2013 National League speedway season explained

Competition:National League
Domesticcup1:Champions
Domesticcup1 Winners:Dudley Heathens
Domesticcup2:Knockout Cup
Domesticcup2 Winners:Dudley Heathens
Domesticcup3:Individual
Domesticcup3 Winners:Steve Boxall[1]
Domesticcup4:Pairs
Domesticcup4 Winners:Dudley Heathens
Domesticcup5:Fours
Domesticcup5 Winners:Dudley Heathens
Domesticcup6:National Trophy
Domesticcup6 Winners:Isle of Wight Islanders
League Above:2013 Elite League
2013 Premier League
Prevseason:2012
Nextseason:2014

The 2013 season of the National League, the third tier of British speedway was contested by eight teams.[2]

Summary

Scunthorpe Saints and Rye House Cobras were both missing from the 2012 league. Two newcomers were the Coventry Storm and the newly formed Kent Kings.

The Dudley Heathens were champions.[3]

Final table

PosTeamPLWDLPts
1Dudley Heathens13110237
2King's Lynn Young Stars1380527
3Mildenhall Fen Tigers1380525
4Isle of Wight Islanders1470722
5Coventry Storm1460819
6Buxton Hitmen1460818
7Kent Kings1350815
8Stoke Potters1220107
[4] PL = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

Scoring system:
Home loss by any number of points = 0
Home draw = 1
Home win by between 1 and 6 points = 2
Home win by 7 points or more = 3
Away loss by 7 points or more = 0
Away loss by 6 points or fewer = 1
Away draw = 2
Away win by between 1 and 6 points = 3
Away win by 7 points or more = 4

Playoffs

Top four teams race off in two-legged semi-finals and final to decide the championship. Dudley Heathens defeated King's Lynn Young Stars in the final.[5]

Semi-finals

width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
02/10King's Lynn 57-39 Mildenhall
01/10Isle of Wight 43-47Dudley
29/09Mildenhall 49-41King's Lynn
24/09Dudley 59-31 Isle of Wight

Final

width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
08/10Dudley53-30 King's Lynn
09/10King's Lynn 46-47 Dudley

National League Knockout Cup

The 2013 National League Knockout Cup was the 16th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier three teams. Dudley Heathens were the winners.[6] [7]

First round

width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
04/08Buxton 47-43 Dudley
09/07Isle of Wight61-32 Kent
24/06Kent 44-49 Isle of Wight
19/06King's Lynn64-26 Stoke
08/06Stoke 57-32 King's Lynn
04/06Dudley 55-39 Buxton
26/05Mildenhall48-42 Coventry Storm
17/05Coventry Storm45-47Mildenhall

Semi-finals

width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
24/10Mildenhall44-46 Isle of Wight
15/10Isle of Wight46-44 Mildenhall
08/10Isle of Wight50-40 Mildenhall
5/09King's Lynn44-46 Dudley
22/09Mildenhall50-40 Isle of Wight
10/09Dudley 56-34King's Lynn

Final

width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
29/10Dudley 58-33 Isle of Wight
30/10Isle of Wight 48-44 Dudley

Riders' Championship

Steve Boxall won the Riders' Championship for the second time. The final was held on 21 September at Rye House Stadium.[8]

width=25pxPos. width=180pxRider width=50pxTotal
1 14+3
2 14+2
3 12
4 11
5 11
6 9
7 8
8 6
96
10 5
11 5
12 5
13 Liam Carr 4
14 4
15 0
16 0

Pairs

The National League Pairs Championship, was held at Mildenhall Stadium, on 30 June 2013. The event was won by Ashley Morris and Lewis Blackbird of the Mildenhall Fen Tigers.[9]

Group A
width=20Poswidth=80Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=200Riders
1Dudley18 Morris 10, Blackbird 8
2Stoke15Smart 9, Priest 6
3Isle of Wight11Hopwood 9, Ritchings 2
4King's Lynn 10Waldron 5, Worrall S 5
Group B
width=20Poswidth=80Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=200Riders
1Mildenhall14 Halsey 9, Bates 5
2Kent 14Boxall 12, Morley 2
3Coventry 13Sarjeant 7, Branford 6
4Buxton13Wright 11, McKinna 2
Final
width=20Poswidth=80Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=200Riders
1Dudley17 Blackbird 9, Morris 8
2Mildenhall15Halsey 10, Bates 5
3Kent14Boxall 8, Morley 6
4Stoke 8Priest 6, Smart 2

Fours

Dudley won the National League Fours, held on 18 August 2013 at Loomer Road Stadium.[10]

Group A
width=20Poswidth=90Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=350Riders
1 King's Lynn16Kerr 6, Mallett 5, Rose 4, Knight 1
2 Mildenhall 15Armstrong 5, Stoneman 4, Bates 3, Halsey 3
3 Isle of Wight10Ritchings 4, Hopwood 2, Johnson 2, Ellis 2
4 Coventry7Sarjeant 5, Greenwood 2, Terry-Daley 0, Shanes 0
Group B
width=20Poswidth=90Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=450Riders
1 Dudley17 Starke 6, Blackbird 5, Morris 4, Isherwood 1, Ward 1
2 Kent12Boxall 6, Compton 5, Mason 1, Morley 0
3 Stoke 11Worrall 4, Hughes 4, Priest 3, Payne 0
4 Buxton 8 McKinna 3, Wright 3, Carr 2, Blacklock 0
Final
width=20Poswidth=90Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=350Riders
1 Dudley14Starke 6, Morris 5, Blackbird 3, Isherwood 0
2 Kent13Boxall 5, Compton 4, Morley 2, Mason 2
3 Mildenhall11Halsey 5, Bates 4, Armstrong 2, Stoneman 0
4 King's Lynn10Kerr 5, Mallett 3, Rose 1, Knight 1

National Trophy

width=20Poswidth=200teamwidth=20Pwidth=20Pts
1 Isle of Wight822
2 Mildenhall817
3 Stoke813
4 Buxton87
5 Kent83

Final leading averages

[11]

width=200Riderwidth=200Teamwidth=40Average
Dudley 10.49
Buxton 10.37
Kings Lynn 10.30

Teams and final averages

Buxton Hitmen

Coventry Storm

Dudley Heathens

Isle of Wight Islanders

Kent Kings

King's Lynn Young Stars

Mildenhall Fen Tigers

Stoke Potters

Development Leagues

Midland Development League

width=20Poswidth=200teamwidth=20Pwidth=20Wwidth=20Dwidth=20Lwidth=20Pts
1 12 8 1 4 16
2 Milton Keynes 11 7 1 3 15
3 Kings Lynn 12 6 2 414
4 Stoke 12 5 2 512
5 Castleford 11 4 1 69
6 Coventry 12 4 1 79
7 Long Eaton 12 3 1 87

Northern Junior League

width=20Poswidth=200teamwidth=20Pwidth=20Wwidth=20Dwidth=20Lwidth=20Pts
1 Redcar 86 1 1 13
2 Workington 8 6 0 2 12
3 Northside 8 4 1 3 9
4 Newcastle 8 1 1 6 3
5Berwick8 1 1 6 3

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Yes Heathens win the lot . Cradley Speedway . 15 February 2023.
  2. Web site: Major League Competitions. Speedway Archive.
  3. Web site: Cradley Heathens hunt for a new home after temporary base at Wolverhampton. Birmingham Mail. 24 October 2014.
  4. Web site: 2013 PLAY-OFF FIXTURES & RESULTS - British Speedway Official Website.
  5. Web site: 2013 Play Offs. Speedway Archive.
  6. Web site: National League Knockout Cup Winners. Speedway Archive.
  7. Web site: 2013 National League Knockout Cup. Speedway Archive.
  8. Web site: Yes Heathens win the lot . Cradley Speedway . 15 February 2023.
  9. Web site: All roads lead to Mildenhall as National League Pairs takes centre stage . . . and who can stop the Cradley Heathens from winning again? . East Anglian Daily Times . 2 July 2023.
  10. Web site: 2013 National League Fours . British Speedway . 10 July 2023.
  11. Web site: 2013 Averages. Speedway GB.