Swindon co-promoter Alun Rossiter has moved to clarify the circumstances of Thursday’s rained-off fixture at the Abbey Stadium.
The club were due to stage their first home National Trophy fixture of the season with the Curson Consulting Sprockets set to face Plymouth.
But after rain earlier in the afternoon, the match was postponed with a forecast of heavier downpours in the evening – which arrived as predicted at around 8pm.
Rossiter said: “First of all we have to hold our hands up because at the time we posted a photo to social media, the track would probably have been rideable, so we accept we were wrong to do that.
“However, we take advice on the weather which 95 per cent of the time proves to be accurate. There might be the odd occasion when we get it wrong, but this time we got it absolutely right.
“The information we had was that the rain was coming in for shortly after start-time, and when it came it wasn’t just a bit of rain – it was a monsoon, and there was no way the meeting would have been completed.
“The whole idea of doing the Sprockets is to make a success of it. We don’t want to make a fortune, but we do need to cover our costs, and if it works out we can look at an extended programme next season.
“Running at that level cost the club a lot of money many years ago, but there are things in place now which makes it more affordable to run a Sprockets team. If we can stick to that, we can make a go of it, which I’m sure is what everyone wants.
“But last night would have been a financial disaster if we’d opened the gates. The weather was getting worse, it would have deterred people from coming, and it would have been called off at 8pm which is no good to anybody.”
