Jim....
HSRCA in Australia provides all officials with a packed lunch (cans of soft
drink, filled rolls,
piece of fruit, chocolate bar and cake) to eat on duty, because with our
crowded programmes there
is little time to bring the track officials back in for a long lunch break. At
close of racing
there is a "sausage sizzle", plus cold drinks (including beer) for all
officials.
At meetings at Wakefield Park, where just about everybody is away from home,
the club provides
subsidised accommodation and a Saturday night meal at the sheep station
adjacent to the circuit.
Also, we used to run an Officials Raffle whereby all the names went into a hat
to win a number of
prizes donated by competitors (one with a tour business used to offer a
houseboat holiday up on the
lakes, plus others donated jackets and caps) or funded by the club (restaurant
vouchers, movie
ticket packs, etc). Sadly, the Committee have stopped this practice - which I
think may be a
mistake as it is very difficult to find a simple but effective way of showing
all the hard-working
officials just how much we value them.
We have given officials rides around the track in exotic cars which we have
acquired for the
weekend. Classic example of this was the track marshal who had major Formula
5000 crashes and
fires at his post on successive days - so on Sunday he was temporarily replaced
at his post and
treated to a couple of hot laps in the only Jaguar XJ220 in Australia.
Most clubs make a donation to the MSOA (Motor Sport Officials Association) and
this year CRAFT
(Crash Rescue and Fire Team) have been building a new Incident Vehicle - see
www.firescue.au.nu
which has been funded by a number of companies and clubs.
Each year CAMS (Confederation of Australian Motorsports) has regional and
national trophy
presentation nights and at each of these there is always a trophy for the
Official of the Year -
which shows that the sport's administration recognises the value of the
volunteer officials.
Jim, you are already doing one of the most vital items in relation to officials
- you are
personally acknowledging them both on and off track. Any driver who fails in
this simple act of
common courtesy is showing themselves to be operating outside the true spirit
of historic
motorsport.
....regards....Andrew Pursey
-----Original Message-----
From: Jimmysmth@aol.com [SMTP:Jimmysmth@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, December 26, 1999 1:10 AM
To: vintage-race@autox.team.net
Subject: Corner Workers
Art Summerville, President of CVAR wrote a small article about corner workers
in the Dec issue of Victory Lane. This got me thinking... These corner
workers (and other volunteers at the race track) are racers' best friends,
even if we don't know them personnaly. Some are paid, most are not. They
give us their time and try to look out for our safety in the worst conditions
of rain, cold, heat, and sometimes danger. I, for one, have neglected to
thank them other than a wave on the cool-down lap, an occasional ride around
the race track when permitted, or a smile and a handshake in the lunch line.
Am I alone on this? Are there some things the clubs do for them of which I
am not aware?
Merry Christmas and "helmets off" to all the volunteers without whom there
would be no vintage racing.
Jim
|