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2nd April 2020, 20:01 #1
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Rally Marshall - How to raise the status?
The issue came up in another thread.
It is hard to arrange a rally, without some well trained marshalls.
Compared to racing, where most handle a flag or a fire extinguisher.
In a rally you need people trained in timing, in some local rallies they also need to calculate ss times, before reporting them to Hq.
Some need to be trained in mobile radioes, put up base stations, making a functioning network. planning where to block traffic, have people standing along many places along a Stage, making sure cars do not get into the competition road.
Often people that have said yes to one task, are being "promoted" into a job they now little about, since some people did not show up.
Very little official training could be available via the NSA, so it is a bit improvise, adapt and overcome.
And what do they get in return for a long day in the forrest? Very little in many cases, maybe some coffe and food if lucky.
What do you do to attract them, train them and keep them for the next event?
- Are there training courses for different categories, with an exam to prove their knowledge?
- Is there a ladder, ending up as top dog?
- Are marshalls payed, given food and drink, gift cards or in any other way appreciated?
- Does your country have a pool of marshalls online, where rally organisers can pick, and check availability?
- The UK have a system
https://www.motorsportuk.org/Resource-Centre/Marshals/
Some places rallies have to cancel due to lack of trained marshalls!
How can we raise the status of marshalls, so they want to come back next year, so you can get a team from year to year?
- Likes: AndyRAC (2nd April 2020),skarderud (3rd April 2020)
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2nd April 2020, 21:45 #2
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For me it ties into the wider challenge for the sport/rally organisers in terms of public and commercial interest in the 'product' of rallying. You have to have something that people want to be a part of, it has to be attractive enough for people to view the sport and individual rallies as worth giving up their time for. Rallies that struggle the most for marshals are often small ones that frankly mean very little. For various reasons, I personally advocate, particularly in the UK, there being less rallies, with more focus being put on a smaller number of events that resources and attention can be focused on.
- Likes: AndyRAC (2nd April 2020)
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2nd April 2020, 23:16 #3
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No marshals, no rallying!! It really is that simple. And I don't think it's fair to expect volunteers to spend from early morning to possibly late evening (if there are accidents, delays, etc) at a marshals post - and then give them a goodie bag with a pen, a sticker, a lollipop and a big thank you.
Here in the UK, a lot of rallies nowadays will tweet asking for more marshals as they can't get enough; and, it has to be said, when spectating, there aren't an awful lot of youngsters. In some ways, a whole generation have been lost - there are far more other activities for them to do.
To be honest, I'm not really sure what the answer is - maybe if the sport was better known, and more visible/popular it might help, but I'm not totally sure.
I think, going forward, as said above, we'll see less rallies - maybe clubs will join forces to run a bigger event. Say for example, on the Saturday you have the 'Cambrian' then on the Sunday the 'Rally North Wales' - for an old style Vauxhall Rally of Wales.....
Is there a better sound than that of Porsche engined Flat-6 ???
- Likes: the sniper (2nd April 2020)
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2nd April 2020, 23:35 #4
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going from rally to rally as a marshal and with time there will come more
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3rd April 2020, 08:42 #5
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Pay them a fair amount, like 100€ per day or so, and there will be no problem finding people.
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3rd April 2020, 09:37 #6
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I’ve often thought that would be possible to facilitate some longer rallies - like combining the Malcolm Wilson with Pirelli (now Kielder Forest Rally) or with the Border Counties. But would there actually be an overlap of marshals for each event? I.e. RallyA + RallyB doesn’t necessarily mean you will end up with A+B marshals, more like A and a half?
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3rd April 2020, 10:10 #7
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- Likes: pantealex (3rd April 2020),the sniper (3rd April 2020)
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3rd April 2020, 12:39 #8
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3rd April 2020, 14:01 #9
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The difference fram racing to rally is distance. It it easy to give racing marshalls free food and drink, that is harder for rally.
I have heard that in Norway some rallies have used sponsors to make a goodybag, they drive out with the security check team before the rally starts. Contain food, drink, some nuts and chocolate, and some ok giveaways from sponsors. Some have also added a giftcard. That is one way of doing it.
Does any country have an online list where people can register, for rally organizers to go in and check availability, well in advance?
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3rd April 2020, 17:17 #10
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In the UK we have Rally Stage Team (https://www.rallystageteam.co.uk/) where marshals can sign-up to show their availability & interest in assisting on an event. The RST guys then work with the event organisers to allocate the marshals to the jobs that need covering.
Really?? I'm no fan of F1, but too many here have a giant chip on their shoulder about F1......Compared to the WRC, it's actually a well run series....unlike the WRC which is extremely amateur a lot...
WRC main class in 2025