The Rye House Rockets were a

speedway 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 cours ...

team based at

Rye House Stadium Rye House Stadium is a former greyhound racing and speedway venue in Rye Road, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. It is situated adjacent to the River Lea Navigation. Origins The name Rye House originates from a collection of medieval buildings on an ...

Hoddesdon Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon is ...

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 ...

. They competed in various British speedway leagues from 1954 to 2018.

History

Rye House began life in 1934 hosting open meetings. Whilst at Hackney in 1937,

Dicky Case Roy George Arthur 'Dicky' Case (7 June 1910 Toowoomba, QueenslandBamford, R. & Stallworthy, D. (2003) ''Speedway - The Pre War Years'', Stroud: Tempus Publishing. - 1980) was an Australian international speedway rider who finished sixth in the ...

took over the sixty acre estate of Rye House and set up a training school at Rye House Stadium, operating under the name of the Hackney Motor Club. The school operated until 1938 when Rye House entered the Sunday Dirt-track League.Jacobs, Norman (2007). ''70 Years of Rye House Speedway''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing Their first season competing in a league was in 1954 when as the Rye House Roosters they finished third in the 1954 Southern Area League. The team then won two league titles; the 1955 Southern Area League and the 1956 Southern Area League. The team competed in the 2nd division of speedway for 20 years, from 1974 to 1993, with their best successes being the 1980 league champions and 1979 Knockout Cup winners. In September 2018, 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 ...

, a speedway team 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 ...

, moved to the Rye House Stadium. The Rye House Rockets had “been annulled by the Speedway Control Bureau” earlier that year. In 1999, the team returned to league action in the Conference League (the 3rd division) but they soon moved up to division 2 and formed a junior side to compete in the Conference League. The team's last major honours were winning the league during the 2005 Premier League speedway season and repeating the feat two years later in 2007, after winning the playoffs.

Junior teams

Rye House ran a junior side called the Rye House Raiders and later the Rye House Cobras. The team competed in the Conference League and then the

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 ...

. The Raiders won the

Conference League Four-Team Championship The Conference League Four-Team Championship was an annual motorcycle speedway contest between teams competing in the tird tier of speedway in the United Kingdom (the Conference League) held from 2003 until 2008. Eight teams consisting of four r ...

in 2003.

Riders

Rider of the year

* 2017:

Scott Nicholls Scott Karl Nicholls (born 16 May 1978) is a British speedway rider, who has won the British Championship seven times,Stuart Robson Stuart Robson may refer to: * Stuart Robson (actor) * Stuart Robson (speedway rider) See also * Stewart Robson Stewart Ian Robson (born 6 November 1964) is an English former football player and TV and radio football pundit. He played for A ...

* 2015:

Edward Kennett Edward David Kennett (born 28 August 1986 in Hastings, England) is a motorcycle speedway rider. He was the British Under-21 Champion in 2005 and has appeared in two Speedway Grand Prix as a wild card. Kennett's father Dave, was a motorcycle ...

* 2014:

* 2013:

Tyson Nelson Tyson is a male given name of old French origin meaning 'high-spirited', 'fire'. It is from this that a surname arose 'son of Tyson'. Surname * Alan Tyson (1926–2000), British musicologist *Barbara Tyson (born 1964), Canadian actress *Bill Tys ...

Tyson Nelson named Rye House Rockets rider of year
, ''Harlow Star'', 6 October 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2014 * 2012:

Jason Garrity Jason Garrity (born 9 November 1993) is an English motorcycle speedway rider who won the British Under-19 Championship and the National League Riders Championship in 2011. Biography Born in Longsight but now living in Droylsden, Greater Manch ...

* 2011:

Chris Neath } Christopher Maurice Neath (born 29 January 1982) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned one international cap for the Great Britain national speedway team. Career Neath began riding when competing in youth grasstrack ...

* 2010:

Linus Sundstrom Linus, a male given name, is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Linos''. It's a common given name in Sweden. The origin of the name is unknown although the name appears in antiquity both as a musician who taught Apollo and as a son of Apollo who di ...

* 2009:

Luke Bowen Luke Alex Bowen (born 26 January 1986 in Harlow, Essex) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England, who rode with the Rye House Rockets in the Premier League (speedway), Premier League. Luke was with the Hoddesdon-based club for much ...

* 2008:

* 2007:

Tai Woffinden Tai Woffinden (born 10 August 1990) is a British speedway rider. He is a three-time World Champion (2013, 2015 and 2018). Early life Woffinden was born in Scunthorpe, the son of former speedway rider Rob Woffinden. Although born in the Unite ...

* 2006:

Steve Boxall Steven Shane (Steve) Boxall (born 16 May 1987 in Canterbury, Kent) is a speedway rider in the United Kingdom. He rode with the Belle Vue Aces in the Elite League. Career Boxall won the Conference League Riders' Championship in 2005. Also i ...

* 2005:

Stuart Robson Stuart Robson may refer to: * Stuart Robson (actor) * Stuart Robson (speedway rider) See also * Stewart Robson Stewart Ian Robson (born 6 November 1964) is an English former football player and TV and radio football pundit. He played for A ...

* 2004: Tommy Allen * 2003:

Scott Robson Scott Robson (born 15 August 1971) is a former international speedway rider from England. Speedway career Robson reached the final of the British Speedway Championship in 1995. He rode in the top tier of British Speedway from 1987 to 2005, r ...

* 2002: David Mason

Notable riders

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Season summary

Junior riders

2009 team * * * * * * * 2008 team * * * * * * * * * * 2007 team * * * * * * * * * 2006 team * * * * * * * * *

References

{{SGB Premiership Speedway Premier League teams Sport in Hertfordshire Hoddesdon