Astley & Tyldesley hosted the U-13 British Club Championships, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Astley, at Gin Pit on Saturday afternoon.

Heavy rain for much of the preceding week and on the morning of the match rendered track conditions heavy for the first match of the day.
 
The 1st semi-final got off to a bad start with only one Leicester rider arriving, but the youngsters quickly got stuck in to the action. Stockport raced to an impressive win, to easily qualify for the final, along with Ipswich. A very young Astley & Tyldesley team (all 9 or 10 years old) did well to finish 3rd, ahead of Bury, with Leicester well adrift. A & T deployed Adam Phillips at reserve and he recorded a 16 points maximum score.
 
U-13 British Club Championship Semi-Final 1 match result
Stockport 55 Ipswich 49 Astley & Tyldesley 40 Bury 37 Leicester 5.
Stockport: Mat Lush 15, Jake Read 15, Jack Lush 12, Joe Pickford 8, Jack Sweeney 5.
Ipswich: Richard Fellgett 14, Ashley Hill 13, Charlie Rumbold 12, Daniel Knights 10.
A & T: Adam Phillips 16, Joel Partington 7, Adam Watson 6, Stefan Whitelegg 6, Philip Atherton 5.
Bury: Liam Burke 12, Aiden Ramsden 9, Michael Kennedy 9, Tom Spencer 7.
Leicester: Liam Doughty 5.
Referee - Mick Knowles (Sheffield).
 
A very competitive 2nd Semi-Final took place, as the rain eased off and conditions improved. Four teams were in strong contention throughout the match, for the two final places. Exeter booked their place, finishing on 45 points with one race remaining. Going into the last race, Wednesfield headed Sandwell by a point, with Sheffield a further three points adrift.

There was a dramatic end to the race, as Wednesfield's Matt Haddock, who had been third at one stage in the race, dived inside the race leader, Brad Clark of Sandwell, on the very last bend. Haddock came down and Clark was excluded for illegal use of the leg. The race was awarded to Haddock, so it was Wednesfield who booked their place in the final, as the holders, Sandwell, went out.
 
U-13 British Club Championship Semi-Final 2 match result
Exeter 45 Wednesfield 44 Sandwell 39 Sheffield 39 Hethersett 25.
Exeter: Aaron Coles 14, Corey Heyde 13, Joe Avery 11, Charlie-Jane Herbert 5, Lauren Hookway 2.
Wednesfield: Liam Johnson 15, Matt Haddock 11, Lewis Southam 8, Jack Harriman 6, Rianna Brindley 4.
Sandwell: Ricky Johnson 12, Tyler Pearson 11, Brad Clark 10, Ryan Simkins 6.
Sheffield: Aiden Wylde 11, Richard Hudson 10, Jordan Scaife 9, Kyle Brough 9.
Hethersett: Scott Grimes 12, Jack Andrews 5, Axl Johnson 5, Ryan Cubitt 3.
Referee - Jeff Radcliffe (Stockport).
 
A superbly prepared track greeted the riders for the final, as the track dried out and was tyre packed beforehand. Stockport got off to a flyer with race wins to the Lush twins, but Exeter had drawn level at the end of the first series of races, heat 4. The Devon side moved into a 3 points lead at the interval, as Stockport struggled off their grid 4s.

Back came Stockport to take a one point lead after heat 10, with Ipswich a further two points adrift. Exeter then took complete control of the match, to win each one of the last six races and take the trophy, finishing an emphatic 12 points clear of their nearest rivals. Ipswich drew level with Stockport, as Richard Fellgett held off a strong challenge from Jack Lush in the last race, to force a second place run-off. The same pair were nominated by their team managers for the run-off. Lush called correctly in the toss for start positions and won comfortably to secure second place overall for Stockport.
 
The powerful duo of Corey Heyde and Aaron Coles both raced to impressive 16 points maximum scores for Exeter, with strong support from Joe Avery. The Lush twins raced well for Stockport, but they sorely missed Ali Lam, whose presence could have proved decisive. Richard Fellgett and Matt Haddock both impressed for Ipswich and Wednesfield respectively.
 
U-13 British Club Championship Final match result
Exeter 51 Stockport 39 Ipswich 39 Wednesfield 29.
Exeter: Corey Heyde 16, Aaron Coles 16, Joe Avery 12, Lauren Hookway 5, Charlie-Jane Herbert 2.
Stockport: Mat Lush 13, Jack Lush 12, Jake Read 10, Joe Pickford 3, Jack Sweeney 1.
Ipswich: Richard Fellgett 12, Charlie Rumbold 10, Ashley Hill 9, Daniel Knights 5, Matt Hill 3.
Wednesfield: Matt Haddock 12, Jack Harriman 5, Rianna Brindley 5, Liam Johnson 4, Lewis Southam 3.
Referee - Mick Knowles (Sheffield).
 
Awards to all final competitors were presented by the Mayor of Wigan, Councillor Rona Winkworth. Another official guest was the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Andy Burnham MP, who thoroughly enjoyed the racing in the first semi-final. All in all it was a great day's racing, with Exeter proving to be convincing and worthy winners. Once again, the standard of refereeing was excellent, as both referees enhanced their reputations as good up and coming officials.
 
Despite not winning this event, Wednesfield extended their lead in the overall British Club Championship series, to put themselves in  a very strong position with just two rounds remaining.