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Speedway Australia website: http://www.speedwayaustralia.net.au/

 

Speedway Australia March Newsletter

14/03/2018

 

March 2018 Newsletter

There’s plenty happening within Speedway Australia at the moment, and the purpose of this newsletter is to keep licence holders up to date with some of the more important initiatives that the next few months will bring. Every facet of the sport will positively benefit from these enhancements, and we look forward to rising to the challenges that will inevitably crop up. There’ll be some quick wins and longer-term benefits, but the sport will emerge in a better shape as speedway’s 100th anniversary approaches.

** ANNOUNCEMENT ** New Licensing System

The familiar card-based licence system will soon be a thing of the past, with an all-new electronic licensing system currently in development. The benefits of this will be many, starting with faster processing times and reduced workloads for club secretaries, plus the elimination of a number of fees that licence holders currently have to pay for urgent licences.

 

Officials will also notice that they no longer need to carry around a multitude of cards, with the separate racing officials card for Stewards and Scrutineers being merged in with the licence.

 

A brief outline of the changes are below.

These initiatives will be rolled out over the next few months, with a staged delivery of improvements between now and the new season.
 
 

2018 Australian Speedway Awards ** NOMINATE & WIN **

Nominations will open soon for the 2018 Australian Speedway Awards, to be held at Rydges Southbank in Brisbane on Saturday June 23.
 

As per previous years everyone who takes the time to nominate a worthy candidate will be in the draw to win a trip for two to the Awards dinner. Tickets to attend the dinner will also be available for purchase at an unchanged price of $150 per head. This includes a sumptuous meal and four hours of refreshments.

 

This is the glitziest night of the speedway year, with the incomparable Bennie Bishop playing host and the following awards to be presented to the worthy winners:-  

Five Lifetime Achievement Awards

To nominate, head over to this link and to purchase tickets to the awards functionclick here
 

National services rolling out soon

Speedway Australia is serious about delivering real value to its stakeholders, and one of the issues identified in the last twelve months was the need for a comprehensive national training programme. Currently, the burden of training under Speedway Australia’s rules falls to divisions and tracks, but shortfalls have been identified. In some cases, Speedway Australia’s state branches were filling some of the gaps, by conducting officials or safety training in their respective regions. 

 

Moving forward, Speedway Australia has obtained a mandate from divisions to undertake a comprehensive training scheme that can be rolled out to all officials and venues across the nation. It’s anticipated this will be unveiled at the National Forum in June, and one of the major changes to achieve this strategy has been the announced closure of Speedway Australia’s state branches. This was necessary to ensure a complete focus on a truly national environment, so that stakeholders at every track in the country receive a similar level of care and attention.

 

Once we have a better understanding of the impact of these changes, Speedway Australia will be recruiting additional full-time staff to ensure all corners of the country are guided and resourced to an appropriate level. We will also be forging closer relationships with other like-minded organisations who deliver services to speedway in some parts of the country, such as the WA Speedway Commission, Motorsports NT and the NSW Office of Sport and Recreation.

 

We would like to pay tribute to the volunteers and administrators who have guided the state branches over the past 20 years. Most will remain a part of the sport in some shape or form, and we look forward to working with them in their other existing roles or the new opportunities that will inevitably arise.
 

National Competitors Forum - Bringing speedway together

Last year’s inaugural National Forum saw over half of Speedway Australia’s recognised racing divisions gathering for an instructive session of information gathering and networking. Over 90% of attendees requested that the forum be held on an annual basis, so Speedway Australia has committed to that process and it will again be held on the day of the Australian Speedway Awards, at the same Rydges Southbank venue in Brisbane.

 

We received plenty of feedback from the divisions that they would like track operators to be a part of the forum, and we are pleased to advise that the Australasian Speedway Promoters Association have committed to the Forum. They represent many of the tracks throughout the country, and the offer is now there for all tracks to make their way to Brisbane to be a part of the Forum.

 

Please contact us if you are a track operator who is interested in attending the National Forum.
 

National Track Assessment Programme + Australian Titles

2018 will see Speedway Australia staff visiting most tracks in the country to undertake track assessments. These are required annually in New South Wales, and every two years in all other states and territories. 

This year, the inspections are being timed to coincide with national titles wherever possible, so that staff can be on hand to network with as many stakeholders as possible. The Speedway Australia truck will also be present, starting with the Australian 360 Sprintcar Championship next weekend in Perth before moving to Horsham at Easter for the Australian Modified Sedan title, Maryborough for the Production Sedan title and culminating in Darwin with the Australian Junior Sedan and Formula 500 title. 
 

A change to the Speedway Australia Board

We are pleased to advise that long-standing speedway identity Darren Shaddock has been appointed to the Board of Speedway Australia. The Track Manager at Murray Bridge Speedway, Darren has been involved in many facets of the promotional side of the sport, through such ventures as Sprintcar World and Speedway.Net. 

Darren replaces Steve Green, who has left the country to undertake an exciting venture in the automotive industry overseas. We welcome Darren to the team, and thank Steve for his many years of service both to Speedway Australia and the sport in general. 

The Board of Speedway Australia consists of four competitor representatives, four promoter representatives and an independent. The current Board is as below, with details on their speedway involvement and year of appointment:-

Competitor Representatives
Greg Lynd | CEO, Speedway Sedans Australia (2014)
Darren Cassidy | President, Racing Sedans Australia (2014)
Mark Cooper | Speedcars Australia (2014)
Gary Winterbottom | Sprintcar Control Council of Australia (2017)

Promoter Representatives
Guy Thompson | Chairperson, Latrobe Speedway Pty Ltd (2014)
Gavin Migro | Longest serving Board member, Perth Motorplex (2002)
John Kelly | Archerfield Speedway, also Sprintcars Queensland (2006)
Darren Shaddock | Murray Bridge Speedway, Made Too Go Group (2018)

Independent Board member
Damien McKern | Deputy Chair, Chartered Accountant (2015)
 

CBHS Corporate Health

Speedway Australia’s health insurance partner CBHS has a reputation as one of the leaders in the market, and with a number of special offers for the speedway fraternity they need to be considered as an option for you and your family. 

For more details on how CBHS Corporate Health can help you out, head to their dedicated speedway landing page.
 

World Series Sprintcars Winners

Held in conjunction with this year’s World Series Sprintcars championship was a fundraising raffle, initiated following the inclusion of an Eagle Sprintcar chassis and bodykit in the title sponsorship of Queensland Speedway Spares. Winners were as follows:- 

Eagle Sprintcar Chassis | Mikey Rimmer, WA
Revolution Racegear Voucher | James Rosenberg, SA
Speedway Star Merchandise | Adam Currie, SA
                                                Dyson Motorsport, NSW
                                                Robert Warner, QLD

Also on the night was a prize draw for three Knoxville Nationals tickets, generously donated by QSS’s Bill Mann. V88 Victory Lane Racing were the lucky winners. 

And the inaugural World Series Sprintcars Fantasy League was won by Glen Ince, a V6 Sprints competitor from SA. Congratulations to all winners, along with series champion James McFadden from Monte Motorsports. 
 

Rulebook

There have been no changes to any rules so far this year. This means the current rulebook in force is the December 2017 version, available here.
 

Welcome to Nickol Bay Speedway

Speedway tracks don’t come much more remote than the venues in northern Western Australia, but fans and drivers from these tracks know that the quality of facilities is comparable to metropolitan venues. Nickol Bay Speedway operate out of Karratha from April to December, with the season concluding with their famous New Years Eve Derby. Other highlights include the Sprintcar Stampede in June and the Brett Johnson Memorial for Modified Sedans in July. 

We are delighted to welcome Nickol Bay Speedway into the Speedway Australia organisation, and for more information check out their Facebook page here.
 

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