The Canterbury Crusaders were a motorcycle speedway

Motorcycle speedway

Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...

 team who operated from the Kingsmead Stadium, Kingsmead Road, Canterbury

Canterbury

Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....

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In 1977 the promoters Johnnie Hoskins

Johnnie Hoskins

Johnnie S. Hoskins MBE is the man who is considered to have 'invented' motorcycle speedway. If it cannot be established he invented the sport, he certainly played the largest role in promoting the sport in the United Kingdom.-Early life:He left school at thirteen and worked on a farm and then as...

 and Wally Mawdsley had to go to court in order to keep the track open after complaints of noise from local residents. However, the team were forced to disband in 1987 when the Canterbury Council refused to renew the lease. Greyhound racing

Greyhound racing

Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....

 continued until 1999 but the site is now derelict.

The longest serving rider was Barney Kennett who rode for the Crusaders from 1971 until 1984. Barney is the brother of riders Gordon

Gordon Kennett

Gordon William Kennett is a former motorcycle speedway rider. In 1978 he won the World Pairs Championship with Malcolm Simmons. He also finished runner-up to Ole Olsen in the 1978 Speedway World Championship at Wembley...

 and Dave and is uncle to Edward Kennett

Edward Kennett

Edward 'Eddie' David Kennett is a motorcycle speedway rider. He was the British Under-21 Champion in 2005 and has appeared in two Speedway Grand Prix as a wild card....

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Notable Canterbury riders

• Nigel Boocock
  Nigel Boocock
  Nigel Boocock is a former speedway rider who appeared in eight Speedway World Championship finals and was a reserve in one other .-Career:...
  
  
• Barney Kennett
• Ted Hubbard
• Mike Ferreira
• Les Rumsey
• Graham Banks
• Dave Mullett
• Barry Thomas
  Barry Thomas
  Barry John Thomas is a former motorcycle speedway rider. 'Thommo' is considered to be the most popular Hackney rider ever, staying at the Hackney Wick Stadium for over twenty years.-Career:...