AGM – Friday 26th September 2008
The Isle of Man TT Marshals Association Ltd will be holding their Annual General Meeting at the Masonic Hall, Woodbourne Road, Douglas at 7:30 p.m. on Friday 26th September 2008. All members are welcome.
On a rotational basis 4 directors together with the 3 Officers of the Company are required to stand down for re-election. Members wishing to stand for one of these posts are required to send their details together with the names of their nominee and seconder, by Recorded Delivery, to:
The Secretary
IOMTTMA Ltd
TTMA Office
Grandstand
Douglas
IM2 6DA
to arrive no later than Friday 19th September 2008. An application form is available on request. Nominations will also be taken from the floor on the night of the AGM.
All Life Members and Marshals are welcome, although only Life Members, and members of the Company are eligible to propose, second or vote.
Dave Clarke
Company Secretary
Chairman’s Column
It seemed an eternity getting through this MGP the weather was not in the least bit kind; we did however fair better than the UK and of course the road races in Ireland. I am sure we all sympathise with the riders for the uncertainty throughout practice and the conditions; they must have wondered if they would ever get out to play.
But get out they did, though throughout the fortnight it was stop and start with the weather; what did turn out well was the number of marshals in attendance. Numbers grew slowly at first to give us worries for first practice; but by the Saturday we could cover the course with a bit of shuffling and response cars; unfortunately the rain stopped play and you all know how the rest of the fortnight turned out. This culminated in the postponed senior race being run on Saturday; a bone of contention in the past. However with TTMA determination and the use of all our Manx radio stations on which we appealed for marshal support; we were well rewarded. The end result was the office on Friday being swamped with returning marshals, riders and mechanics and people who just wanted to try it to help out for the day; we run out of everything, forms, packs, pens and tabards even the office printer through in the towel. The total number of people signing on that day was over 300 and the grand total for this MGP was some 1,570 marshals; more than we had a centenary TT.
A pat on the back should also go to Phil Taubman for his part as Clerk of the Course; a whole new ball game for Phil with the TT course being considerably bigger than the S100 that he is used to. We called it Phil’s baptism of fire but with all the rain we had over the two weeks there was no chance of anything burning.
In some bizarre way I imagine we all enjoyed the event, in spite of all the upheavals delays and rubbish weather; what enjoyment there was though, was seriously marred by the death of rider John Goodall; on behalf of us all I offer his family our condolences.
Regards,
Bill Carden.
Chairman Isle of Man TT Marshals Association Ltd.
Phil Taubman – MGP Clerk of the Course
Hi everyone
Well we did it, despite the weather and against all the odds we got all the races away and sent everyone home happy. I’m not the most popular among the workers who where caught in the traffic on Wednesday but we only did what we where allowed to do so I can live with that.
I believe this years Manx was a great team effort and I thank you all for your help and support in making my first year in the big chair so enjoyable. We are all sad about the accident at Ballacraine and the subsequent death of a great rider and supporter of the Manx, John Goodall and I am sure you all join with me and the committee in sending our condolences to his family.
The whole 2 weeks where a battle against the weather and I want to place on record the thanks of the Manx club to the Orange Army who stood firm to ensure the races went on and who pulled out all the stops to make sure we had enough troops on the ground to allow us to run on the Saturday. I don’t think the marshals hut has ever been so busy as it was on the Friday signing on over 300 new marshals and this can only be good for the future.
Well that’s enough from me except to say I hope this new alliance will go from strength to strength and that together we can make the next Manx even better (including the weather) thanks again for all your help
Phil Taubman (tubby)
Clerk of the Course
A Thank You from the Medical Side
I'd like to say thank you to the marshals. I've now worked as a medic on
the corners, in the helicopter and in race control and I know that I and the
other medics have a lot to thank the marshals for.
Firstly, thanks for the way you look after the riders who fall. Yes, I know
you'd look after them anyway, but there's an immense difference between log
rolling someone with other people who know what they're doing and those who
don't - and I have plenty experience of the latter! On a circuit across,
that shall be nameless, a doctor jumped between the patient's knees and
clutched the ankles when we said we were going to do a log roll (you can
visualise the scene and no, I don't know what he was thinking either) When
I've been working in the helicopter, coming in to land, it's great spotting
a patient already on the scoop, head and neck safely held, all packaged up -
and that's not only because it means that we don't have to go down the
ravine, up the hillside or into a bog to get them! It appears that some
patients are dealt with so calmly and efficiently that they don't seem to
realise that they've hurt themselves! One was genuinely surprised when I
yelled to him in the helicopter (you have to yell, it's noisy) that we were
about to land at the hospital. Maybe he thought we'd drop in at the paddock
first so he could pick up his toothbrush - and no, he hadn't had a head
injury!
Then there are the thanks for looking after us during the practice evenings,
racedays and beyond. In particular, thank you to those of you who met any of
the four medics who were 'first timers' and had never been to the Island
before (does that make them Manx Virgins?) They had all read and inwardly
digested the 'Green Book' but doing it in practice in a new place which is
very different to the circuits you're used to is quite daunting when you're
new. It's not the medical stuff so much, more the knowing where to stand,
what to expect, where any fallers might land ... and also, who you're going
to talk to all day. After all, medics don't spend practices and races with
other medics, they spend them with marshals. Having friendly faces, who'll
make you feel part of the team, keep you safe, give you essential
information (such as where the toilet is - often which hedge doesn't have a
footpath behind it or tallest bit of heather) and who'll even drag you out
for the evening when not practicing, that's what makes the difference. It
makes the whole fortnight fun and makes you want to come back again. (I have
to admit at this point that I've previously backed out of an offer, by some
mountain marshals, of an evening tour round the finer pubs in Laxey -
actually, it was going to be ALL the pubs in Laxey, hence my nervousness, on
the grounds of future ill-health) Your welcome and company have an impact.
All four of the first-timers enjoyed the Manx GP so much that they're all
planning to come back for more! Those that have been before enjoy working on
the track and corners are often favourites because of the marshal team as
much as the view and the racing. Thanks!
Finally, thanks to Nicky and all the others in the hut for keeping all the
packs and tabards, sign on forms and contact sheets. That may not seem like
such a big deal, but the fact that you're open long hours and friendly, has
been noticed and appreciated by more than one medic. However, I think being
invaded by two over-exuberant, 6 foot Germans dressed head-to-toe in orange
and yellow fluorescent flying suits was probably more than you bargained
for!
So, thank you, from me and the whole medical team and we look forward to
meeting again next year!
Heike Romer
Chief Medical Officer for Manx GP 08
David Taylor
What can I say about this year's Manx GP? The abiding memory has to be
of rotten weather making everyone's participation a bit of a nightmare
– riders, marshals, officials, everyone! From a riding perspective, we
were far more dependent than ever on accurate marshalling and flag
signals.
The first dry(-ish) night of practice on the Tuesday evening was
started with a stern admonishment from Phil Taubman to observe the
flags as there were damp patches and cement dust covering oil spills
at loads of points on the circuit. Luckily for the competitors, the
signalling was pretty much spot on everywhere. It's a great credit to
both the marshals and the Association that the standard seems to be so
high.
What that means from a rider perspective is that we can count on the
flags when we're starting to push hard. Most of the 250 or so corners
on the Course are blind so it's an act of faith at the best of times
to head into a turn where you can't see the exit with the throttle
open. In damp conditions it's a much more challenging task so thanks
for the help!
Unfortunately for all of us, we completely lost 3 days of practice and
there wasn't a single race run to full 4-lap distance in dry
conditions. The Junior Race was run in conditions at least as
challenging as that Tuesday evening practice session - fingers crossed
that we'll get a return to dry, sunny conditions next year.
Cheers,
David Taylor
Stephen ‘Cargo’ Carr
I think I can say with some confidence that that was the most bizarre Manx GP ever, between the weather and a trip out to meet the governor, I'd have to say it was a strange one never mind the huge effort needed to try and run the Senior on Friday evening after the CoC had declared all racing to be off.
I was very impressed by all the hard work of the guys up in the office that day people were queuing up to sign on.............more than one dragged there by myself.
I found myself out at Gorse Lea that night and for about 5 minutes I was stand in DSM...............we all know what happened next. The CoC had a very difficult time of it but he stuck at it and got all the races run. Some hard decisions had to be made and I feel he did a
great job and look forward to having Phil as CoC for many years to come.
My wife Sandy and her friend Dee both marshalled this year for the first time and both enjoyed the experience and will be back for more. Thanks to the guys a St Ninians and
Governors who made them feel so welcome. Sandy had to step in at the last minute at the exit gate on Saturday during my race and stuck it out even though I went missing.
For myself as a competitor I can only thanks all of you for a job well done.........................BIG THANKS
I'm now planning for next year I would hope to be across for the TT and will of course sign on to marshal. I'll definitely be at the Manx again.
Thanks again everyone and see you all next year
Cargo #96
MGP Feedback Forms
All the marshalling packs for the MGP included a feedback form. If you have any comments or feedback, either good or bad, please complete the form and return it to our office as soon as possible. Your comments, thoughts and observations will be treated in confidence, but they do help us plan, and make changes where appropriate for future events.
Jodie Leigh
As you maybe aware, Jodie has been working at our Office alongside Nicki since April on a short term contract. Jodie has now left the IOMTTMA Ltd, and we would all like to wish her well in her future employment.
Jodie has been a great help over the last few months, and has helped in making sure that the Office has run smoothly throughout both the 2008 TT and MGP races.
Dave Clarke
Company Secretary
Terry Holmes Column
Marshals Supper
Once again the Marshals Supper saw a packed house enjoying a great evening.
As ever the food supplied by Rob Creasey and his crew was fantastic, something for everyone’s taste.
Thanks also go to the riders who attended and those who made up the forum;
Maz Hodgson, Carolyn Sells, James McCullough, Dave Taylor, Brian Spooner, Stephen (Cargo) Carr and of course Martin Bullock, some great questions and answers.
There was a selection of Karaoke performed, well done to all that took part and to Nikki for hosting the event, and we found in Carolyn and James’ performance that we have found the Isle of Mans entry into next years Eurovision contest. (Yeah Right)
Throughout the evening there was stand up bingo and a raffle taking place (thank you to all that donated prizes) and this raised £1020 which was divided between the A.C.U. Benevolent fund, Wish upon a Dream, and Rebecca House (the childrens part of Hospice) Thank You Everyone.
Collection
There was a bucket collection made on the presentation night at the Villa Marina by the lads from Team Shipley racing, big thanks to Paul and John. The sum they collected was a great £450, throughout the M.G.P. period. The staff of the Beer tent also had various fund raising times for us, and they collected £576.26. Big thanks go to Sharron, Paul, Laura, Cathy, and John Paul,
Control Room
This year for the first time we were invited to have a representative of the TTMA in the control tower, and I was the one who took up the invite. It really opened my eyes to what goes on in there, and I think its a major step forward for the TTMA.
We are all working together with the one aim in mind, to continue making the MGP the great event that it is, and I think that all parties benefited from it, with lots of positive views from all the different organisations working in the tower.
It was great to be part of it and long may it continue.
Response Cars
We once again are thankful for the supply of two marshals response cars, our thanks go out to Fultons Vehicle Specialists of I.O.M. Business Park, and Betteridge Motors of Foxdale who have both supported us for the TT and MGP for a number of years, you are both real stars and we very much appreciate all you support.
Terry Holmes
Assistant Chairman
IMC Training Courses
The first dates for 2009 have now been confirmed, with others to follow in subsequent newsletters:
The list of confirmed courses for 2008/2009 is as follows:
October 5th St Johns HQ Douglas
November 9th St Johns HQ Douglas
November 22nd & 23rd Liverpool
February 28th & March 1st 2009 Gloucester
March 14th & 15th March 2009 Bedford
Venues under consideration for courses this winter include Belfast, Dublin, Manchester and Yorkshire. If one of these venues would be of interest to you, please let us know so that we can contact you when dates are confirmed.
As always if you have any comments on the training offered by the TTMA, or anything you feel that marshals should receive training on, that is not covered by the IMC, let us know. We are constantly reviewing our training, and your comments are helpful.
To make a comment, or to book a course, please contact us on training@iomttma.com or phone the office on 01624 618191.
Andreas Racing Association Ltd
With none of the major championships yet decided, the last Andreas
Racing Association championship meeting of the 2008 season at Jurby
Airfield promises to be a classic!
Lining up on the grid on Sunday 14th Sept, Centre Championship leader
Gav Hunt has the slimmest of leads over second place man Ryan Kneen. In
the 600cc event Ryan will have to defend his lead against Mark Cringle
who has been showing superb form on the UK scene on his Triumph.
Also appearing is Ryan's brother Dan who recently made history by
becoming the first man to win 3 Manx Grand Prix races in one week.
The Clubman's class also has no outright leader; Callum Collister has
only a 5 point lead over Johnny Heginbotham.
Likewise on 3 wheels, Karl Bennet will be working hard to make up the 13
points he needs to catch Alan Langton... a difficult but not impossible
task considering that TT superstar Dave Molyneaux will no doubt be
taking his share of the points! Regaby man Glyn Jones is taking a break
from the world stage and will also put up a strong showing.
Of course you'll want the best seat in the house for all this... so get
yourself over to the Marshal's Lounge in the Jurby control tower and get
signed on from 9:30!
Keith McKay
Chairman
ARA
Committee News
So, what has happened in the last few weeks and where are we up to?
1) The filming of the Helicopter Loading procedure for the new instructional DVD was completed over the MGP fortnight. Thanks to Dr David Stevens and Kit Pemberton for their assistance with this.
2) Filming of an accident and the immediate aftermath is due to take place on Sunday 7th September. The script for the TETRA Radios is currently being finalised
3) Work has begun on updating the PPP presentation used at IMC Courses in preparation for the first winter course in October.
4) The accounts for 2007/2008 are now being audited before the AGM in September.
5) Bookings are now being made for Social Nights during the winter, with a different format to previous years.
Cathy Pullen’s Column
Firstly a big thank you to everyone who marshalled with me at the Waterworks this MGP, including our Medics. We had a somewhat rough time with those pesky midges; they seem to have perfected the art of biting through several layers of clothing. Special thanks to Juan who travelled from Port Erin every day, sometimes twice! Also a mention of his son Ryan, who kept us informed of what was going on in the race when we couldn’t hear the radio commentary due to those noisy race bikes. Only 5 years to go Ryan and we’re signing you up as a marshal! Mark, our flagman, brought his wife Rachel up on the last day to help out, I asked her to assist with a second yellow flag if needed, just do what Mark does I told her……’Well that’ll be a first’ he shouted! New rule, no domestic disputes on duty!! Thanks also to Cat, Mick, Colin, Martyn, Danny, Sally and Neil. Also marshals who came on holiday and helped including Andrew, Dave, Mark, Hefin, Helen, Gary, Jeremy and Julian. Also a mention of the Corkills who crew Hairpin 2 between them. With all these people doing the odd day here and there, and some every session we managed to keep the manning levels correct, and therefore keep our CSM happy. All your help was greatly appreciated. Special mention must also go to the marshal who supplied the flag post at Waterworks 2 known as ‘the perch’ with the mirror and the bell, but was sadly remiss about the bird seed! Get your feathered butt on that perch next MGP Tweety Pie Tyer! Finally there was Johny. He went to the Steam Packet to claim his marshal’s refund and donated it all plus a bit more to the MGP Helicopter fund. Mick then also added a generous contribution too. Johny is Scottish and full of stories, but apparently he is known in some circles as Shonny Seanag which in local Gaelic dialect, he reliably informs me, means he’s a big girl’s blouse! Well, we obviously attract all sorts at the Waterworks!
On the last day of racing we arrived at our hut to discover that a prohibited area sign had been removed and used to break the window. Initial fears that it may have been someone stealing the medical kit or other pieces of course equipment were allayed only to find the situation far graver than was first realised. The intrepid thieves had stolen our whole supply of sweets! Initial reaction was one of disbelief, how would we function without them. There was much discussion about who could be responsible for such an act, especially as Scottish George at Guthries was quick to report that the other George had arrived carrying a stash of sweets!! Rapid investigation revealed they had a different taste to ours and the charge was withdrawn. We continued to investigate realizing a trail of sweet wrappers led down the hill towards Ramsey Hairpin, leading us to believe that Manx Radios own Roy Moore could possibly be the culprit, although at the time of writing, no charge has been brought. Race Control, having been informed of our serious situation, managed to delay the impending road closure, of course blaming the weather, to allow Kenny from Joey’s time to rush to Shoprite and purchase a supply of Mars bars, which he hurled from his speeding car as he hurtled back up to his marshalling post, thus avoided us requesting AIRMED to drop a supply of chocolate and allowing marshals sugar levels to be kept at a workable level. Next arrival was the Course Inspection car ably driven by David Mylchreest, with Shaun and Kipper aboard to supply a replacement sign, as the original one was never located. Good teamwork, crisis averted and just for the record, the Course Inspection car also carries sweets!
During the fortnight we had a total of 4 riders ‘drop in’ at our corner, all were ok, but quote of the week goes to Scott Wilson, who after a spectacular somersault over the top of team mate Ryan Mccay’s fallen bike during practice, told us ‘I was in the air for an hour, they did a lap underneath me, I had seen the pictures of Sammy Miller at Waterworks and I was thinking where the ****’s that wall!!’ We were obviously delighted the following week to see both riders doing so well in their races.
Lastly a mention in dispatches for one of our marshals Allan Brew, who achieved 3rd place in the Senior Classic, he got onto that hallowed podium and was truly delighted, as were we, cheering him on in a difficult race. On the last Saturday Allan gave up the opportunity to ride in the parade, as he had been invited to do, so he could take up his duties as a marshal or we would have been short staffed. This echoes the dedication everyone showed to allow the delayed races to go ahead, and I feel sure that every rider out on the course that last day would agree.
Now on to other news. I would like to echo the praise of others and thank everyone who took up the challenge and signed on to help marshal the MGP. It showed a real team spirit that even in the face of poor weather, delayed road closures and delayed racing, we still managed to cover every marshalling location. A sea of orange around the 37 and ¾ mile course!! Please join us again and sign up for duty in 2009. One advantage of so many extra people signing on is that they will all now receive our monthly newsletter and hopefully this will spread the word even further about the needs for dedicated volunteers and the training we can provide for you all.
On that subject, the TTMA always strive to improve marshal’s training, and to this aim, we filmed the first part of our proposed new introduction DVD on the Thursday of race week. We took to the Rugby field at Police HQ with a group of marshals, a hastily recruited Travelling Marshal, Jim, a couple of medics, Heike and Kevin, who generously gave their time, having been ‘volunteered’ by Dr David Stevens (would you argue?) and myself as Director, although I was disappointed not to have a chair with my name on. Upon sorting out who was going to do what, we realised we had no casualty for the stretcher. Fitz was dispatched to the paddock to bag a rider. Enter Cargo and with him his wife and family, they were roped in as spectators to be warned of the impending landing of AIRMED by Robert, but one of the small boys was disappointed to learn that the sandwiches they had to collect up had nothing in and the flask was empty! Whilst lying on the stretcher awaiting the loading demo, Cargo was heard to say with his Irish lilt ‘the trouble you’re going to have with me here is to stop me grinning!’ Heike saw to that, swiftly strapping an oxygen mask onto him! I seem to remember him asking her if there was a wee something she could slip into the gas……and thinking of inhalation, who was the only one who could supply us with a cigarette to illustrate no smoking? Yep, Heike the Doc! Lastly the pilot, our very own Flying Officer Holmes, yes, Terry fancied himself in that role and squeezed into the hot seat, with David Stevens shouted words ringing in his ears ‘Don’t bloody touch anything!!’ Terry reckoned with half an hours training he could have the thing flying, although it may only be suitable to play football on the pitch afterwards as the goal posts may be somewhat shortened! Episode two, an incident, will hopefully be filmed shortly and we may be toting for Oscar nominations soon.
Cathy Pullen
Director
Sector 1 News
What a fortnight! The MGP was rain, wind and sun all in the same day but in spite of this a big thank you to all of you for a good job well done over the two weeks. On Thursday of race week when I left Braddan it was misty when I got to Ramsey the sun was cracking the flags; only in the Isle of Man would you have this sort of weather.
I must say a big thank you to all the team on bray hill for all the hard work on Friday when No29 Chris Bradshaw’s engine blew up. We had oil down bray hill towards Aggo,s; marshals from the grandstand came to help the team at the top and bottom of Bray Hill well done to them and many thanks to John McGuiness and Ian Hodgson for helping out.
During the fortnight we had marshals from France America and Germany on sector 1; new for the Manx they loved every minute of it.
A few weeks back Gordy Moore and myself had a marshals’ recruitment stand at the Royal Manx Show it was a horrible day rain, rain and more rain; we did however have a mobile unit on loan from Civil Defence which was nice and warm and dry. We also had the TTMA 40 inch TV; a DVD player and a kettle; so plenty of tea and a TT film to pass the time. We watched George Formby’s No Limit; it’s a crackly old black and white movie but is still quite funny for its age The star of the film is the Shuttleworth Snap; what a bike.
The day ended when I was stuck in the mud with the marshals van; going nowhere fast; so a big thanks to the Manx police for towing me out in their 4x4.
Oh well until next time be good out there.
Yours
Alan Blaney
Chief Sector Marshal
Equipment Requirements
Whilst the 2008 MGP is only just over, but everything is fresh in your minds, now is a good time to let your Sector Marshal know of any equipment which may need replacing, or additional equipment requirements. Additional items that may be required include: Loos, Storage Boxes, Radios or safety equipment (gloves etc.). Do you have any missing flags, or flags which need replacing?
If anyone has any requirements, but has not yet contacted their Sector Marshal, please do so as soon as possible. We need to have the lists completed before the end of November so that the equipment can be ordered in plenty of time for the TT.
TTMA Forum
As some of you may know, we have a forum, which can be found at:
http://www.ttmaforum.co.uk
We will keep this updated with announcements as and when they are made, but it is also somewhere you can swap stories. I hope you will take a look, and join in some of the discussions on there.
Contacts
You can contact our office by email at info@iomttma.com or at the following address:
PO Box 149
Isle of Man TT Marshals Association Limited
Douglas
Isle of Man
IM99 3JA
Tel: +44 (0) 1624 618191
Training enquiries should be emailed to: training@iomttma.com
Our website address is
http://www.iomttma.com
Finally
The MGP is now behind us, but what a week for the Kneen brothers. Well done to both Dan and Ryan on their performances last week.
We got all the races in, and at one time that didn’t look like it would happen – what has happened to global warming?
When I went to the first riders briefing, Phil Taubman very kindly asked me to speak to the riders about the IOMTTMA, and the need for new recruits. As a result of this, several riders signed on that night for any sessions they were available for. The same happened during race week, and this greatly helped swell our numbers. I even had to sit through a second briefing to speak to the next batch of riders. I would therefore have been in big trouble if I had disobeyed the flags or anything else for that matter which we were told in the briefing!!!
A question on riders marshalling was asked at a de-brief meeting this week about whether they were classed as ‘new’ or ‘experienced’ marshals. The answer is, that as they hold a road race licence, they are classed as experienced and therefore count straightaway, but they still have to sign-on with us.
We had some stickers with our logo made up which said ‘We Support the Isle of Man TT Marshals Association Ltd’. These were handed out to riders to place on their machines in the queue for scruitneering. A great many riders put these on their bikes, and we hope that they will be seen in paddocks across the UK and hopefully will help with recruitment in the future.
The new instruction DVD is being filmed over the next few weeks, and, weather permitting filming of an incident and dealing with a casualty (I don’t want to be the casualty Mr Director!!!) will be filmed tomorrow morning – hopefully they will get the forecast right for once!
The AGM of the Isle of Man TT Marshals Association Ltd is now less than three weeks away, and I will be putting myself forward for the position of Treasurer for another year if the members want me back.
I would also like to echo the comments of both David Taylor and Cargo in saying that the standard of marshalling and flagging this year was better than ever, and this is down to you. I would also have to say that I have never seen as many orange tabards around the course as I saw last Saturday. We had over 300 people sign-on last Friday for the racing on Saturday, and I for one hope we can get them all back again next year. That was a tremendous effort by everyone concerned.
Will I be back to race at the MGP next year? Of course I will, to young to retire just yet!
regards
Dave Clarke
Treasurer
