Our presentation party – photo courtesy of Ron McNeil

On Friday a number of members of the Monarchs Fans Trust made the first presentation of a cheque to the club, this was for £1,000. Brian Gray and Ed the Monarch (a fully signed up Trust member) accepted this on behalf of the club and thanked us for our efforts. This money is earmarked to pay for the ambulance on Friday nights and other medical costs, the Trust are delighted to be able to start making a difference now and thank our members for enabling this to happen. This will be the first of the regular payments the Trust will be making throughout the season as the fund is used to stabilise the finances of the Monarchs. The aim of the Trust is to secure the long term future of the club, there is a long hard task ahead but is one we have started on very well.

Whilst on the centre green Trust members were treated to two fantastic heats of speedway, firstly Craig Cook had to work really hard to get the better of Nick Morris to join Justin Sedgmen for a big 5-1 and then Sam Masters brought the house down with a last gasp burst to win heat 7 and prevent a Glasgow 8-1.

All part of a thoroughly great night of speedway and a great example of the fantastic job Edinburgh Speedway do in difficult conditions.

The Trust hopes to ensure that we have nights like this for a long time to come, if you would like to be part of this then please visit our JOIN US page and sign up today.

100th member Sam Boon meets members of the committee – photo courtesy of Jack Cupido

We’ve got some great news today. The Monarchs Fans Trust has reached its initial target of 100 members! This is a great achievement for the trust in such a short space of time. Sam Boon became the 100^th member when he signed up earlier this week, he stated that he joined the trust to ensure that we get regular speedway every Friday and encouraged everyone to sign up no matter how small the amount as “Every little helps”.

The generosity of the Monarchs fans in general and, you, as a trust members, in particular, has been astonishing and this achievement could not have been reached without your support. Thank you on behalf of everyone connected with the Monarchs Fans Trust.

There can be no doubt that Monarchs fans are once again proving that they are amongst the best fans, not just in Speedway, but in all of sport. After only a few short weeks the trust has reached a figure that some people thought was impossible.

As a thank you for your support and generosity, we would like to invite a group of members of the trust to present the first cheque to the club. The first cheque presentation will take place on the centre green during the Glasgow Tigers match on Friday 24 April 2015. You’ll get a chance to watch a race or two from the centre green (a great experience) and if you are shy, don’t worry, there will be no need for speeches, we just need a small group to hand over the cheque.

Just email us at info@monarchsfanstrust.co.uk if you’d like to be part of the group on Friday 24^th April. If you can’t make it on Friday, don’t worry, there will be other opportunities to present the cheque as this will be a monthly presentation.

Thanks again for your wonderful support!

The Monarchs Fans Trust Committee

It’s that exciting time of the year when we start to see results come in as riders blow off the cobwebs in individual meetings and at the press and practice days of clubs across the country. There have already been two Premier League Cup results, Somerset starting with an away win at Peterborough and Sheffield already look stronger than the last few years. It is our turn this weekend as we get our first view of a 2015 Monarchs race jacket at the press and practice on Saturday afternoon.

This is the reason the Trust exists to ensure we have a P&P next year and the year after. Speedway and the Edinburgh Monarchs on the track for years to come is our primary aim. What more do you want, well the most eagerly awaited Scottish derby on Sunday is not bad for seconds.  There have been big changes in the west but it’s on the track that matters and the new look Glasgow Tigers will get a huge test as the league champions roll into town, Remember to set your watch as the clocks go forward on Sunday morning.

There will be Trust representatives there on Saturday and as usual they will be happy to provide any information or answer any questions you may have. Already we are seeing examples of the uncertainties of speedway as riders are injured and teams make changes and on Thursday night there was the first rain off as Ipswich vs Rye House fell victim to the weather. The Trust want to minimise the impact of these types of unexpected events but we can only do that with your help. JOIN US now and ensure the future of the Monarchs.

The 2015 speedway season in Scotland kicks off this Friday with Theo’s Night of Champions at Armadale Stadium. It is a well deserved testimonial for Theo Pijper and all Monarchs Fans are desperate to see the first throttle twisted in anger. Representatives of the Monarchs Fans Trust will be there on Friday to pass out information and answer any questions that supporters have. We will be handing out flyers and standing order forms inside the stadium before the first race and then in the bar after the meeting. Please come and say hello we are always keen to hear from the fans and are determined to make sure all Monarchs Supporters are aware of the trust and why it is needed.

Over the weekend we passed 60 members so we say a massive thank you to everyone that has signed up, this has given us a fantastic platform to move forward and we hope to present our first donation to the club in April.

Ricky Ashworth Benefit Football Match
Saturday 14th March  – 2pm kick off
Murieston United CFC, Bankton Mains Park, Livingston EH54 9LE (http://www.mucfc.co.uk/how-to-find-us.html)
Edinburgh Monarchs Fans vs Glasgow Tigers Fans

The Monarchs Fans Trust are proud to promote the charity football match to raise funds for Ricky Ashworth this Saturday. Whilst we are an organisation committed to working towards saving the Edinburgh Monarchs Speedway Club we recognise that without riders our sport does not exist at all.  Ricky’s injuries are an example of the risk these guys take to entertain us and we hope that a lot of money is raised to improve his quality of life.

It is great that supporters of two rival clubs can come together to raise money for a worthy cause. We know a number of our members will be involved on the day and we are happy to support this and encourage as many people to get along and support everyone on the day. We will be looking for the Edinburgh team to come out with a good result but the main thing is that everyone has a good day and as much money is raised for Ricky as possible.

If you would like any more information on this then please get in contact with Andrew Jeffrey

Email: andy_jeffrey@hotmail.co.uk
Mobile 07598738112

Joining the Monarchs Fans Trust and helping to secure the future of the Monarchs could not be easier. It takes about 2 minutes to do and is as simple as 1-2-3!

1. Just go to JOIN US page.
2. Select the amount you would like to contribute from the available options and click on the link to take you to the direct debit form.
3. Fill in your name and billing details on the short form and hey presto!

You will have joined the Monarchs Fans Trust and pledged your support for the Monarchs. You will receive an email from our payment processing partner, Gocardless Limited, confirming when your first payment will be processed. This will be the first working day of the next month, e.g. Wednesday 1st April 2015.

Remember, you can cancel your direct debit at any time so there is no minimum commitment. We hope you will continue to pledge a monthly amount (as generous as you can afford without breaking the bank!) for the long term future of the Monarchs but it’s really flexible and easy to change if you need to.

If you would prefer not to pay by direct debit then there is details of how to pay by cheque or Standing Order on the ALTERNATIVE PAYMENTS page.

Help us secure the future of the Monarchs by joining the first Speedway fans trust of its kind.

Launch Night at the Corn Exchange

The Trust held two successful launch meetings over the weekend at Armadale Stadium on Friday night and the Corn Exchange last night. We delivered a presentation talking through a lot more details about the Trust and then had a Q&A session. It was great to get some really positive feedback and hear that everyone at both meetings was fully behind the idea and were keen to get involved. Since then the membership has risen above 50 and we expect more to sign up soon. The message out of our meeting is

IF WE DO NOTHING OUR CLUB WILL FOLD

It won’t be tomorrow or in 3 months but it is a matter of time if we stand back and let it. This is a serious threat to speedway in the east of Scotland and the Edinburgh Monarchs and we need to get this message out to as many people as possible. The Monarchs Fans Trust principal aim is to stabilise the finances of Edinburgh Speedway and prevent this happening.

Thank you to all that attended these events it was great to hear from you and we hope you got as much out of the meeting as we did. We plan to have more questions from these meetings on our FAQ page soon.

The Monarchs Fans Trust launched in West Lothian at Armadale last night to a very encouraging audience. It was great to get some real feedback and even better that almost all was positive. We look forward to our next meeting at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange tonight, hopefully see a large crowd.

Edinburgh Launch – 7th March 2015 – Corn Exchange at 7.30pm

We have booked the Newmarket Suite at the Corn Exchange from 7.30pm. The bar will be open and tea and coffee facilities will also be available.

Newmarket Suite, Corn Exchange, 11 Newmarket Road, Edinburgh EH14 1RJ
http://www.edinburghcornexchange.com/about-us

If you cannot make tonight and have a question or would like a question to be asked for you on the night then use our CONTACT US page to get in touch and we will get an answer for you.

West Lothian Launch – 6th March 2015 – Armadale Stadium at 7.30pm

Tonight the West Lothian Launch of the Monarchs Fans Trust takes place at Armadale Stadium. We invite everyone to come and join us in the Stadium Bar where we will be delighted to give more details on

• who we are
• what we are doing
• how we are doing it
• and how you can join us.

More importantly it will be the opportunity for anyone to ask any questions to the working group of the Trust. The bar will be open as will a newly refurbished snack bar. All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you all face to face. If you have any questions you would like asked then please use our CONTACT US page.

 Edinburgh Launch – 7th March 2015 – Edinburgh Corn Exchange at 7.30pm

 Our second launch meeting will be in the Newmarket Suite at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange tomorrow night, Saturday 7th March 2015. The bar will be open and tea and coffee facilities will also be available.

Newmarket Suite, Corn Exchange, 11 Newmarket Road, Edinburgh EH14 1RJ

http://www.edinburghcornexchange.com/about-us

We appreciate that Direct Debit may not be a suitable method of payment for all potential members of the Monarchs Fans Trust. We have created a new Standing Order Mandate form which will enable you to set up a Standing Order instead.  Please visit our ALTERNATIVE PAYMENT METHODS page to download the form to set this up.