2003 Elite League speedway season
The 2003 Elite League speedway season was the 69th season of the top division of speedway in the United Kingdom and governed by the Speedway Control Bureau, in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association.
Season summary
In 2003, the league decreased to eight teams, after the King's Lynn dropped to the Premier League and reverted back to their traditional name of Stars. They also lost the promotion of Nigel Wagstaff, who took over at Oxford, which resulted in he name Cheetahs replaced with the Silver Machine name from King's Lynn. King's Lynn's leading riders Nicki Pedersen and Sebastian Ułamek also switched to Oxford. Freddie Eriksson went to Ipswich. Oxford also brought in former World Champion Greg Hancock from Coventry but lost Leigh Adams and Lukáš Dryml to Poole.Poole's decision to recruit Adams and Dryml was instrumental because they went on to claim the title. Adams finished top of the league averages and he was backed up by their five time World Champion Tony Rickardsson and the vastly improved form of Magnus Zetterström. Poole went on to complete the double by winning the Knockout Cup.
League
Final table
Play-offs
Semi-final decided over one leg. Grand Final decided by aggregate scores over two legs.Semi-finals
- Poole Pirates 48-42 Oxford Silver Machine
- Coventry Bees 60-30 Peterborough Panthers
First leg
Second leg
The Poole Pirates were declared League Champions, winning on aggregate 100-79.
Elite League Knockout Cup
The 2003 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 65th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Poole Pirates were the winners of the competition.Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 23/05 | Peterborough | 52-38 | Coventry |
| 09/05 | Oxford | 55-35 | Ipswich |
| 05/05 | Ipswich | 41-49 | Oxford |
| 21/04 | Coventry | 52-38 | Peterborough |
| 21/04 | Wolverhampton | 57-33 | Belle Vue |
| 18/04 | Belle Vue | 49-41 | Wolverhampton |
| 18/04 | Eastbourne | 40-32 | Poole |
| 18/04 | Poole | 56-34 | Eastbourne |
| 10/09 | Peterborough | 44-46 | Coventry |
| 03/09 | Coventry | 61-29 | Peterborough |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 11/10 | Coventry | 50-40 | Wolverhampton |
| 10/10 | Oxford | 46-44 | Poole |
| 08/10 | Wolverhampton | 48-41 | Coventry |
| 15/09 | Poole | 56-34 | Oxford |
Final
First leg
Second leg
The Poole Pirates were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 90-88.
British League Cup
Th British League Cup was the supplementary competition for both the Elite League and Premier League for the 2003 season.Group A
| Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Arena Essex+ | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 2 | Rye House | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 3 | Ipswich | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| 4 | King's Lynn | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| 5 | Peterborough | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Sheffield | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| 2 | Belle Vue | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 3 | Coventry | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| 4 | Stoke | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | Hull | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 |
+ Arena Essex had not completed their fixtures at the time of the quarter-final draw, which led to Rye House progressing from the group.
Group C
| Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Workington | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| 2 | Edinburgh | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| 3 | Glasgow | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| 4 | Berwick | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| 5 | Newcastle | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 |
Group D
| Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Eastbourne | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| 2 | Isle of Wight | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | Oxford | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| 4 | Swindon | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 5 | Reading | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
Group E
| Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Wolverhampton | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
| 2 | Poole | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 14 |
| 3 | Newport | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 11 |
| 4 | Exeter | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 11 |
| 5 | Trelawny | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| 6 | Somerset | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
Quarter-finals
| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Wolverhampton | Edinburgh | 47–42, 51–39 |
| Belle Vue | Rye House | 49–41, 48–42 |
| Sheffield | Eastbourne | 43–47, 31–59 |
| Workington | Poole | 40–50, 33–57 |
Semi-finals
| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Wolverhampton | Eastbourne | 43–46, 42–51 |
| Belle Vue | Poole | 41–49, 44–46 |
Final
| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Eastbourne | Poole | 48–42, 34–56 |
Riders' Championship
Lee Richardson won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at Brandon Stadium on 18 October.| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
| 1 |  Riders & final averagesBelle Vue
|