sussex bulldog

I actually copied and pasted Connor's post. He obviously changed it later !

According to Connor not enough support

Eastbourne IT First Eagles have welcomed rule changes introduced for the 2016 season at today’s (December 2) National League agm. The 40-point limit for team building means the treble-winning team of 2015 will, as expected, have to be broken up. Club director Connor Dugard said last year’s team had a combined average approaching 49 points and it was inevitable that changes would have to be made. He said: “Forty points for the limit was what I expected and I have a team in mind which will challenge for honours. “The seven I am lining up will entertain home and away and certainly be placed to challenge for both the league title and the KO Cup.” Dugard has already announced the return of two team members from last year, Georgie Wood and Ben Hopwood, and indicated at least one other rider from 2015 would be back, although he refused to be drawn on names. He did, however, immediately confirm that Kelsey Dugard would not be riding for Eastbourne in 2016. Two big rule changes were also welcomed by Dugard – the scrapping of the double points tactical rule and the introduction of play offs to decide the league champions. Last year Eastbourne rarely used the tactical rule but other teams used it to effect, especially when the Eagles lost at eventual champions Birmingham. “I am happy it is a play-off system,” he said, “and the scrapping of the tactical ride is brilliant news.” It was also announced after the agm that Eastbourne would not defend the National Trophy which they won in 2015.

Could they now vote to get RID of the stupid Double points crap and bring back T/S. Now I do agree with that and NO playoffs !

I guess Alex is working on the assumption that the AGM is on 2nd and will determine the points limit

I am assuming that £8,000 per week is 666 @ £12 entrance fees ? I am pretty sure that Eastbourne Speedway would not expect use of the stadium and staff rent free. Also like any business there are a lot of expenses such as VAT, electricity, bank charges, printing, advertising, telephone, etc. Need I go on ? At the very least the riders are paid mileage allowance and the referee is paid plus first aid ambulance.

No changes in EL or PL so we are definitely NL in 2016. We will have to wait for the points limit before planning next year.

For anyone that has questions about tomorrow's show piece event @Amexweststand from parking to seating et where to go tweet @ConnorDugard

Eastbourne IT First Eagles aim to reach a third cup final this season when they take on the Rye House Raiders this weekend. They face the Hertfordshire team home and away for a place in the National League Gold Cup Final. Sunday’s match at Arlington begins at 2pm. The Raiders and Eagles will get to know each other well over the next few weeks. As well as the Gold Cup semi-final, the two clubs will meet in the final of the National Trophy competition on October 3 (at Rye House) and October 4 (at Arlington). This weekend’s fixtures were due to be the Trophy final but it was switched to the Gold Cup after Rye House snatched the last qualifying place in the competition on Sunday afternoon. Eastbourne team manager Glenn Martin said this season’s previous results against Rye House would count for nothing in the cup semi-final. He said: “We have won three out of four against Rye House this season but they have had a strong run recently. “Their No 1 Robert Branford is up at the top of the National League points scorers along with our own Bradley Wilson-Dean and Birmingham’s Adam Ellis. “Their back-up riders will be a threat both home and away. We cannot afford to be complacent. “We were in superb form last weekend and we just have to keep that going to secure a Gold Cup final place.” Last Sunday’s injury victim Daniel Spiller, who was involved in a nasty crash at Buxton, is OK and will ride, although the 17-year-old’s chest is giving him pain. His bike was a write-off but a new machine is being assembled for him to ride this weekend. Martin has also swapped his reserves around with Kelsey Dugard (pictured) at No 6 and Richie Andrews at No 7. As well as the National Trophy final to look forward to, the IT First Eagles are in the KO Cup final where they await the winners of the Cradley v King’s Lynn semi-final.

Note the 2 pm start time as it says in the heading. Should be a good meeting.

My wife and I made the long journey to Belle Vue to watch Eastbourne in the second double header. It was abandoned before the end of the first meeting and we did not get a penny back and not even an acknowledgement from the Belle Vue promotion. No chance of us ever going there again.

This could be one of our last 4 home meetings this year subject to cup, etc. We shall be there weather permitting and think this could closer than anticipated by some.

Connor said this on Facebook It's not easy making a decision like this. Nor is it easy to sit back and read the comments and bite your tongue so I will show you the bigger picture as opposed to your views. Firstly Thank you to the fans that haven't accused us of 'other reasoning' to call this meeting off. We want to run events as often and frequent as possible why would we want to call this meeting off please answer this? Surely your accusations have some reasoning or evidence to back it up Alan Andy Mike? But if we hadn't have called it off then everyone would have labelled us to be like Coventry who have had to abandon meetings due to poor track conditions would you rather us call it off 5 hours early so you do have some time to rearrange your evening or turn up do one race, track isn't suitable then have to call the whole meeting off and it's a waste of an evening. As well as this if a meeting is started and rained off we then have to pay the away team there points money and travel money. For arguments sake let's say no races went ahead but all the riders made it - Mildenhalls mileage would be roughly: Danny Halsey - Milton Keynes 270 miles Tom Bacon - Birmingham 400 miles Connor Mountain - Cambridge 220 miles Jack Kingston - Tilbury 120 miles Connor Coles - Ipswich 225 miles Luke Ruddick - Berwick 800 miles Nick Laurence - Eastbourne 10 miles So in excess of 2000 miles at 10p a mile is already £200 on travel plus our riders travel the cost to rent the stadium - so actually this decision was in the interest of the club the fan experience and if the meeting had gone ahead with poor conditions potential rider safety but that's okay continue to make accusations

For those fans travelling from Hampshire and West Sussex a reminder that the A27 is closed at Shoreham after yesterday's tragic accident. It is expected that the A259 coast road will be really busy and it will be better to make a northerly detour.

stevec, on 18 Aug 2015 - 6:29 PM, said: Blimey....Lucky I watch from the starting tapes !! Lol at lukasdrymllucas

As long as it is not Len SILVER

Sad to see Kelsey dropped again. The new rider is English but has been based in Germany. He is now staying with the Dugards.

Bradley Wilson-Dean has been declared fit to lead the Eastbourne IT First Eagles into two crucial league matches this weekend. The club’s New Zealander will take his place at No 1 for the National League match at King’s Lynn Young Stars on Friday and at home on Sunday against Buxton. Wilson-Dean injured his left hand in a crash last week in the KO Cup semi-final against Kent. Initially it was feared there was a break but a trip to hospital diagnosed bad bruising. Team manager Glenn Martin said: “Brad showed how tough he is after racing to a 12-point maximum after his heat one crash against Kent. “The big open spaces at King’s Lynn will be reminiscent of the tracks in New Zealand so I am sure he will relish the trip to Norfolk.” Martin is targeting maximum points from the weekend to keep up the Eagles’ challenge at the top of the table. “We’re in the finals of both the KO Cup and the National Trophy, so now is the time to press on in the league. We’re third at the moment and need to start putting pressure on both Cradley and Birmingham.” Sunday’s home match at Arlington against Buxton begins at 3.30pm with Martin confident of victory. “Even with our injury worries, we should have far too much firepower for Buxton but we cannot afford for any of our top boys to misfire,” he said. “Ben Hopwood will obviously relish riding against the team he started the season with and Mattie Bates at reserve could be a trump card for us. “Kelsey Dugard had the crowd cheering last week with his round the boards racing so we should be in for an exciting afternoon.” With Richie Andrews and Georgie Wood both out, the IT First Eagles will use the rider replacement rule to cover one spot and have Mildenhall’s Connor Coles as a guest at King’s Lynn. On Sunday, No 8 Niall Strudwick makes his full debut for the Eagles at No 2. A plan to use Gary Cottham was ruled out by the BSPA as he is no longer in the Eagles declared 1 to 7.

The dust spoiled what was otherwise a good meeting and we were tempted to leave before the end. Glad we stayed but must think about attendance on a hot Sunday afternoon. I would much prefer to be there on a Saturday evening as Stevec says.

Gary not eligible as not in declared 1 - 7

Eastbourne ‘IT First’ Eagles return to Saturday night speedway action at Arlington stadium tomorrow (7.30 pm start). Near neighbours and local rivals, the Kent Kings provide the opposition in the Knockout Cup semi-final second leg, writes Kevin Ling. The Sussex side will certainly be ‘Up for the Cup’ as a place in the final is the glittering prize that awaits the successful combatants. Given that the Eagles already hold a 14-point advantage from the first leg at the Kings Central Park stadium the tail end of June, many will undoubtedly feel that they are already virtually assured to progress to a Final Showdown against either the King’s Lynn Young Stars, the Buxton Hitmen or long-time sparring partners, the Cradley Heathens. However the sport of speedway has often been proved to be a ‘funny old game’ and consequently, under no circumstances will the Eagles be taking the challenge posed by their Kent opponents lightly. The first leg between the two sides resulted in a 42-28 victory for the visitors in a match curtailed by a time curfew, however it was one that came at a considerable cost to the Eagles as their Captain, David Mason crashed out of the fixture and was subsequently ferried to hospital having sustained a broken leg. Unfortunately for Eastbourne, Mason hasn’t proved to be the only Casualty of War in a season that has so far been blighted by injuries to key riders. Richard Andrews and Danny Warwick are sidelined with the influential and ever popular free scoring reserve Georgie Wood being the latest name to be added to that sorry roster after he suffered a leg injury in Eagles most recent home league encounter against the Coventry Storm almost a fortnight ago. It could yet see him ruled out of the Sussex outfit’s quest for honours for up to six weeks. The club’s management have worked ultra hard to keep the pot bubbling however with a string of inspired changes to the line-up when called upon to do so, their latest recruit, Ben Hopwood, who was brought in to replace Mason, rewarding their insight with a superb 15-point maximum in his home debut against Coventry. You can be assured that Hopwood, along with exciting close season capture, Kiwi Bradley Wilson-Dean, recently appointed skipper Marc Owen, Mattie Bates, who drops to the reserve berth for the clash with the Kings, and the returning Kelsey Dugard, will be doing all in their power to harness success. On Saturday they will be joined by in the quest for qualification to the Knockout Cup Final by Coventry’s Martin Knuckey, who gave such a fine account of himself during the recent contest between the two teams, the Brandon exponent slotting in as a guest booking in place of Andrews while the Eagles will also operate the Rider Replacement facility in the stead of the unfortunate Wood. In spite of the lead they hold, the task that faces them remains tough however, the Kings vaunting the twin spearhead of the high scoring Ben Morley and the wholly impressive James Shanes, together with the likes of Danny Ayres and Aaron Baseby as part of an imposing back up cast. On their day, the Kings are a match for anybody, qualities that they have demonstrated in no small throughout the campaign. A recent 4-point defeat at the home of runaway League leaders, the Birmingham Brummies allied to an epic performance in one of the section’s showpiece events, the National Fours bearing testimony to that fact, when arguably only an injury at a crucial moment to Shanes prevented them capturing the title. Despite that however, the Eagles will remain doubly determined that when the dust settles on Saturday night it will be them left relishing the prospect of a Knockout Cup Final appearance and with it the ideal opportunity of bringing silverware to their club in their maiden season in the National League. Teams: (in alphabetical order) Eagles : Mattie Bates, Kelsey Dugard, Ben Hopwood, Martin Knuckey (Guest for Richard Andrews), Marc Owen, Bradley Wilson-Dean, Rider Replacement for Georgie Wood. Kings : Danny Ayres, Aaron Baseby, Ben Basford, Jamie Couzins, Ben Morley, James Shanes, Adam Sheppard.

EASTBOURNE are set to face Birmingham this afternoon at Arlington at full-strength after Bradley Wilson-Dean declared himself fit to return following his recent accident. The Kiwi came through a team practice session on Saturday with flying colours and is ready to oNce again line-up for the Eagles in the crunch KO Cup match against the Brummies. The Eagles trail by just five points from the first leg at Perry Barr and with glorious weather forecast it promises to be the match of the season so far. Tapes up at 3.30pm.

EASTBOURNE are set to face Birmingham this afternoon at Arlington at full-strength after Bradley Wilson-Dean declared himself fit to return following his recent accident. The Kiwi came through a team practice session on Saturday with flying colours and is ready to oNce again line-up for the Eagles in the crunch KO Cup match against the Brummies. The Eagles trail by just five points from the first leg at Perry Barr and with glorious weather forecast it promises to be the match of the season so far. Tapes up at 3.30pm.

This was posted on Facebook Just a little bit of advice for anyone travelling to Arlington tomorrow via the A22. I have been informed that the East Grinstead/Copthorne area will have many roads closed, until 3pm, in the area of the A22 due to the London to Brighton cycle ride. I have been advised to use the M23 and avoid the A22. Might save some of you getting stuck in traffic hopefully.

RIP to a true entertainer.