The Premier League fixtures have yet to to be published despite the fact that Elite League fixtures came out some weeks back. There is probably no reason for this since the membership of the Premier League appears secure at 13 tracks. By contrast there are question marks over at least one Elite League track and doubts about one other.
Monarchs do have their early season fixtures arranged with Glasgow visiting on the opening night in the Spring Trophy on 24th March. Sheffield visit one week later for the Premiership second leg and the touring Czech Republic side are due in the first Friday in April.
Monarchs' season opens on Friday 24th March and can run until Friday 27th October. That leaves room for up to 32 fixtures. Most will be on Fridays at 7.30pm but one or two may be on a Saturday night at 7.00pm.
Monarchs home fixture list committments are as follows:
12 Premier League Fixtures.
5 Premier National Trophy Qualifiers.
2 (up to) Premier National Trophy Knockout Matches.
4 (up to) Premier League Cup Matches
1 Individual Event (Scottish Open).
3 (up to) Young Shield Playoffs.
1 Premiership Leg.
1 Scottish Cup Tie.
1 Spring Trophy Challenge.
1 Tour Match v Czech Republic.
1 Scotland Test Match (possible).
That adds up to between 24 and 32 fixtures. If Monarchs qualify for the Premier National Trophy Knockout stages and have a Cup run, this makes things very tight. Any rainoffs could produce major fixture chaos.
Of the 32 weeks available, Weeks 29 to 32 will be reserved for Young Shield matches although the Scottish Cup home leg might well be accommodated within this period. Weeks 1 to 3 are already accounted for by the pre-season fixtures already scheduled. Weeks 4 to 8 will probably be taken up by Premier National Trophy Qualifiers against Berwick, Glasgow, Newcastle, Sheffield and Workington. Week 12 is scheduled for the first round Premier League Cup Tie against Arena Essex.
Premier League fixtures are unlikely to commence before Week 9 and will have to be completed by Week 26. Premier National Trophy Knockout matches (if qualified) and subsequent Cup Ties will also have to be accommodated within this period. This will leave Weeks 27 and 28 open to fit in a possible Scotland Test Match and maybe another Cup Final!
As well as the problem of fitting in so many fixtures, there is alo the issue of arranging a Tuesday visit to the Isle of Wight for tracks using a rider who is also involved in the Swedish Elite League. Monarchs will have to arrange a visit to the Island for a Tuesday when Robert Eriksson is not on duty in Sweden. Since many teams have finalized their teams, this will delay the publication of fixtures.
There is still some uncetainty about which matches will count towards Green Sheet Averages. In 1997 and 1998, the Premier League Cup Qualifiers did not count but in 1999 the Premier National Trophy Qualifiers did. This year there are rumours that the pre-season qualifiers will not count. This will mean that the earliest that new Green Sheets will be issued is at the start of July and maybe at the start of August.