Ipswich Witches 2026

[ouch]

4 hours ago, Pitch said:

Inevitable means certain to happen. So why not announce it then.

The other problem with that plan is the current 5 premiership teams will have their teams sorted and that only leaves the left overs for the 6th club. But that's absolutely fine with Ipswich,Belle Vue, and Sheffield & Co isn't it.

Please don’t included The Aces in this. Matej didn’t ride for any other team apart from his beloved Aces (where he was greatly loved) over the last decade or so. To see him line up for Birmingham was tough as it was with Tom the year before but the bigger picture needs to be looked at here. Max was the same and if we need to lose another of our GP hero’s for the greater good then so be it. 

Sign them young and inexperienced then help build them up as it benefits the whole league. That would be fine by us, wouldn’t it. 

[iangnz]

Forgive me, but having moved to NZ's South Island in 1994, I'm possibly the Witches most distant supporter.  I used to get Speedway Star, but don't bother now as I can find most of the news online.  However, can someone give me a concise summary of why the promoters conference was cancelled (only 5 premiership teams?), when is it going to be held, and subsequently when we might know who the 2026 witches are (I know Emil isn't coming back and of the rumour linking Dan T with Leicester).  I'm surprised there's been no official announcement about the current state of affairs from the Witches management

[RoundTheBoards]

8 minutes ago, iangnz said:

Forgive me, but having moved to NZ's South Island in 1994, I'm possibly the Witches most distant supporter.  I used to get Speedway Star, but don't bother now as I can find most of the news online.  However, can someone give me a concise summary of why the promoters conference was cancelled (only 5 premiership teams?), when is it going to be held, and subsequently when we might know who the 2026 witches are (I know Emil isn't coming back and of the rumour linking Dan T with Leicester).  I'm surprised there's been no official announcement about the current state of affairs from the Witches management

The AGM these days isn't a 3-day conference to thrash out all the rules like it used to be.   

Nowadays the rules are thrashed out in a number of meetings, and the AGM is just a "box ticking" exercise to ratify what has been agreed.   Clearly things haven't been agreed yet to a stage where they can be signed off, so last week's date was cancelled.  The AGM has now been set for 6 January 2026.

The Premiership is down to 5 teams, and realistically needs at least 1 more.   An amalgamation into 1 league is impossible for various reasons; Several Championship clubs could not run on Monday/Thursday which would be needed to keep the top riders in Britain.  Without the top riders, and with doubling-up ended, there would not be enough riders to fill 14 teams.  With riders only having 1 club income and no doubling-up, they would need higher wages.  Higher wage costs and lack of riders would close several of the less affluent clubs- So 1 league is a non-starter.

Whilst some Premiership clubs may consider running with 5 teams, Ipswich are strongly against this, and are threatening to pull out, leaving a 4 team Premiership.   A sixth team would appear to be the solution.   A club moving up from Championship would solve it, but who?   Rumours of a new club at Northampton is another option, a new promotion running a new team out of Oxford is another rumour.  There's even rumours Peterborough could get their track back and relaunch, although that does sound far-fetched.

 

[TB1]

25 minutes ago, RoundTheBoards said:

The AGM these days isn't a 3-day conference to thrash out all the rules like it used to be.   

Nowadays the rules are thrashed out in a number of meetings, and the AGM is just a "box ticking" exercise to ratify what has been agreed.   Clearly things haven't been agreed yet to a stage where they can be signed off, so last week's date was cancelled.  The AGM has now been set for 6 January 2026.

The Premiership is down to 5 teams, and realistically needs at least 1 more.   An amalgamation into 1 league is impossible for various reasons; Several Championship clubs could not run on Monday/Thursday which would be needed to keep the top riders in Britain.  Without the top riders, and with doubling-up ended, there would not be enough riders to fill 14 teams.  With riders only having 1 club income and no doubling-up, they would need higher wages.  Higher wage costs and lack of riders would close several of the less affluent clubs- So 1 league is a non-starter.

Whilst some Premiership clubs may consider running with 5 teams, Ipswich are strongly against this, and are threatening to pull out, leaving a 4 team Premiership.   A sixth team would appear to be the solution.   A club moving up from Championship would solve it, but who?   Rumours of a new club at Northampton is another option, a new promotion running a new team out of Oxford is another rumour.  There's even rumours Peterborough could get their track back and relaunch, although that does sound far-fetched.

 

Who said Ipswich are threatening to pull out?