- 29 May 2024
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- 3 min read
Celebrating our support for Poole Pirates
Trethowans first began their relationship with Poole Pirates after opening their Poole office in 2016. Chris Whiteley, Managing Partner at the time met Matt Ford, owner of Poole Pirates, not long after this. Matt’s friendly character and enthusiasm to maintain local sport, whilst supporting the riders and fans, is what drew Trethowans to the Club’s great ethos and culture.
Fast forward 8 years and Trethowans have remained committed and proud sponsors of Poole Pirates ever since. The Club has continued to go from strength to strength, with Danny Ford taking over the reigns as Promoter from Matt, in recent years.
Chris Whiteley, Senior Partner, said “There are a lot of similarities between Trethowans and Poole Pirates. Like us, they are incredibly ambitious, they work hard, and they understand the importance of creating the very best team. This season, a highlight is seeing how well everyone is riding this year. We have been to some really good meetings and it has been some of the best racing I have ever seen.”
As part of the ongoing sponsorship with the Club, Trethowans host an evening as fixture sponsors, each year, where guests and staff have a tour of the pits, meet the riders, and watch some racing from the centre green of the track. This took place, this year, when the Pirates hosted the Workington Comets in a massive 61-29 victory for the home side, on 15 May 2024.
Experiences through the years
Chris Whiteley recalls that in June 2018 the Club was receiving a lot of criticism for being bottom of the league. Matt was confident that the season would improve but as an added incentive he offered to take all the riders to Las Vegas for a weekend if they won the league (which seemed unlikely at the time).
It was in this season that Chris Harris passed Jason Doyle (then World Champion) on the last bend of heat 15 (with the scores tied) to win the 2018 playoff semi-final. Everyone was bouncing up and down and the atmosphere was electric!
The team duly went on to go and win the league but, as one of the riders, was under 21, Las Vegas would be a bit restrictive. Matt asked the team where they would all like to go and they chose to go to Abu Dhabi for the Formula 1 Grand Prix!
Asmany in the Dorset community will know, Poole Pirates is a key fixture in the Poole area and with a loyal and passionate fan base it is hard not to get caught up in the positive atmosphere.
The Club also did an amazing job getting through the Covid-19 pandemic. When speedway was finally allowed to restart, but with distancing precautions, Danny meticulously prepared a seating plan so everyone was socially distanced, despite the stress it must have caused him!
James Braund, Partner and Joint Head of the Firm’s Poole Office, commented “We have loved being involved with Poole Pirates for the last 8 years and look forward to many more. The Club has a tremendous sense of community – from the Promoters, team, staff and volunteers who work so hard to keep the club running; to the other sponsors and (crucially) the fans who provide their unwavering support for the club. They all make the Club what it is.”
To find out more about Poole Pirates, see more on there website here.
