# Elite League (speedway)

The Elite League was 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 founded in 1997 and was sponsored by Sky Sports until the end of the 2013 season. In 2016, the Elite League featured 8 teams, unlike 10 in 2014, during a season which ran between March and October. Each team had a designated race day on which they normally staged their home fixtures, and they regularly had home and away fixtures scheduled in the same week.
The Elite League operated for 20 years until British speedway was restructured with the formation of the SGB Premiership and SGB Championship.

## Brief history

The British League was formed in 1965 as the sole professional speedway league in Britain, expanding in 1968 to incorporate two divisions. In 1995 & 1996 there was a single professional tier known as the Premier League (an amalgamation of the British League Division One and the British League Division Two), before the Elite League was created as a new top tier in 1997. The Championship was decided on a straight league table basis until 2001. A play-off system was introduced in 2002, with the top four in the table taking part in a knockout competition to decide the champions.

## League format

Each team raced every other team in the league home and away, and then raced five teams again home and twice away, giving a total of 38 meetings. The first of these home and away fixtures are called the 'A' fixtures, the second are the 'B' fixtures.
Teams were awarded two points for a win, one point for a draw and from 2008 three points for an away win. Placings were determined by points accumulated over all matches. Where two or more teams were tied on league points, the team with the greater difference of race points scored over race points conceded was placed higher.
The top four teams qualified for the play-offs. The semi-finals were single matches with the top two league positions having home advantage (1st vs 3rd and 2nd vs 4th). Winners from the semi-finals then met in a two-legged final to decide the Elite League winner.
From 2008, promotion and relegation between the Elite League and Premier League was introduced for the first time since 1991. The team finishing last faced the Premier League play-off winner over two legs (one match at each track), with the aggregate winner taking the Elite League spot in the following season, and the losing team racing in the Premier League. There is now no relegation from the Elite League, although teams can apply to move up or down between leagues.
For 2014 it was announced that each Elite League team would field two British riders from lower leagues at reserve. These would be picked from a draft of 23 riders. Riders were picked in two rounds, with the club finishing bottom of the league in 2013 getting the first pick.

## Teams
### Team building

At the start of each season, teams were built up to maximum points limit. The combined Calculated Match Average (CMA) of the best five riders declared in the team was limited to an agreed figure set at the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA) Annual General Meeting. For the 2015 the limit was 34.

### 2016 teams

| Team | Years Active | Team | Years Active |
| Belle Vue Aces | 1997– | Leicester Lions | 2014– |
| Coventry Bees | 1997– | Poole Pirates | 1997– |
| Kings Lynn Stars | 1997–2002, 2011– | Swindon Robins | 1997–1998, 2004– |
| Lakeside Hammers | 2004– | Wolverhampton Wolves | 1997– |
Source:

### Former teams

| Team | Years Active | Other Information |
| Birmingham Brummies | 2011–2014 | (14 July 2014 went out of business), reformed for 2015 in the National League. |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 1997–2014 | Moved to National League. |
| Peterborough Panthers | 1997–2013 | Moved to Premier League. |
| Ipswich Witches | 1997–2010 | Moved to Premier League. |
| Reading Bulldogs | 2006–2007 | Moved to Premier League. |
| Oxford Cheetahs | 1998–2007* | Closure. *(Resigned halfway through 2007 season, results were then erased from season) |
| Hull Vikings | 1999 | Moved to Premier League. |
| Bradford Dukes | 1997 | Closure. |

## Competitions
### Elite League
#### Champions

| Season | Champions | Second | Third |
| 1997 | Bradford Dukes | Eastbourne Eagles | Swindon Robins |
| 1998 | Ipswich Witches | Belle Vue Aces | Coventry Bees |
| 1999 | Peterborough Panthers | Poole Pirates | King's Lynn Knights |
| 2000 | Eastbourne Eagles | King's Lynn Knights | Ipswich Witches |
| 2001 | Oxford Cheetahs | Poole Pirates | Coventry Bees |
| 2002 | Wolverhampton Wolves | Eastbourne Eagles | Coventry Bees / Poole Pirates |
| 2003 | Poole Pirates | Coventry Bees | Peterborough Panthers / Oxford Cheetahs |
| 2004 | Poole Pirates | Wolverhampton Wolves | Ipswich Witches / Eastbourne Eagles |
| 2005 | Coventry Bees | Belle Vue Aces | Peterborough Panthers / Eastbourne Eagles |
| 2006 | Peterborough Panthers | Reading Racers | Swindon Robins / Coventry Bees |
| 2007 | Coventry Bees | Swindon Robins | Poole Pirates / Peterborough Panthers |
| 2008 | Poole Pirates | Lakeside Hammers | Swindon Robins / Ipswich Witches |
| 2009 | Wolverhampton Wolves | Swindon Robins | Lakeside Hammers / Coventry Bees |
| 2010 | Coventry Bees | Poole Pirates | Wolverhampton Wolves / Peterborough Panthers |
| 2011 | Poole Pirates | Eastbourne Eagles | Kings Lynn Stars / Lakeside Hammers |
| 2012 | Swindon Robins | Poole Pirates | Lakeside Hammers / Birmingham Brummies |
| 2013 | Poole Pirates | Birmingham Brummies | Swindon Robins / Wolverhampton Wolves |
| 2014 | Poole Pirates | Coventry Bees | King's Lynn Stars / Swindon Robins |
| 2015 | Poole Pirates | Belle Vue Aces | Coventry Bees / Swindon Robins |
| 2016 | Wolverhampton Wolves | Belle Vue Aces | Poole Pirates / Lakeside Hammers |