Contact: info@poolecsc.com

2013 FIXTURES

(For Match Reports, scroll down)

24th Mar Exeter v Poole SWL W72-107
31st Mar Poole v Southampton SWL W97-79
6th April BYJL Rd 1 - E.Newport (See Juniors page) Winners
7th April Swindon v Poole SWL W69-108
14th April IPSWICH v POOLE Elite W78-99
21st April Underwood v Poole SWL Conf D58-58
27th April BYJL Rd 2 - Exeter (See Juniors page) Winners
28th April POOLE v BIRMINGHAM Elite W106-71
4th May British Under 10 Championship Third
6th May British Under 13 Championship Fourth
12th May OXFORD v POOLE Elite W88-89
18th May BYJL Rd 3 - Poole Winners
19th May Hellingly v Poole SWL
26th May "LAURELS"
2nd June Poole v Horspath SWL
8th June BYJL Rd 4 - Southampton
9th June WOLVERHAMPTON v POOLE Elite
16th June Poole v Coventry Jnr Challenge
16th June HULL v POOLE BTC Rd.1
23rd June Poole v Swindon SWL
30th June POOLE v SHEFFIELD Elite
7th July Newport v Poole SWL
13th July BYJL Rd 5 - Newport
14th July British Team Champs Rd 2
20th Aug BYJL National Rd 1 (E.Anglia)
21st July Horspath v Poole SWL
28th July POOLE v IPSWICH Elite
4th Aug Poole v Hellingly SWL
10th Aug BYJL National Rd 2 (Midlands)
11th Aug BIRMINGHAM v POOLE Elite
18th Aug Poole v Exeter SWL
26th Aug British Individual Finals (Coventry)
31st Aug BYJL National Rd 3 (E.Newport)
1st Sept POOLE v OXFORD Elite
7th Sept BYJL Rd 6 - Horspath
8th Sept British Team Finals (Wolverhampton)
15th Sep Poole v Newport SWL
22nd Sep POOLE v WOLVERHAMPTON Elite
28th Sep BYJL National Rd 4 (North)
29th Sep SWL Rose Bowl/Gold Cup
6th Oct SHEFFIELD v POOLE Elite
12th Oct BYJL S.West Finals - Swindon
13th Oct SWL Play-offs

RACING REPORTS:

May 19th HELLINGLY 88 POOLE 90

Poole almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the closing stages of this match after leading by up to 10 points at one stage. On the expected tricky circuit, the lead was down to just 3 points with a race to go but when Ben Donohue picked up an exclusion, it left Wil Bristowe on his own to face the strong home pairing of Jesse Moore and Martin Hollebon.

Fortunately, Wil had his gating shoes on and sped away for the vital win which keeps the unbeaten run going. This was once again a solid team effort with everyone contributing. Special praise for Aaron Smith who lowered the colours of home star Neil Hollebon on the way to an impressive 20 point max. Good performance too from Sam Hearn who is concentrating on SWL this season. After last week, it looks like close results are the order of the day!

Scorers: Aaron Smith 20 Sam Hearn 14+3 Ben Donohue 11+2 Wil Bristowe 11+1 Leyton Glover 10+3 Callum Albin 9 Luke Armes 9 Jay Briggs 6+1.

Both teams called upon 1st team riders in the D2 match but Poole won the match on the tarck and on corrected scores with Chris Blundell having his first taste of the Lower Dicker circuit! He survived.....
Hellingly 82 Poole 96 Luke Armes 14 Callum Albin 13+1 Chris Blundell 12+1 Jay Briggs 10+3 Callum Smith 8 Kristina Mines ).

May 12th HORSPATH (Oxford) 88 POOLE 89

After the drama of their 2012 clash which went down to the final lap of the final race, Poole had the luxury of wrapping up the league points in the penultimate race when Matiej Ganczarek and Thomas Reed teamed up for a massive 7-3 in 17 to make the scoreline 81- 86. Both riders had endured an afternoon of mixed fortunes with Thomas picking up a tapes exclusion in heat 15 and Matiej suffered a mega dose of ill luck with 6 from his first four starts.

In heat 6, he was felled by a flagrant ram from a desperate Mark Boaler which went unpunished!! He put that all behind him in the vital ht 17 as he gated 2 to 1 on ace starter Rudman and created the opportunity for Thomas to drop under for a match winning 7-3. Very much a case of having the last laugh.

It was nip and tuck in the first half and the interval scoreline of 44-45 gave a hint of what was to come! World champion Nowacki can consider himself lucky to escape exclusion in heat 8 when he crossed the inside line entering turn 1 lap 2 and fenced skipper Greg who was fortunate to escape injury. In the re-start, Lukasz anticipated the start....just as the tapes went up. Lucky, lucky boy remarked Steve Harris who was in the next door grid.

A 6-4 in heat 10 gave Poole a 3 point lead and then Sean Rudman was excluded for legging giving Thomas Reed and Gav Wheeler the chance to knock in a 6-3 over World Champion Nowacki. Euro Champ Marcin Szymanski took his fourth race win in heat 12 to make it 57-63 but partner Maciej was rammed by Mark Carmichael and lost his chain as a result -another unpunished offence. Poole were settling for shared heats until disaster struck at the tapes in heat 15 leaving Leyton Glover little chance with Nowacki shielding Morgans for a Hammers 7-2.

All was well in the end however as the Comets ignored all the usual goading to consolidate their place at the top of the table with a 100% record while reigning champions hopes were dealt a Hammer blow! Once again, every Seaview rider played his full part in this memorable victory which should really have been greater. (77-96 if the rules had been strictly applied.....according to the video evidence!!)

Scorers: Marcin Szymanski 20 Greg Gluchowski 15 Thomas Reed 13 Gav Wheeler 11 Steve Harris 11 Matiej Ganczarek 10 Leyton Glover 5 Arron Morgan 4.

The Division 2 match was even more nailbiting than the D1 event, going right down to the last heat and ending up as a 65-65 draw. Horspath tracked a team stronger than most regional league first teams and maybe even one Elite first team but once Poole re-acclimatised to the track, they recovered from a 6 point deficit to square it up in the closing stages with oli Sidwick's last bend dash to the line proving decisive. Pete Young sat in for one of Dave Murphy's four scheduled rides while for Michal Nowak, this was his last match in Poole colours before he returns home to Poland.
Scorers - Aaron Smith 15 Oli Sidwick 12+1 Michal Nowak 10+1 Wil Bristowe 9+1 Dave Murphy 7+1 Pete Young 2+1.

May 6th BRITISH CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP - Round 2

After the excellent 3rd place by Poole Under 10's at Poole two days previously, the Under 13's step up to the plate at Exeter in a field of 8 teams arranged into 2 semi-finals. Unsurprisingly, Exeter romped home in the first semi ahead of Sheffield while pre-event favourites Ipswich won semi number 2.

The good news is that despite the absence of potential top scorer Shane Hamner, the Poole quartet made it through to the final in second place to guarantee a minimum of 16 club championship points! Scorers - George Newman 12 Callum Smith 11 Macie Schmidt 10 Kieren Hoare 10.

In the final, Exeter fulfilled their early promise by winning in fron of their own supporters ahead of Ipswich. Poole trailed Sheffield by 4 at the interval after a tapes exclusion but couldnt quite pull the points back at the end - finishing just a single point short.
Exeter 48 Ipswich 44 Sheffield 33 Poole 32 (Kieren Hoare 10 George Newman 9 Macie Schmidt 7 Callum Smith 6).

May 5th BRITISH UNDER 13 INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Congratulations to Macie Schmidt and Chloe Albin for finishing on the rostrum at the national Under 13 Girls championship at Swindon. Reigning champion and hot favourite Elle Sullivan from Sheffield held on to the title with maximum points and runner-up Macie took the silver medal, dropping her only point to Elle. Chloe took third place and was only beaten by the top two. Both girls have been training hard - twice a week and their successes are well deserved.

Nathan Goulden, Fraser Garnett , George Newman and Callum Smith were all in action in the Boys event with George and Callum coming through the rounds to reach the final. Unfortunately Shane Hamner was forced to withdraw due to an injury sustained in a school football match.

See Spokesman-online for more details.

May 4th BRITISH CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP - Round 1

The Poole Under 10 team picked up 18 BCC points from their creditable 3rd place in the first round with birthday boy Nathan Goulden leading the way with two race wins and a 13 point total. With only two recent practises, Will Cavanagh picked up 9 points and Danny Reeks was good value for his 7. Scott Pierce and Jasmine Oddie shared the other 4 rides and Jas came up trumps in the final race with a fine 2nd place which ensured that Poole finished up ahead of Exeter at the close!
Kesgrave 54 Ipswich 44 Poole 38 Exeter 35 Underwood 29
Scorers: Nathan Goulden 13 William Cavanagh 9 Danny Reeks 7 Scott Pierce 5 Jasmine Oddie 4.

April 28th POOLE 106 BIRMINGHAM 71

Although they appear to be heading for the wooden spoon- even at this early stage of the season - Birmingham provided lively opposition, though the outcome was never really in doubt.

Greg Gluchowski reeled off four straight wins and Aaron Smith did likewise from his 3 reserve races. Having suffered the minor indignity of colliding with his own team partner in heat 3, Thomas Reed was unbeaten by an opponant and executed a couple of brilliant passes to liven up the crowd on a freezing cold afternoon.

The Steve Harris/Leyton Glover pairing looked impressive with two 7-3's en route and there were race wins for Arron Morgan, Michel Nowak and Wil Bristowe into the bargain.

Best of all, there was no sign of the misdemeanours which blighted this equivalent match in 2012 and full credit to Birmingham for playing their part in a thoroughly sporting match.

Scorers - Greg Gluchowski 16 Thomas Reed 15+2 Steve Harris 14+1 Arron Morgan 13+2 Leyton Glover 13+2 Michel Nowak 13+1 Aaron Smith 12 Wil Bristowe 7 Oli Sidwick 3.

Poole provided 12 of the 13 race winners in the Division 2 match with
six of the team managing this feat. Callum Albin continues to make steady progress back to fitness after his injury ravaged 2012 season. Hayden Chant made an accomplished home debut with three race wins. Scorers: Oli Sidwick 13 Hayden Chant 12 Kyron Yeatman 11 Dave Murphy 11 Chris Shylock 10 Niall Instone 9 Jay Briggs 8 Callum Albin 6.

April 21st Underwood 58 Poole 58

With East Newport renamed Underwood and just entering the U.16 Conference, a small, single team Poole contingent made this trip and was reduced further by the late non-availability of Shane Hamner. In the circumstances, a draw was a very good result for the depleted side on the tricky Welsh circuit.

Scorers - Nial Instone 15 Jay Briggs 14 Callum Smith 11 Krissie Mines 11 Frazer Garnett 7.

April 14th IPSWICH 78 POOLE 99

Poole got off to a winning start at Ipswich as the new look team including British champions Steve Harris, Phil Howells and the returning Gavin Wheeler provided a core of racing experience alongside home grown talents Leyton Glover and Arron Morgan and a trio of Polish stars.

Captain Greg Gluchowski and European champ Marcin Szymanski coped well with the heavy conditions despite limited training opportunities and Michel Nowak put in some good rides from reserve berth.

Unfortunately the home side were missing a couple of their new experienced signings so the anticipated close call did not happen but the match was lively throughout and gave the 2013 Comets a good workout in readiness for harder encounters to come in the next 4 or 5 months!

Scorers - Marcin Szymanski 18 Greg Gluchowski 17 Gavin Wheeler 16 Arron Morgan 11 Leyton Glover 11 Steve Harris 10 Phil Howells 8 Michel Nowak 8

In the Division 2 match, Poole could not match the performance of the seniors, losing by 71-57. This was a reasonable result against probably the strongest team in this league in 2013, especially as both Aaron and Oli picked up exclusions.....Oli's was a complete mystery!!
Scorers - Wil Bristowe 12 Hayden Chant 12 Niall Instone 11 Jay Briggs 7 Oli Sidwick 6 Aaron Smith 5 Callum Albin 4.

April 7th SWINDON 68 POOLE 109

Poole promoted Kieren Yeatman and Niall Instone to the first team at short notice after a late call from Swindon advising that they would be missing two of their regular seniors. However, this was still a mismatch as the scoreline indicates but nevertheless the win keeps the 100% record intact as the senior team seeks to regain their SWL D1 title.

Scorers - Aaron Smith 18+2 Steve Harris 18+1 Michel Nowak 18+1
Arron Morgan 15+1 Luke Armes 13 Leyton Glover 12+4 Kieren Yeatman 9+1 Niall Instone 5.

The Division2 match was a much closer affair with 3 points between the teams after 12 races but Poole took the league points when penalty points were added.
Swindon 60 Poole 73
Callum Albin 14 Chris Blundell 12+1 Jay Briggs 9 Shane Hanmer 7+1 Caris Glover 6+2 Callum Smith 6+1 Frazer Garnett 3

Poole got the verdict in a close Conference League encounter with the Wiltshire club who were runners up in 2012.
Swindon 58 Poole 64
Arron Smith 16 Callum Albin 14+1 Niall Instone 11 Shane Hanmer 9+1 Jay Briggs 8+1 Frazer Garnett 4 Caris Glover 2+1.

March 31st: POOLE 97 SOUTHAMPTON 79

After a disastrous opening race where they conceded a 7 - 2, Poole hauled themselves back to another league victory but faced stubborn resistance from the Saints for whom Gavin Wheeler, Hayden Chant and notably Dan Miller excelled. Gavin was the only rider to head Steve Harris but the new Poole signing got his own back with a well judged pass in the final heat.

Only 8 points separated the teams with 4 heats remaining but a 6 - 4 and two 7 - 3's gave the final score a more respectable look. Poole made 4 changes to the team which raced at Exeter, giving Sam Hearn, Luke Armes and Chris Shylock their first matches of the season and Niall Instone had some valuable first team experience. Despite the cold conditions, the match was keenly contested and every home rider played his part.

Scorers - Steve Harris 16+3 Chris Roberts 15+1 Aaron Smith 14 Wil Bristowe 13+2 Sam Hearn 12+1 Luke Armes 12 Chris Shylock 9+1 Niall Instone 6+1.

Newcomer Chris Blundell made a promising debut in his first D2 match and showed a fair turn of speedway against an experienced Saints team. Poole had a 23 penalty point advantage and the match came down to a last heat decider with Niall and Chris notching the 5 - 5 to win the match by 3 points
Poole 80 Southampton 77
Callum Smith 11 Chris Blundell 10 Shane Hanmer 8 Niall Instone 7 Kristina Mines 7 Frazer Garnett 4 Caris Glover 3.

March 24th: EXETER 72 POOLE 107

Poole started the season with a bang against 2012 league champions Exeter, coming out with a convincing 35 point victory where every rider played his part. Steve Harris opened his account with a classy maximum while Chris Roberts surprised everyone including himself with a battling 18 in his first match since a string of injuries sidelined him for the whole of last season.

To be fair to Exeter, they were missing a number of experienced riders from their title winning team and when virus suffering Thomas Reed had to withdraw after 2 rides, the writing was well and truely on the wall for them. Hard winter training put in by the likes of Aaron Smith, Arron Morgan, Wil Bristowe and Leyton Glover yielded convincing performances and hats off to Ben Donohue for racing the day after his stag night (!) and to Pete Young for stepping in after very little notice....or practise.

Scorers - Steve Harris 19+1 Chris Roberts 18 Aaron Smith 17+2 Arron Morgan 16+1 Leyton Glover 15+2 Wil Bristowe 8+1 Ben Donohue 7+1 Pete Young 7+1.

In the Div 2 match, Exeter track a strong line-up and the young Poole team battled hard to keep the scoreline respectable.
Exeter 68 Poole 52 (Niall Instone 11+1 Jay Briggs 11,Kieren Yeatman 10,
Callum Smith 9, Shane Hanmer 7, Fraser Garnett 4)

Reigning Conference champions Poole won a nailbiting U.16 match-up by an 8 point margin with the heat leader trio dropping just one point to an opponant between them and the second strings Callum, Shane and Frazer scoring the vital 2nd's and 3rd's which made the victory possible.
Exeter 56 Poole 64 Aaron Smith 16 Niall Instone 15+1 Jay Briggs 14+1 Callum Smith 7 Shane Hanmer 7 Frazer Garner 5)

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2012 Results  Scroll down for match reports.

25th Mar Horspath v Poole SWL  L93-84
1st April Poole v Newport SWL  W96-78
8th April Sheffield v Poole Elite  L94-84
14th April Southampton v Poole SWL  W71-107
15th April Poole v East Newport SWL  W111-66
22nd April Ipswich v Poole Elite  W 81-95
29th April Exeter v Poole SWL  L 89 79
6th May Poole v Southampton SWL  W109-68
13th May East Newport v Poole SWL  W83-94
20th May Poole v Horspath Elite  W89-86
27th May British U.19 Club Champ  see below
3/4 June Laurels weekend   see below
10th June Swindon v Poole SWL  W79-99
17th June Poole v Exeter BTC   W115-63
24th June Poole v Wednesfield Elite  W91-86
1st July Poole v Horspath BTC Q/Final    L72-103
8th July Birmingham v Poole Elite   L92-87
22nd July Poole v Sheffield Elite   W93-85
29th July Hellingly v Poole SWL  W82-97
12th Aug Poole v Hellingly SWL    W106-72
18th Aug Poole v Horspath SWL  W107-73
19th Aug Poole v Ipswich Elite  W91-84
2nd Sept Poole v Birmingham Elite   W87-78
9th Sept Poole v Exeter SWL  L79-94
16th Sept Wednesfield v Poole Elite  L97-80
30th Sept Poole v Leicester Elite    W99-74
7th Oct Newport v Poole SWL   L92-86
14th Oct Horspath v Poole Elite   W88-90
21st Oct Poole v Swindon SWL  W99-79
27th Oct Leicester v Poole Elite  W84-95
3rd Nov Presentation Night @ Champs Bar
4th Nov SWL Gold Cup Final   - at Exeter

SWL = South West League
BTC = British Team Championship
Elite = Elite League

RACING RESULTS

December 16th: In their first experience of Indoor racing in Manchester,
Jay Briggs and Niall Instone qualified for the Under 16 final scoring 10 and 6 points respectively. Well done to both of them.

December 8th & 9th: Poole were crowned British Junior Team champions in the "indoor" nationals staged in Manchester. This was a nailbiting final on the incredibly fast and spectacular Eccles raceway with Stockport and Poole tying on points at the end of the alloted heats. Step up that man for the big occasion, Thomas Reed to seal the win and get the hat trick!
1st.Poole 47 2nd.Stockport 47 3rd.Wednesfield 39 4th.Sheffield 25.
(Thomas Reed 16+4, Wil Bristowe 11, Oli Sidwick 10, Leyton Glover 10).
Congratulations to the same quartet for their third place in the senior final....some achievement!

November 4th: Yes that's right, racing in November! The decision to race a "top three" end of season finale seemed like a good idea at the time it was made but a wet November day in Exeter and some rather depleted team line-ups tells a different story. Poole had the added challenge of finding a team on the morning after the night before but fortunately, the Conference League winning team - reinforced by Leyton Glover came up trumps to keep the club flag flying. Well done to every one of those riders - the club is rightly proud of you.
Newport 100, Exeter 98, Poole 70 (Leyton Glover 16+1 Aaron Smith 13 Alex Lane 9 Niall Instone 8 Sam Lane 7+1 Jay Briggs 7 Shane Hamner 7 Callum Smith 3).

October 28th:  Poole scorched to an 11 point victory in their final BCTG Elite League match of the season at Leicester - who had all their top stars on parade including World Champion, Lukas Nowacki. With Horspath winning at Sheffield and therefore retaining their title for another season, Poole have finished as runners-up.....their best ever position in the league and maybe a sign of things to come after home and away wins against the league champions!!

Trailing by 46 - 43 at the interval, Poole turned the match around with a strong finish as Thomas Reed, Marcin Szymanski and maxi-man Maciej Ganczarek all had 3 races apiece and Michal Nowak put in his best performance yet in a Seaview shirt.

Leicester 84 Poole 95 ( Maciej Ganczarek 20 Thomas Reed 17+2 Greg Gluchowski 16 Michal Nowak 14+2 Marcin Szymanski 14+2 Leyton Glover 9+1 Sam Hearn 3 Aaron Smith 2)

Most of the Poole D2 team were wiped out by half term holidays so full marks to Callum and the 2 Hanmer brothers for making the trip. Poole won the match by 2 but lost it after the penalty points were added in for Leyton and Arron.
Leicester 76 Poole 66 (Aaron Smith 20 Oli Sidwick 16 Leyton Glover 15 Callum Smith 6 Murphy Hanmer 5 Shane Hanmer 4).

October 21st: Despite the margin of victory, there was plenty of lively action against the Wiltshire club as Poole took two more league points to consolidate their second place in the league table. Michel Nowak had his best match since signing for the club and dropped his only point to Sean Rudman in an excellent heat 10. Arron Morgan made an excellent return to the saddle after his seven week lay-off, recording two race wins

By finishing in the top three in the League table, Poole have qualified for a place in the SW Gold Cup - a 3 team, 27 heat finale to the season which will also feature Exeter and Newport - venue to be arranged, date November 4th.

Poole 99 Swindon 79 (Michel Nowak 17+2 Sam Hearn 17 Wil Bristowe 16+1 Arron Smith 14+1 Ben Donohue 12+2 Arron Morgan 9 Luke Armes 8+1 Chris Shylock 6+2.

There was a thrilling finish to the Conference League between the top two teams in the league as Poole only made sure of victory with one race to go. Jay Briggs win in heat 11 secured a hard fought win in a match which was a credit to the region's U.16 league competition. Every Poole rider from 1 to 8 played a part in the victory.
Poole 62 Swindon 58 (Arron Smith 16 Jay Briggs 12 Alex Lane 12 Niall Instone 10 Shane Hanmer 6 Sam Lane 4 Murphy Hanmer 1 Krissie Mines 1).

October 14th:  Poole have never completed the double against Elite powerhouses Horspath.....until today, when they chalked up a memorable victory against the reigning league champions. The Oxford club needed only a single point to celebrate yet another league title but they were denied on the final lap of the final race....just when they thought they had it in the bag!

The scores were level at 84-84, going into heat 18 and Marcin Szymanski was leading the race but Tom Reed was struggling at the back on the early laps before summoning a super-human effort as the riders started lap 4, to pass Lewis Bates for the vital 3rd place which gave Poole a match winning 6-4. Ride of the season? A strong contender surely.

The win looked to be in the bag after 14 races with Poole ahead by 8 points but then conceded 3 wins 6-4. 6-4 and 7-3 to set up that nailbiting finale. Every single rider did what was expected of them and this was a brilliant team effort....they pulled off a victory where every other team has failed. After the win against the Hammers at Harbourside, it was a famous double and both matches will be screened on Sky Sports....details later!

Horspath 88 Poole 90 (Marcin Szymanski 17 Greg Gluchowski 16 Thomas Reed 14+2 Matiej Ganczarek 12+3 Sam Hearn 12 Tom Colling 9 Michel Nowak 7 Leyton Glover 3).

PS There was a slight hiccup at the start of the match - not helped by the TV filming preparations - when 3 riders (from both clubs) were not ready to race in the pits until 2 or 3 minutes after the scheduled start. Momentarily there was mention of the match being claimed...or riding without the 3. Fortunately common sense and sportsmanship prevailed, as they always should!

Division 2: Horspath 69 Poole 59 (Aaron Smith 16 Oli Sidwick 15 Wil Bristowe 11 Alex Lane 6 Niall Instone 6 Jay Briggs 5).

October 7th: Newport 92 Poole 86 (Report to follow)

September 30th: Disappointingly, Leicester arrived without several of their big names and the expected close encounter failed to live up to expectations as Poole rattled off a big victory.

The twin spearhead of Thomas Reed and Greg Gluchowski once again paved the way for victory with Thomas unbeaten from his 4 starts and Greg dropping just one point to an opponant. The rest of the team were solid from top to bottom and provided 12 of the 18 race winners.

The margin might have been even wider but for a couple of exclusions late in the match but by that time the two points were in the bag and Poole were celebrating their first 100% home record in this competition since it first started!

Poole 99 Leicester 74 (Greg Gluchowski 17+2 Thomas Reed 14+2 Aaron Smith 13+2 Leyton Glover 13+1 Oli Sidwick 13 Mikel Nowak 12 Sam Hearn 10 Matt Mildon 7).

Poole look to have cemented their 3rd place in the Elite Division 2 table with two points from an entertaining match against a Leicester team that included 4 of their British championship winning girls team. Luke Armes and Ben Donohue added experience at the top end but it was the team debut by 10 year old Murphy Hanmer that caught the eye scoring 5+2 from two starts! Watch out older brother Shane....there's a new kid on the block threatening stardom.
Poole 77 Leicester 53 (Jay Briggs 14 Ben Donohue 14 Alex Lane 12+2 Shane Hanmer 12+1 Luke Armes 11+1 Sam Lane 9+1 Murphy Hanmer 5+2)

September 16th: Visits to Ashmore Park have seldom been productive over the years and once again Poole suffered a loss at the hands of Wednesfield with former Seaview riders Ben Mould Mould and Gav Wheeler teaming up to help do the damage! The Aces were rattled in the early stages and as late as heat 10 Poole held a 2 point lead as Greg Gluchy and Thomas Reed lead the attack with 3 race wins apiece.

A strong run-in predictably gave the Aces the points to avenge their defeat at Harbourside but the young Poole team can hold their heads high. With our Polish based big guns in Extraliga action back home, this was in truth always going to be a tough one and the current injury list made matters worse with Pete Young and Arron Morgan still unfit and Leyton Glover unavailable. Hats off to Tom Colling for racing against doctors orders after being literally knocked out at rugby 24 hours earlier.

First team racing finished on a high note as Thomas Reed successfully challenged Gavin Wheeler for the Elite League match race and he will now defend it in the next match - against Leicester on September 30th.
Wednesfield 97 Poole 80 (Thomas Reed 19 Greg Gluchowski 19 Sam Hearn 10 Tom Colling 8 Oli Sidwick 7 Aaron Smith 7 Michel Nowak 7 Wil Bristowe 3).

There was something of an age mis-match in the Div 2 match and the significantly younger Poole side had a tough time against their more experienced counterparts. But with Alex Lane taking a couple of race wins and Jay Briggs back in action, the team battled hard.Score 83-46.
(Alex Lane 13 Jay Briggs 10 Niall Instone 8 Sam Lane 6 Callum Smith 5 Shane Hanmer 4.

September 9th: This was a match to forget as hopes of challenging for the SW League title nosedived against a stronger and more determined Exeter side. Poole had a much stronger team of riders unavailable through injury, work and other commitments and could not cover the gaps when it mattered most. There was some spirited riding by the likes of Arron Smith and Matt Mildon but others were rather lack lustre and the destiny of the title now rests with how Newport and Exeter fare in their last 3 or 4 matches.
Poole 79 Exeter 94 (Arron Smith 17 Chris Shylock 12 Matt Mildon 11+2 Luke Armes 11 Wil Bristowe 10+1 Sam Hearn 9 Ben Donohue 9 Dave Oddie 0)

September 2nd;  The return match between Poole and Birmingham was expected to produce a comfortable away win with Greg back in Poland and our big two Wroclaw boys on duty for Leszno. Add to that the injuries to Pete Young and Arron Morgan and the door was wide open for the Brummies who promptly slammed it closed....in their own faces!

Although on paper, the Seaview line-up was somewhat makeshift, there was nothing makeshift about the performance which was 5 star, especially Arron Smith who outscored three of Britain's top riders in Waddams, Timms and Heard. The match was nip and tuck all the way but Poole kept cool heads in contrast to the other side of the pits.

Every home rider had at least one key race as they battled hard to keep up their 100% home Elite performance.
Poole 87 Birmingham 78  (Scorers - Thomas Reed 19 Arron Smith 17 Leyton Glover 12 Oli Sidwick 10 Mikel Nowak 9+2 Sam Hearn 9 Ben Donohue 7+1 Chris Shylock 4).

(The Poole club would like to apologise for the bad language uttered by a Birmingham rider after heat 12. Visitors can be assured that he matter will be reported to British Cycling.)

There was an emphatic 77-49 victory for the Poole combination team in Div 2 with Alex Lane once again racing impressively with his racing head firmly in place. (Alex Lane 18 Shane Hanmer 14 Niall Instone 12 Callum Smith 12 Jay Briggs 9 Sam Lane 7 Kristina Mines 5.

August 27th: The Bank Holiday weather lived up to predictions as the heavens opened for the senior final with Andy Angell the deserved winner once again. Leyton picked up 2 racing exclusions in his last 2 rides which restricted his debut total to 3. Unbelievably he will not be able to race in the British Open now for 24 months as a result, as 2 exclusions = a match ban which carries an automatic ban from the next event - surely a totally disproportionate punishment! Many things - far worse than this - routinely go completely unpunished. On a happier note, the rain stayed off for the Womens final which allowed Krissie Mines (8) and Cerys Glover (6) to stay dry and enjoy their day!

August 26th:  Well done Leyton Glover - he qualified for his first ever British Senior final in todays rounds at Filton/Bristol. He scored 16 points and lines up in the final at Newport tomorrow.

August 25th:  In the British U.10 Final at East Newport, Murphy Hanmer scored a creditable 11 points while in the Girls event, sister Shannon got 10 points and Jasmine Oddie scored 11.

In the U.16 final Aaron Smith finished on the rostrum in 2nd place after finishing on 18 points - tied with Jake Read from Stockport. Unfortunately he lost the toss for gate positions in the run-off, which is as good as losing the race at that particular venue! Nevertheless it is a great performance from Aaron who still has another year in the competition.

Also riding well was Matt Mildon who notched 14 from his first 4 rides before suffering an exclusion in his 5th race when challenging strongly.
Especially noteworthy as he has only had minimal racing in 2012. Unfortunately the shape of the track does not favour racers and chances are that both Poole riders would have finished even further up the finishing order had a different venue been used! Well done to both of them for keeping the club flag flying and congrats to Jake on his win.

August 19th: On the hottest day of the year, two evenly balanced teams fought out another close and exciting Elite match at Harbourside in front of a very good crowd as Poole and Ipswich locked handlebars over 18 heats. The East Anglians found themselves gridlocked in beach bound traffic causing the match to be delayed by 45 minutes and the journey seemed to take its toll in the early heats as Poole snatched two 7-3's.
Exclusions to each of the Poole reserves Oli Sidwick and Ben Donohue in heats 4 and 5, halved the deficit and race wins for Ashley Hill and Lewis Roberts maintained that margin until heat 9 When the Sidwick/Nowak pairing clinched a 6-4 to make it 47-41 at the interval.

Thomas Reed picked up an exclusion for impeding Leon Mower in heat 11 but Sam Hearn limited the damage with a fine winning ride. The margin was up to 7 points in the next with a 6-4 from the Gluchowski/Glover duo and then it moved up to 8 after an Ipswich exclusion in heat 13. Three drawn races moved the score to 82-74 with two races remaining and when Greg took the chequered flag in heat 17 the points were secure although most of the attention was focussed on man of the match Sam Hearn who pulled a brilliant pass to take third place. There was a clear case of mistaken identity in heat 18 when Tom Reed inexplicably picked up another exclusion when clearly rammed but by then the outcome was assured although exasperation still very much in evidence!
Poole 91 Ipswich 84 (Greg Gluchowski 19 Sam Hearn 16 Arron Morgan 16 Leyton Glover 12+1 Michel Nowak 10+2 Thomas Reed 9+2 Oli Sidwick 5 Ben Donohue 4+2).

The Division 2 match was even closer and only a 7-3 in heat 13 rescued the match for Poole who became the first side to lower the colours of the Anglians in 2012. Twice Poole let a comfortable lead out their grasp as Wil Bristowe got his marching orders in consecutive outings and when Ipswich took the lead after an Aaron Smith first bend tumble in heat 10, the prospects seemed grim. Trailing 58-60 into the nominated heat 13, The Bristowe/Smith pairing redeemed themselves big time with a match winning 7-3 to make the final scoreline 65-63.
Poole 65 Ipswich 63 (Arron Smith 16+1 Luke Armes 12+2 Kieren Yeatman 11+1 Wil Bristowe 10+1 Alex Lane 9 Jay Briggs 6+1 Niall Instone 1).

August 18th: The visitors arrived with their talisman Steve Harris but minus several of their more experienced SWL names which allowed Poole to go two points clear of Newport and Exeter at the top of the table. Arron Smith was rider of the match with three race wins including a heat victory over Harris - his only defeat of the match in 6 rides. Solid scoring throughout the team paved the way for victory in a fixture which was ridden in excellent spirit thoughout.
Poole 107 Horspath 73 (Chris Shylock 16+2 Arron Smith 16+1 Arron Morgan 15 Wil Bristowe 14+2 Greg Gluchowski 12+2 Leyton Glover 12+2 Luke Armes 12+1 Ben Donohue 10+1)
A clean sweep of the points saw Poole race home to victory in Div.2 with Alex Lane once again heading the scorechart. His brother Sam had mixed fortunes however with tapes exclusions in each of his first two rides but bouncing back to a fine race win in heat 12!
Poole 63 Horspath 54 (Alex Lane 14+1 Jay Briggs 12 Krissie Mines 9 Niall Instone 9 Sam Hearn 8 Shane Hanmer 7 Sam Lane 4).

August 12th: Poole continued their challenge for league honours with a convincing victory against Hellingly at Harbourside. Once again the Lions leaned heavily on their talisman Neil Hollebon who was headed only once in 6 rides by a brilliant pass from Arron Morgan. Well done Kieren Yeatman - he won his first evet D1 race in heat 15.
Poole 106 Hellingly 72 ( Arron Morgan 18+1 Leyton Glover 18+1 Ben Donohue 15+2 Wil Bristowe 15+1 Aaron Smith 13+2 Luke Armes 13+2 Chris Shylock 8+3 Kyren Yeatman 7+1.

Poole were given a good run for their money in their Division 2 match but gradually eased away with Alex Lane unbeaten and Jay Briggs and Shane Hanmer weighing in with a hatful.
Poole 72 Helligly 48 (Shane Hanmer 14+1 Jay Briggs 14+1 Alex Lane 12 Niall Instone 8 Kristina Mines 7 Callum Smith 6+1 Sam Lane 6 Caris Glover 5+2.

August 5th:  Three days of racing produced some classic action at 2 Sufflok venues as Poole's Elite League star man Marcin Szymanski was crowned European champion after a 3-way run off for the title. Arron Morgan could easily have joined him as Junior champ but for a costly slip in his opening ride after the track had just suffered a 40 minute downpour. He was comfortably leading eventual champion Ricky Johnson at the time!

Leyton, Aaron, Oli and Wil all competed in the Junior event but just fell short of the qualifying score for the final. Arron and Leyton also starred for the England junior squad as they took runners up spot in the Euro nations event while in the senior nations final, Ben lined up for Ireland and Kev Lowman came to the rescue for Scotland at the 11th hour as he joined Pete Young to race for the boys in blue!

Finally congratulations to Pete Barnes and Colin Sutton whose team management skills are unequalled in the sport .......they steered the England senior team to victory against the hard charging Poles in the Euro nations final after an epic 25 heat battle! That took some doing, make no mistake.

July 29th: Hellingly 82 Poole 97  Poole maintained their challenge at the top of the South West league table with a fifteen point win at Eastbourne.
The top home riders had extra tactical rides but there were no maximum returns as Neil Hollebon was headed home by Arron Morgan in the opening race. The slippery track caught riders from both teams out in a match which was fair and well contested. (Arron Morgan 19 Greg Gluchowski 18 Ben Donohue 15+3 Leyton Glover 15+2 Luke Armes 12+2 Sam Hearn 10+3 Wil Bristowe 4 Aaron Smith 4).
Poole rounded off a good day with a 49-69 win in the Division 2 match with Callum Smith showing pleasing form. (Wil Bristowe 15+1 Niall Instone 8 Arron Smith 10 Callum Smith 11 Kieran Yeatman 16 Jay Briggs 9+1)

July 28th: Congratulations to Oli Sidwick on top scoring for England in their Junior Home International victory at Horspath. In a busy day for Poole riders, Pete Young and Chris Shylock were in action for Scotland in the senior event and Ben Donohue lined up for Ireland.

July 22nd:   After two previous Harbourside Elite League epics against Horspath and Wednesfield, it was surely too much to expect another in the clash with Northern giants Sheffield....or was it! With both teams packed with international riding talent another healthy crowd was treated to race after race of sheer quality, with British Champion Andy Angell leading the Stars attack superbly.

Having seen a masterclass display from ex-World Champ Marcin Szymanski in his previous home match, this time supporters had a chance to see Wroclaw based Matiej Ganczarek in action after he had twice turned out in away fixtures. He did not disappoint and like his colleague Szymanski, is highly professional in his approach to racing.

The match was nip and tuck throughout with the Seaview boys always just in front until late 7-3's from Tom and Greg followed by Marcin and Sam finally shook off the Stars so avenging the defeat up at Cookson Park on the opening day of the season. Once again this was a team effort with every rider playing his part in the victory which keeps Poole at the right end of the table behind leaders Horspath and challengers Birmingham.

This was a match of sheer quality and with visits from Birmingham, Leicester and Ipswich still to come there is plenty to look forward to.
Poole 93 Sheffield 85 Marcin Szymanski 18+1 Tom Reed 16+2 Maciej Ganczarek 16+1 Greg Gluchowski 15 Sam Hearn 8 Michel Nowak 8+1 Arron Morgan 7 Leyton Glover 5.

July 8th:  Another epic last heat decider saw Poole just miss out on the league points in a match they really should have won, but for a succession of mistakes before the break. These allowed the home side to build up a 48 - 42 lead and after the break, the fight back began. By the time they lined up for heat 18 the scoreline stood at 85 - 84 but with Birmingham top two pairing of Heard/Timms off inside gates, the writing was on the wall. Marcin Szymanski did his best from gate 4 but slipped off whilst challenging and hopes of a successful comeback were dashed.

It was not a good day for skipper Greg Gluchy who got off his sick bed to race while Thomas Reed with two tumbles and Tom Colling were also down on their usual points tallies. On the plus side, Leyton Glover rose to the occasion and had an excellent match as he teamed up with Marcin Szymanski while Arron Morgan gave good backing to team partner and top scorer Matiej Ganczarek. Overall Birmingham cashed in on their home track advantage and good luck to them.

Poole could easily have won the match by eight or ten points had it not been for errors but with Pete Young, Sam Hearn and Michel Nowak all unavailable, the sense of two points "lost" was all the more frustrating.

Birmingham 92 Poole 87  ( Matiej Ganczarek 18 Marcin Szymanski 16 Greg Gluchowski 14 Leyton Glover 11+2 Arron Morgan 9+1 Tom Colling 9+1 Thomas Reed 9+1 Oli Sidwick 1 (1 ride).

Poole were able to come away with a degree of consolation with a 78 - 51 win in the Division 2 match (Arron Morgan 16 Oli Sidwick 15 Wil Bristowe 14+1 Aaron Smith 12+3 Jay Briggs 11 Shane Hanmer 10+1).

July 1st:  Poole 72 Horspath 103 With such a depth of riding talent to draw on, the outcome of this match was probably never in doubt although the margin of victory undoubtedly flattered the visitors as Poole suffered three exclusions and a series of racing situations where the luck and decision making all seemed to be heading in the same direction!
(Arron Morgan 13 Thomas Reed 12 Tom Colling 12 Pete Young 10 Sam Hearn 9 Leyton Glover 8 Oli Sidwick 4 Ben Donohue 4).

June 24th: Yet another epic involving these two giants of cycle speedway who have been dishing up matches like this for four decades or more! Never more than four points between the sides at any time, the Aces banged in an emphatic 7-3 in heat 16 to square the match up at 79-79 with two races remaining. A dramatic tapes exclusion to Lee Aris in the penultimate heat enabled the Reed/Morgan pairing to capitalise with a match winning 7-2 with Thomas completing a bonus max in the process.

With Tom Colling and Pete Young unavailable, it was vital that every rider play a full part in the victory and so they did. Artur Poprawski was happy to accept the call to stand in and this proved vital as he lowered the colours of both Gavin Wheeler and Lee Aris on the way to his 15 point total - not bad for a rider with just a handful of matches in Poland so far in 2012. Thomas Reed was at his very best - passing the top Aces names - Mould, Wheeler and Aris with consumate ease! Typifying the part played by all 8 Poole riders was Leyton Glover who beat a visiting rider every time he raced!

The track was very heavy after continuous overnight rain but the home side looked happier in the leg sapping conditions. Both sides could point to incidents where they were hard done by but in the end, the luck probably evened itself out. Two hard earned league points take Poole to the top of the British League table along side Sheffield....early days yet however and a really tough away match at Birmingham in 2 weeks!
(Check-out British Cycling website for action shots and full report)

Poole 91 Wednesfield 86 (Thomas Reed 19+1 Greg Gluchowski 17 Artur Poprawski 15 Arron Morgan 11+1 Michel Nowak 10 Leyton Glover 9+1 Sam Hearn 6+1 Oli Sidwick 4+1)

In the Division 2 match, Shane Bentley donned his Seaview colours for the final time in 2012 with three unbeaten rides before returning to Adelaide as Poole wrapped up the points with an eleven point victory. Poole 69 Wednesfield 58
(Chris Shylock 13+2 Wil Bristowe 12 Shane Bentley 11+1 Aaron Smith 9 Luke Armes 7+1 Dave Oddie 7 Jay Briggs 6 Niall Instone 4+1).

June 17th:   Reigning cup holders Poole were in no mood for compromise as they notched up a succession of 7-3 race wins against a Devon side who were short of one or two first team regulars. Captain Pete Young was one of five home riders unbeaten by an opponant with Thomas Reed, Arron Morgan, Leyton Glover and Oli Sidwick joining Pete with bonus maximums. The next round will see Poole at home again but the opposition could not be more different - Horspath Hammers who are probably the strongest line-up in the competition. Another epic on the cards and just two weeks to wait for the fireworks with Poole starting this one as the underdogs!! Make a note of the date - JULY 1st.
Poole 115 Exeter 63   Scorers - Pete Young 19+1 Oli Sidwick 16+4 Thomas Reed 16+4 Arron Morgan 15+1 Leyton Glover 14+2 Ben Donohue 14+1 Sam Hearn 14+1 Wil Bristowe 7.

June 10th:  Poole raced to a convincing victory at Swindon taking two valuable league points in the process and keeping in touch with pacesetters Horspath and Newport at the top of the table.
Swindon 79 Poole 99. Scorers - (Arron Morgan 18+1 Sam Hearn 15+2 Luke Armes 15+1 Leyton Glover 14+3 Michel Nowak 12+3 Ben Donohue 9+1 Wil Bristowe 9+1 Aaron Smith 7+1)
In the Division 2 match, the scores finished level but Swindon conceded 21 penalty points - Swindon 59 Poole 80 (Shane Bentley 16 Niall Instone 13 Jay Briggs 11 Krisina Mines 7+3 Shane Hanmer 7+2 Callum Smith 5).
The Under 16 Conference saw Poole take a clean sweep of all the available league points with a 13 point victory over their young Wiltshire counterparts.
Swindon 53 Poole 66 ( Shane Bentley 16 Aaron Smith 14+2 Jay Briggs 11 Kristina Mines 10 Niall Instone 6+3 Shane Hanmer 6 Callum Smith 3).
With racing over, everyone headed off to the local Macdonalds for a well earned celebration burger!!

June 4th:  Congratulations to Dave Murphy on his 3rd place in the British Over 50's final at Birmingham. Dave was competing in his 3rd race meeting in 3 days but summoned up the energy to score 18 points - a mature achievement by any standards!

June 3rd/4th - Jubilee Festival:
(Full match reports now on Spokesman with photo action on British Cycling website.)
Senior Laurels:
Scorers: Ben Mould 16 Gavin Wheeler 16 Neil Hollebon 16 Andy Angell 16 Chris Timms 14 Mark Boaler 14 Greg Gluchowski 12 Paul Heard 12 Lee Aris 12 Arron Morgan 11 Ryan Hoyland 11 Craig Marchant 11 Chris Jewkes 10 Mark Carmichael 9 Michel Nowak 9 Sam Hearn 8

Junior Laurels:
1st Ashley Hill 16 2nd Arron Morgan 16 3rd Jack Harrold 16 Wil Bristowe 15 Matt Smith 15 Ricky Johnson 14 Leyton Glover 14 Lewis Roberts 13 Oli Sidwick 13 Matt Mildon 12 Aaron Smith 10 Shane Bentley 10 Aiden Owen 10 Hayden Chant 9 Jesse Moore 8 Kieren Yeatman 5

Ladies Laurels:
Sandra Tamborska 15+4, Charlie Jane Herbert 13+3, Livvy Horsley 13+2 Vicky Brown 15+1, Laura Watson 12, Lauren Hookway 11, Tiffany Collins 9, Rebecca Davies 9, Kristina Mines 9, Cerys Glover 6, Kayleigh Clarke 4, Holly Morgan 4.

Uunder 14 Laurels:
Lee Kemp 13+4, George Horsley 13+4, Jake Neighbour 14+2, Wil Tidball 14+1, Adam Bennett 12, Adam Watson 11, Jay Briggs 9, Connor Wilson 9, Jack Herbert 9, James Colling 7, Niall Instone 4, Callum Smith 4.

International Pairs:
Sheffield 33 ( Ryan Hoyland 19+1, Andy Angell 14+3) Southampton 31 (Gavin Wheeler 19+1, Tom Colling 12) Gniezno 29 (Greg Gluchowski 18+1, Michel Nowak 11+1) Wednesfield 29 (Ben Mould 14+2, Chris Jewkes 9, Lee Aris 6) Brirmingham 28 (Paul Heard 20+2, Chris Timms 8) Horspath 27 (Shaun Rudman 16, Steve Harris 11+3) Poole 12 (Arron Morgan 6, Luke Armes 4, Shane Bentley 2)

June 2nd:
Round 5 of the BCC at Leicester - Poole through to final with Leicester, East London and Wednesfield finishing overall 4th and picking up 16 BCC points to go level with Ipswich at the top of the table on 88 points.

Congratulations to Thomas Reed & Arron Morgan who finished on the rostrum in 2nd and 3rd place in the British U.19 final at Exeter. (Details later).

May 27th: Round 4 of the BCC was staged at Harbourside Park, a fitting venue for our Under 19 team to chalk up a hat trick of wins, having won the youth cup in 2009 and 2010. All 5 riders played an important part in the battled against some of the best U.19 stars in the country with skipper Leyton Glover top scorer on the day with a full max. The track rode well despite the very hot conditions and by the half way stage, Poole were 10 ahead of their nearest rivals. It was left to Arron Morgan to contest the final race with the title in the bag and he duly picked up a fine win. Sam, Wil and Thomas all won races and can be proud to have chalked up another milestone for Poole in top level events.
1st Poole 66 2nd Ipswich 53 3rd Hethersett 48 4th Horspath 48  5th Wednesfield 40 6th Sheffield 40  Scorers - Leyton Glover 20 Arron Morgan 14 Thomas Reed 12 Sam Hearn 11 Wil Bristowe 9.

May 26th:  Round 4 of the British Club Championship saw the Under 16's in action at Newport. Red hot favourites Ipswich duly romped away with the title while 2011 winners Poole managed a very creditable runners up position and in the process banked a useful 20 championship points. Trailing the leaders by 9 after 12 heats, Poole had a great opportunity to narrow the gap when the Ipswich rider moved at the tapes, but Aaron Smith went and did the same thing and any slim chance of a comeback receded. Aaron was in good form and scored 11 out of 12 in his other 3 races. Matt Mildon also chalked up 3 race wins and was probably the classiest rider on show - remarkable when considering he has only been back on track for a week. There were useful points from Jay Briggs and Alex Lane in their first major British Junior event and Niall Instone had 3 rides in the qualifying semi-final.
1st Ipswich 54 2nd Poole 39 3rd Sheffield 33 4th Leicester 31
Scorers: Matt Mildon 14 Aaron Smith 11 Jay Briggs 8 Alex Lane 6
Niall Instone dnr.

May 20th:  The stage was set perfectly for a great days racing with a big crowd and two star studded teams. 18 heats of pulsating action saw Poole defeat the league champions for the first time in 11 seasons with new signing Marcin Szymanski heading the scorechart and thrilling the crowd with some world class action. Marcin was headed only once when he was ridden off the track - a fate also suffered by Greg Gluchowski in his final ride. When Tom Colling and Thomas Reed clinched a vital 6 - 4 in heat 16 to give Poole a 3 point lead, hopes of a victory were raised. Star man Szymanski kept his nerve in the final race to win the final heat and the victory was sealed. This match was every bit as tough as expected especially for our young guns but all eight riders played their part in a brilliant team performance.
Poole 89 Horspath 86  (Marcin Szymanski 18 Gre Gluchowski 16 Thomas Reed 12 Sam Hearn 12 Tom Colling 11 Leyton Glover 7 Arron Morgan 7 Pete Young 6)
Division 2 - Poole 60 Horspath 68
Matt Mildon 14 Wil Bristowe 13 Oli Sidwick 9 Arron Smith 7 Luke Armes 6 Kyran Yeatman 6 Dave Murphy 4 Rob Haywood 1

May 13th:  The Seaview Coaches team picked up their first away points of the season in the South West League with a convincing win at East Newport - which is never an easy place to win. However, with a solid 1 to 8 line-up, and a strong first half performance, defeat was never to be an option in this match. Arron Morgan and Leyton Glover picked up unfortunate exclusions but otherwise raced soundly. Pete Young added a measure of experience while Wil Bristowe justified his inclusion in the top six with another outstanding performance. Once again every rider played an important part in the victory. After the interval, the home side were able to keep the margin respectable by claiming the inside grids - always an advantage around the "polo".
East Newport 83 Poole 94: Sam Hearn 15 Arron Morgan 15 Wil Bristowe 13+3 Pete Young 13+1 Ben Donohue 12+3 Aaron Smith 10+1 Luke Armes 8+1 Leyton Glover 8+1
The Conference League points looked to be in danger of slipping away until the closing heats when reserve ace Aaron Smith was drafted into action. He teamed up with Kristina Mines to pick up an all important 6-4 in heat 12 for a narrow two point victory. E.Newport 59 Poole 61 ( Alex Lane 15 Jay Briggs 12 Arron Smith 12 Kristina Mines 10 Sam Lane 6+1 Niall Instone 3 Callum Smith 3).

May 12th: The SSWL Womens championships staged at Harbourside saw 7 Seaview girls in action - points scored as follows; Kristina Mines 11, Holly Morgan 10, Macie Schmidt 7.5, Cerys Glover 7, Jess Lundon 6, Jess Drane 4, Chloe Albin 3.5. In the Best pairs event, Poole A finished on 31 points in 4th place and Poole B scored 23. Full details are on Spokesman online.

May 6th:  After the recent away victory at Winchester Road, Poole once again gained two more league points at the expense of the Saints who sorely missed the services of Tom Colling leaving Gavin Wheeler to shoulder responsibility for their attack. The ex-British champion got a shock in heat 3 when Leyton Glover sprung a surprise pass on him, making room for Wil Bristowe to chalk up a notable 7 - 3. These 2 home riders remained unbeaten throughout as the wearer of every Seaview shirt collected at least one race win with Kieren Yeatman picking up two from the reserve berth.
Poole 109 Southampton 68: (Wil Bristowe 18+2 Leyton Glover 17+3 Chris Shylock 16+3 Sam Hearn 14+1 Aaron Smith 14+1 Arron Morgan 11+2 Luke Armes 10 Kieren Yeatman 9).
Southampton tracked 2 unbeaten riders in the Conference league match but Poole packed in the strength in depth in what was a competitive encounter. Poole 63 Southampton 53 (Jay Briggs 13 Alex Lane 12+2 Shane Hanmer 11+1 Niall Instone 10+2 Kristina Mines 10+2 Hayden Rowles 7+1)

May 6th: Round 2 of the BCC saw the Under 12's in action at Bury and as with the Under 10's, the long distance robbed us of one or two likely team contenders. Our young riders did give a good account of themselves and Callum Smith was one of the best riders on show despite the fact that this is his first year at this grade.
1st Ipswich 73 2nd Sheffield 66 3rd Kesgrave 47 4th Bury 44 5th Poole 38 6th Birmingham 28
Poole Scorers: Callum Smith 14 George Newman 8 Chloe Albin 7 Macie Schmidt 5 Frazer Garnett 4.

May 5th: In the first Round of the British Club Championships, the long journey North to Astley delivered 13 valuable competition points for 6th place. Hats off to our very young team of Nathan Goulden 10 pts, Shannon Hanmer 5pts and William Cavanagh 5 Pts. Rather a shame that the very long journey took its toll on so many of our Clubnight Under 10's but if the 13 BCC points proved decisive in the 2012 overall championship, then those 3 riders will surely be the "heroes" of the season!

April 29th;  This match was ridden in diabolical conditions and a similar description was being directed towards the match official on more than one occasion from the Seaview side of the pits as similar racing incidents received contrasting decisions, none more obvious than 2 races featuring Leyton Glover. First excluded for slowing without any warning, he was then on the receiving end of similar tactics causing him to fall and amazingly excluded in the process! Under different circumstances, this would have been a winable match - maybe even a last heat decider! The real winner was the weather and with a less congested fixture list, this match would have been better staged in less trying conditions. Unfortunately, Cycle speedway does not go well with cold, wet and windy.
Exeter 89 Poole 79 (Luke Armes 14, Arron Morgan 14 Sam Hearne 14
Ben Donohue 11 Aaron Smith 9 Wil Bristowe 8+2 Leyton Glover 8+2 Jay Briggs 1).
With the home club having so many comeback seniors in Div 1, they were able to track a much more experienced team in Div 2 as the young Poole team battled gamely.
Exeter 75 Poole 45 (Alex Lane 13 Jay Briggs 7 Kristina Mines 6 Sam Lane 6 Niall Instone 5 Callum Smith 5 Shane Hanmer 3).

 
April 22nd: Boosted by the inclusion of Marcin Szymanski and Maciej Ganczarek, Poole overcame a strong challenge from the East Anglian club who raised eyebrows with a close result at Leicester in EL week 1. The match opened with Tom Colling breaking a chain whilst leading but Maciej came through superbly to win the re-run. Marcin won his first race for Poole in fine style as the first half was nip and tuck as Ipswich confirmed their lively early season form.
With a narrow 4 point interval advantage, the Seaview boys turned up the heat after the break to win by 14 with Tom and Marcin rounding the match off with a classy 7 - 3. The margin would have been greater but for a strange exclusion for Maciej when taking the lead in heat 16. Video evidence shows that Ipswich top scorer Lewis Roberts fell off of his own accord in a vain attempt to stop the pass leaving the Poole side of the pits to believe that Maciej's offence was that he was bigger than his opponant! This was a great all round team performance with every rider once again playing his part and improving as the match progressed. The new signings made a sizeable difference - just a shame that clashes with Leszno matches will prevent them from racing here together again until later in the season!
Ipswich 81 Poole 95: ( Marcin Szymanski 19+1, Greg Gluchowski 18, Tom Colling 14+1, Maciej Ganczarek 13+1, Arron Morgan 12+1, Sam Hearn 10+1, Olli Sidwick 5, Leyton Glover 4.)
There was less joy for Poole in the Division 2 match which ended in a 5 point home win with newcomer Michel Nowak and Arron Smith each suffering two exclusions. Nowak showed enough in his two completed races to suggest that he will be a great addition to the riding squad when he moves to Poole later in the season.
Ipswich 65 Poole 60: (Scorers - Olli Sidwick 14+1, Leyton Glover 11, Luke Armes 10+1, Michel Nowak 9+1, Aaron Smith 9, Wil Bristowe 7).

April 15th: Depleted East Newport battled bravely but were no match for a full strength Seaview line-up so for the second day running Poole scooped all the league points in a one sided affair. Sam Hearne started off with a tapes exclusion and then returned 4 excellent unbeaten rides, a return matched by Wil Bristowe who saved up his error until his last ride! Team colleagues Pete Young, Arron Morgan and Aaron Smith were also unbeaten while Leyton Glover returned to action with a couple of impressive races.
Poole 111 East Newport 66   ( Arron Morgan 18+2 Ben Donohue 15+2 Wil Bristowe 15+1 Sam Hearne 15+1 Pete Young 13+3 Luke Armes 13+1 Arron Smith 12 Leyton Glover 10+2).
There was some excellent racing in the Conference League match with Callum Albin leading the young Poole team to victory while Callum Smith featured in the race of the day with Adam Bennett in heat 7.
Poole 66 East Newport 48 (Callum Albin 14+2 Jay Briggs 13+2 Callum Smith 9 Alex Lane 7+1 Niall Instone 7 Shane Hanmer 6 Kristina Mines 5 Kayleigh Stiggants 5.

April 14th: Poole picked up their first away points of the SWL season with a convincing local derby victory at Southampton on a cold and wet afternoon. To be fair to the home side, they sorely missed Tom Colling and it was left to Gav Wheeler to ensure that no Poole rider finished the match unbeaten....all that is except Greg Gluchowski who twice got the better of the home star. Every Poole rider performed well despite the conditions and seven of the team won at least one race.
Southampton 71 Poole 107  Greg Gluchowski 17+3 Sam Hearn 17+2 Arron Smith 16 Ben Donohue 15+2 Luke Armes 15+2 Arron Morgan 15+1 Dave Oddie 7 Jay Briggs 5.
Division 2: Southampton 53 (+12 p/pts) Poole 65 (+32 p/pts)
Alex Lane 15 Jay Briggs 13+1 Callum Albin 12+1 Dave Oddie 12+1 Callum Smith 6+1 Shane Hanmer 4 Niall Instone 3.
Conference League: Southampton 53 Poole 67 - Callum Albin 15 Alex Lane 13+2 Shane Hanmer 11+1 Jay Briggs 10+1 Callum Smith 7+1 Aaron Smith 6+1 Niall Instone 5.

April 8th:  The Yorkshire club used their sharp gating and home track to good advantage as they sped to a 9 point interval lead in the slippery conditions. It looked as if Poole were right back in the match after heat 11 when Sam Hearn teamed up with Thomas Reed for a 7-3 over British Champion Andy Angell and the margin was down to 4 points. However, it wasnt to be as the lucky breaks continued to favour the hosts while Poole slipped up literally when holding good positions. Oli Sidwick raced in his first ever Elite match and ended his account with a fine race win.
Sheffield 94 Poole 84  (Thomas Reed 14 Greg Gluchowski 14 Rafal Dulinski 14 Arron Morgan 12 Olli Sidwick 10 Marcin Paradinski 10 Sam Hearn 9 Ben Donohue 1.)
There was better luck for Poole in the Division 2 match which went to a last heat decider with the sides level with a race to go! A 6-4 advantage
made the long journey worthwhile for the Seaview boys.
Sheffield 65 Poole 67 (Wil Bristow 19 Ben Donohue 15 Luke Armes 13+1 Callum Albin 8+2 Niall Instone 6 Jay Briggs 6).

April 1st:  After tasting defeat in their opener, Poole chalked up their first win of the season with a convincing display against last years' SW league runners up. A tough match was expected and in the opening exchanges, there was little to choose between the sides. But suddenly the home side rammed in 4 consecutive race maximums before the break, moving the interval scoreline on to an unlikely 55-31 and both team managers scratching their heads!! In the second half, the Welsh side were able to nominate their top three riders for additional tactical rides and lined up on grids 1 & 3 for the remainder of the match, allowing them to narrow the gap from 24 to 18 but by this time the Seaview boys were in cruise control with Arron Morgan leading the way with Sam Hearn once again and the rest of the side all contributing their part to a deserved victory and providing 11 of the 18 race winners.
Poole 96 Newport 78  (Arron Morgan 17+2 Sam Hearn 17+1 Ben Donohue 13+3 Pete Young 13 (4r) Aaron Smith 12+1 Luke Armes 11+2 Will Bristow 11 Dave Oddie 2)
There was plenty of lively action in the Division 2 match and skipper Kyran Yeatman led the way with a well taken maximum while Dave Oddie contributed 10 points and plenty of fireworks! Poole 73 Newport 54
(Kyran Yeatman 16 Dave Oddie 10+1 Kristina Mines 9+1 Jay Briggs 8 Callum Albin 7+2 Shane Hanmer 7+1 Niall Instone 6+1 Callum Smith 5+1.
Shane Hanmer lead the way with 13 in an equally competitive Conference League match for U.16 riders - all of whom were in action in the BYJL 24 hours earlier. Poole 70 Newport 50 (Shane Hanmer 13 Callum Albin 12+2 Jay Briggs 10+2 Kristina Mines 9 Arron Smith 8 Niall Instone 7 Callum Smith 6+2 George Newman 5+1)

March 25th: Poole raced at Horspath in their first match of the season and found it tough going against the 2011 SWL champions who tracked five experienced riders including Elite stars Steve Harris and Mattie Szymczak. Trailing by 14 at the interval, the younger Seaview team made a second half recovery but were no match for the Oxford club on the tight village bowl. There were encouraging performances from Arron Smith and Wil Bristow. With several squad members unavailable, the opportunity was taken to blood Kieran Yeatman and Callum Albin who understandably found things rather hard!
Horspath 93 Poole 84 (Sam Hearn 16 Arron Morgan 15+1 Arron Smith 15, Wil Bristowe 12+3 Ben Donohue 11+1 Luke Armes 11, Kieran Yeatman 3 Callum Albin 1.
In the Division 2 match, Poole lost by 4 points with 3 pen.pts added after Callum Albin was pressed into first team action. This was a good performance by the young Seaview team. Score Horspath 70 Poole 63.
(Alex Lane 17 Callum Albin 13 Jay Briggs 11 Niall Instone 8 Callum Smith 7 Kristina Mines 7).

March 11th: Wil Bristowe scores 17 at Ipswich in an individual event, finishing in 4th place overall.
March 10th: The season kicked off with three Poole riders in action at Wednesfield at the Midland Grand-Prix. Arron Morgan notched 13 in the first semi and Leyton Glover scored 8. Thomas Reed made it through to the final with 14 in the second semi - a score he repeated in the final to put him in 7th place behind eventual winner, British Champion Andy Angel.