Chairman’s Column
Where has all the time gone? It only seems a moment ago we were waiting for TT to unfold and here we are only a few weeks away from Christmas.
Someone did actually tell me how many days it was until first practice for TT 2009; I really didn’t want to know that.
There is still quite a lot happening TTMA wise; updating training programmes and all the associated literature and putting the finishing touches to the new instructional DVD. We have already made some headway into the next schedule of IMC training with the first 30 marshals of this year through. Places are being quickly taken up on many of the numerous other training days planned; check out the date and venues and get your name down for one; you can call the office or check out the TTMA website. 01624 618191 or
http://www.iomttma.com
Many of you may have heard of the TTxGP; if not I will explain what we know. TTxGP is, for want of a better explanation, an attempt at a ‘greener’ TT i.e. low emissions. The TTMA actually knows very little of what is expected of this new venture other than the machines to be used will probably be propelled by electric or possibly hydrogen. The directors are meeting with members of the TTxGP team in the next couple of weeks to find out more about it and get answers to many questions that have been raised. There is also an evening planned at the Hilton on November 21st; open to all marshals who have a view on this matter or would just like to know more about it; maybe ask their own questions. Make a note in your diary and get there if you can; I am told supper is to be provided as well. I have been given no set start time for this evening discussion but would suggest it may be 7:00 – 7:30.
As always there is often something being done or said to cause discontent among marshals; so to save on rumours getting out of control or complete fabrications becoming fact; please remember we have direct contacts here at the TTMA. If you have heard something that doesn’t sound right or hear of some ludicrous plan or implementation for marshals; call our ‘rumour control’ this comes in the shape of Robert Crane & Gordy Moore you can reach them by email. gordy_moore@manx.net and/or robert@robertcrane.co.uk. They may well not have all the answers but it will be the best way forward to find out what is going on. When they discover the truth and learn the facts, so will you.
Finally, representing the IOMTTMA Ltd, Terry Holmes and I will be attending the last few days of the Bike show at the NEC later this month and Steve Fitzgerald and Robert Crane will be doing the earlier stint at the beginning; come and find us on the Duke Marketing stand if you are visiting.
Bill Carden.
Chairman
Isle of Man TT Marshals Association Ltd.
IMC Training Courses
We have added some extra dates to the training calendar. We are running an IMC on Saturday 6th December and Sunday 7th December. We have a number of Sector and Deputy Sector Marshals that needed to retrain and also some of the TM’s so we offered those who needed to do a course in those groups a place and are now filling the rest of the places, there is still plenty of space on these courses so if you need to retrain before TT 2009 and would like to do so this year before the TT creeps up, please contact the office or email training@iomttma.com and we will add you to the list.
We have advertised courses in Bradford on April 4th and 5th next year. Due to operational difficulties, we will now be holding those courses on the same dates in Leeds instead, hopefully that won’t cause too many problems for those that have already booked as it is not too far from Bradford.
November 9th St Johns HQ Douglas (Full)
November 22nd & 23rd Liverpool (Full)
December 6th &7th St Johns HQ, Douglas
January 31st & 1st February St Johns HQ, Douglas
February 28th & March 1st Gloucester
March 14th & 15th March Bedford
March 21st & 22nd Douglas
April 4th & 5th Bradford area
May 2nd & 3rd St Johns HQ, Douglas
June 4th & 5th Douglas (TT Practice week - preference to visiting marshals)
July 12th Douglas ( just before Southern 100)
August 28th & 30th Douglas (MGP Practice week – preference to visiting marshals)
We have a provisional date for Belfast, which we hope to have confirmed soon. If this venue would be of interest to you, please let us know so that we can contact you when the date is confirmed. We are also looking at couple of other venues in the UK.
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.
Lastly on training, if anyone has an old or spare crash helmet they would like to donate to the TTMA for training purposes, it would be gratefully received. We need a few more so that when we have equipment across in the UK and are running a course here, we have a good selection of sizes at both locations. It obviously does not matter if it is damaged or does not have the current ACU sticker on! You can drop it off at the office or give us a call if that is not possible.
To make a comment, or to book a course, please contact us on training@iomttma.com or phone the office on 01624 618191.
Cathy Pullen
Training Director
Sector 1
Hi all where does the time go? All those memory’s of TT and MGP 2008 and the excitement.
Well TT 2009 is a long way of as yet but the director’s office staff and the Course Maintenance Officers and all Chief Sector Marshals are busy with sector inspections.
Work on the new Quarter Bridge roundabout starts in 2009. This means the famous QB pub will be demolished for the road works.
If anyone was thinking of not coming to TT2009 well, you should start saving your pennies as its Hondas 50TH year of racing on the island, so it should be a good one.
During TT 2009, if possible, I would like to arrange a night out for the marshals of Sector 1, probably on the Wednesday night of race week, at the Railway Inn at Union Mills. Most sectors have a night out during the week. This gives you all a chance to meet one another.
On a sad note a friend of mine and many others has passed away. Andy Smith had marshalled for many years on the TT course and was one of the main men in the Manx 2 day trial he will be sadly missed by all.
If you log onto
http://www.iomtoday.com gives local news of what’s going on here on the island. I have a little tease for you:
Who was the first person to be air lifted on the TT course to be picked up by helicopter?
Alan Blaney
Chief Sector Marshal
Sector 7
This is the first time I have put anything in the newsletter and find it a bit daunting so here we go, as 2009 will be my 3rd TT as CSM I would like to say a big Thank You to all my Deputies who made the take over go ahead with ease, they still make running Sector 7 a pleasure to run.
As you are probably all aware my Flagman from Sulby Bridge has been involved in a Road Traffic Accident and is in Ramsey Hospital so if anybody wants to send him a get well card, it is:
Finlo Quane
Bride Ward
Ramsey Cottage Hospital
Ramsey
IOM.
and if anybody wants to contact me, you can do so at the Sulby Glen Hotel, Sulby.
I am always willing to listen about anything.
That is it for now, but I will keep you up to date with Finlo in the next newsletter as he is hoping to be home by the end of November.
Eddie Christian
Chief Sector Marshal
Sector 12
Hello again to all of Sector 12. Sorry I did not get this done for the last newsletter, but I had a lot to do at work & home after the MGP, prior to disappearing on my annual holidays.
Once again, many thanks to everybody that Marshalled in Sector 12 for this years MGP. Like most of the other Sector Marshals I had an initial worry that manning levels would not meet the minimums required. However all of you magnificent boys & girls stepped up to the mark and did Sector 12 proud. From the newcomers to the old hands that just keep on coming, from Sunny Orchard to Dukes Avenue, many many thanks to you all. Also thanks to everybody who moved around locations within Sector 12 to make up the minimum manning numbers at various corners. Please do all understand that this is nothing to do with anybody wanting to move you from your preferred location, it is just that sometimes your preferred location co-incides with a lot of other Marshals which then leaves a surplus in some places. If possible I ask that if the situation continues throughout the event then you all take turns to move around. This does help me awful lot to cover the Sector and helps to avoid delays waiting for the mobile marshals to arrive. It also goes to show just what a friendly and easy going bunch you all are that you do not want to be parted.
After the great weather of TT08, apart from one wet session when we all went home (or to the pub) early, it was quite a shock to the system to be out in the cold & wet. I know there was a lot of concern towards the end about some of the decisions & the delays but at the end of the day it was all for the same thing that we want, to get the races underway & see the boys (& girls) out playing on their bikes. While we can all make better decisions with what we know at the time + hindsight, we do not have all the facts that race control have, so may not always know all the reasons for what goes on. I don’t think I would like to be the one making the decisions.
Still apart from weather and the delays there were no serious incidents in the Sector and the few minor issues were all dealt with in the usual calm, efficient and professional manner that I am sure only sector 12 can achieve.
For all the deputies, I am assured there will be a review of the checklists before TT09 and I will push as hard as possible for those of you with more than 1 booklet to get them condensed.
As I write this I still have a sore throat from all the cheering & shouting I did watching last weekends MOTO GP. GOOOOOOOOOO VALE !!!!!!!!!!!!! What a boy, 8 world championships on 5 different classes of bike. Such a shame we will probably never ever see him attempt the TT. What a treat that would be.
As you are all no doubt aware the TTMA committee are putting together a new instructional DVD for you all to marvel at. This promises to be what in film circles is only described as an epic of monstrous proportions, George Lucas will wish he had directed it instead of a mouldy old thing like Star Wars, Steven Speilberg will be mad with jealousy that he was not invited as an advisor, and look out for someone you all know. You won’t miss him; he will be the biggest ham on the screen.
Seriously though, I am sure it will help us all, and any extra help that first time Marshals receive will in the end help us and them.
Brian Lace
I am sure all present and former Marshals from the Governors Bridge area will be as saddened as I was to learn of the sudden death, after a short illness, of Brian Lace. The Flagman on the approach to Governors Bridge for many years, until his retirement at 70 a couple of years ago.
I am also sure that you will all join me in wishing the deepest condolences to his family on their loss.
His funeral took place on Thursday October 23 at 11:00 am at Kirk Christ Church, Lezayre followed by burial at Lezayre Churchyard.
Rest in Peace Brian.
Finally, please please don’t ask me what they are now doing with Governors Bridge roundabout. No one has asked me what I think about the new plan and while I do not have any qualifications in road design or traffic management, I do know that if you are hard on the brakes because you have missed a corner you don’t want to ride up a launch ramp. Still at least there is an air fence in front of them now.
All the best to all of you, see some of you around over the winter and all the rest of you in May. Take care everybody.
John Walsh
Chief Sector Marshal
Committee News
So, what has happened in the last few weeks and where are we up to?
1) Work on updating the Power Point Presentations for this winters IMC Courses has been completed
2) The first of the regular meetings between the Directors and the Chief Sector Marshals has been held.
3) The budget proposal for the next 12 months, and the Business Plan for the next three years have been completed.
4) Bookings have been made for the Social Evenings to be held on the IOM this winter.
5) A meeting has been arranged between the Directors and the organisers of the TTxGP
Instructional DVD for Marshals
Having filmed the Helicopter loading sequence in August, we took to the roads for our next session, the now unused part of the TT course to be exact, between the two sets of gates on the approach to Governors Dip. After gaining permission from the DOT and clearance from the Police we met on a Sunday just after the MGP. It had been pouring consistently for some time, but dawned dry for our day, although there was a torrent of water running down the side of our ‘set’. The TTMA van was loaded with our props, including my other half’s race bike. ‘Just borrowing the bike for a few hours’ I shouted as we wheeled it into the van. It must have been an oversight that I forgot to say it was to be dumped on its side as the crashed bike!
Greenlight Television’s Chris and Richard arrived, complete with camera man Christian and we set up for filming. Our brief was to show marshals arriving and setting up at their location, checking the road, moving some spectators from a prohibited area, showing various flags being displayed, calling in manning levels and the DSM for the day allocating duties to all her marshals, then to film an incident. Obviously to make our incident realistic we needed some racing bikes, so enter our star riders for the day, Jules Ray, Stu Bainborough, Les Miller, Keith Mckay, Darren Creer and our own Dave Clarke. We also enlisted the help of TM Jim Hunter who still had his MGP machine at that time.
As I said, the weather had been pretty wet, add to that wet leaves and we had the makings of an incident without setting it up! The boys were given a briefing not to be silly and take things easy, but as I hope it doesn’t do at pre race briefings, it went in one ear and out the other!! Luckily they all realised on their first run down how slippery it was, and so we set up for our first shots. Having never been in the filming game before I didn’t consider things like camera angles, luckily Greenlight did, and so we didn’t get the cars navigating the Governors Bridge roundabout in our film!!
Using the TETRA radios and after a few trial runs we set up our ‘incident’ Keith McKay couldn’t wait to show off his acting skills and even offered to fall off the bike…..luckily for me there was no battery in it, divorce is far too expensive these days!
We filmed the incident and the marshals attending to their various duties, whilst our bikes came past under waved yellow flags, at different points we stopped to allow the riders to go back up to the other end to pass again. At one point we swapped the camera onto the other side of the road, I called up on the TETRA to Bill, who was bike controller at the top end, that the camera was on the opposite side and Greenlight didn’t want their cameraman knocked down to which Greenlight corrected that to ‘we don’t want the CAMERA damaged!!’
Hopefully we shot enough footage for Greenlight to be able to make a reasonable edit and make a realistic enough scene. Thanks to all those that helped behind the scenes, in front of the camera and riding their race or TM’s bikes. There was even a comment from one that it was good to see Dave Clarke keeping up with the pack, but I won’t say who’s lips uttered such libel!
Cathy Pullen
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 racing season maybe over, and whilst we are finalising our plans for recruitment and training for 2009, we are also already making plans for 2010. As and when venues are confirmed, they will appear in this newsletter and on our website.
If anyone would like to contribute anything to future newsletters, please let us know.
regards
Dave Clarke
Treasurer
