Hi folks

Everyone is looking forward to the MGP, which is only a couple of weeks away, however, there is a potential problem - lack of Marshals. The number of people signed on for each practice and race session are considerably below those required for the event to take place. If the numbers don't improve, the lack of Marshals is a very real threat. So come on people, please please sign up today! WE NEED YOU!!!!

I've moved this thread so that it is stuck and will stay at the top in the important thread list.
We have had some fun today with the whole banana/scone thing but this is serious.

The Manx GP needs every single marshal it can find.
Please for the good of the event sign on and BE a marshal make a difference....................

You know it makes sense

The Manx Grand Prix is one of the oldest road racing events on the annual calendar, having first been
run in 1923 as the MARRC, becoming the Manx Grand Prix in 1930.
From small, enthusiastic beginnings the ‘Manx’ as it is affectionately known to all involved with the
races, be they riders, mechanics, officials, enthusiasts, or marshals, has grown into a prestigious road
race meeting, which is the main objective and pinnacle of the racing season for competitors wishing to
take part, be it for the first time or for the ‘umpteenth’ time.
Not only riders make the ‘Manx’ an annual pilgrimage to pit their skills against the world famous
Snaefell Mountain Course, many enthusiasts also inherit the bug that brings people from all walks of
life to the Isle of Man for the Manx Grand Prix Fortnight.
Whilst Officials and countless volunteers work all year round behind the scenes to ensure the future
success of the Manx Grand Prix – one of the most important areas of the event not only being able to
go ahead and to be run safely is the recruitment of Marshals – for without sufficient numbers at each
practice session and race day, all the preparations come to nothing.
Riders and their helpers have spent all year preparing themselves and the machines for the rigours of
the 37.73-mile lap; those behind the scenes have toiled away ensuring all the necessary paperwork
has been completed, the course prepared and all aspects of the event are in place and ready to go, but
there is a shortage of Marshals, so everything that has been planned and put into action is in vain!
Whether you are a first time visitor to the Manx Grand Prix this year, or one on the thousands of fans
who make the annual pilgrimage to Mona’s Isle, please volunteer to be a Marshal.
You will not be on your own; in fact you will become a member of a prestigious club. You are issued
with an armband, which you can keep as a memento of the experience, and you gain the knowledge
that you might make the difference between a session going ahead and being called off - just imagine if
there were not enough marshals to run the event safely!
If you have watched a race, in full, from one location you could have been a marshal at that position.
Don’t just watch the Manx Grand Prix, be part of it!
Please consider joining the TT Marshals Association.
The website, http://www.iomttma.com has all the information you need to become part of the
action.

thewitch Wrote:The Manx Grand Prix is one of the oldest road racing events on the annual calendar, having first been
run in 1923 as the MARRC, becoming the Manx Grand Prix in 1930.
From small, enthusiastic beginnings the ‘Manx’ as it is affectionately known to all involved with the
races, be they riders, mechanics, officials, enthusiasts, or marshals, has grown into a prestigious road
race meeting, which is the main objective and pinnacle of the racing season for competitors wishing to
take part, be it for the first time or for the ‘umpteenth’ time.
Not only riders make the ‘Manx’ an annual pilgrimage to pit their skills against the world famous
Snaefell Mountain Course, many enthusiasts also inherit the bug that brings people from all walks of
life to the Isle of Man for the Manx Grand Prix Fortnight.
Whilst Officials and countless volunteers work all year round behind the scenes to ensure the future
success of the Manx Grand Prix – one of the most important areas of the event not only being able to
go ahead and to be run safely is the recruitment of Marshals – for without sufficient numbers at each
practice session and race day, all the preparations come to nothing.
Riders and their helpers have spent all year preparing themselves and the machines for the rigours of
the 37.73-mile lap; those behind the scenes have toiled away ensuring all the necessary paperwork
has been completed, the course prepared and all aspects of the event are in place and ready to go, but
there is a shortage of Marshals, so everything that has been planned and put into action is in vain!
Whether you are a first time visitor to the Manx Grand Prix this year, or one on the thousands of fans
who make the annual pilgrimage to Mona’s Isle, please volunteer to be a Marshal.
You will not be on your own; in fact you will become a member of a prestigious club. You are issued
with an armband, which you can keep as a memento of the experience, and you gain the knowledge
that you might make the difference between a session going ahead and being called off - just imagine if
there were not enough marshals to run the event safely!
If you have watched a race, in full, from one location you could have been a marshal at that position.
Don’t just watch the Manx Grand Prix, be part of it!
Please consider joining the TT Marshals Association.
The website, http://www.iomttma.com has all the information you need to become part of the
action.

We Need marshalls. would it be possible for each team to at least supply one marshall, even if for only one session. we have two in our team, with hopefully another enrolled this year. as the supermarket says "every little helps". we have all spent a small fortune, getting to the manx, lets not let this spoil it. Last year i thought the marshalls did a fantastic job getting nearly all the sessions to run, lets help them.

This is getting serious guys.............
I've just recieved a letter from the Clerk of Course appealing for marshals.

Riders and the MMCC have a lot invested in the ManxGP if we lose it it will be gone forever.

I can tell you right now don't bother even going to the IOM for the Manx unless you plan to marshal so far as I'm concerned if I see anyone at the Manx who doesn't have a marshals warrent card I'll be asking why..................

I've just had a thought I know how to get at least one day fully covered.................

IF you are a competiter then and you are NOT riding on the Monday Newcomers or Senior Classic then I'd advise you to marshal that day.

Same goes for Wednesday and Friday and if your not riding those day then your pit crew will be available to marshal as well.

I think the club should make this compulsory

Its true what cargo is saying we have to do what we can to protect the manx. At signing on, could the organisers ask each rider for marshalls. There are alot of people who could spare at least one sessions. I think the main problems will be practice week and after the bank hol Mon. Also just a thought could we get somebody form the TTMA to be at the riders briefings and the signing on sessions, to push the point home, no marshalls no meeting.

Good idea..............and I know the very people to do just that.


MGP Ambassadors...................I'd be more than happy to speak at my briefing and put it very bluntly.................NO marshals means NO racing

I fully understand what you guys are saying but I really don’t know if making riders marshal or supply a marshal is the solution.
My team consists of 5 people. Me, wife, daughter (11 months at Manx), mum and my dad. For my brother this is even worse it’s just him and his partner. If what I was told last year about racers being counted as a qualified marshal I am the only one who would count. Last year I didn’t qualify for the races until the last session. If I had to marshal one session I wouldn’t have qualified to race (know I could go and appeal to the c of c) so personally I would be no better off. I believe this would be a problem for many of the classic riders who like my brother don’t have a team just there partners and having to marshal themselves which could stop them qualifying for the race.

So let’s look at my position long term. Say my mum looks after my daughter so my wife can go marshal. If you said riders had to provide a marshal twice in the fortnight 1 for practice and one for the race. I think it would take 3 years for her to actually count as a marshal. By which time my daughter would be nearly 5 and my parents may not be coming so we would be right back where we started.

The other big problem with this is that I believe you have to want to be a marshal. Neither my wife nor my mum are comfortable with the idea of marshalling as they don’t know how they would cope if something did happen especially if it was someone they knew. Ultimately they are there for everyone’s safety and if they froze or lost the plot because they didn’t really want to be there then I think that would be worse.

I have to admit to not having any great idea’s myself at this point. I thought it might be more productive if ideas were along more then one line.
Perhaps it might be worth organising a meeting at the Manx to try and come up with some ideas. Two heads are better than one.

As a point of interest if you said every rider had to provide 1 marshal for a practice and one for a race it would give you approximately 40 more marshals per practice and 90 per race.

So come on lets get every free person out there marshalling and get the Manx running smoothly.

Good to see you guys voice your support and ideas.

Can I make it clear that while it is true that only quailified marshals count towrds the minimun manning as one marshal.

Marshaling newcomers are aslo counted towards that figure. Every two newcomers count as one towards the minimun manning.

I know that if an incident occurs it can be a terrifing prospect for ANY marshal but if the thought of dealing directly with an incident is too much then you can still marshal and tell the guys at your post of your concerns and they will make sure you don't have to face anything too rigourous........ brushing up and oil spill or lifting broken bits of a bike is something anyone can do.
As someone already said.........every little helps

So even IF you have never marshaled you CAN still make a difference.

I have passed on the sugestion regarding having a TTMA person speak at the briefing and aslo that the MGP ambassadors do so as well or instead. I'm told that the idea has been passed on to the relevant persons.

For me personally I will be on marshal duty for the newcomers race as usual and my pit crew will aslo be on duty for newcomers.
We are in fact already signed on

I'm racing on the other days.

The most difficult time is practice week, as many off-island marshals don't come across until race week. By the same token, it is the busiest time for riders and their helpers... I know that wives and children can be runners getting bits from Padgetts or whatever, and just aren't available.
I think one of the things that needs looking at is perhaps contacting regular marshals, particularly local ones, to ask them to cover practice week rather than the races if they can only manage one or the other. This might be a strategy in the longer term.
Personally, I find practice more interesting as a marshal anyway, but that's just me. That week is also much harder work, with daily committment, and, if you are trying to work as well, it is a long long day. Also if you work in Douglas, you probably don't have the time to get up the mountain, for example, when that might be where the greatest need is.
Not much help there I'm afraid, but I think there needs to be some work this winter to look at the distribution, by time and geography, of the most dedicated and experienced marshals, so we can balance the books with less experienced people. Those of us who are regulars need to be willing to go wherever we are needed, rather than sticking to our favourite spot for 30 years (not that that's a fault... just we need flexibility right now.)
A lot of the problems are less about a shortage of bodies, and more about them not being in the right place sometimes.
We can NEVER have too many marshals anywhere and I get really pi**ed off when I hear all this rubbish about "There were dozens of marshals at QB, can't see the problem."
A... imagine a bike comes down at QB first lap, full tank, and is immediately followed by another which hits it... how many people will you need.. every single one you can get!
B... some people can only get that far after work, and some may be rookies... where better to learn.
We need YOU now, if you not already signed up... do it NOW!
Even if all you can do is man the phones that will free someone up to do something else.

I've been talking to Sandy (my wife for those who don't know)

And we've come up with a couple of thoughts.

Sandy will gladly perform babysitting or childminding duties for any of the wives/girlfrinds/partners in the paddock IF that wife/girlfriend/partner is signed on and off out on the circuit marshaling................... we'd have to limit the numbers

Alternatively she will marshal herself along with her friend Dee if someone is prepared to take our two boys for the evening.

She will be available from Tuesday practise week along with her friend for all of practise week.....................Both would be complete novice marshals but Sandys friend Dee would have very appropiate experience from her job. I think she would only be happy to be quite close to the paddock/grandstand area but as we keep saying.

Every little helps.

How about it Helen do you fancy having two trainees ??

They might be better at St Ninians as I will (hopefully) have my two regulars, and could only justify one more at my bit. Alternatively, there might be vacancies at the other side of the grandstand area, before the start-finish. The office will keep you right.
By the way, Sunday 24th August, marshalls training, with preference given to visiting marshals, so anyone who has not done this before... get your name in now and you will have the training, if not the experience.
http://www.iomttma.com

Interesting idea Cargo. Maybe some sort of cresh/kids corner could be set up to help free up a few marshals? Is there a marshals bus? As I guess the biggest problem would be transport for most who could help in this way.

Transport is easy there's great bus service on the IOM I've used it at the TT to get out to Gorse Lea.
Then I scrounge a lift back with one of the other guys there

I've even walked to Gorse Lea from the grandstand but thats another story

Sandy will gladly run a little creche at our tent/awning.

cargo Wrote:I've been talking to Sandy (my wife for those who don't know)

And we've come up with a couple of thoughts.

Sandy will gladly perform babysitting or childminding duties for any of the wives/girlfrinds/partners in the paddock IF that wife/girlfriend/partner is signed on and off out on the circuit marshaling................... we'd have to limit the numbers

Alternatively she will marshal herself along with her friend Dee if someone is prepared to take our two boys for the evening.

She will be available from Tuesday practise week along with her friend for all of practise week.....................Both would be complete novice marshals but Sandys friend Dee would have very appropiate experience from her job. I think she would only be happy to be quite close to the paddock/grandstand area but as we keep saying.

Every little helps.

How about it Helen do you fancy having two trainees ??

****
Hey if you're game Cargo, I would only be too happy to look after the lads in practise week. Seriously, I would love that. I couldn't with any more than two though!!!!

Hi Cargo, your creche idea is also something that wants mentioning at the briefings. Somebody else may be able to take a few children. Don't take this as a sexist remark, but could some of the wives organise either a rota system of some kind. I also think we could do with the TTMA letting us know how many they could be short each night and where. If a notice could be put up near the scrutineering bays then we would have chance to try and sort the problem out before 18.00 each night. We only seem to get to know we are short by word of mouth. There needs to be better communication. If we knew by mid afternoon it give people more time to plan and make them selves free.

OK I now have an offer of a child minder for one evening practise.

So Sandy and her friend will definately do one session

I have a list in front of me now as to where the shortages are I'll not go into detail but it varies between 132 and 22 short.

Only one sector is fully manned for the fortnight one other is very nearly there but others are very short particulary Sector 1

I should imagine that there will be many guys and girls who will only sign on once they get there but there's not certainty in that.

There is already a flying squad of marshal who wait and are on standby to fill anyshortages on the day.

What we really need is more people signed up now truth is you can go to any location but when you do sign on ask for any sector you want but please try and go to where the shortages are. Especially for practise week where the numbers are really down

As Sector one is (fairly obviously) the area from the Grandstand out past Quarterbridge, this would be the most suitable for paddock-based volunteers. Either that or Sector 12, which is also close, but in the opposite direction, heading away from the start finish towards Hillberry etc.
However, when you go to sign on, you will be asked what you prefer, and you will not be sent up the mountain if you need to be back for the children etc.
Transport is available to take marshals out to their posts, as long as they are ready in time.
All these concerns will be addressed if you pop into the office and ask the nice people there. They deserve a mention for their hard work and patience.