CLUB NEWS: Coventry unveil new floodlights

Coventry Cycle Speedway Club have unveiled their new floodlights at their club night last night – and they were installed for only a little over £1000.

With permanent electrics and water difficult to come by, the club have been forced to think outside the box for their water and lighting solutions. The water has been easy enough, having a large treated water butt in the bike container, which members regularly top up with barrels. An electric pump pumps the water out to the hose via a generator.

Coventry’s new floodlights

A similar solution has worked with the lighting. Using a high end generator kindly donated by club sponsor BMS, super bright LED lights have been installed on each pole (6 poles, 2 lights on each) with a breaker box on the pole. Club members just unlock the box on each pole, drop the cables down and plug them into one of two cables running from the generator. The lights are then controlled by a switch in the canteen container and have been installed by club volunteer, Alan Baynes, a qualified electrician.

All of which takes minutes to set up and take down and the results are excellent. it goes to show that you don’t always need to break the bank to get a workable solution.

The lighting system has been made possible thanks to a Sport England grant, ably assisted by British Cycling. Along with new Coventry League race jerseys using the grand money, the club has also purchased brand new adult Archie Wilkinson series 5 club bikes and pedal power junior bikes to add some quality to their fleet, and have just received brand new starting gates, which will now be a permanent fixture at the common, such is their weight and size!

Coventry League

The club host their final Coventry League match on Friday, under the new lights, with around 36 home riders expected to turn out with active club membership now over 50 riders.

Coventry wish to thank club volunteers Jez Hughes and Alan Baynes for their great work with the lights, and Chris Reynolds for drawing up and fabricating the gates, based on Jez’s design.