1. Standard annual MSA slide with the support of the Training Trust
MSA logo pantone colours:
Red:
C:0
M:87
Y:60
K:0
Blue
C;100
M:95
Y:2
K:10
Grey (when used)
C:20
M:1`5
Y:11
K:40

2. Housekeeping

3. Trainer Slide Name and MSA Lead Trainer grade/title Experience
Disciplines

4. Race, Sprints, Hillclimbs, Rallycross
What is a Marshal?
Race, Sprints, Hillclimbs, Rallycross
Discussion slide – covering all forms of track based motorsport.
Ask what types they are interested in – this can then help with emphasis given in future slides

5. What is a marshal? An enthusiast A volunteer
The lifeblood of motorsport

6. What types of motorsport?
CAR RACING
OFF-ROAD
HILL CLIMB
KARTING
SPRINTS
RALLY
CROSS
Discussion slide – covering all forms of motorsport. Many of the things discussed in this programme will also apply to Rally, Cross Country & other off-road events.
Ask what types they are interested in – this can then help with emphasis given in future slides

7. Anything and everything in every form of motorsport!
What jobs do they do?
Anything and everything in every form of motorsport!
Stage marshal
Flag
Post Chief
Passage control
Timekeeper
Rescue
Parc Ferme
Incident
Paddock
Rescue
Clerk of
the Course
Pits
More discussion – this time on the duties of marshals
Take time to ensure they understand each one – ask lots of questions to ensure understanding
Recovery
Race Admin
Start line
Assembly

8. Safety Priorities A marshal looks after Themselves Their Colleagues
The Driver(s)
The Spectators
The Cars
Your own safety is top priority for two reasons: First, you don’t want to get hurt and we don’t want any marshals to get hurt. Secondly, if you do get hurt, it means that the marshalling team is doubly depleted because you aren’t around to help deal with the incident and someone will have to look after you.
Similarly, if a colleague gets hurt, the marshalling team is doubly depleted, so you need to look after your colleagues. Warn them or pull them out of the way if you spot a danger like a car or debris coming towards them, which they have not noticed. Tell them if you spot a problem while you and they are dealing with an incident.
The driver comes next because they may be in danger because of a racing incident, but they are usually protected to some degree by their car. You can use the car for protection, but you don’t get as much protection as you would if you were inside it.
Spectators are further down the priority list because you are between them and the track. If you were continually watching for problems behind you, you would be putting yourself in danger. Spectators are further away and usually protected by fencing, but they can end up in dangerous positions. Young spectators who have eluded the gaze of their parents may wander under barriers and spectators may try to get into prohibited areas to get a better picture.
Cars can create dangers of their own, so moving them to a place of safety is a priority, however, dealing with a car is usually a spin off from the higher priorities of protecting people from danager.

9. Volunteering
As many meetings and venues as you want – no minimum, no maximum, no pressure
Once you become a marshal, you can volunteer through:
Your Club e.g. BMMC Regional Comp Secs
Circuit Chief Incident Officer
The internet -
Go Motorsport/Go Help
Insurance
Provided by MSA and some marshalling clubs
Where you go and what you do as a marshal is up to you. You may chose to stick with one club, one circuit or one type of racing, or you can go all over the country and marshal for a range of different clubs. You do as many or as few meetings as you want to.
There are a number of ways of volunteering, but once you start marshalling you soon will find yourself inundated with volunteering forms before the start of each season.
You can even volunteer using the Internet – go to
You just fill in the dates you want to do and send the forms back.
The MSA and some clubs provide limited insurance benefits which can cover you on your way to and from circuits as well as while you are marshalling.
Volunteers in MotorSport is a central website for all disciplines and specialisms. You can call anytime for further information

10. Protective Clothing Wear natural fibres Cover your arms
Loose fitting gloves
Stout boots
Don’t clash with the flags
Be careful with waterproofs
Wear natural fibres (wool, cotton) or fireproof synthetics (eg Nomex) next to the skin. Although you should not get close enough to a fire for man-made fibres like nylon to melt, if they do they could adhere to your skin and cause burns.
Your clothing should cover your arms, legs and hands even in hot weather.
Many marshals wear orange Proban overalls as these give added protection as well as protection your ordinary clothes, making marshals easily recognisable and avoiding any risk of clothing clashing with flags.
Jeans, shirts and jumpers are perfectly acceptable, as long as they are made from natural fibres and aren’t the same colour as the flags.
Gloves. Must be dry and easy to remove. If wet there is a danger of scalding so carry a spare pair.
Wear stout, protective boots – work boots with steel toe caps and through soles or hiking boots. Don’t wear trainers or light shoes as these provide inadequate protection and soon become soaked by rain.
Always bring waterproof jackets and trousers. Fire proof waterproofs can be prohibitively expensive so you may have to buy waterproofs made of man made fibres, but avoid lightweight nylon waterproofs as these give inadequate protection.
Again, avoid clashing with flags. Buy orange or dark coloured waterproofs and not Day-Glo yellow.
Cadet marshals should wear an MSA provided tabard to show they are a marshal and to ensure they are not asked to perform tasks outside of their experience level.

11. Dressed for Action  
The marshal on the left is obviously inappropriately dressed for ANY marshalling duty. Discuss why – point out the bare arms, t-shirt colour, sandals, etc. etc. - He has got a hat however – one good point.
The two marshals on the right are correctly dressed. Discuss the advantages of Proban overalls – protect, visibility, signal to others that they are marshals etc. Talk about clothing worn under the overalls – no nylon, natural fibres wherever possible.
However they are not completely kitted out – lead in to next slides

12. Other Essentials Hat – for hot and cold weather. Plenty of food.
Drink – hot and cold, but
NO ALCOHOL
Ear plugs or ear defenders.
Sun cream
Always have a hat with you – and preferably two, to cope with cold weather and hot sun. We lose a high proportion of our heat through our heads in cold weather, while an uncovered head can cause problems in hot sun.
You can never guarantee that you will be able to buy food, so always bring plenty to keep you going during the day.
Bring plenty to drink as well – particularly in hot weather, when you may need to drink two or more litres of liquid during a day. Soup is a good way of keeping warm and keeping your calorie count up in cold weather.
Alcohol must not be drunk during the period you are on duty.
You should always have ear plugs or ear defenders with you. Some classes of racing produce high levels of noise which could damage your hearing and you could be allocated a duty in the pits or other area where you will be close to racing engines. Ear plugs are generally more convenient for marshals working with incident teams, but ear defenders may be better for flag marshals and people in the pits or assembly area.
Sun cream is another essential. Even on partially overcast days, you can easily get sunburnt, particularly on sensitive areas like the nape of your neck or top of your ears if you don’t take precautions.

13. Other Equipment
Tuff-Kut Scissors cut everything from racing leathers to brake pipes.
Screwdriver with a reversible blade (flat and Phillips) if possible.
Safety glasses.
Less essential, but often useful items you might consider carrying in a belt pouch or pocket include Tuff-Kut Scissors, which will cut metal sheathed brake pipes as well as set belts.
Screwdrivers are useful for removing body work. Try to get a screwdriver with a reversible blade or carry a flat and cross headed screwdriver.
Safety glasses are useful if you are marshalling near gravel traps in particular.

14. Race Day Read instructions well in advance On arrival
Check tickets, instructions and sign-on location
Contact Chief Marshal if unsure
Leave home in plenty of time
On arrival
Go straight to sign-on – ask if unsure of location
Tell sign-on staff if you are new to marshalling or the circuit
When you get your tickets, you will usually also receive a letter telling you what entrance to use, where and when to sign on and other information you might need.
Make sure you read the instructions as things can change depending on who is organising the meeting and how big the meeting is.
If there is anything you don’t understand, contact the chief marshal or whoever sent you the tickets and make sure you leave home in plenty of time to get to the event.
Go straight to sign-on when you get there – or, if you are late for any reason, go to Race Control.
Make sure you tell the Sign-On staff you are new to marshalling or the circuit and ask if there is anything about the day you don’t understand.

15. Arriving on Post Leave Sign-on in plenty of time Drive carefully
Circuit may have speed/noise limits
Other marshals, circuit staff and race officials will be on circuit
Park in a safe place
Sign in, on post
Tell Post Chief and I/O your experience level
Help set up post
At sign on you need to check what time you need to be on post and how to get there.
Take care whether you are driving to post through spectator areas or on the circuit. If you are using the circuit to go to post you should drive in race direction, but, you could still meet someone coming the other way. The circuit may have speed and noise limits which apply outside practice and race sessions and other marshals, circuit staff and officials may be using the circuit, or stopped on the circuit, repairing or installing something.
Make sure you park in a safe place and, if there are restrictions on where you can park, obey them.
When you get to your post, sign on with your Post Chief and tell both the Post Chief and the Incident Officer, who will be running the incident team, what your experience level is before helping to put the equipment out.

16. Marshals’ Jobs Safety – the top priority Track maintenance
Check track and deal with any problems between sessions
Deal with incidents
Safely and Rapidly
Clear up
After incidents
At the end of the day
When you arrive at a circuit, the first thing to do is to sign on, find out which marshal’s post you have been allocated to, how to get there, where it is safe to park your car and what time you should be on post. Once you arrive on post in a morning you will normally sign on again with the Post Chief .
It’s not a bad idea to check the escape routes - whether you can roll under fencing, jump down a bank, get through a gap or get down behind a solid barrier in the event of a car heading towards you.
Before racing starts, marshals check the equipment on the post and put it out where it is likely to be needed. If anything is missing or faulty, it should be reported to the Post Chief or Incident Officer so that it can be replaced.
One or two marshals will check the track between sessions, if there is time. They are looking for spillages, debris or even tools dropped from competing cars or course vehicles, as well as damage to the track, kerbing, grass or barriers, which should be reported to the Post Chief or Incident Officer.
The most important job is to deal with incidents when they happen, as safely and rapidly as possible, to keep the meeting running and lose as little time from practice and racing as possible.
Lastly, you will need to clear up after incidents, helping break down operators, getting rid of gravel and spillages on the track and, at the end of the day, make sure all the equipment is packed away.

17. During Sessions Don’t Do Smoke Use mobile ‘phones or cameras
Stay alert
Watch race traffic
Look for problems
Loose Bodywork
Spillages
Falling objects
Driver behaviour
Spectators
Media
Don’t
Smoke
Use mobile ‘phones or cameras
Sit or kneel down
Stand in large groups
Stand with your back to traffic
Keep alert during practice, racing and whenever you are out on the track between sessions.
Marshalling is different from spectating. Try to keep your eyes on the direction the cars are coming from, because that is where the danger is. You may sometimes have to look in the other direction or run to an incident further round the track, but try to minimise the time you are looking away from the direction the traffic is coming from.
Keep an eye out for any problems and report them to your Post Chief or Incident Officer. Watch out for loose bodywork, liquids spilling from a car, bits falling off and erratic or questionable driving.
Make sure spectators and the media don’t get into restricted areas or dangerous positions and anticipate any problems you might have getting to an incident because of photographers or film crew in your way.
Neither you nor anyone else on the track side of the spectator barrier should be smoking during practice session or races, or while out on the track between sessions.
If you want to smoke or need to make a mobile ‘phone call, wait until between the sessions and do it on the marshals’ post.
If you sit or kneel down for a rest during practice or racing you won’t be able to react as quickly and if there is a large number of you in a group you risk getting in each others way.
Last, but not least, to repeat the earlier safety point, don’t stand with your back to the traffic unless on yellow flag facing your blue flag marshal

18. Marshals’ Posts Post Chief Incident Officer Flags Incident Team Track
The person in charge of a marshals’ post is called the Post Chief . He or she is responsible for the overall safety of the post, for reporting any incidents or rule infringements to race control and for advising the Clerk of the Course if a race stop or any sort of intervention by a safety car, rescue unit or snatch vehicle is required.
The Flag marshals’ job is fairly obvious – they put out flags to warn or advise competitors of potential hazards, impending overtaking and the like. If there is no Observer the Flag Marshal will act as the Observer.
The Yellow Flag is used ahead of an incident and means there should be no overtaking, while the Green Flag is used after an incident to show overtaking can take place again. The Green Flag is also used on the first lap of practice and when cars go round to the grid to indicate to drivers where the flag points are.
White is for a slow moving vehicle or intervention vehicle on the track, the Red and Yellow striped flag indicates a change of surface – caused by oil, gravel or debris, the Red Flag is use to stop a session because of an incident and the Blue Flag indicates a driver is about to be overtaken in practice or lapped in a race.
There should also be a Hazard Board – used to show a hazard is still present after a yellow flag has been withdrawn – and an SC – Safety Car board.
An Incident Officer leads the incident team, made up of Track, Experienced Track and Trainee marshals, whose titles indicate their different levels of experience. It’s the I/O who allocates duties, determines how he or she wants to deal with each incident and looks after their safety.
Experienced
Track
Trainee
Experienced
Track
Trainee
Experienced
Track
Trainee

19. Race Organisation RAC MSA Stewards Clerk(s) of the Course Race control
Final judicial authority
Administers the sport, officials & marshals’ grading
Stewards
Safety, judicial
Clerk(s) of the Course
Organisation, safety, judicial
Race control
Communication, organisation
The Clerk of the Course is responsible for the running of a race meeting, dealing with any safety issues as they arise and any punishments resulting from any rule infringements.
There maybe a number of Clerks responsible for different races, in which case there may be a senior Clerk or Race Director, responsible for the whole meeting.
The Clerk is based in Race Control, which handles communications with marshals posts and intervention vehicles, scruitineers, who are responsible for making sure competitors’ cars are safe and meet the regulations, timekeepers, who time practice and racing and the Judges of Fact, whose decisions on jumped starts, driving standards and the like are usually considered to be final.
Race Control also communicates with the Paddock and Pits, where the cars and drivers are when they are not racing. The Assembly Area, where they are assembled before each practice session or race and the Startline, where they are gridded up before a race.
All race meetings and most other motorsport events run under a permit from the RAC Motor Sports Association – or MSA.
The MSA appoints a Steward, who can stop an event if he or she feels it is not safe and who, with two other stewards appointed by the organisers, hears appeals by drivers against penalties imposed by a Clerk for rule infringements.
The MSA receives a report on the meeting from its Steward, hears appeals against the Stewards’ decisions and licences Drivers, Clerks and other officials and medical and rescue personnel.
Paddock, assembly, pits, startline
Marshals posts and intervention personnel
Scrutineers, timekeepers, judges
Medical

20. Grading Acknowledges a marshal’s experience.
Provides a structure for gaining new skills.
Helps Chief Marshals to allocate marshals to suitable jobs.
Opens the way to marshalling abroad.
The MSA administers a grading system which is designed to acknowledge a marshal’s experience, provides a structure for gaining new skills and helps chief marshals to ensure they allocate marshals to suitable jobs.
You need to be a graded marshal to apply to marshal at the British Grand Prix and also if you want to marshal abroad.
In order to upgrade you need to attend relevant training sessions, collect signatures on a grading card and be assessed by fellow marshals to show you are capable of doing the job.

21. On Circuit Grading Incident Officer Flag Marshal Experienced Marshal
Examining Post Chief
20 days as Post Chief+ 2 Training days
Self Assessment, Leadership & Mentoring
Upgrading to Examining Post Chief
requires club nomination & MSA approval
Post Chief
20 days as Post Chief + 2 Training days Fire, Flag,
I/O, Report Writing, Communication & Leadership
Incident Officer
Flag Marshal
20 days as I/O + 1 Training day, Fire, I/O,
Report Writing, Communication, Leadership
15 days as Flag + 1 Training day ,
Flag, Report Writing, Communication
If you want to marshal out on the circuit you will start as a trainee and your first step will be to Track Marshal, where you will have to demonstrate you understand both flag marshalling and incident marshalling. After that you can train to become an experienced marshal, developing your skills in incident handling and flagging. If you want you can then specialise and become a Flag Marshal.
If the club or the circuit’s chief incident officer considers you suitable, you may be invited to train to become an Incident Officer.
If you do not want to specialise as either a flag or I/O, then your next step is to Post Chief and possibly Examining Post Chief.
Senor Officials are marshals who have a number of years’ experience either as a Clerk of the Course or, possibly, a steward.
Experienced Marshal
Note:
Each upgrade requires an assessment by an Examining Post Chief
To maintain a grade needs 4 days per annum +1 training day bi-annually
20 days combined Flag & Incident duties (min 5 days on both + 2 training days (Flag, Incident, Fire, Basic First Aid)
Track Marshal
15days Flag & Track duties + 1 Training (Fire, Flag, Basic marshalling)
Trainee Marshal
Optional entry point
Cadet
yr old Trainee

22. Experienced Specialist
Specialist Grading
Upgrading to Examining Specialist
requires club nomination & MSA approval
Examining Specialist
20 days as Chief/Deputy Chief + 2 Training days
, Report Writing, Communication & Leadership, mentoring
Experienced Specialist
20 days in specialism + 2 training days Fire, Basic First Aid, Specialism, Report Writing, Communication, Leadership
Specialist Marshal
Note:
Each upgrade requires an assessment by an Examining Specialist
To maintain a grade needs 4 days per annum +1 training day bi-annually
15 days marshalling (min. 10 in specialism) + 1 Training day Specialism, Fire, Basic marshalling
There are also grades for marshals who work off course in the pits and on the startline, in the paddock and assembly area and running the communications and administration in Race Control.
Here a trainee marshal will become a “Specialist,” then an experienced specialist, and perhaps, eventually, an examining specialist.
Specialists may also become senior officials
Trainee Marshal
Optional entry point
Cadet
yr old Trainee

24. Then come & join us!
Give it a go!

25. Evaluation

26. Acknowledgements Club logos Venue thanks etc
With the support of the training trust