2002 Speedway Conference League
# 2002 Speedway Conference League

The 2002 Speedway Conference League was the third tier/division of British speedway.

## Summary

The title was won by Peterborough Pumas, the junior club belonging to the Peterborough Panthers.

On 1 May, David Nix was killed after crashing into the fence during the match between Newcastle and King's Lynn at the Norfolk Arena.

## Final league table

| Pos | Team | Played | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Bonus | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Peterborough Pumas | 20 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 1008 | 786 | 32 | 8 | 40 |
| 2 | Sheffield Prowlers | 20 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 1008 | 780 | 30 | 9 | 39 |
| 3 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 20 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 988 | 799 | 26 | 9 | 35 |
| 4 | Rye House Raiders | 20 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 1005 | 789 | 26 | 7 | 33 |
| 5 | Buxton Hitmen | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 919 | 875 | 22 | 5 | 27 |
| 6 | Boston Barracudas | 20 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 874 | 925 | 19 | 5 | 24 |
| 7 | Carmarthen Dragons | 19 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 801 | 902 | 18 | 3 | 21 |
| 8 | Newcastle Gems | 20 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 851 | 842 | 16 | 3 | 19 |
| 9 | King's Lynn Kids | 20 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 778 | 1014 | 12 | 3 | 15 |
| 10 | Newport Mavericks | 19 | 5 | 1 | 23 | 737 | 964 | 11 | 1 | 12 |
| 11 | Wimbledon Dons | 18 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 709 | 902 | 4 | 0 | 4 |

## Conference League Knockout Cup

The 2002 Conference League Knockout Cup was the fifth edition of the Knockout Cup for tier three teams. Buxton Hitmen were the winners.

### Quarter-finals

| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| - | - | - | - |
| 17/06 | Sheffield | 58-32 | Newcastle |
| 16/06 | Buxton | 43-47 | Mildenhall |
| 16/06 | Newcastle | 45-45 | Sheffield |
| 14/06 | Newport | 51-37 | Wolverhampton |
| 11/06 | Wolverhampton | 23-66 | Newport |
| 09/06 | Mildenhall | 40-50 | Buxton |

### Semi-finals

| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| - | - | - | - |
| 02/09 | Rye House | 49-41 | Newport |
| 25/08 | Newport | 40-49 | Rye House |
| 08/07 | Sheffield | 43-47 | Buxton |
| 07/07 | Buxton | 61-28 | Sheffield |

### Final

| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| - | - | - | - |
| 19/10 | Rye House | 49-41 | Buxton |
| 13/10 | Buxton | 58-32 | Rye House |

## Conference Trophy

* Mildenhall Fen Tigers

## Riders' Championship

James Birkinshaw won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 31 August at Rye House Stadium.

| Pos. | Rider | Team | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | James Birkinshaw | Boston | 14 |
| 2 | Edward Kennett | Rye House | 13 |
| 3 | Jamie Robertson | Newcastle | 12 |
| 4 | Wayne Broadhusrst | Mildenhall | 12 |
| 5 | Joe Cook | King's Lynn | 10 |
| 6 | Rory Schlein | Sheffield | 9 |
| 7 | Craig Branney | Newcastle | 7 |
| 8 | Chris Mills | King's Lynn | 7 |
| 9 | Steve Braidford (res) | Wolverhampton | 6 |
| 10 | James Wright | Buxton | 6 |
| 11 | Danny King | Peterborough | 5 |
| 12 | James Brundle | Mildenhall | 5 |
| 13 | Stuart McCabe | Peterborough | 4 |
| 14 | Martin Williams | Wimbledon | 4 |
| 15 | Adam Pryor | Peterborough | 4 |
| 16 | Ben Wilson | Sheffield | 1 |
| 17 | Simon Wolstenholme (res) | Rye House | 1 |
| 18 | Barrie Evans (res) | Rye House | 0 |
