Edinburgh Monarchs

Edinburgh Monarchs
Club information
Track address Armadale Stadium
Bathgate Road
Armadale
West Lothian
Country Scotland Scotland
Founded 1928 (1928)
Team manager Alan Bridgett
League Premier league
Website www.edinburghmonarchs.co.uk
Club facts
Colours Blue and Gold
Track size 260 metres (280 yd)
Track record time 54.8 seconds
Track record date 30 May 2014
Track record holder Craig Cook
Current team
Rider CMA
England Craig Cook 10.02
Australia Sam Masters 9.13
Germany Kevin Wölbert 8.29
Australia Justin Sedgmen 8.12
Germany Erik Riss 5.10
England Max Clegg 3.26
Australia Robert Branford 3.14
Total 47.06
Major team honours
Premier League2003, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2015
Premier League KO Cup1997,1999, 2014
Premier League Cup2014, 2015
Premier Trophy2008
National League/BL Div 2 Fours Championship1981, 1993
National League KO Cup1981
Premier League Fours Championship2013, 2015

The Edinburgh Monarchs are a Scottish Speedway team, currently based in Armadale. They compete in the Premier League, racing on Friday nights during the Speedway season. The club is run by a Board of Directors, chaired by Alex Harkess. The team manager is Alan "Doc" Bridgett.[1]

Brief history

The club was founded in 1928 and operated at Marine Gardens, Portobello in 1929, 1930, 1931, 1938 and 1939. A few team matches were staged in 1929 and an Edinburgh team competed in the Northern League in 1930. The Edinburgh team of 1938 and 1939 was known as The Thistles and they staged a number of challenge matches.

After the war, Marine Gardens was not available and the potential of Old Meadowbank, then the home of Leith Athletic F.C., was said to have been spotted by Ian Hoskins. The Monarchs (Meadowbank Monarchs) were re-established in 1948 by a consortium including Frank Varey, ex-rider and Sheffield promoter, and R.L.Rae, a local Edinburgh businessman.

The team operated at Old Meadowbank 1948 in the National League Second Division until mid-way through 1954. The team finished at the bottom of the league in 1948 but improved to a best place of third before closure in 1954. Under its promoter Ian Hoskins from 1960 until 1964 the Monarchs raced in the Provincial League and were founder members of the British League that ran from 1965 to 1967. The track was used for practice sessions between 1957 - 1959.[2]

Old Meadowbank Stadium had been purchased by the City of Edinburgh Council from Leith Athletic in 1956. Following their successful bid to host the 1970 Commonwealth Games they decided to redevelop the site of the stadium and surrounding area. The Monarchs were evicted as Speedway was not incorporated into the new Meadowbank Stadium plans due to the government of the day refusing to fund stadia which would be used by professional sports. The new stadium sits immediately west of Old Meadowbank essentially on the site of the old running track known as New Meadowbank. The team moved en bloc to a new track at Cliftonhill, Coatbridge (nearer to Glasgow than Edinburgh) and operated as the Coatbridge Monarchs for the 1968 and 1969 seasons before the track licence was sold to Wembley.

Speedway at Powderhall Stadium, 1982

Speedway returned to Edinburgh in 1977, with the Monarchs racing at Powderhall Stadium from 1977 until 1995. During the 1995 season, the company operating Powderhall ran into financial difficulty, and the stadium was sold to a housing company for redevelopment. This meant the Monarchs were again evicted.

In 1996, the Monarchs' rivals Glasgow Tigers closed down, so with a stadium not in use in Glasgow, and the Monarchs without a home in Edinburgh, the Monarchs' moved to Shawfield Stadium, Glasgow to form the Scottish Monarchs. Many Tigers fans refused to support what they saw as a team of old rivals, and although Monarchs fans initially travelled through to Glasgow, crowd numbers soon fell.

In 1997, the Monarchs left Glasgow after gaining permission to operate at Armadale Stadium, where they continue to operate to this day.[2]

The Monarchs have won the Premier League championship five times in their history, in 2003[3] again in 2008[4] in 2010, in 2014, an once more in 2015.

Edinburgh took part in the first Premier League Promotion Play off in 2008 when they faced Wolverhampton. Although they put up a valiant fight, they lost the tie on aggregate.[5] Despite finishing runners up in 2009 they faced Belle Vue in the Premier League Promotion Play off losing both legs.

Recent plans of the supermarket chain Sainsburys to redevelop Armadale Stadium fell through after the planning application was rejected.[6]

Edinburgh secured another Premier League title in the 2010 season, their third in seven years. The Championship was secured by winning away at Stoke's Loomer Road track, with Edinburgh riders Ryan Fisher and Kevin Wölbert going through the card unbeaten.[5]

The Monarchs lost out on another League Championship in 2013 losing narrowly to winners Somerset, though took some consolation by securing the Premier League Fours.

The 2014 Monarchs had a very successful season winning the Premier League Cup, the Knock Out Cup and the Premier League. Sam Masters and Max Fricke won the Premier League Pairs Trophy.

The 2015 Monarchs topped their qualifying section in the League Cup before seeing off Ipswich in the semi finals to progress on to defeat Glasgow on aggregate in the Final. They just missed out on the KO Cup to Somerset, however made up for this by securing the Premier League Fours. The Monarchs topped the Premier League after the regular season and went on to retain their title with another aggregate victory over Glasgow in the Premier League Championship Final.

2016 Team

2015 Team

2014 Team

2013 Team

Also rode

Signed but failed to obtain necessary paperwork

2012 Team

Also Rode

2011 Team

Also rode

2010 Team

Also Rode:

2009 Team

Also rode:

2008 Team

2007 Team

Also Rode

2006 Team

Team Honours

Premier League

Champions: 2003, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2015

Premier Trophy

Winners: 2008, 2014, 2015

Premier League Knockout Cup

Winners: 1997,1999, 2014

Premier League Four-Team Championship

Winners: 1981,1993, 2013, 2015

Premier League Pairs Championship

Winners: 2014

National League Knockout Cup

Winners: 1981

National League Pairs

Winners: 1986

Scottish Cup

Winners: 1951, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1977, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010

Queen's Cup

Winners: 1953

North Shield

Winners: 1951

Individual Honours

Championships won while an Edinburgh Monarchs rider.

World Championship

Premier League Riders' Championship

Scottish Championship

Australian Under-21 Championship

South Australian Championship

Victorian Championship

Victorian Under-21 Championship

References

  1. ↑ Oakes, P (2006). Speedway Star Almanac. Pinegen Ltd. ISBN 0-9552376-1-0.
  2. 1 2 Henry, J.; Moultray, I. (2001). Speedway in Scotland. Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2229-4.
  3. ↑ "Campbell hails his 'dream team'". Evening News. 6 October 2003. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  4. ↑ "Monarchs handed the title as Rebels fail at Birmingham". Edinburgh Evening News. 2006-09-25. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
  5. 1 2 "Edinburgh Monarchs | Official Club Website". Edinburghspeedway.com. 2008-10-24. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
  6. ↑ "Edinburgh Monarchs | Official Club Website". Edinburghspeedway.com. 2010-05-21. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
  7. ↑ "Edinburgh Monarchs | Official Club Website". Edinburghspeedway.com. 2009-08-21. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
  8. ↑ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5

External links

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