rattles in 5 wins to go one place better than the previous year. Boston’s Matt Hayes takes second ahead of World Under 21 champion Walter Norris (Bury) who could’ve had second if not for a fall in his 4^th ride.

The WWLS nears its climax with Warsaw taking over Pole position but they are only 13 ahead of Berlin who have a match in hand. Vojens, Gothenburg and Sydney are the only other teams still in it.

In YDL, Tipton all but wrap up the title with Huntingdon 5 behind 2 clear of Coventry and 1 of Aisha’s. Kestrels have a match in hand but it would need Tipton to record only their second last place of the campaign combined with 2 Huntingdon wins for things to change.

As the league hurtles past the two-thirds complete stage, 3 sides have to contend with even more major injuries as Phil Purvis of Bradford breaks some fingers and is out for a month. Irlam’s Dean Pierson breaks his wrist and is out for 6 weeks while a broken left arm will sideline Sheffield’s Nathan Pryer for 2 months. There are lots of transfer deals as sides bolster the middle to lower order of their sides with the biggest value deal being Roy De Veer’s £70,000 move from Wilmington to Tayside.

In SL Aisha’s lead by a point from Tipton but Walsall have closed right in and are now only two off of the lead. It’s a similar story in Division 1 as Lichfield and Cradley still occupy the important positions with Evesham and Coalville making in roads.

Division 2 has Essex miles in front but the battle for the second promotion spot is getting hot with London and Southend being joined by Rivendell in the battle. Wilmington are still 4 adrift at the bottom with second bottom Weymouth only 6 behind Rivendell.

Not surprisingly it’s still Croxley Green by a street in Division 3 with Boston almost having been caught by a resurgent Irlam.

The KO Cup semi finals are the tightest of affairs as Titirangi defeat Sheffield by 10 at home and only just hold onto their advantage in the Steel city when going down by 8. It’s even tighter in the other semi as Walsall edge past London 45-44 in the first leg only to see Matthias Korsten excluded in heat 15 of the second leg to end their hopes of progress. The 46-44 win for London puts the Jaguars into their 4^th KO Cup Final.

March

Tipton duly wrap up the YDL title by winning their final match while Huntingdon confirm second place, for the third time, by winning their second last match. Coventry finish last in their final match allowing Aisha’s to overhaul them for third place.

WWLS is getting tighter entering the final stages. Berlin are back on top just 3 clear of Vojens and 15 ahead of Warsaw with Oslo another 3 back. Gothenburg are 26 adrift of the leaders but have 2 matches left.

Tomasz Kornicki wins the Bexwell Anniversary meeting and the Carl Cash, Luke Hewitt, Paul Butler Benefit meeting at Irlam. A grand gesture by the Irlam promotion to stage the event for these injured riders. Jason Cross, the World number 3 joins them on the injured list after breaking his ankle and will miss the remainder of the league campaign.

The KO Cup is taken by London for the second time with a 51-38 home win and a 46-44 away win over Titirangi.

In the league the main story is Sheffield falling out of the promotion race after a line up error saw Max Skelton ride at reserve and Corey Anderson in the team. Anderson should have been at reserve. Lichfield appeal and it’s upheld reversing the 53-37 defeat and handing 3 points to Lightning and putting the final nail in the coffin of any hopes Krusaders had of getting into the promotion battle.

That battle is being keenly contested by 3 teams as Lichfield sit top 4 points clear of Evesham and 5 ahead of Cradley. There is an 8 point gap to 4^th and it looks like it’s between these 3 sides for the 2 automatic places next season.

Tayside and Bexwell still occupy the bottom spots but are gradually closing on Coventry.

The Division 3 title is still well in the grasp of Croxley Green but things are tightening up in the fight for second. Boston and Irlam are tied with Birmingham only a point adrift. Long term bottom side Everton have pulled to within 2 points of Border Bandits.

Essex still control Division 2. London have broken clear of Southend, Rivendell and Bury who have fought their way into the promotion race.

Wilmington are 6 adrift of safety with Bournemouth, Ipswich and Bradford fighting to avoid the second relegation place/

At the top of SL, Aisha’s have been deposed by Tipton who are two points clear. Walsall are also ahead of the Motor but only on points difference. London and Huntingdon have lingering title hopes while Titirangi looked doomed as they are 7 points behind the play off place and 14 away from safety. Yeovil and Peterborough are in a two way battle to settle the final relegation and the play off place.

April

Strange transfer dealings in April as Boston sign Lewis Henry for £135,000 from Croxley making his loan spell permanent. Bees then sell Henry on to Irlam for £45,000 plus Andy Town. Boston explains that when Henry joined on loan the fee was agreed. Unfortunately, by the time it came to pay up Henry had failed to impress and was moved on at a loss.

But the biggest story is the bombshell from HQ that the leagues will undergo another restructure. This time the set up is contracting from 4 divisions of 10 to 3 divisions of 10 meaning that the Division 3 promotion battle is meaningless as any side not folding will be moving up to division 2. The Division 2 relegation battle now also has no significance as any side finishing in the relegation places can’t go down.

However, every team in divisions 1 and 2 now realise that the potential for promotion has expanded due to the fact that if sides in a higher league fold then an extra promotion place opens up. HQ confirms that teams will be promoted and relegated according to final league position.

In SL Tipton still sit on top with Aisha’s Motor only a point away. Walsall have dropped off the pace and are 5 behind the leaders with only 3 matches remaining. Titirangi close to within 4 of Yeovil and promoterless Peterborough who are certainties to fold.

Division 1 has Lichfield, Evesham and Cradley clear of the pack. Tayside, Bexwell and Coventry are involved in a 3 way dogfight at the bottom.

Essex are Division 2 champions but London, Southend and Bury have dropped Rivendell out of the race are locked in a fierce battle for second and third.

The Division 3 crown is wrapped up by Croxley Green with Irlam, Boston and Birmingham fighting it out for the honour of second place,

May (Week 1)

Tipton gain a creditable away draw at Huntingdon but slip back to second as Aisha’s Motor destroy Swanage at the Motor Arena. Walsall stay in the hunt with a home win over Peterborough which allows Yeovil to move above the Flyers courtesy of a 49-40 home win over Houston.

Lichfield stay top of Division 1 despite losing to Coventry. The bonus point won keeps them one ahead of Evesham who draw in Sheffield. Cradley maintain the pressure with home win over Seaton. At the bottom, Tayside take all 3 points with a win against Coalville but Bexwell inflict a big defeat on Leicester which pulls the Monarchs back into the relegation mire. Coventry’s win over top of the table Lichfield just keeps them in the play off spot.

Division 2 champions Essex unexpectedly slip up at home against promotion chasing Southend which pushes Sorcerers into the Play Off position as London win in Bournemouth to keep hold of the automatic promotion slot. Bury swamp Rivendell to stay in contention while only divine intervention will let Weymouth sneak into the promotion battle.

Irlam win at Canvey to stay just ahead of third placed Boston while champions, Croxley Green, slip up at Border. Birmingham continues to push for a top 2 place with an away win at Witham.

Another big injury as Sheffield’s Jon Reader breaks his thigh.

Week 2

It’s as you were in Division 3 as Irlam, Boston and Birmingham all win and the fight for second place goes to the last week.

In Division 2 Southend move into second with a comfortable home win over Wilmington who would now be relegated, along with Bournemouth, if there was a Division 3 next season.

Essex help Southend out by winning at London a week after capitulating at home to Sorcerers which forces London into third. Bury are still in with a shout after taking the bonus at Ipswich despite a 4 point defeat. Weymouth’s faint flame flickers out with a loss at Bradford.

Division 1 sees Lichfield and Cradley blow the chance to secure promotion with a week to go as both unexpectedly lose at home. Lightning go down to the steamroller that has been Bexwell in recent weeks as the Braves climb out of the automatic drop zone for the first time since the start of the season.  Cradley win in Leicester and put the Monarchs in relegation danger while closing to within a point of the top.

Coventry’s surprise 53-37 win in Evesham moves them to 7^th but they are only a point clear of Leicester and tied with Bexwell. Sheffield lose at Coalville and from a mid table position of comfort are now only 3 ahead of Leicester. Points difference means the Krusaders are probably out of reach of the Monarchs but they could still end up in the play off position. Tayside are officially relegated after losing at Seaton.

Titirangi are down despite winning against Yeovil as the Crusaders take the bonus point to move themselves 5 clear of the Breakers. Peterborough crash at home to Huntingdon and are now 3 behind Yeovil and need a big win next week combined with a Yeovil home defeat to have any chance of staying up.

Houston take 3 points from Walsall to end their championship hopes but the big match of the week, indeed the season, is Tipton v Aisha’s Motor showdown. Redwings hold their nerve to win by 10 points to take all 3 points on offer and move 2 clear of the Motor. It took a heat 15 4-2 by Lee Peron and Rory McMillan to secure the bonus point. Had Motor taken it the sides would have been tied on points.

Week 3

WWLS reaches the stage where every club has one match left and the picture is clearer but not decided. Berlin sit top 3 race points clear of both Gothenburg and Vojens with Oslo and Warsaw needing big scores to force themselves into contention in the last round. YDL also tidies up the last few matches but they don’t mean anything in the overall scheme of things.

In SL Tipton go down in London but take the bonus point moving them 3 clear of Aisha’s. The Motor visit Yeovil, on the same evening, needing to win by a big score but as they enter heat 15 43-41 down they hear the Tipton score and realise even winning the match narrowly won’t be enough. As it turns out Yeovil take the honours in the final heat to leave Tipton two points clear at the top and the previous season’s Division 1 champions are now crowned Super League champions.

At the bottom Titirangi take all 3 points over Peterborough to consign the Flyers to relegation and to haul themselves up to 9^th. Yeovil’s win over Aisha’s Motor leaves them safe as HQ confirm that due to sides folding elsewhere there will be no play off’s required this year. Peterborough announces their closure.

In Division 1 Cradley hammer Lichfield to take the Division 1 title as Evesham slip up at Seaton and look to have lost their automatic promotion place. However, Lichfield immediately announces their closure and Evesham are going up.

The bottom end sees the Bexwell steamroller just run out of fuel as Tayside beat them and it looks like relegation as Leicester win in Coalville and Coventry win in Sheffield. However, with Sheffield and Coalville deciding to not run next season relegation for the bottom 2, combined with teams above them closing, would leave the league with only 8 clubs so Bexwell and Tayside are handed a reprieve.

London loses and finish fourth in division 2 while Bury claim third with a win in Weymouth. Southend secure second with a draw at home to Ipswich but it all means little as all 4 clubs are promoted due to the amount of sides closing above them. Weymouth and Bournemouth announce their closures.

In Division 3 it’s a case of whoever is left standing is promoted. However, Irlam claim second place after a fierce battle with Boston courtesy of a home win over champions Croxley Green.

Everton and Canvey say it’s the end of the road for them and everyone else is going up to Division 2.

However, there are 32 sides who have said they will run and only 30 places. 28 clubs have paid their league dues and it’s between Aisha’s Motor, Leicester, Wilmington and Witham who will make up the final two places. Should either Aisha’s or Leicester drop out then there will have to be changes to the make up of the divisions to fill in the spaces.

Week 4

The WWLS reaches an exciting conclusion as Berlin crumble when the pressure is on and finish in 4^th overall. Warsaw manages a big score and tie with Vojens for second but the champions are Gothenburg after they hit 28 in the final leg to win the title by 8 race points. These are the only matches this week as the scheduled play offs are not required.

However, the league now has 30 clubs after Wilmington and Leicester fold. As a result Ipswich gains promotion to Division 1 a week after everyone else.

Week 5

The divisional cups kick off and there are a number of no-shows. Weymouth actually end up in the division 2 semi final without turning a wheel as both Bournemouth and Southend fail to show.

In SL Swanage have a walkover to reach round 2 while Yeovil dispose of Titirangi. In the second round Yeovil have another home tie and dump out Aisha’s Motor. Swanage lose out at home to Tipton while London and Huntingdon secure home wins to go through.

Division 1 sees Bexwell edge a thriller at Leicester to go through while Tayside walk over Sheffield. Bexwell then beat Lichfield away from home to make the semi’s while Tayside shock Coventry in Coventry. Seaton get a walkover against Coalville while Evesham dump champs Cradley out with a 46-44 home win.

As already stated Weymouth walk over Bournemouth in round 1 and Southend in round 2 while Rivendell walk over Wilimington before winning in Bradford to make the semi’s.  London win by 8 against champions Essex while Bury defeat Ipswich by 10 to complete the last 4.

Two walkovers in the first round of the Division 3 cup sees Witham and Border through. However, both crash out in round 2 to Birmingham and Atherstone, respectively. Dover put out Croxley Green while Irlam go to Boston and thrash the Bees 51-39.

June

June commences with the conclusion of the Divisional Cups as champions Tipton, going for the SL double, win at home to Yeovil and Huntingdon win in London to stop cup specialists Jaguars from doing a cup double of their own.

Tayside and Seaton have comfortable home wins over Bexwell and Evesham while Weymouth look to end their existence on a high by defeating Bury to reach the Division 2 Final. Their opponents will be London Spartans who won in Rivendell. Dover lose to Birmingham and Irlam see off Atherstone to guarantee their passage to the second, and last, Division 3 Cup Final.

At Coventry it’s smiles for Birmingham, who need a run off to see off Irlam, Weymouth who win by 3 in their last ever match, Tayside who defeat Seaton by 4 and announce their intention to move the franchise making this the Buccaneers last ever match too.

Meanwhile, the SL Final sees a 49-40 win for Huntingdon to deny Tipton their third trophy of the season.

The Anglo-Scottish Trophy gets its annual airing and England reclaim it with home and away wins by 46-44 in Paisley and 48-41 in Coventry.

The World Challenge Cup makes its usual appearance and Cup Winners London see off WWLS champions Gothenburg 46-44 while Tipton win in Vojens to ensure the first ever non WWLS winner of the cup. In fact, it’ll be the first time in 3 stagings that Vojens haven’t taken the title.

It also ensures there will be no less than 3 London v Tipton battles during the week as the sides also meet in the Steve Hogson Memorial Trophy.

It’s first blood to London in the trophy first leg with a 49-41 win and although Tipton take the second leg 47-43 the SHMT is London bound. However, revenge is gained the very next night, in Coventry, as Redwings win 49-41 to take the World Challenge Cup.

There is no denying it’s been Tipton Redwings’ season as they take the SL crown, the World Challenge Cup and the fours while finishing runners up in both the SL Cup and SHMT.

In a change from the previous 3 seasons some of the Riders championships are spread around the country rather than converging on Coventry. The WWLS title and the YDL title stayed at the National Stadium.

The YDL championship is taken by Phil Hayes of Walsall as YDL big guns Sam Rea, Andrew Livesy and Marcus Fraser fall by the wayside. Coventry’s Rea went closest and could have won the title but for a fall in the last heat. He took second by defeating Tipton’s Fraser and Wilmington’s Greg Hall in a run off.

Brad Simpson of Costa Mesa had to defeat Sydney’s Peter Christopher in a run off to take the WWLS Riders title while Matteo Ripa of Lonigo just held off Carson Black of Prague to secure the final podium step.

Witham’s Rob Gamble and Croxley Green’s Luke Mills showed their class in the Division 3 match up at Ipswich, both scoring 14 points. Gamble dropped his only points to Matt Hayes who ended up fourth after losing a run off to Canvey’s Eoin Williamson while Mills was only headed by Gamble in heat 20.

In the title run off Gamble repeated the feat to be crowned Division 3 riders champion.

The Division 2 lads headed to Irlam and it was Bradford’s American champion Billy Hicks who headed the field from London Spartans’ Peter Andersen and Runa Recklund of Weymouth. Tipton was the destination for the Division 1 meeting and it was Lichfield’s Dino Mazzerati who took the honours from Evesham’s Rickard Reiner who defeated Sheffield’s World Number 2 Andrzej Karasinski after a run off.

The final title to be decided was for the big boys of the SL and they headed to Evesham. A classy display by Peterborough’s Markus Elts secured the trophy, with his only dropped point being to runner up Jan Kirsten (London). The last heat win forced Kirsten into a run off with Aisha’s Danny Capirossi which was easily won by the Dane.

As ever the final act was the SL Select v Div1/2/3 select which was comfortably won by the top flight side by a score of 52-38.

Author: George Seymour (Houston Pirates)