[BBC News] Plea for more Grand Prix marshals

[oldmanxfella]

Flag Marshal's used to be paid a fee per sesion, however that has been done away with now.

 

The classic dilemma seems to be that people are making money out of the TT and MGP in terms of accomodation, boat fares, and money spent in shops, execpt those working to make sure the events happen who give their time for free. its not going to go on for ever.

[Max Power]

can anybody please confirm that sector and flag marshals are already paid, per race. if so how long has this been going on, what sort of percentage of marshals are we talking and why has it been kept such a secret?

 

i was wondering why some old guy on the moaning line the other day was so pissed off that after he reached a certain age he could be a marshal but no longer a flag marshal; seems his empty pocket may have been the reason?

 

 

thank you

 

Flag marshals were only paid a very small amount until fairly recently. I think this was to ensure that they were on station as some kind of employee as opposed to a true volunteer unpaid. It was something like £17.50 a year I think?

[maggle]

I used to marshal for the TT, MGP and all the rallies and it was always the case that the popular spots were overflowing with marshals. Other places were left short and the only people the organisers could find were elderly folk who, although really keen, didn't have the fitness or stamina to perform their duties fully. The training when I started marshalling for the TT (92 to 2002) was pretty poor and it was up to the individual to attend the incident management courses and there were a large number who marshalled either to simply watch the bikes from a good vantage spot, or who enjoyed the power of a warrant card and an orange tabard.

 

I quit marshalling after a nasty incident at Ballaspur in 2000 when a rider came off (not milky) we had to run up the road from Ballig with stretcher, fire bottles and first aid kit to attend. The crash was well flagged but none of the following riders took any notice of the flags. The rider was loaded into the heli with bits of his shattered leg in a bag and off he went to hospital where he survived.

 

That day I risked my life attending to this guy in the middle of the road with bikes whizzing past less then a foot away. I reckon the medic and marshals saved his life that day. I heard from a sector marshal and one of the TT committee that the rider wanted to lodge a complaint about the way he was treated by the marshals and the medic, there was talk of legal action. I got covered in this guys blood and had to poke around the gutter looking for bits of his bones. I pretty much quit after that, way too risky and zero support from the organisers.

 

The latest threats by the organisers "no marshals, no racing" are pretty lame, if they didn't cause so much shit they would have plenty of marshals. If they continue with the hard line approach, they will ultimately cause the demise of the TT. And to be honest, I personally think the TT and MGP should be trimmed back now and restricted to short circuit or short road racing. Please don't misunderstand, I'm a huge motorsport fan and not an old gimmer, but I've seen friends seriously injured and killed racing the mountain course and I've seen the families torn apart and kids left fatherless by riders "doing what they loved"

 

That’s better, been wanting to get that off my chest for ages.

 

Please don't flame me. (I've still got my orange proban suit!)

[bluemonday]

Thanks Maggle for that post, food for thought in my case. I'm due to do the initial marsalls course in October. Couldn't do it before due to other committments. I've got a long professional emergency service background ( across ) so I thought I'd sign up and help the TT and GP continue. Used to watch the bikes down Bray Hill when I was a kid.

Frankly after what I've read here, I'm having strong doubts.

I've no interest in picking a good spot, I'd be happy to go where I'm told ( subject to transport )

I've no interest in prima donna people on "power trips" nor in being one or working with them.

Nor do I want any payment of any sort.

From some of the comments here and given the recent TT 'incident', I've no wish to be part of what, thanks to some posts here, is beginning to sound like a poorly trained, self serving Fred Karnos circus.

Although, clearly from the previous posts, that doesn't apply to all. ( I'd hope in fact the majority )

Am I reading this right or not?

 

No offence intended.