Well, 2015 is here at last, and with the approaching season, a host of changes to which to acclimatise.
And by far the biggest change is in hosting the WCRA Championships at a new venue. As most will know, this change has been forced upon us by the refusal of Morton-in-Marsh Cricket Club to renew our contract to race on their ground, so that after 10 enjoyable years at Moreton we were forced, at fairly short notice to re-locate.
The new venue is The Whippet Meadow, Hockers Lane, Detling, Kent – previously used by the Honeyhills and Maidstone clubs, and well known to many whippet racers. It isn’t ideally placed geographically, but we felt that consistency of track and equipment was preferable to using various club grounds with changes of equipment each time. We also felt that a return to dragging the WCRA equipment around in a van, as was done years ago, was no longer a viable option. We have a 2 year contract with the landowner at Detling but this shouldn’t prevent us from taking into consideration a more central location at some point in the future.
There is much work to be done before the date of the first Championship meeting on May 3rd – even more so since the recent trashing of the track, a vindictive action which no true lover of the sport can condone. But, as a committee, we are determined to do whatever needs to be done – and more – to produce a top class whippet racing venue, to host superior Championship meetings. There will also be an advantage to club racing members in the South East region, who will benefit from improved facilities plus financial incentives. Win, win then!
Although the travelling distance will undoubtedly cause problems for some, we hope that those who do attend, have as good a meeting as any that were ever held at Moreton-in-Marsh. The first Championship coincides with a Bank Holiday which gives racers an extra day should they wish to camp. The other dates, which are also posted elsewhere, are June 28th, August 16th and October 4th.
See you there!