NEWS: Cycle Speedway World Championships postponed until 2022
The International Cycle Speedway Federation (ICSF) has decided to again postpone the World Championship tournament. The championships will now be staged in South Australia, from Tuesday 15th November to Sunday 4th December 2022 inclusive.
The championships were originally due to have been held in November/ December 2020. A decision was taken last year to put the event back to November/ December 2021, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, with the Australian borders closed to visitors until October 2021, and no guarantee that this wouldn’t be extended to a later date, the ICSF felt that it was unrealistic to stage a viable World Championship tournament in 2021. The decision was unanimously agreed by delegates at the ICSF World Council meeting, held online on Sunday/ Monday 10/11 January 2021 (European and Australian times).
ICSF General Secretary Mike Hack stated “Clearly it’s a major disappointment to once again have to postpone the Championships. However, we have to be realistic within the current pandemic situation, so we have made an early decision to avoid any uncertainty over the staging of the Championships. We want the Championships to be viable for all concerned, with full fields of the world’s best riders competing. A diluted Championship is of no benefit to riders, national teams, staging clubs and the promotion of cycle speedway.”
In view of the World Championships postponement, the ICSF World Council has brought forward the staging of the European Championships and European Club Championships to 2021. This is of course subject to the ever changing government Covid-19 restrictions. The European Championships, run over a three days weekend, will be held in Gt. Britain, from Friday 30th July to Sunday 1st August inclusive. The European Club Championships, again run over a three days weekend, will be held in Poland, on a provisional date from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th September inclusive. The Polish Federation to confirm the actual date at a later stage.
ICSF General Secretary Mike Hack stated “Although there is still much uncertainty over the Covid-19 pandemic, the ICSF delegates consider it worth taking a chance on scheduling the European Championships and European Club Championships for 2021. Both tournaments are run over a three days weekend, travel between the UK and Poland is much shorter and travel and accommodation plans can be made at relatively short notice. It was agreed to fixture the Championships later in the summer, to allow the pandemic to have eased from a winter peak.”