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The Somerset Rebels are a British speedway team based in Highbridge, Somerset. Founded in 2000, the club competes in the Premier League. Their home track is located at the Oak Tree Arena.〔Bamford, R.(2007). ''Speedway Yearbook 2007''. ISBN 978-0-7524-4250-1〕 ==History== The clubs stadium, The Oak Tree Arena was built totally from scratch ready for the 2000 season.〔Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. ISBN 0-7524-2210-3〕 The club entered the Conference League on foundation and after winning both the Conference Trophy and KO Cup in 2001, moved up to the Premier League in 2002. After establishing themselves in the Premier League the club won their first trophy in the division after winning the Premier League Fours Championship at Workington in 2005. The club came close to winning the competition again in both 2006 and 2007 but finished as runners-up in both to Workington and Isle of Wight respectively. The Rebels have kept up an impressive record in the competition and have placed inside the top four from 2005 to 2011. The 2006 season saw Somerset reach the Premier League Knock Out Cup Final for the first time, finishing as runners up to King's Lynn over two legs. The Rebels repeated this feat in 2007, making the final for a second time, but once again they had to be content with the runners-up spot as King's Lynn won the trophy for the third year in a row. In 2008 the Rebels missed out on the Premier League Championship by five points to Edinburgh. The club did however win their first major honours in the Premier League by winning The Knock Out Cup having beaten Workington home and away in the final. Prior to the 2009 season, the team was purchased by Bill Hancock the owner of the Oak Tree Arena. In December 2009, Rebels rider Emil Kramer was killed in a road accident in his native Sweden. In his honor, the riders wore Blue and Yellow race suits for the entire 2010 season with Kramer's initials embroidered on the collar. The club also tried staged a memorial meeting prior to the start of the 2010 season but it was rained off. The 2012 season saw the Rebels achieve one of their most successful seasons since their formation. The club won the Premier League Cup, beating Ipswich over two legs in the final whilst losing out on the Premier League Championship after losing in the Play-Off Final, after finishing third in the table, to Scunthorpe by a single point over two legs. In 2013, Steve Bishop announced that he would step down as team manager leaving the responsibility to Garry May. On Friday 31 May 2013, The Rebels broke their duck of never winning the Premier League Pairs Championship on home shale by defeating Scunthorpe in the final. After being knocked out of the Premier League Cup at the earliest stage, the Rebels went on to lift the Premier League KO Cup for the second time in their history. They defeated Workington by a single point on aggregate in the first round and then faced Edinburgh in the semi final. The semi final turned out to be an epic contest between the 2 teams and after 2 legs, the aggregate score was level at 90-90 meaning the tie had to be replayed. The Rebels dominated the replay and went on to face Rye House in the final. Again, the Rebels dominated the tie over both legs and lifted their second piece of silverware of the season. The Rebels finished top of the Premier League table and so, had first pick who to ride against in the play off semi finals. The Rebels picked Redcar and Newcastle and progressed through to the final after winning 3 of the 4 semi final games. The Rebels were to meet Edinburgh in the final after they beat Workington and Ipswich in their semi final group. As with the first staging of the KO Cup encounter, the grand final was closely contested. The Rebels managed to keep the scores close after the first leg at Edinburgh, losing narrowly by 2 points 45-43. The Rebels won the second leg 49-44 giving them an aggregate win of just 3 points and making the 2013 season the most successful ever for the club. 2014 saw the Rebels pick up more silverware. The Rebels defeated Newcastle to win the Premier League Shield, a 2-legged match contested by the previous seasons champions and KO cup winners. The Rebels then won the Premier League Fours at Peterborough, the first time since 2005, after losing in contraversal circumstances in the final of the Premier League Pairs to Edinburgh. The Rebels and the Monarchs dominated the league in 2014 and after overcoming their respected play-offs, met in the grand final for a second season in succession. It was to be heartbreak for the Rebels as, like in 2012, they would lose the 2-legged tie by a single point on aggregate. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Somerset Rebels」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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