Breaking news for marshals...Parking at Marshal trainingThe club have organised a MCI Accredited marshal training course for the 11th May 2013, in Fingal County Offices, Swords. Anyone who is taking part in the training can park in the council car park situated on the corner of Swords main street and Seatown road. Great Day's Training On Saturday the 10th March, Loughshinny Motorcycle Supporters Club were given use of Fingal County Council offices, to complete a level 2 road race marshals course. A huge thanks to club members Mark, Mick, Fionnuala, Bernard, Thomas & Graham for exceptional, even experienced marshals can learn from the training material and the way it is. To Bernard “Mr Fire” our fire extinguisher man who travelled all the way from Laois a huge thank you for your time and expertise. Watch out, we will be doing more training and once more this will ... Marshal TrainingThe club are getting ready to hold marshal training session on the 26th June 2010 in the City North Hotel from 2pm to 5pm, if you would like to come along and get training, please send an email to volunteers@loughshinnymotorcycleclub.com. If you want to find out more about the marshals required to run an event, please follow the link below. http://www.loughshinnymotorcycleclub.com/index.php?section=4&page=marshals.php... Great turnout for Marshal TrainingThanks must go to Finnoula, Graham, Gerry & Jim who last Saturday conducted a marshal training course. It was very well put together bringing experienced marshals experiences and expertise to the fore. And to everyone who attended, we hope you will come and join us at our events. Jim Leonard, Club Medical Co-ordinator; “It was a pleasure to be a part of it. The whole session was well thought out and presented. Well done to all involved including those who came along.” Graham Long, Chief Marshal; “This is exactly w...  Marshaling at motorcycle road racesMotorcycle Road racing is a very exciting sport involving speeds in excess of 160 MPH on some circuits. Racing is run under strictly controlled conditions on roads which have been closed to the public, by means of a road closing order, issued by the local County Council.
The organizing and running of a road race involves competitors and a host of back up services, involving marshals, communication personnel, and medical services including doctors, paramedics and fully equipped ambulances. Road racing could not be run without that large band of volunteers – the marshals. There are various duties to be undertaken, and hence there is a variety of marshal roles to be undertaken.
There is a very definite command structure almost like a military operation, and the marshals are the troops on the ground. Road races in the Republic of Ireland are run under the General Competition Rules (GCRs) of Motorcycling Ireland, which is the governing body of Motorcycle Sport. The person in overall charge of running the event is the Clerk of the Course (COC) and this person is assisted by Stewards from other clubs, who check that the set procedures are followed. The COC has a Team of experienced people who have different duties, specific to their various roles. The second in command is the Assistant Clerk of Course (Asst COC). When it comes to marshaling the 2 senior people in charge are the Chief Marshal and Chief Flag marshal. The Chief Marshal is the most senior marshal in charge and his job is to appoint Zone marshals, radio operators, crash marshals and crowd control marshals as well as Start / Finish and Dummy grid marshals. The Chief Flag Marshal ensures that all the designated Flag points (signal points) are covered as per a previously drawn up plan. In order to understand how the various people slot in to the team it is necessary to outline the structure of the Team. The circuit is divided up in to various areas called Zones, and each Zone is under the direction of a Zone marshal. A Zone normally covers 2 or 3 flag points and includes flag marshals, crash marshals, and crowd control marshals. Zone marshals
Flag marshals
Crowd Control marshals
Crash marshals
Start and Finish marshals
Dummy grid marshals
Travelling marshals
Marshal information contributed by Ray Taylor. |
The Zone marshal is the person in charge in each zone and reports to the Clerk of the Course, so that the COC is aware of any problems in a particular Zone. 
Flag marshals report to the Zone marshal in charge of their zone. Flag marshals signal to riders to warn them of danger or if a race is to be stopped for any reason. It is a very important job as the flag marshals provide warning to the riders of any danger ahead. Only people who have experience of road racing are allowed to be flag marshals, so if you aspire to this position you need to attend a number of races as part of a marshal team and also have some flag training, before you are appointed a flag marshal. 
These marshals report to the Zone marshal in charge of their zone. Their duties are to ensure that spectators do not go in to dangerous positions or do anything that could cause danger to themselves or the competitors. Newcomers to marshaling are normally placed with an experienced person, so that on the job training and experience, is built up under supervision. 
These marshals report to the Zone marshal in charge of their zone. Their duties are to deal with the fallout from a crash or incident. This may involve removing a fallen bike from the road or assisting a rider who has fallen. The zone marshal will decide who does what before the racing starts, so that each marshal knows what their role is beforehand. Newcomers to marshaling are normally placed with an experienced person, so that on the job training and experience is built up under supervision. 
Marshals are required to grid or supervise the riders so that they are in their correct place on the grid prior to a race. Places are normally allocated based on practice times or their standing in a particular championship. The grid placing information is provided by the Timekeepers, and the grid marshal works from that information. Some marshals like the atmosphere of the start and finish, where there is very specific work to be carried out before each race. 
Marshals are required to grid or supervise the riders so that they are in their correct place on the grid prior to a race. A Dummy grid is a grid that is not at the start / finish. The riders are placed in their correct position on the dummy grid, so that when they have completed a warm up lap and arrive at the start / finish, they can quickly locate their correct position on the real start / finish grid. The marshals at the dummy grid will check that the riders have a start permit and are at the grid for the correct race. Being a dummy grid marshal requires patience and a clear head, in order to sort out queries in a cool and speedy manner. The information for the placing of riders on the dummy grid is supplied by the Timekeepers. 
These consist of experienced ex competitors whose job is to control speed on warm up laps and follow (sweep) the riders on the first lap of practice, or race.
They also control the practice speeds for newcomers by leading newcomers for a specific number of laps, whilst the newcomers learn the circuit. They are considered to be the eyes and ears of the COC and take charge of incidents when and if required. They are motorcycle mounted so that they can respond to an incident in a safe and speedy manner. All are first aid trained and several are paramedics. These appointments are made by Motor Cycling Ireland and not by the organizing Clubs.