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The first Annual General Meeting for the Monarchs Fans Trust will take place at the home of the Edinburgh Border Roofing Monarchs, Armadale Stadium on Friday 27th November. The meeting will start at 7.30pm and all members of the Trust are invited to join us to review what we have achieved so far and shape the future of the Trust. We thank the stadium owners Billy Cochrane and his family for their support in setting up this event.

As always we are looking for volunteers to join the committee and for our members to bring forward new ideas and suggestions. Details of the current rules can be found HERE and of the current committee can be found HERE. To volunteer to join the committee for 2016 or make a proposal to amend our rules you must inform us in writing by Friday 6th November using the CONTACT US page or by emailing info@monarchsfanstrust.co.uk.

Full details of the meeting will then be communicated to our membership in advance of the meeting. If you have any questions on the AGM or of what would be required to join the committee then get in touch via the same channels or speak to an existing committee member.

2015 PL Champions, photo courtesy of Willie McVicar

Well what a weekend that was: two bumper crowds, fireworks, champagne showers, restarts, falls, some fantastic speedway, a little bit of tension, a Monarchs title victory and a massive party. An amazing night to support the Edinburgh Border Roofing Monarchs as we smashed our local rivals to retain the British Premier League Championship. When Sam Masters and Craig Cook crossed the line in heat 13 it was finally officially confirmed that we were the best and what a feeling that was. All the riders that have worn the blue and gold race jacket this year have done us proud as for the 2nd year in a row we finished the season with the same 7 riders that started it, an amazing achievement. It was a shame Rob was injured in the first leg and missed the party as he has been a large part of the team this year, we wish him and Aaron Summers a speedy recovery. The rest of the team let their hair down in the bar afterwards with the supporters and it was a privilege to be there to witness it, I am sure the drum is still wringing in some of our ears.

When the Monarchs Fans Trust was set up there were big concerns that the club may not make it to the end of the season never mind defend our Championship from 2014. There have been a number of activities behind the scenes that have made sure the club is in a far better position than this time last year and one of these is the formation of the Trust. In Saturday’s programme club director John Campbell said “The launch of the Monarchs Fans Trust at the start of the year has been a tremendous influence on the Club. They have come up with vital funding at vital times and have helped us hugely. Thanks to all members of the Trust for your help. If you are not a member can I encourage you to join?”. For details of how to become a member see our JOIN US page.

Tonight at our committee meeting we presented the club with the final regular contribution of the season, £1,000 to cover the ambulance and medical costs for the last few meetings, bringing our total contribution to £12,000. A very impressive figure: this is only possible with the support of all our members and the committee echoes John’s thanks to all of you who have signed up. Our first aim was to make sure the club survived 2015 and we have now achieved that but there is still a lot of hard work ahead. We will soon be putting forward our plans for the next year starting with our AGM on Friday 27th November, more details to follow very soon.

Hi All

We set up an EasyFundraising account just over a month or so ago and with only 51 people signed up so far it has smashed through the £100 mark already! Just in the last day or so the account has gone from £93 to over £115 which is very exciting.

By way of reminder, EasyFundraising is a website that many of the High Street and Online Retailers have signed up to. It allows individuals to support good causes by getting the retailers to make a free donation to their chosen good cause (in our case, the Monarchs Fans Trust) every time they shop online with that retailer.

If we can raise over £115 with only 50 people in just over a month, imagine how much we might raise with 500 people signed up over a whole year?!

Spread the Word
That is why we would like your help to spread the word and ask your friends and family to sign up to join EasyFundraising in support of the Monarchs Fans Trust. It really is very easy, entirely safe and unobtrusive.

You can do this by asking them to go to the Easyfundraising website at:

http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/monarchsft and signing up to support the Monarchs Fans Trust.

 Download the Reminder Toolbar

In addition, if you haven’t already downloaded the Reminder Toolbar then please do so by clicking on https://new.easyfundraising.org.uk/donation-reminder/toolbar-install/

It makes it much easier to remember to support the Monarchs Fans Trust because once you install this toolbar it provides a reminder every time you click on the website of a retailer that is a member of EasyFundraising. It just asks you if you want to activate donations if you buy something from that website and you click “yes” and the reminder goes away. This works on desktop computers but not yet on smartphones.

We can’t emphasise enough how important this EasyFundraising initiative could be in supporting the Monarchs with a potentially significant new income stream at absolutely no cost to the fans.

Please help us spread the word and remember to download the reminder tool.

All the best

Ed Bradley
Monarchs Fans Trust

PS, Anything exciting happening this weekend…….?!

As the blue and gold army merrily made their way to last night’s Premier League KO cup final second leg with an 8 point deficit everyone wondered, could we possibly achieve the dizzy heights of the treble? With the League Cup and Premier Fours trophies well and truly locked up in the cabinet the answer was sadly no! Well not yet anyway, Somerset Rebels dug deep to keep the score close and were well worthy of taking the Cup back south. So the blue and gold army trudged wearily home in a sombre manner and it was plainly visible for everyone to see that the riders and promotion felt the same.

We all awoke this morning and looked outside, lo and behold the sun was shining. Hopefully the riders, promotion and all associated with the Monarchs can see the positives of a fantastic season so far. So we live to fight another day and with the backing of the Trust we hope that there will be many more days like this to come; not just for the rest of this season but next season, 2017 and beyond. For the 2nd time this season the club asked for assistance with an outstanding bill and because of the generosity of our members the committee were able to agree. Last night the promotion were presented with a cheque for £3,000 this included the regular £1,000 donation for September, we thank our members for making this possible.

Trust presentation against Somerset, photo courtesy of Ron MacNeill

We still have a heck of a lot to play for! With the right attitude, application and professionalism, not forgetting skilful management, we WILL reach the final of the Premier League play-off. This is where we rightfully belong given that we finished the regular season 6 points ahead of our nearest rival. Wouldn’t it be ironic if the Somerset Rebels also reach this final? This would give us the opportunity to show that we are the rightful league champions. So to one and all, let’s all get together and make this happen. There are many clubs and fans who would dearly like to be in our position.  Onwards to Peterborough.

COME ON THE MONARCHS!

Monarchs win League Cup, photo courtesy of Ron McNeil

What an advert for Scottish Speedway, two of Britain’s greatest rivals facing up to each other in the League Cup final. On Friday the scene was set before a huge crowd; the Tiger fans out in force alongside a large number of the loyal Edinburgh support. The fireworks split the sky as the riders were introduced and the Monarchs gating matched it throughout the evening. After the dust had settled Edinburgh had built a large 21 point lead (55-34) and a brilliant platform to go on and defend the cup.

We all waited eagerly for the 2nd leg to take place in Glasgow on Sunday 27th September 2015. A huge crowd built up inside the new look Ashfield stadium as did the atmosphere and the tension. Then the news that Kevin Wolbert would be missing filtered through the blue and gold ranks, more tension and the 21 point lead didn’t seem as comfortable as it had the day before. Into the parade with Edinburgh entering the speedway arena for 2 laps around the circuit first; the reception they received from the blue and gold army was out of this world. If the Glasgow riders and management thought that was the best they could do they were in for a very, very big surprise. Edinburgh fielded a 6 man line up that was technically correct but also a mysterious and mystical 7th man. The blue and gold army and they played their part, vociferous from the start; louder as the meeting unfolded and the effect on the riders was plainly visible from their body language. This translated to points on the track as a Monarch took the chequered flag in each of the first 6 races and that 21 point lead had become 33 after 8 races. The maths were finally put to bed in the next race despite Glasgow collecting a 4-2 and the Monarchs were the champions.

The transformation at Glasgow behind the scenes this season has been phenomenal and although they have fallen just short on track so far they are set to be at the top of the sport for the foreseeable future. Two huge crowds can only be to the benefit of both clubs and we hope that there will be many more fixtures like this for years to come. The Tigers were very generous in defeat and are still in with a shout of the main trophy this year as they race Plymouth this weekend, maybe the first repeat will be this season if we can both negotiate the play offs.

The celebrating and singing when Edinburgh lifted the cup was totally breathtaking, good job the roof was replaced by the new Glasgow promotion or it would have ended up in the clyde.  The 7th man had truly played their part and it is a magnificent community to be a part of. All 7 riders played their part in the League Cup campaign and it was great to see Max Clegg there to back the team, a video of the rendition of “There’s only one Kevin Wolbert” also made it back to the German in his hospital bed and hopefully we see both back on track soon.

If you are considering joining the Trust, you will be warmly welcomed, we need your support. Do we want our club to close – ‘No’, with you support and help hopefully this will not happen now or in the future and every pledge will help.

Well tonight is the night, the biggest derby for many years if not ever and the start of the period where they hand out the silverware. The Monarchs Fans Trust would like to wish our magnificent boys well as they defend the first of our 3 trophies against the Glasgow Tigers, tapes up 7.30pm at Armadale.

With Somerset in the KO Cup Final next week, the Premier League 4s at Redcar on Thursday and our play off semi-final opponents decided it’s a massive 8 days.

If you are booking travel or hotels to any of the upcoming meetings in the next month remember to book through Easy Fundraising so you earn money for the Trust at the same time, the link will give you all the information you require.

Safe travels, come on the Monarchs!

As part of our monthly discussions, the Monarchs Fans Trust Committee have come across a great new way for all Monarchs fans to raise additional funds for the Monarchs Fans Trust, and we have set out below a link to allow you to join us.

In simple terms, every time you shop online using EasyFundraising, the retailer will donate a percentage of the purchase to the Monarchs Fans Trust at no cost to you!  The members of the committee have been testing it and it actually works!

Powered by easyfundraising.org.uk

The Monarchs Fans Trust are hosting a Ten Pin Bowling night on Thursday 10th September 2015 at Probowl in Falkirk, this is a social occasion and a chance for members to get together although any money raised on the night will go towards the Trust. We have a number of lanes reserved for us and will play in teams of 5 so you can enter a whole team or individually. Don’t worry if you have less than 5 we will allocate teams and make sure everyone is involved. Non members are welcome so please bring along any friends or family who want to play and non playing supporters are also welcome.

It will be £10 per person to play and we ask you to advise us in advance if you are coming so we can make up the teams and avoid any delays at the start of the night. Please email info@monarchsfanstrust.co.uk if you need any more information or to confirm your attendance.

Details
Thursday 10th September 2015 (1900 for 1930)
Probowl Bowling Alley (http://probowlscotland.weebly.com/locations.html)
Address: Redbrae Rd, Camelon, Falkirk FK1 4HJ
Phone:01324 613767

Travel: There is a large car park at Probowl and it is situated right beside Camelon Train Station which is on the mainline from Edinburgh to Glasgow, an off peak return from Waverley will cost £9.40.
Train departs Edinburgh Waverley 18:33, Haymarket 18:38, Edinburgh Park 18:43, Linlithgow 18:55 to arrive Camelon at 19:11
Return trains depart Camelon at 21:21, 22:21, 23:03 and 23:33

Thank you very much to Bob Millar and Brian Sands for organising the event. Pro Bowl is a regular supporter of Edinburgh Speedway and we thank them for hosting this event for us.

Brian Gray receives Monarchs Fans Trust cheque. Photo courtesy of Ron MacNeill.

The Monarchs Fans Trust are shocked by the sudden and unexpected passing of club director Brian Gray. Brian joined the board of Edinburgh Speedway 3 years ago and quickly became a link between the supporters and the promotion as he took position at the entrance gate every Friday to meet and greet fans. Uncle B’s friendly smile was infectious and his enthusiasm for all thing Monarchs and speedway made him a popular figure around the stadium where he will be sadly missed.

He regularly demonstrated what the Monarchs Fans Trust stands for investing much of his own time and money into the future of Edinburgh Monarchs and really trying to safeguard the future of speedway in Scotland. He spent a lot of time encouraging juniors and recently announced that a venue for a training track had been found, it would be fantastic legacy for Brian if this could be taken through to completion.

Everyone at the Monarchs Fans Trust would like to express their condolences and best wishes to Brian’s family and friends at this hard time, we’ll miss you Uncle B.

July and August Fixtures courtesy of http://www.edinburghmonarchs.co/fixtures/ (does not include 4TT at Peterborough on 2nd August)

July and August are expensive months for Edinburgh Speedway with 10 away meetings in a 5 week period. With the Monarchs on good form they have already hit more than 40 points in 3 of the 4 meetings already raced, the exception being a shortened match at Redcar. Whilst this is great news from a sporting perspective, Monarchs sit top of the Premier League table, the riders are paid per point so it is an increased cost to the club. On top of that the home KO Cup match against Redcar was abandoned after 5 races which results in the hosting of a rescheduled meeting on a Saturday which will hit the club in the pocket as well.

The Monarchs Fans Trust recognises these challenges and as set out at the start of the year intends to be proactive to keep the club from hitting financial trouble. Therefore the committee has decided to increase this month’s contribution to the club to £4,000. The Trust has presented 3 x £1,000 cheques so far this season and this Saturday (1^st August) will present the club with the larger figure instead of the regular £1,000 contribution. This is to assist the club through this difficult period as it gears up for another big end to the season. Trust members continue to meet and talk to the club regularly and this is a signal of the Trust’s intent to support the club.

Club director Alex Harkess stated that “the contributions made by the Trust is a major boost to the club and I thank all of the members for making this possible”. Fans Trust spokesperson Dave Harley commented “We discuss the financial situation of the club at our meetings and the committee believe we need to make positive steps now to ensure the club stabilises this year”.

The Monarchs Fans Trust is an organisation set up to save the future of the Monarchs, more details on how to become  a member can be found on our JOIN US page. In addition to raising finances the Trust is also working on increasing the profile of the club with initiatives like KidsGoFree currently going on throughout the school holidays. Whilst it doesn’t explicitly state it on the voucher the KidsGoFree promotion is valid for this Saturday’s (1^st August tapes up 7.00pm) match against Redcar.