The Yarmouth Bloaters are a defunct motorcycle speedway

Motorcycle speedway

Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...

 team who operated from the Yarmouth Stadium, Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...

 from 1948 to 1962.

History

Speedway meetings had been taking place at Yarmouth Stadium since 1932. In 1948 the Yarmouth Bloaters speedway team were created and they joined the National League Division Three

Speedway National League Division Three

The National League Division Three was the third division of Speedway in the United Kingdom. The league was created as a third tier in 1947 but ran for only 5 years. In 1952 it was replaced by more regional leagues such as the Southern League.-References:...

. The original plan was to use the name Yarmouth Mariners but the name was disliked by supporters and the name Bloaters

Bloater (herring)

Bloaters are a type of smoked herring. They are different from the kippers as they are smoked whole, with its innards intact which gives it its unique gamey flavour. The bloater is associated with Great Yarmouth, England; the kipper with Scotland and the Isle of Man...

 was chosen because of the town's connections with the fishing industry. It was also the nickname

Nickname

A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

 of the local football team, Great Yarmouth Town F.C.

Great Yarmouth Town F.C.

Great Yarmouth Town F.C. is an English football club based in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. The club are currently members of the Eastern Counties League Premier Division and play at the Wellesley Recreation Ground, whose grandstand is believed to be the world's oldest football stand still in regular...

. The team’s race jacket consisted of red and black quarters which then became red with black cross adorned with an image of a silver bloater.

In 1949

1949 Speedway National League Division Three

-Final table:...

 the Bloaters finished joint top of Division Three with the Hanley Potters

Stoke Potters

The Stoke Potters are a British Speedway team currently competing in the National League. The team races at Loomer Road Stadium.In the late 1940s, early 1950s and the early 1960s, the club was based in Sun Street in Hanley, and were originally known as the Hanley Potters when crowds of over 12,000...

, but the Potters superior race points average meant that Yarmouth finished as runners up. Yarmouth were offered promotion and moved up to the National League Division Two

Speedway National League Division Two

The National League Division Two was the second tier of Speedway league competition in the United Kingdom. The competition was founded in 1938 following a competition named "The National Provincial League". Following World War II the second tier of racing was entitled "The Northern League" in 1946...

 for the 1950 season. Yarmouth wanted to open the 1954 season several weeks late but this wish was denied by the Speedway Control Board and the Bloaters were not issued a racing licence for that year. The track remained closed until a consortium of local businessmen took over in 1957.

Yarmouth continued with a number of open meetings

Exhibition game

An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...

 and minor local speedway leagues until becoming one of the founder members of the Provincial League

Speedway Provincial League

The Provincial League was a league competition for speedway teams in the United Kingdom which operated alongside the National League for five years between 1960 and 1964.-History:The Provincial League was formed in the winter of 1959/60...

 in 1960. During the season the club lost money after several home meetings were cancelled due to bad weather, and they finished seventh out of ten teams. The decision was taken not to enter the Provincial League for the 1961 season by the promoters and after taking part in several open meetings the Bloaters closed due to financial problems. The stadium now hosts greyhound

Greyhound racing

Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....

 and stock car racing

Stock car racing

Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...

, and the speedway track has been covered over with tarmac

Tarmac

Tarmac is a type of road surface. Tarmac refers to a material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901...

.