This Friday, Armadale stages the first full Junior event in the three years of its operation. Monarchs wish to keep the continuity on Fridays until there is an opportunity to stage a farewell meeting, hopefully parading the Premier League Cup. They clearly do not wish to stage a senior meeting 24 hours prior to the Cup Final second leg. The meeting will commence with a Youth Development League match between the 'Dale Devils and the Ashfield Giants and will be followed by an individual event: the Armadale Junior Championship. This will probably involve a 12-heat meeting followed by a semi-final and a final.
It is somewhat bizarre that the first home Youth Development League match should be held so near to the end of the season. The Devils opened their season with a 19-17 victory at Ashfield two weeks ago. What is even more strange is that should the Devils win or draw on Friday then they will top the Northern Group of the Youth Development League. There appear to have been very few fixtures completed in the Northern (or any other) Group.
The likely contenders for the Armadale Junior Championship include Linlithgow regulars David McAllan, Derek Sneddon, Rob Grant, Scott Courtney and possibly Jon Swales if he can sort out some equipment. Others invited include Aidan Collins, Mark Blackwell and Lee Smethills.
The admission prices will be reduced to £5 for adults, £2 for senior citizens, and £1 for children.
This will be the premier Junior meeting in Scotland this year with Glasgow being unable to stage the Scottish Junior Championship.