Youngsters urged to get on their bikes

Chairman Albert Bentley is looking to swell the club's junior ranks and at the same time get kids fit and active.

The club, which is based at East Park in Hickman Avenue, Wolverhampton, is gearing up for a summer of Midland League action at both senior and junior level.

And while Bentley would welcome some elder riders to bolster the senior side, he is especially keen to add to the club's younger ranks.

"We are keen to get more youngsters involved in the sport," said Bentley.

"Cycle speedway is not a big sport but we want to encourage more children to come and give it a go. It's great way to keep fit and a way to interact and meet new friends.

"We want to get kids off the sofa and out on the their bikes being active. As soon as they can ride a bike, then we will have them.

"We will provide the bikes, helmets and gloves and we only charge one pound per session. All they have to do is come along to our training sessions on Tuesday or Thursday nights."

Bentley's interest in cycle speedway started when his son Stuart took up the sport.

He was one of the founder members of East Park in 2006 and the club is still going strong 13 years on thanks to the efforts of Bentley and a dedicated committee.

"We have a hard working committee that put a lot of effort in, all of which is voluntary," said the 62-year-old.

"We also have the support of a couple of local councillors Harman Banger, Keith Inston and Anwen Muston who have helped pay for riding licences for some of the youngsters.

"It's a good club. We have three qualified coaches – Bob Prince, Dave White, Sam Bishop – and have achieved clubmark status from British Cycling.

"Everything is in place, we just want some more riders."

The club's reputation for being well run was highlighted last year when they were granted the European Championships.

The event proved a massive hit on and off the track and Bentley is keen to make a pitch to stage a future World Championship event.

"The Euros were a big success for the club," he said. There were three full days of racing with between 400 and 500 people watching each day.

"It really helped put the club on the map. The racing was streamed all over the world and we received some really good feedback.

"The sport is very popular in Poland and the Polish riders were really impressed with the facilities and how the event was staged.

"I would like us to stage the World Championships in the future and that's something we will be looking into."

On the domestic scene Bentley admits competing at senior level alongside the likes of Birmingham and Wednesfield Aces is becoming more difficult.

Rider movement is becoming more common with some of East Park's talented performers being enticed away.

"We lost a few senior riders before the start of the season and are currently loaning a couple to subsidise us in our Midland League fixtures," he said.

"There seems to be more rider movement these days than there used to be.

"But we have some talented junior riders. You just have to wait for them to come through and then hopefully keep hold of them when they get to the senior side."

The club is staging a round of Midland League Gold Cup action on Sunday which features Birmingham, Leicester, Wednesfield Aces and Coventry.

A new format for this season sees four clubs compete on the day at senior and junior level, with the hosts sitting out.

"It's something new for this season with two clubs racing each other at 1pm at both senior and junior level before the other two race at 3pm," said Bentley.

As well as the league fixtures, the club also stages various individual events throughout the season including the Joe Guy Memorial Meeting, which is held in honour of former East Park and Wolverhampton Wheelers rider Joe who was killed in a road traffic accident while on a training run in 2017.