At a dinner held at the famous Stoke by Nayland Golf club, on the evening of October the 21st, the Eastern Centre formally celebrated their hundred years of operation. Guests of honour were ACU Chairman, Roy Humphrey and his wife, Pam. Unfortunately, Gary Thompson and his partner, also invited to the function, had to withdraw from attending with Covid affecting both.
Some seventy guests were present at the celebration, including past riders and officials and were particularly honoured to also have the attendance of Nieve Holmes, member of the Women’s World Enduro Championship winning team and currently leading the European Championship. At the end of the meal, Master of Ceremonies, Charlie Ralph, asked the guests to stand for a toast to the King.
Centre President, Alan Penny, then proposed a further toast to the Eastern Centre. On all being re-seated, Charlie Ralph introduced the guest speakers. In his address, Roy Humphrey recounted his earlier competition career, in sidecar motocross, both in his visits to the Eastern Centre venues and his European ventures in France Belgium and Germany. He then went on to describe how the ACU was coming through from the adverse effects of Covid on the ACU, it’s personnel and the sport in general. Nonetheless, he saw a bright future for the sport and described to the assembly new developments, including an “app” now available for trials observers. To conclude, Centre Archivist, Sidge Kenny, gave a brief resume of the Centre`s hundred years of activity.