Isle of Man TT Marshals Association Newsletter
August 2008
MGP Signing-on Forms
The signing-on forms were posted to everyone on our database at the end of June. We would
be very grateful if completed forms could be sent back to the Secretary as soon as possible,
so that your packs can be made up, and the Sector Chief Marshals can prepare their rotas in
readiness for the beginning of practice.
If your form has not arrived please either call our office on (01624) 618191 or email
info@iomttma.com and we will send you a replacement.


Chairman’s Column
MGP looms large on the horizon and as I write, there are roughly three weeks to go before
first practice and we have just cracked 660 signing on forms returned. This is good news at
this time but we still need more marshals to ensure all the minimum manning levels the entire
the way around the course are met. During TT this year we finished up with some 1400
marshals; whilst TT is more manic than MGP from a marshals point of view it is just the same
so the nearer we get to the TT figures the better.
So if you are still sitting on your form get it sent in to the office as soon as possible; if you are
undecided whether to sign on or not or maybe have stopped marshalling for some reason; we
will be pleased to hear from you if you wish to join us and don’t forget the upper age limit of
70 no longer applies.
We need to support the MGP as it is as unique an event as the TT; it is a great part of the
Islands history and should be treasured. It also gives the up and coming riders the chance to
prove themselves on the mountain course before maybe entering a TT; many have done just
that in the past and gone on to become TT celebrities. It’s worth remembering that the riders
in general receive no financial reward; no prize money. They may have the odd sponsor who
provides maybe fuel or tyres etc but in general they spend their own cash. The best most can
expect to get out of the ride in the MGP is to finish and to then go home and wonder about
paying for it all. I applaud all of them, from the stars that shine through and get onto the
rostrum to taste the champagne, to those who doggedly struggle back to the finish with those
hungry travelling marshals chasing up behind them.
With that in mind the easiest way to help a rider would be to sponsor him/her and by far the
best way to sponsor a rider is to become a marshal; that way it will ensure the event goes
ahead on time and fully manned. It may be worth mentioning to any riders reading this; if they
can each bring a friend who is willing to marshal it would seriously make marshalling easier.
My motto is to support the Isle of Man; support the heritage of the MGP/TT and support the
riders and road racing in general; join the orange army; without enough of them nobody can
go racing.
Regards,
Bill Carden.
Chairman Isle of Man TT Marshals Association Ltd.


Warrant and Pack collection:
Pack collection for the 2008 MGP will take place between 6:30pm and 8:30pm at the following
locations:
Monday 11th August - Ramsey Masonic Hall
Tuesday 12th August - Tynwald Inn at St John’s,
Wednesday 13tt August - The Sulby Glen Hotel, Sulby
Thursday 14th August – The George in Castletown Square
Friday 15th August – TTMA Office, Douglas

In addition, packs can be picked up from our office during normal office hours (9am and 5pm)
from Monday 11th August.

Office Opening Times for the 2008 MGP
The minimum office opening times for collection of packs or to sign on during MGP2008 will
be as follows:
Saturday 16th August – 9am to 7pm
Sunday 17th August – 10am to 4pm
Monday 18th August to Saturday 23rd August – 8:30am to 7pm
Sunday 24th August – 10am – 4pm
Monday 25th August to Friday 29th August – 9am to 5pm
Marshals Open Day
Our regular training day will this year be held on Sunday 17th August, from 10 a.m. until 1pm,
at the St John Ambulance HQ opposite the TT Grandstand. The Training Day will include:
Training on the use of the TETRA radio's
Refresher training by St John Ambulance (Helmet Removal, stiff neck collar, CPR etc.)
Flag demonstrations’
If you have would like to practice any of the skills learnt on an IMC course, or would simply
like to know how to remove a helmet, put on a stiff neck collar etc. or need some additional
training on the use of the TETRA radio's, we would like to see you.
We hope that as many marshals as possible will be able to attend on the day.
Helicopter Loading Procedure
The Helicopter Loading Procedure demonstration will take place at (approx) 1:30pm on
Sunday 17th August on Vagabonds Rugby Pitch.

Straight Line Testing
The MMCC require 4 marshals per day to cover straight line testing at Jurby on the dates and
times below. They would be there purely to marshal whilst the competitors carry out their
testing. One marshal is needed at the start line, one at the intersection and one at the turning
area (prior to sending them back along the perimeter road) plus one spare to give comfort
breaks.
The MMCC will issue a safety briefing sheet to competitors wanting to use the facility
requiring them to come to a full stop at the end of the main runway, prior to then touring
slowly back to the paddock on the perimeter road at a maximum speed of 20mph - warning
them that this will be observed by the marshals and anyone exceeding this speed limit would
be reported to the Clerk of the Course for disciplinary action.
Saturday 16th August to Sunday 24th August - 09:00 to 13:00
Tuesday 26th August - 09:00 to 13:00
Thursday 28th August - 09:00 to 13:00
If anyone is willing to help with these duties, please contact the MMCC direct on 01624
644648 for further details.


Terry Holmes Column
Festival of 1000 Bikes
The TTMA travelled to Mallory Park to take part in this event, and it proved to be very popular,
with lots of interest in our stand. We also had a few well known visitors which included Charlie
Williams, Ago (the Italian one), David Hailwood, and Sammy Miller. We also had a visit from
the leading lights from the Ace Cafe in London who have invited us to a big day they have at
Brighton which attracts a crowd of around 130,000 each year, so we will be looking at the
possibility of attending on Sept 14th.
Recruitment Days
All depending on when you are reading this we will be at Sure Mobiles shop in Douglas on
Saturday 2nd August, and the following Friday and Saturday we will be at the Royal Show at
Sulby doing our bit to attract more marshals to our group, if you are anywhere near us on
those dates pay us a visit.

Southern 100 Video.
The Southern 100 club will be having a showing of this years video of the event at the
Ronaldsway Social Club on Sept 12th at 8pm, everyone is welcome.
Sponsors

Once again Martin at Bushys will be supplying the Marshals Association with some free drinks
vouchers for you great hard working lads and lasses, the Directors and I am sure you
marshals fully appreciate all of Martins support and backing.
There will be some other offers to you, all of which will be notified to you in your packs.
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 is as follows:
August 22nd (MGP Practice Week) St Johns HQ, Douglas
August 24th (MGP Practice Week) St Johns HQ, Douglas
In addition, we have confirmed dates for winter 2008/2009 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
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.

Marshals Coach
We have been looking at utilising the spare seats on the marshals coach, which is used to
transport some marshals to locations on the Mountain section, which have limited parking.
The coach has 21 seats, and 11 are filled by regulars. This means that we have 10 seats
available for anyone who may wish to marshal on the Mountain Section of the course
(between the Black Hut and Creg-ny-Baa). The allocation of these free seats will be on a first
come, first served basis, and tickets for each session will be issued from our office at the back
of the Grandstand.
We would like to use these extra seats to help fill areas which may have low manning levels.
If you would like to reserve a place on the coach, please contact the Secretary at our office,
and she will issue you with a ticket for that day, and advise you where you need to meet the
coach.
In order to utilise this efficiently, we will issue the 10 tickets daily during practice week, and
the previous day in race week.

Committee News
So, what has happened in the last few weeks and where are we up to?
1) Dr David Stevens and Mike Stewart have been approached and have agreed to help
with the new Instructional DVD for marshalling on the Mountain Circuit. Kit Pemberton
has agreed to help with filming of the Helicopter Procedure whilst the helicopter is on
the Island.
2) IMC Courses confirmed for Bedford in March 2009. Gloucester should be confirmed
shortly. Other locations, including Ireland, should be confirmed soon.
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 being prepared at the moment, and will be sent to
the Auditors in August.


Marshals Supper
The Marshals Supper will once again be held at the Masonic Hall in Douglas on Sunday 24th
August. The evening includes Supper, a Free Drink, Raffle, Riders Forum and Long Service
Awards. There may also be a few surprises during the evening!
Entry is on production of your warrant card and doors open at 7:30pm.


Cathy Pullen’s Column
As this will be the last newsletter before the 2008 Manx Grand Prix, I would like to ask anyone
who has not returned their signing on form, and who is willing to marshal the event, to return
their completed form as soon as possible. You will all be well aware that unless we have the
minimum number of 504 marshals; distributed to strategic locations around the course, there
will be no practice or racing. We all know there were problems last year when the last days
racing was to be postponed to the Saturday and was ultimately cancelled as there would not
have been enough marshals. There was also some speculation as to the number available for
that first Saturdays practice, but this was cancelled due to the appalling weather that day so
we never had that challenge! Let’s make 2008 a good year as far as the marshalling cover
goes, if there are problems it would be nice to think they won’t be marshalling shortages!!
The TTMA IMC refresher training day is being held on Sunday 17th August at the St John HQ.
We worked the training a slightly different way at TT from some previous years and want to
do the same again at the MGP. Instead of people drifting in and out, we started at 10am and
our trainers ran through the first aid part from start to finish. After everyone had done their
practical sessions and all the various aspects, helmet removal, collars, scoop stretchers etc
had been covered, the TTMA did a flag training demo, and then there was the opportunity for
anyone wishing to gain a bit more TETRA practice to take to the airwaves! It really is a good
time to update the skills you may need at the side of the road whilst marshalling or indeed at
any other time. So just a reminder again, please attend the refresher training at 10am prompt!
After we have been through these afore mentioned aspects of the training, we will decamp to
the rugby field across the road and you can watch a demonstration of the helicopter loading
procedure, look around the AIRMED helicopter and ask any questions you may have after
seeing the demo.
Finally, we have organised a trip up the tower to the heart of Race Control, you can then see
where all your radio transmissions are received, what happens when you activate your
emergency button on the TETRA and see where all the Race Control instructions come from!
I look forward to seeing many of you at one of our events, be it the refresher training, the
marshals supper or as you are en route up the mountain as you pass the Waterworks. Let’s
hope we all have a safe and enjoyable Manx this year, and finish it off complaining of
sunburn!


Prohibited & Restricted Areas
The descriptions of the Prohibited and Restricted Areas, which will appear in the Race
Program and around the course is as follows:
Interpretation and Definition
The Road Races Act 1982 allows the Department to restrict, prohibit or regulate access to
and over certain sections of The Course and land and property adjacent to The Course. For
the purposes of this Order and this schedule the following definitions will apply:

RESTRICTED AREA: No person or vehicle shall during a closure period enter or remain on
any land specified in Schedule 4 as detailed on the attached plan other than race officials,
marshals, police officers in the course of their duty Gold Media Pass holders and other
persons and vehicles approved by the Clerk of the Course. The extent of the restricted areas
shall be clearly marked and indicated by notices bearing the words “Restricted Area”.

PROHIBITED AREA: No person or vehicle shall during a closure period enter or remain on
any area of land specified in Schedule 4, as detailed on the attached plan except to go to the
aid of a stricken or injured person or to prevent further danger or risk to the competitors or
public. The extent of the prohibited areas shall be clearly marked and indicated by notices
bearing the words “Prohibited Area”.
Members of the public who remain in a restricted or prohibited area once the road is closed
are not only committing an offence punishable by a fine of up to £2,500 and possible
imprisonment , but could also cause the race or practice to be stopped.

Radio and Flag Training
Additional Flag and Radio Training has been arranged for Saturday 16th August. The flag
training will take place at 10am, and the TETRA Radio training at 11am outside our office
behind the Grandstand.

Sector 1 News
The main news on sector 1 is that the QB will be the next to have road works done. The pub
will come down to make way for a very, very big roundabout? Not sure what year though. It is
good to see the bales going up ready for the MANX (etc).
Did you here about the man who took his duck to the vet. He said to the vet what's wrong with
my duck. The vet said its dead. The man said I want a second opinion so the vet called his
dog in. The dog sniffed the duck nodded his head and walked out. The man said I am not
having that. So the vet opened the window called his cat in the cat looked at the duck then the
vet and went out of the window. The vet said I told you it was dead. The vet said that will be
£150.00 pounds the man said that's a bit much. The vet said no £50.00 for me £50.00 for the
lab report and £50.00 for the cat scan? They get no better.
See you all soon, be good.
Alan Blaney
Chief Sector Marshal


Parades
As many of you are aware, we have all been concerned about the standard of riding
displayed by some participants in parades on the Mountain Circuit. This was brought to a
head by the Vincent parade during last years MGP, when several riders came off their
machines, or disappeared down the slip road at Sulby Bridge.
At a recent Co-coordinating Committee meeting, we raised this point and advised that our
members were unhappy to continue marshalling these parades. Our main concern is simply
‘do they know what the flags mean?’
As a result, any participant in a parade is now required to attend a riders briefing before the
parade, at which a Director of the IOMTTMA will be in attendance. At the conclusion of the
briefing, riders will be given a sticker, which must be prominently displayed on their machine.
Any machine not displaying the said sticker will not be permitted onto the course.
We hope this will resolve the problems we have seen in previous years, but feedback after
this years’ event will be gratefully received.

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:
Isle of Man TT Marshals Association Limited
TTMA Office
The Grandstand
Douglas
Isle of Man
IM2 6DA
Tel: +44 (0) 1624 618191
Training enquiries should be emailed to: training@iomttma.com
Our website address is http://www.iomttma.com


Finally
As I write my bit for the newsletter we are now just 2 weeks away from the start of practice.
As some of you will know, the MMCC wrote to all the competitors earlier this week asking if
they could help us by recruiting additional marshals or by marshalling on days when they
were not competing. I have since seen a number of emails from riders offering their services
on some of the race days, and we are extremely grateful for this.
As has been said earlier, we still need more marshals to sign up in order for the races to go
ahead. Whilst we have a minimum requirement to man the course, if we have exactly that
number, we are never going to have you all in the correct locations when the roads close. The
more that sign up, the easier it will be. If you still have your form at home, please get it back to
us as soon as you can, even if you can only do a single session – because every bit of help
counts.
Hopefully from the 16th I will see you out on the course, and I really hope I only get to speak to
you after the practices, race or at the Marshals Supper. Thanks for all you help, and enjoy the
MGP. We all appreciate everything you do for us.
regards
Dave Clarke
Treasurer