The National Development League 2021 is the third tier/division of British

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for the 2021 season. Due to pressures caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

it was decided that the league would be decided by the final table standings only, with no playoffs being held. For the same reason no Knockout Cup would be held.

Team changes

There were significant changes from the previous

2019 National Development League speedway season The National League speedway 2019 now known as the National Development League for the 2019 season was the third tier/division of British speedway. There were several team changes for the 2019 league season with reigning league champions and KO cu ...

Plymouth Gladiators The Plymouth Gladiators are a speedway team in the British SGB Championship. Under several names Plymouth have competed during various seasons from 1932. The club was reformed after a gap of thirty-six years in 2006 by former St Austell Gulls r ...

and

Kent Kings The Kent Royals (formerly Kings) are a British speedway team formed in 2013. Through 2021 they competed in the SGB Championship but also run a junior team in the National League. They were based at Central Park Stadium in Sittingbourne, with a t ...

moved up a division to the

SGB Championship The Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Championship is the second division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom, governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). It ...

but the latter formed a junior side called the Kent Royals to compete in the development league. The

Cradley Heathens Cradley Heathens was a motorcycle speedway team from Dudley, England. The team was founded in 1947 and competed at the top level of British speedway until its closure in 1995. It was revived as Dudley Heathens in 2010, competing in the National L ...

had withdrawn after the 2019 season and the Isle of Wight Warriors withdrew from the league in early 2021.

Stoke Potters The Stoke Potters previously the Hanley Potters were a British speedway team competing in the National League. As Stoke, the team raced at Loomer Road Stadium in Newcastle-under-Lyme. As Hanley Potters they raced from 1929 to 1963. History H ...

lost their stadium and were unable to compete but there were three teams formed junior sides which joined the league, called the Armadale Devils (parent club Edinburgh Monarchs) the Berwick Bullets (parent club Berwick Bandits) and Eastbourne Seagulls (parent club Eastbourne Eagles).

Summary

Newcastle Gems had started the season but dropped out after in June after a couple of fixtures due to financial difficulties. This was followed on 26 August by the Eastbourne Seagulls after parent club, the

Eastbourne Eagles The Eastbourne Eagles were a British speedway team, based at Arlington Stadium, near Eastbourne, England, that raced in the SGB Championship. History Speedway was initially introduced to Eastbourne in 1929. During their first league season th ...

withdrew from the league because of financial problems. Their results were expunged.

Mildenhall Fen Tigers The Mildenhall Fen Tigers are a British speedway team, founded in 1975 and currently riding in the National Development League. History 1971–1989 The original track was built in 1971 on farm land owned by Terry Waters, with chef Bernie Kla ...

won their fourth Division 3 title since 2003.

Final table

League scoring system *Home loss by any number of points = 0 *Home draw = 1 *Home win by any number of points = 3 *Away loss by 7 points or more = 0 *Away loss by 6 points or less = 1 *Away draw = 2 *Away win by between 1 and 6 points = 3 *Away win by 7 points or more = 4 The fixture between Kent and Armadale was not held following several postponements.

2021 teams

Armadale Devils

*Sheldon Davies *Nathan Greaves *Gregor Millar *Lewis Millar *Danny Phillips *George Rothery *Tom Woolley

Belle Vue Colts

*Paul Bowen *Connor Coles *Benji Compton *Harry McGurk *Sam McGurk *Jake Parkinson-Blackburn *Ben Woodhull

Berwick Bullets

*Kyle Bickley *Greg Blair *Kieran Douglas *Leon Flint *Ryan MacDonald *Ben Rathbone *Mason Watson

Kent Royals

*Jacob Clouting *Jamie Couzins *Daniel Gilkes *Ryan Kinsley *Rob Ledwith *Jake Mulford *Josh Warren

Leicester Cubs

*James Chattin *Jamie Halder *Joe Lawlor *Mickie Simpson *Tom Spencer *Dan Thompson *Joe Thompson *Ben Trigger *Kai Ward

Mildenhall Fen Tigers

*Sam Bebee * Jason Edwards *Sam Hagon *Jordan Jenkins *Elliot Kelly *Luke Muff *Luke Ruddick

Withdrew and results expunged

Eastbourne Seagulls

*Nathan Ablitt *Richard Andrews *Henry Atkins *Connor King *Jake Knight *Nick Laurence *Danno Verge *Chad Wirtzfled

Newcastle Gems

*Joe Alcock *Max Clegg *Kelsey Dugard *Josh Embleton *Arche Freeman *Danny Smith *Ryan Terry-Daley

National Development League Knockout Cup

The 2021 National Development League Knockout Cup would have been the 23rd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier three teams. However it was cancelled due to concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic.

References

{{Speedway National League

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

National Development League Speedway National League