The 2008 Elite League (also known as the Sky Sports Elite League for sponsorship reasons) is the 12th since its establishment in 1997. The first fixtures of the season took place on 29 March and the season ended on 27 October. The Coventry Bees were the defending champions from 2007.
New rules introduced for 2008 included three points for an away win compared to two points in 2007, and the removal of the bonus point, in which a team was awarded an extra point for an aggregate win over home and away matches against another team. Also new in 2008 was a relegation and promotion play-off between an Elite League team and a Premier League team. The two teams that finish bottom of the Elite League will face in each other in a two legged play-off with the loser facing the Premier League play-off winner over two legs.
The Poole Pirates finished top of the league table, with the Lakeside Hammers, Swindon Robins and Ipswich Witches occupying the other championship play-off places. Poole and Lakeside progressed to the grand final of the play-offs, with Poole winning the first leg at Lakeside 42–48, and the second leg at Poole 60–33, giving them a 108–75 victory. The Poole Pirates were crowned with their third Elite League title, and fifth championship overall. Wolverhampton faced Premier League team the Edinburgh Monarchs in the relegation/promotion play-off final, with Wolverhampton winning comfortably over the two legs with a 106–76 aggregate victory, and thus avoided relegation.
The Elite League is the top division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom and is governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). It was sponsored by Sky Sports until the end of the 2013 season. In 2015, the Elite league will feature 8 teams, unlike 10 in 2014, during a season which runs between March and October. Each team has a designated race day on which they normally stage their home fixtures, and they regularly have home and away fixtures scheduled in the same week.
Brief history
The British League was formed in 1965 as the sole professional speedway league in Britain, expanding in 1968 to incorporate two divisions. In 1995 & 1996 there was a single professional tier known as the Premier League (an amalgamation of the British League Division One and the British League Division Two), before the Elite League was created as a new top tier in 1997. The Championship was decided on a straight league table basis until 2001. A play-off system was introduced in 2002, with the top four in the table taking part in a knockout competition to decide the champions.
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