The Canberra Bulls Speedway Club

The Canberra Bulls Speedway Club

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16th August Update:  Minutes of the 12th August Club Meeting are available.  Discussion with Mark Webber management team re support.  The Club now has its own website - you can enter http://www.canberrabullsspeedway.org.au , and it should take you straight there.  Also, emails to canberra.bulls@ozemail.com.au should reach the President.

11th August Update:  Minutes of the 15th July Club Meeting are available.  Discussion with Queanbeyan Mayor re possible sites.  Decision to hold meetings monthly, on the second Thursday each month.  Promotional DVD produced.

12th July Update:  Minutes of the 1st July Club Meeting are available.  ACT Government advice.

24th June Update:  Minutes of the 17th June Club Meeting are available.  Waiting for ACT Government response.  Planning for officials courses.

16th June Update:  Minutes of the Club's first Annual General Meeting are available.  An interesting year, but could have been much better!  The following fortnightly Club Meeting discussed the officials' courses.

31st May Update:   Minutes of the 20th May Committee Meeting are available.  Another rejection from the greyhound club.  Aiming to conduct race meetings at Albury next season.  All members wishing to get officials' licences, please go to http://www.motorcycling.com.au/pg_disp.php?page=p07 , where the options are listed.  You need to attend seminars and pass tests to become a licenced official. The calendar of seminars (complete with spelling errors) is:

You can choose to attend one of these (contact Megan at MNSW on   02 9635 9177. There is another option, however. Due to a large number of pre-organised seminars having to be cancelled in the past couple of years, MNSW has decided to organise additional seminars at clubs' request.  We need to tell MNSW the type of seminar we require (most of us will need to do the General seminar), provide them with a list of attendees and 3 alternative dates to arrange with the presenters.  MNSW will then do the rest. Please email john.walker@ozemail.com.au to confirm your interest.  This invitation extends to potential officials from anywhere in the Canberra region, including the coastal centres (Moruya, Bega etc).  When we have a full list of attendees, we may ask MNSW to conduct the seminar(s) in Canberra or in a town more convenient to the majority of attendees.

29th May Update:  Support from local businesses: - the brochure that we have produced to explain our plans has been very well received by the local businesses, to the extent that almost all the advertising spaces were sold out within a week.  This brochure will be distributed to local and national politicians (and anyone else in a position of influence!!) in an attempt to advance our case. Advertisers include HDL Projects Pty Ltd, Empire Management Services, Ocean Fresh Seafoods, MJM Speedway Spares, Plonk beer and wine specialists, Ziggy's Garden Fresh, and the Climate Doctor.

18th May Update:  Minutes of the 6th May Committee Meeting are available.  Still looking for a track!

Notice of Annual General Meeting:  The first AGM of the Club will be held on Thursday 3rd June at the Serbian Club, Heard St, Mawson, ACT 2607.  Start 7:00pm.  The meeting will be followed by a general committee meeting.  Nominations are now due for the following positions:  Club President;  Vice-President; Secretary; Treasurer; Public Officer (must be a resident of the ACT); Webmaster;  General Committee Members. Nominations can be made in writing by email, letter or fax, indicating the proposer and seconder, who must both be current club members.

7th May Update: Two club members looking to buy speedway bikes: [1] Wanted - upright speedway bike - all considered - contact 0409 663 979; [2] For sale or swap for speedway bike - YZ250 motocrosser plus heaps of extras, spares and tyres, very good condition, $3,500 ono - contact 0458 181 787. Round 3 of the Nepean winter series kicks off again on Sunday 16th May, with junior and senior short track, senior solo, 350 solo, s/cars, junior and senior;  Please nominate asap if you are riding on the day.  Meeting starts 10am; scrutineering 9-am till 9.45am; rider briefing 9.50am; start practice 10am; any queries or nominations call Mick Holder on 0400 304 900.

6th May Update:  Bega 22nd May: - We are looking for Evos and Classic solos for a static and mobile demonstration at Bega (http://www.sapphirespeedway.com.au/ ) on Saturday 22nd May. Sidecars would be welcome too.  The track is a big one - about 500m - with a good surface for bikes (Dave Clifton found it a bit slick in practice last weekend, but it was not prepared for racing).  Racing starts at 4pm.  Further details from John on 02 6297 9764 or john.walker@ozemail.com.au.  The club is considering adopting Bega as one of our "home tracks" during 2010-11.

Mildura Junior Motorcycle Club 2010 Winter Series Dates:  Saturday 12th June 2010 (Ulysses’ Junior Wintersun & Classic Speedway); Saturday July 3rd 2010 (Jason Crump Shield); Saturday 7th August 2010 (Leigh Adams Cup); Saturday 11th September 2010 (tbc); Saturday 2nd October 2010 (Presentation). All dates may be subject to change due to weather, etc. Please check. Sign on time from 12 o’clock. Racing from 1pm. Canteen operating on track. PLEASE NOTE: SENIOR PRACTICE ALSO TO BE HELD ON DATES AS LISTED ABOVE.  Junior nominations required on Monday prior to meeting dates. Please contact ROLY PAVER on 0408 502397 for junior nominations & general enquiries. Or email: rolandpaver@bigpond.com

5th May Update:  Minutes of the 22nd April Committee Meeting are available.  New talks with Greyhound Club.

19th April Update:  Minutes of the 8th April Committee Meeting are available.  Possible support from Red Bull.

31st March Update: Club shirts are now available - $50 each plus postage and packing.  Men's sizes are Small, Medium, Large, XL, XXL, XXXL; women's sizes are 12, 14, 16, 18, 20.  The shirts are black, 100% polyester, with the Bulls' logo embroidered in red above the pocket.  The shirts are a "fitted" style, so if in doubt, order a size up.  The men's version is pictured here on the left, the women's version on the right:

 

22nd March Update:  Minutes of the 11th March Committee Meeting are available.  Meetings with ACT MCC, Eaglehawk quarry owners.  Update on Jack Hogg meeting at Moruya.  Club shirts, banner.

8th March Update:  Minutes of the 18th February Committee Meeting are available.  Planning to meet with ACT MCC.  Bulls to feature in the Jack Hogg meeting at Moruya.

18th February Update:  Minutes of the 4th February Committee Meeting are available.  Still searching for a track!  Bulls offer to help run meetings at Moruya.

17th February Update:  Dates and events: 

  1. Arunga Park Speedway 40 Years Reunion: - Julie Thomsen is looking for expressions of interest in holding a 40 year reunion for Arunga Park Speedway, Alice Springs.   As the "official opening" was the 23rd April 1973 - they plan to hold it 19-21st April 2013.  If you are interested, please email Julie on lanceandjulie74@hotmail.com, or call 0418 890 380.  If anyone has old footage, photos, memorabilia, the postal address is PO Box 3295 Alice Springs  NT  0871. All will be returned to original owner. 

  2. Why not Whyalla? - Message from Neil Burston: - Upcoming SA Long Track Championships, which was held at Port Pirie for a lot of years, will hopefully once again become an annual event at Whyalla. Contact either Neil Burston 0408315703 or Geoff Brown 0428897981. Running lots of classes with over $8000 prize money up for grabs – prize money for classics as well.  Classes for Flat Track for the MX bikes as well as over 50s on 2v Bikes JAP ESO JAWA - and a class for British Sidecars - so get those old bikes out and - Japanese sidecars pre 78 as well as all the modern classes. There should be something for everyone, so come and have a go on the 850m crushed granite track. Supp Regs should be on the MA site shortly. 

  3. Date changes and Cancellations: - Undera on the 20th March has been transferred to March 27th for the GVMCC Club Day, and the 7th March has been transferred to a later date to be advised. This turns out to be good for those who had planned to go to Gosford for their 27th March meeting, which has been cancelled due to lack of helpers.  The NSWSRA have a planned winter calendar with dates set at Nepean speedway and the new to be opened Kurri track.  The Nepean meetings will include solo, evo solo's, 350 solo, sidecar, jnr sidecar, jnr  mx short track and senior mx short track.  Nepean dates are 7th March, 25th April, 16th May, 25th July, 5th Sep, 7th Nov.  All meeting nominations to solo's and s/cars - Mick Holder - 0400 304 900 or email mick_holder@hotmail.com; evos  - Neil Brett - 0419 298 168 or email NeilB@cschl.com.au.  To contact the track on wet days or for practice dates call the caretaker Jaide Nicholls on 0247761 225.

11th February Update:  The Club is very sad to learn of the passing of Mr Keith Webb, President of the Canberra Greyhound Racing Club, with whom we had been talking regarding speedway at the Greyhound track.  We hope to resume negotiations with the CGRC in the near future.

1st February Update:  Minutes of the 21st January Committee Meeting are available.  No response yet from the Greyhound Club committee to the 30 January sidecar showdown meet at Gosford, to see how the sports coexisted and how the dog track is protected.  Club invited to hold a meeting involving British U-21 team if we are up and running next season.

 

22nd January Update: New membership / licence card procedures: - Motorcycling Australia (MA) and the State Controlling Bodies (SCBs) advise of a change in procedure to the way that licences are issued to members.  Previously, each type of licence has been issued separately, meaning that a member could hold multiple different licence cards with different licence numbers (eg an Official’s Licence, a Coaches Licence and a Rider’s Licence). From 20 January 2010, all SCB’s and MA will be issuing one membership card per member, which will have the details of all licences and accreditations that the member holds.  Each member will be issued their own unique member number which can be used to identify them regardless of how they participate in an event. 

 

Any licenses or endorsements issued that are associated with riding can be found on the front of the card.  Any licenses or endorsements issued that are associated with officials can be found in the box on the bottom left on the back of the card.  Any other licenses or endorsements issued can be seen in the box on the bottom right on the back of the card. The acronyms that will be used on the membership card are as follows:

For coaching accreditation, the Coach Licence is listed as COA with the levels set as CC (Club Coach), CL1 (Level 1), CL2 (Level 2). Coaching Endorsements include FMX (Freestyle Motocross) or RBF (Road Bike Freestyle).  For officials accreditation, the Official Licence is listed as OFF with the levels set as L1 (Level 1), L2 (Level 2), L3 (Level 3), L4 (Level 4).  Officials Endorsements are titled by discipline and title where DT – Dirt Track, EN – Enduro, HRR – Historic Road Race, MK – Minikhana, MT – Moto Trials, MX – Motocross, RR – Road Race, SM – Supermoto, SP – Speedway, TK – Track, and COC – Clerk of Course, J – Judge, M – Marshal, ME – Measurer, RS – Race Secretary, S – Steward, SC – Scrutineer, ST – Starter, T – Timekeeper, Types of riding licences (on the front) include: JCL - Junior Club, JNA - Junior National, JRN - Junior Restricted National, MIN - Mini, REC - Recreational, SCL - Senior Club, SNA - Senior National, SRN - Senior Restricted National, SON - One Event National Licence.  Riding Endorsements (front) include: 15YO - 15 YO Rider, FMX - Freestyle Motocross, JUNIOR 125 / 150 - Junior 125 / 150, JUNIOR 250 - Junior 250, QU - Quads, RBF - Road Bike Freestyle, SCP - Side Car Passenger, SCR - Side Car Rider, SP - Speedway, SX - Supercross.  Other licences (on the back) include: ATO - Alcohol Test Officer, ENT - Entrant, MEC - Mechanic, NCO - Noise Control Officer, VI - Venue Inspector.

When a member renews one of their licence types, a new membership card will be issued with the valid expiry date recorded on the card.  If you have any questions or queries regarding these changes, feel free to contact your SCB, or Andrew Weiss at MA via email: andrew@ma.org.au or (03) 9684 0503.

8th January Update:  Minutes of the 7th January Committee Meeting are available.  The Canberra Times publicity resulted in a meeting with the President of the Greyhound Club, where it was agreed that the Bulls would invite the Greyhound Club committee to the 30 January sidecar showdown meet at Gosford, to see how the sports coexisted and how the dog track is protected.  Mick Hayes was elected to take the vacant position of Secretary.

3rd January Update:  Canberra Times article supports Bulls approach to Greyhound Club:

21st December Update:  The Canberra Bulls now have a Facebook entry.  Check it out and become a fan of the club.

18th December Update: Minutes of the 17th December Committee Meeting are available.  The Serbian Club Expo was a great success, with a steady stream of visitors - most of whom added their names to our supporters' roll.  Photos below:

 

12th December Update:

2010 Aussie Solo Speedway Championship rider lists: Motorcycling Australia (MA) is pleased to announce that the following riders are seeded to the 2010 Australian Solo Speedway Championship: Troy Batchelor, Jason Doyle, Cory Gathercole, Chris Holder, Mark Lemon, Sam Masters, Ty Proctor, Rory Schlein, Darcy Ward, Cameron Woodward.  The following riders have been offered a place in qualifying which will take place at Mildura on 30 December 2009: Jake Anderson, Mitchell Davey, Alex Davies, Josh Grajezonek, Jay Herne, James Holder, Mark Jones, Robert Ksiezak, Todd Kurtz, Dakota North, Michael Penfold, Taylor Poole, Ryan Sedgmen, Justin Sedgmen, Kozza Smith, Rick Wallace, First Reserve: Arlo Bugeja, Second Reserve: Robert Branford.

9th December Update
 Click here for a video promo for the Serbian Club Expo.

27th November Update

Committee members please note: Special Meeting at the Serbian Club, Herd Street, Mawson, NEXT Thursday 3rd December for the sole purpose of finalising details for the display on December 13th.    Contact Lee Donnelly on 02 6295 0606 or getfresh@fyshwickfreshfoodmarkets.com.

19th November Update

Posters to be distributed around Canberra to generate interest in the Club.

17th November Update

Minutes of the 12th November Committee Meeting are available.  Not a lot to report: - Proposed static display day at the Serbian club confirmed for 13th December.  At least 2 x solos and 1 x sidecar have been promised.  There appears to be plenty of memorabilia to put up.

9th November Update

The Gillman Classic provided the expected tough opposition for Dave Clifton, who got a number of thirds and didn’t  make the final.  The 4 riders that made the final were all ex British league riders, Mitch Shirra having made the world final 5 times, and the class was won by Nigel Saddler. Kenny Carratt made the final in the JAP/Eso class & came a well deserved 3rd. Steve Mesics came late because of mechanical problems on the road & missed his first heat then had problems with his bike. Everyone was impressed with the Gillman venue - obviously the place we need to emulate......

5th November Update

The meeting last week was cancelled due to the number of members away in SA for the oldies championship, therefore no Minutes produced.  We have locked in the 13th December for the static “open” day at the Serbian Club, Herd Street, Mawson.    As there is not a great deal of time prior to that date, the next meeting of the Bulls will be held at that venue at 7pm next Thursday, 12th November, NOT the German Club.

25th October Update

Dave Clifton to represent the Bulls at the Gillman Speedway Classic Meeting.  Dave will be facing five times World Championship finalist, Mitch Shirra, former South Australian State Champions Nigel Sadler and Mark Stevens, and NT Champion Scott Norman amongst others. The meeting takes places on Saturday night, 31 October with over 40 races for 7 categories — J.A.P./ESO powered Solo bikes with riders over 50 years of age; 2 valve Jawa Solo bikes; 4 valve Solo bikes; British engine Sidecars; Japanese engine Sidecars; Post Classic Sidecars and Three Quarter Midgets, with riders from SA, WA, Vic, ACT, NSW, Qld and NZ.

16th October Update

Minutes of the 15th October Committee meeting are available - click here. Highlights of the meeting:  The Club is to "get out and about" a bit more.  While we still don't have a track of our own, members will be encouraged to wear the Bulls' race jacket at speedway meets, we are investigating club clothing etc, we are planning to hold a social on 20th December, and we will be going to the Newcastle round of the 2010 Aussie Solo Championships as a group. 

6th October Update:

Kel Hannon (kelhannon@iinet.net.au) has a very good condition GM SRB8 (8 bolt head) engine and other bits for sale. Email him if you are chasing bits.

4th October Update: - Bulls Roar Again!

The Canberra Bulls' race jacket appeared in a race for the first time in two decades at Nepean Speedway on 26 September 2009, when Club Treasurer, Dave Clifton, raced in the last of the Winter Series.

Posing for the camera with Bulls' enthusiastic Scottish supporter, Jim Smith, and looking nervous before his first  heat.

Away to a good start, and in great-looking action during the meeting.  It wasn't quite a fairy tale finish - a lost chain robbed him of the series victory, but the race jacket never got dirty!  We look forward to more Bulls' race appearances.

2nd October Update

Minutes of the 2nd October Committee meeting are available - click here. Highlights of the meeting:  the meeting with the Canberra Airport management was very positive, but didn't identify options for a track;  however, there is a possibility of land near Canberra becoming available for us to build a track.  To begin with, it could be just a practice track, and we would still pursue other options for racing.  Again, we feel that the pieces of the jigsaw are starting to come together.

 

Supp Regs for 2010 Solo Speedway Championship:  Motorcycling Australia has released the Supplementary Regulations and Entry Forms for the 2010 Australian Solo Speedway Championship. The Championship will be held as a three-round Series across three different Australian states in early January 2010, as follows:

•                      Round 1: Gillman Speedway, NSW, 2 January 2010

•                      Round 2: Mildura Speedway, VIC, 3 January 2010

•                      Round 3: Newcastle Speedway, SA, 9 January 2010

Entries into the Australian Solo Speedway Championship close at 5:00pm on Thursday 3 December 2009, and completed forms should be sent to:

Sam Ryan, Events Officer, Motorcycling Australia, PO BOX 134, South Melbourne VIC 3205

To download a copy of the Supp Regs and Entry Forms, simply visit the MA website at www.ma.org.au/speedwaysuppregs. 

26th September Update:

Minutes of the 17th September Committee meeting are available - click here. Highlights of the meeting included news that the Greyhound Club might be reconsidering their decision at some time in the future.  There was also news of other potential breakthroughs, including a meeting arranged with the Canberra Airport management.  There was a very positive feeling in the Club that we are now heading in the right direction(s). 

6th September Update:

Minutes of the 3rd September Committee meeting are available - click here. Wanted speedway leathers/kevlar suit to fit 5`10`` 75kgs. Also speedway boots size 9 & steel shoe. Please contact Steve on 0408 489 683.

3rd September Update:

We have a number of former riders keen to buy speedway solos, uprights and laydowns,  if you have one unused in your shed.

23 August 2009 Update:

1. The Club has received a letter from the Canberra Greyhound Club declining our proposal to build a speedway track at their stadium in Symonston, Canberra, on the grounds of possible damage to the upgraded surface of the greyhound race track.  However, we have responded, providing some compelling reasons for them to change their mind (see below).  We await their response.  I recommend the links (all clickable) in this letter to anyone who is trying to establish new speedway tracks around Australia.  That connection with the greyhound racing fraternity has never been strong in Australia, but they are far potentially better track partners than the four-wheelers have proven to be!  You could not get a better endorsement than a greyhound racing website saying that "Speedway provided the perfect partner to greyhound racing"!

Dear Keith

Thank you for your letter regarding our proposal for speedway racing in your infield.  As you may imagine, we are extremely disappointed that your committee has turned down the proposal, on the grounds of possible damage to the upgraded surface of the greyhound race track. 

We made a considerable effort to demonstrate that there is, in fact, no likelihood of damage, noting that there are tracks in the UK where the two sports have co-existed happily for many decades.  Should any of your committee members wish to undertake a study tour to ascertain the facts, we would be pleased to provide you with an extensive itinerary of these stadiums, so that they can see for themselves. 

I attach some excerpts from a UK greyhound racing website www.greyhoundderby.com/, which was initially designed “to chart the history of greyhound racing in England, with particular emphasis on the English Greyhound Derby”. This website includes as one of its links “A Brief History of British Speedway”.  If you follow that link, you will find the following statements, together with many others telling similar stories:

Following the link to Wembley Lions:

Following the link to Belle Vue Aces:

Following the link to Coventry Bees:

Following the link to Oxford Cheetahs:

 

So you can see that the British greyhound racing community has welcomed speedway to its stadiums for over eighty years.  It is worth repeating the quote “Speedway provided the perfect partner to greyhound racing”.  I recommend the website to your committee members.

If, at some stage, your committee would like to resume dialogue on the proposal, we would be delighted to hear from you, as we remain convinced that it would be a mutually beneficial project.

Yours

John Walker

President, Canberra Bulls Speedway Club.

2.  We have discussed other possible locations in the Canberra region with staff of the ACT Government's Territory Venues and Events branch. Some promising ideas, but nothing concrete yet.

3.  Terry Poole and John Walker recently visited the Albury Wodonga motorcycle complex, where a very usable speedway track has been built.  It needs very little work to make it licencible for speedway, and we suggest that Canberra Bulls members might be interested in racing there in the forthcoming season.