Poole Pirates (also known as Poole Speedway) are a

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

team based in

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

, England, competing in 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 ...

. The club have been the champions of the United Kingdom on ten occasions. Poole Speedway is promoted by local businessman Matt Ford and son Danny Ford, who took over promoting rights of the club in 1998. The team is managed by past rider and former

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

team manager

Neil Middleditch Neil Middleditch (born 7 January 1957 in Wimborne, Dorset) is a former speedway rider and the team manager of the Poole Pirates. His father Ken was a former rider with the Poole Pirates. He was the team manager of the Great Britain national spee ...

. Wimborne Road Stadium has been home to the club since it was founded in 1948. In August 2004, Poole hosted the

Speedway World Cup The Speedway World Cup is an annual motorcycle speedway, speedway event held each year in different countries. The first edition of the competition in the current format was held in 2001 and replaced the old Speedway World Team Cup, World Team Cu ...

final, which was won by

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Stadium

Poole Stadium Poole Stadium is a speedway and former greyhound racing venue located in the town centre of Poole, Dorset in England. The stadium is owned by the Borough of Poole. It was built in the early 1930s in an attempt to provide a source of entertainme ...

(also known as Wimborne Road Stadium), has been the Pirates' home track since the club was created in 1948. It is situated near to the town centre and is owned by Poole Borough Council. The stadium's capacity was limited to 5,500 people in 2008 for safety reasons. Prior to 1948, the stadium had been used as a

cycle track A cycle track, separated bike lane or protected bike lane (sometimes historically referred to as a sidepath) is an exclusive bikeway that has elements of a separated path and on-road bike lane. A cycle track is located within or next to the ro ...

and had been home to Poole Town Football Club since 1933. There is an all seater

grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap a ...

on the home straight, and a glass fronted grandstand on the back straight. The viewing areas on the track bends are un-sheltered and standing only. At the start of 1948 the tarmac cycle track was dug up and replaced with a speedway track. A steel safety fence was erected around the outside of the track and the

football pitch A football pitch (also known as soccer field) is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural tu ...

remained within the centre of the track. The first speedway meeting took place in the stadium on 26 April 1948, in tragic circumstances. The match against the

Yarmouth Bloaters The Yarmouth Bloaters were a motorcycle speedway team who operated from Yarmouth Stadium, Great Yarmouth from 1948 to 1962. History Speedway meetings had been taking place at Yarmouth Stadium since 1932. In 1948 the Yarmouth Bloaters speedway t ...

, which Poole won 74–32, saw Yarmouth's Reg Craven killed in the first race in the very first match at the track. A sheltered 1,100 seat grandstand was erected on the home straight in 1960 and is still in use. The terracing on the back straight of the speedway track was demolished in 1997 and replaced with a new glass fronted grandstand incorporating a 440 seat restaurant, two bars,

Tote betting The Tote is a British gambling company which is the largest pool betting operator in the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Wigan, England, its main products are sports betting and online casino. Founded in 1928, the company was owned by the UK ...

facilities and multiple viewing screens. The speedway track was reduced in size to to accommodate a new greyhound track. Stadia UK were issued a long term lease on the stadium by the council, with the Pirates promotion sub-leasing use of the stadium and facilities from Stadia UK. In 2004, Poole Stadium was chosen to host the

final by organiser Benfield Sports International (BSI). Poole hosted the race-off on 5 August, in which Sweden and Poland progressed to the final. The

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

took place on 7 August with

becoming World Champions, defeating

into second place by one point. Temporary stands were erected around the corners of the track to provide 2,200 extra seats. The official attendance figure at the stadium for the final was 7,131.

History

1947–1964

In 1947,

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

based

Exeter Falcons The Exeter Falcons were a speedway team based in the city of Exeter. The Falcons operated from 1947 to 2005 at the County Ground Stadium in Exeter. History In 1947, the Falcons competed in a league for the first time when they finished four ...

riders Tommy Crutcher and Charlie Hayden created a consortium, which also included Crutcher's brother Jack and Herby Hayden, with the aim of opening a speedway club closer to their home. The consortium applied to Poole Borough Council in 1947 to stage speedway racing in the town and the council approved their request on 6 January 1948. The Pirates lined up for their inaugural season as members of the National League Division Three. Tony Lewis was signed in 1949 and

Ken Middleditch Kenneth Arthur Middleditch (5 October 1925 – 9 January 2021) was a motorcycle speedway rider from England. Career Middleditch served in the RAF in World War II as a rear gunner, and became interested in speedway while stationed in Egypt.Mor ...

signed from

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

in 1950, and they formed an effective pairing for the Pirates. Poole won their first title in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

and were promoted to the National League Division Two.

Brian Crutcher Brian Crutcher (born 23 August 1934 in Poole, England) is a former international speedway rider who finished second at the 1954 Speedway World Championship finals. Career Crutcher made his debut for third division team the Poole Pirates in 19 ...

signed for Poole in 1951 and the following year he became the first Poole rider to reach a World Speedway Final in 1952. Poole won the Division Two title at the first attempt, but were denied First Division status by the Speedway Control Board, who claimed that Poole were not a big enough club to be able to sustain top flight racing. The following two years (1953 and 1954) saw the Pirates narrowly finishing as Division Two runners up and Brian Crutcher left Poole to sign for

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 ...

team

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

at the start of the 1953 season. In 1955, the Pirates again won the Division Two Championship and were allowed promotion to Division One of the National League, becoming the only club to ever have won promotion from the bottom league to the top tier. However, by the end of the 1956 season, the Poole promoters closed the club, blaming poor attendances and the introduction of fuel rationing due to the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

. Despite losing their league status, Poole Stadium continued to stage meetings during 1957, including two National League meetings.

Rayleigh Rockets The Rayleigh Rockets were a Speedway team which operated from 1949 until their closure in 1973 from the Rayleigh Weir Stadium in Rayleigh, Essex . History The Rockets inaugural league season was in 1949 Speedway National League Division Three, ...

promoter Vic Gooden took over the promoting rights of Poole at the end of the year and Poole rejoined the National League in 1958.

Southampton Saints Southampton Saints were a speedway team which operated from 1928 until its closure in 1963. Its track was located at Banister Court Stadium in Southampton, Hampshire. History Southampton was one of the founder members of the 1929 Speedway Sout ...

promoter Charles Knott took over from Gooden in 1960 and brought back the successful pairing of Middleditch and Lewis. Ross Gilbertson was also signed and

Geoff Mudge Geoff Mudge (born 30 September 1935) is a former international speedway rider from Australia. Speedway career Mudge won a silver medal during the Speedway World Pairs Championship in the 1968 Speedway World Pairs Championship. The medal was ...

was brought over from Australia. The stadium was redeveloped and the track was made slightly smaller to accommodate a

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

track. Also that year, the speedway league structure was re-formed and Poole opted to join the newly formed

Provincial League Provincial League (formerly known as Professional League) also known as Pro League was the old regional Football league in Thailand in 1999–2008. It was founded in 1999 under the name "Provincial League" organized by Sports Authority of Thailan ...

. Poole finished joint top of the table with Rayleigh, but lost out on points difference. Success returned to Poole with the Provincial League title in 1961 and 1962.

1965–1996

Following a power struggle between the Speedway Control Board and speedway club promoters, the

British League The British League was the main motorcycle speedway league in Britain from its formation in 1965 until 1995 when British speedway was restructured. It initially had a single division, with a second division starting in 1968 (which was renamed the ...

was formed in 1965. Poole joined the

(the top league Division) with 18 other teams and remained there for the next 20 years. They won the British League title in 1969 with Pete Smith, who would eventually go on to score over 3,287 points for the club, the biggest contributor. Smith was supported with contributions from team captain Geoff Mudge,

Bruce Cribb Bruce Brian Hoani Cribb (born 27 June 1946) is a former speedway rider from New Zealand, who rode in the United Kingdom for several teams in a career spanning over twenty years. Career Cribb was born in Palmerston North, where he began riding, ...

, Gordon Guasco,

Frank Shuter Franklin John Shuter (17 June 1943 – 12 July 1997) was a New Zealand speedway rider who rode with, and was League Champion with each of the Swindon Robins, the Poole Pirates and the Exeter Falcons in the British League. Career summary Shuter ...

and Odd Fossengen who was in his second year at Poole and would become a fans favourite. Major changes in personnel took place in 1974, with the arrival of riders such as Colin Gooddy and

, son of former rider Ken Middleditch. In 1975, Poole completed the signing of

Malcolm Simmons Malcolm Simmons (20 March 1946 – 25 May 2014) was a British speedway rider. Career Simmons was born in Tonbridge, Kent. After starting in second-half races at New Cross, he made his Provincial League debut at Hackney Hawks in 1963 aged seven ...

from

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...

. Simmons finished top of the Poole riders averages for the next six seasons and in 1976 finished in second place at the

Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official championsh ...

. Mid-way through the 1979 season,

Reg Fearman Reg Fearman (born 26 April 1933 in London, England) is a former international speedway rider and promoter. Riding career He first received his speedway licence on his sixteenth birthday, presented to him in front of a forty thousand strong West ...

bought the promoting rights and continued to run the club until 1984 when financial problems forced the club to close. The club was rescued by the then

Weymouth Wildcats The Weymouth Wildcats were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Weymouth, England, who raced in the National League. The Wildcats won the first Conference League Championship in their history in 2008 after winning the Conference Leagu ...

promoters Peter Ansell and Mervyn Stewkesbury, who moved their team to Poole for the start of the 1985 season. The team name was changed to the Poole Wildcats and they entered the

– the second league tier of speedway. The name change proved to be unpopular and was reverted to the Poole Pirates after two seasons. Australian manager

Neil Street Neil Street OAM (15 January 1931 – 6 October 2011) was an international motorcycle speedway rider, manager and engineer, who first arrived in Britain in 1952 to ride for the Exeter Falcons. Street was born in Melbourne, Australia. He rode ...

was appointed as Poole team manager and an influx of young Australian riders began, including

Craig Boyce Craig Boyce (born 2 August 1967 in Sydney, Australia) was a motorcycle speedway rider who primarily rode for the Poole Pirates in the British Elite League. After retiring from riding, Boyce became manager of the Australian national team unt ...

and

Leigh Adams Leigh Scott Adams (born 28 April 1971 in Mildura, Victoria)Oakes, P.(2004). ''British Speedway Who's Who''. is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. He is a multiple Speedway Grand Prix winner and World Team Champion. He also w ...

in 1988. Poole finished as National League runners up 1988, were National League champions in 1989, and then won a League and Knockout Cup double in 1990, led by captain

Alun Rossiter Alun John Rossiter (born 23 July 1965, in Swindon, England)Oakes, P.(2004). ''British Speedway Who's Who''. is a retired speedway rider, and team manager of British Elite League team the Swindon Robins. Career Rossiter began his speedway ca ...

. After the 1990 season, the leagues were re-structured and Poole re-joined the top flight of speedway – the

. Poole won the league championship in 1994 led by Boyce, 1993 signing

Lars Gunnestad Lars Gunnestad (born 18 February 1971 in Drammen, Norway) is a former Norwegian international motorcycle speedway rider. He won the Individual Speedway Norwegian Championship a record ten times. His son, Lars Daniel, is speedway rider also. ...

and a young

Jason Crump Jason Philip Crump (born 6 August 1975) is an Australian international motorcycle speedway rider. He is a three-time Speedway World Champion, a World Cup winner and a former World Under-21 Champion. In a 21-year career in Speedway, Jason Cr ...

, grandson of manager

. In 1997 the structure of the leagues was once again changed with Poole joining the Elite League.

1997–2019

Poole initially struggled in the Elite League and were sold to local businessmen Matt Ford and Mike Golding in 1998. In a clear out at the club, only Magnus Zetterstrom remained from the 1998 season and Neil Street was replaced as manager by former rider

left for

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, Lee Richardson was signed from

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

Gary Havelock Robert Gary Havelock (born 4 November 1968, in Eaglescliffe, County Durham, England) is a former speedway rider who was World Champion in 1992. For several years he captained the Redcar Bears in the Premier League. He is the son of former speed ...

was brought in as Captain and

Mark Loram Mark Roysten Gregory Loram (born 12 January 1971) is a former British motorcycle speedway rider who won the World Speedway Championship in 2000 and won the British Championship in 1997, 1999, and 2001. Career Born in Mtarfa, Malta, Mark ...

was signed from

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

. Loram was to become the first Pirate to lift the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

title with his success in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

. Poole finished as Elite League runners up in 1999 and 2001.

Tony Rickardsson Tony Rickardsson (born on 17 August 1970) is a Swedish former professional motorcycle speedway rider. He competed in the Speedway World Championships from 1989 to 2006. Rickardsson is notable for winning six Speedway World Championship titles in 1 ...

joined Poole in 2001 and won the

that year and the year after.

joined in 2003 and together they spearheaded the team to a triple championship of Elite League, Knockout Cup and the British League Cup. The Pirates followed up 2003 with another successful year in 2004 despite the loss of

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

riders Adams and Rickardsson. Solid point scoring from

Bjarne Pedersen Bjarne Aagaard Pedersen (born 12 July 1978 in Holstebro, Denmark)Oakes, P.(2006). ''Speedway Star Almanac''. is an international motorcycle speedway rider who has represented Denmark in the Speedway World Cup, winning it on two occasions: i ...

Antonio Lindback Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

and

Ryan Sullivan Ryan Geoffrey Sullivan (born 20 January 1975, in Fitzroy, Victoria) is a retired Australian international Motorcycle speedway rider who has won the Australian senior, Under-21, and Under-16 championships during his career. Sullivan achieved ...

led Poole to an Elite League and Knockout Cup double and Poole became the first top flight club to achieve back to back League and Cup doubles since 1960. The Pirates won their third Elite League championship in 2008, defeating the

Lakeside Hammers The Lakeside Hammers were a speedway team who most recently raced in the SGB Championship in 2018. They were founded (as the Arena-Essex Hammers) by promoter Wally Mawdsley and stock car promoter Chick Woodroffe. The team were nicknamed the Ham ...

in the play-off final with an aggregate score of 108–75. in 2011 the Poole pirates dominated the league, spearheaded by Chris Holder and Darcy Ward, and finished the season off by defeating the Eastbourne Eagles in the play-off final. Poole operated an additional team, Bournemouth Buccaneers, in the

in 2009 and 2010. Despite successful seasons on track, spectator support was disappointing and the operation was terminated. The success of Poole continued with a Knockout Cup win in 2012 and being crowned champions in three successive years during the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

seasons. The team won their tenth highest league title after winning the

SGB Premiership 2018 The SGB Premiership 2018 was the 84th season of the top division of Great British Speedway in 2018. The season ran between March and October 2018 and had eight teams participating. The line-up of teams remained the same as in 2017. The Swindon Rob ...

2020–Present

In 2020, the leagues were cancelled due to 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 ...

and the Pirates did not make their expected debut in the

(second division). The following season in 2021, the Pirates finished top of the regular season table and secured a place in the playoff semi finals. Poole duly won their playoff semi final against Leicester and met Glasgow in the final. Shortly afterwards the Pirates won the division 2 Knockout Cup for the third time in their history and then completed the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

and cup double by winning the Play off final. The following season in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, the success continued as the team dominated again, winning the SGB Championship and Knockout Cup 'double double'.

Season summary

Season Summary (Juniors)

Honours

''League'' *FIM World Speedway League **Runners Up (1): 2014 *

/ Elite League/

SGB Premiership The Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Premiership is the top 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 was in ...

**Winners (10): 1969,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

* National League Division Two/

**Winners (7): 1952,

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

, 1962, 1989,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

* National League Division Three **Winners (1):

Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

'' *

Elite League Knockout Cup The Elite League Knockout Cup was a speedway Knockout Cup competition in the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2012. History It was governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB) in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). T ...

**Winners (5):

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

*National Trophy/

National League Knockout Cup The National League Knockout Cup is a speedway third tier Knockout Cup competition in the United Kingdom. The competition was previously known as the Academy League Knockout Cup (1995) and the Conference League Knockout Cup (1996-2008) until it ...

SGB Championship Knockout Cup The SGB Championship Knockout Cup is a motorcycle speedway, speedway second tier Knockout Cup (speedway), Knockout Cup competition in the United Kingdom. It was renamed in 2017 after previously being called the Premier League Knockout Cup. Winner ...

**Winners (5): 1952,

*British League Cup **Winners (1): 2003 *

Craven Shield The Craven Shield and Young Shield were shortlived speedway end of season cup competitions in the United Kingdom governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). Craven Shield ...

**Winners (3):

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

* Elite Shield/Premiership Shield **Winners (6): 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2019 *

Elite League Pairs Championship The Elite League Pairs Championship was a motorcycle speedway contest between the top two riders from each club competing in the Elite League in the United Kingdom, staged from 2004 to 2011. History The Championship was a reincarnation of the B ...

**Winners (3): 2007, 2009 & 2011

World Champions

was the first Poole rider to win the

with his success in

joined Poole in 2001 following Loram's departure to Peterborough, and won the World Championship in

and

while riding for the Pirates. Chris Holder is the latest World Champion to ride for the Pirates securing his first Speedway Grand Prix title in October

won the World Pairs Championship for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

three times during his Poole career in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

and

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, he also won the

World Team Cup The World Team Cup was the international men's team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The inaugural edition of the tournament was contested in 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica and was called the Nations Cup. No tourname ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and

Antonio Lindbäck Antonio Lindbäck (born 5 May 1985 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider who competed in the Speedway World Championship, finishing eighth in 2016, and was a member of the Swedish team who won the Speedwa ...

won the

in for

, and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

has won the World Cup on two occasions; in

and

. Australian

was the first Pirate to win the

Speedway World Under 21 Championship Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta * Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cour ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

. England's Lee Richardson (

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

), Poland's

Krzysztof Kasprzak Krzysztof Kasprzak (; born 18 July 1984 in Leszno, Poland) is an international speedway rider who became World Under-21 Champion in 2005 and won the silver medal during the 2014 Speedway Grand Prix. He also won five World team titles. He is a so ...

(

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

) and Australian

Darcy Ward Darcy Stephen Ward (born 4 May 1992 in Nanango, Queensland) is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider who won the 2009, 2010 and 2011 Australian Under-21 Championships as well as the 2009 and 2010 World Under-21 Championships. His ca ...

(

) have also won the World Under 21 Championship while riding for Poole.

Notable former riders

The following riders have been voted into the Pirates

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

by supporters:

Testimonial riders

Seven Poole riders have received

testimonials In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, where ...

at the club, usually for being a Poole asset for 10 years or more. * 1976 Pete Smith * 1984

* 1995

Steve Schofield Steve Schofield is a British photographer. He is primarily known for his portraits, especially his narrative portrait style of photography. Some of his photographs of actors, musicians, and writers are included in the London National Portrait G ...

* 2000

* 2001

* 2003

* 2005 Magnus Zetterstrom * 2009

* 2011

Davey Watt David John Watt (born 6 January 1978 in Townsville, Queensland) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Australia. He won the Queensland state championship in 2005 and was a member of the Australian team that finished second t ...

References

External links

*
Bournemouth Daily Echo
{{SGB Championship Speedway Elite League teams Sport in Poole Sport in Dorset