Posts by: National Social Media

The 65^th Annual General Meeting of the British Motorsports Marshals Club will take place this year on Sunday 4^th December 2022 commencing at 14.30pm at the Bicester Heritage Museum OX27 8FY, and, also as a virtual event. 

Anyone wishing to attend should email to nat.secretary@marshals.co.uk, no later than Friday 25^th November 2022, advising in person or virtual in your response. Due to limitations on attendance in person, attendance in person will be allocated in order of request to attend. 
 
Reports from Directors (i.e., Regional Chairs and Special Interest Group Chairs) and Executive Officers will be contained in an Annual Report published on the BMMC website after the AGM and will be available to all members. 
 
Agenda

1/         Attendance and Apologies

2/         Minutes of Previous AGM – To agree the minutes of the 64^th AGM of the BMMC Ltd dated December 5^th, 2021; available to view on the BMMC website https://www.marshals.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2021-12-05-Minutes-of-AGM.pdf

Note: The proposer and seconder must have attended the 64^th AGM

3/         Matters Arising

4/         Chairs Report                 Nadine Lewis

5/         Secretary’s Report        John Edwards

6/         Treasurer’s Report        Steve Woolfe

6.1/      Approval of Accounts – ( https://www.marshals.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/BMMC-Ltd-2021-Accounts-Website-Publication.pdf) 

7/         Election of Officers 

7.1/      In accordance with Club Rules, BMMC Chair Nadine Lewis stands down by rotation and offers herself for re-election as BMMC Chair

8/         Reappointment of Azets as Auditors 

9/         Ordinary resolutions 

Any general resolution put forward for consideration at the annual general meeting must be proposed and seconded by fully paid-up members and lodged with the National Secretary by 5^th November 2022

10/       Special Resolutions 

Any resolution proposing a change to the articles and/or the club rules must be proposed and seconded by fully paid-up members and lodged with the National Secretary by 5^th November 2022 

11/       Annual awards

• BMMC Marshal of the Year              Barrie Williams Trophy
• BMMC New Marshal of the Year      John Nicol Trophy
• BMMC Cadet Marshal of the Year    David Leslie Trophy

12/       Any Other Business 
13/       Close

It is with the deepest sorrow that I have to announce the passing of my fellow Vice-President, George Copeland.  George succumbed to the cancer he had been fighting for many years. He died peacefully with his family around him.

George has been a member of the Marshals Club almost as long as me.  He joined the club in 1970 and quickly took on the role of Newsletter editor for South Mids.  A few years later he assumed the position of Regional Chairman, which he held until 1978 when he retired from the committee to concentrate on his growing business concerns (He was MD of BlowMoCan – probably the first producer of the plastic milk bottles we all use so many of nowadays).  

Less than two years later George was asked to look at the club’s books – which he did and was almost immediately co-opted onto National Council as Treasurer.  To say his Scottish upbringing was seen in abundance is an understatement – he ruled our finances with an iron hand and was the lead in persuading the MSA and others to help fund our training (which, until then, had been financed purely from club funds!)

I always enjoyed Council meetings when George had a pet item he wanted sorting there was no let up until it was sorted – and many were the heated discussions with other members of Council.  

In 1999 I had resigned from Council because I was spending most of my time jetting round the world on business, but it was at a Snetterton race meeting where I was MSA Steward and George was one of the clerks that we spent the whole weekend talking BMRMC business and George ended by persuading me to take on the role of National Chairman.  We then developed an interesting relationship – at times very heated, since it was a Yorkshireman v a Scot, and we both had our ideas as to how the club should develop.

Not long after this the first signs of George’s illness started to make themselves known, but George took his usual stance – “The bugger is not going to beat me!”.  George must have tried almost every drug and treatment available – he was lucky to have a very good relationship with one of the top cancer specialists in the country and was put on to an experimental set of drugs and treatments.  He coped stoically with the sometimes-horrendous effect they had on him – always being positive whenever we spoke.

The marshal’s club owes George an enormous debt of gratitude – without his financial acumen the club would have gone broke many years ago and would probably not exist today.  George had the club at the forefront of his thoughts every time we met and did everything he possibly could to ensure its continuing success.

He was proud of being a member of the club, proud of his involvement in Motorsport at National and International level, and very proud of being made a Vice-President when he retired from National Council.

June and his family have lost a great father, grandfather and Great Great Grandfather.  The club has lost an irreplaceable champion.  There will be a strictly family only funeral, followed by a wake in his memory, where, I hope, a great deal of whisky will be drunk in his honour.

I hope to produce a longer, more detailed tribute in the coming month or so, so if you have any stories, or would like to contribute words in any way, please email me – hobson.c@btinternet.com.

Chris Hobson

BMMC Vice-President.

8/8/2022

The BMMC sends its deepest condolences to June and the close family and friends of George.  He was a stalwart of the club and will be sorely missed.

I can’t quite believe a month has passed since I was invited to the Formula 1 podium at Silverstone to present Sergio Perez with his second place trophy.  It was such an honour to represent the volunteering community in such a way.  I am stunned by the worldwide support this generated and the craziness that has been my social media accounts over the last few weeks!  It has certainly raised the profile of our sport and what we do and hope that this is built on by other regions and championships.  We are all ambassadors for our sport and as such I haven’t yet started charging for selfies and autographs!

Whilst at Silverstone I had the chance to meet Stuart Pringle who contacted me with the following message:

I am very grateful to Nadine for allowing me to say a few words of thanks to the whole marshal community following this year’s Formula 1 British Grand Prix.  I have been prompted to do so as a result of the action by marshals at two exceptionally challenging incidents at the start of the race.  Whilst I recognise that the response was by those present at the scenes, I know also that had these incidents happened elsewhere, we would have seen the same selfless, immediate, professional response.

I am talking about the accident at Abbey that saw the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu ultimately trapped on its side between the back of the Armco and the catch fencing and the track invasion on Wellington Straight by environmental protesters bent on sticking themselves to the asphalt.  The marshals who arrived on the scene dealt with both incidents in a quick thinking and exemplary manner.  Both could have been very serious and yet we had a driver who walked away and protesters who were saved from themselves.  The response to the protesters was so swift that it prevented a far more serious situation and the action was taken with genuine concern for those who had put themselves in harms way and with far less thought given to the risk it placed on those responding.  This tells you all you need to know about British marshals – you are selfless and professional to the core and I thank you all most sincerely.

What followed was another thrilling Grand Prix with a scintillating conclusion to the race.  The record number of attendees were treated to a memorable day and that might have been so very different but for the response of the ladies and gentlemen in orange.  Thank you all.

Best wishes,

Stuart Pringle

Managing Director

Silverstone Circuit

Renewals for 2023 will start in August with Motorsport UK following the launch of the new Pathway.  You have still got time to upgrade under the old scheme but if you don’t then your attendance and training still count.  The registration of marshals with Motorsport UK is not compulsory currently but is a necessity if you wish to upgrade.  And if you wish to be considered for the acquired rights under the new scheme you will need to complete the relevant forms and send to your regional grading officer for submission.

DBS checks are also not currently required by all and where applicable could be requested by clubs / event organisers as necessary.  There is continued recognition of the need to create and maintain high standard in safeguarding matters and we will update accordingly.

Motorsport UK processes are evolving and hopefully one day we will be able to become fully digitalised but we (and they) are not there yet.  Please therefore ensure that any paper copies / submissions are copied or scanned for your records.  I have suggested a tablet (electronic) should be available for all Post Chiefs to submit reports and in the future complete PRC cards etc.  It’s on my wish list at least!

The lights trial is ongoing and further communications should be sent in due course to race marshals – watch this space!  This is an ongoing development and one that will take time to get right but we are being listened to.

It looks like this year lots of us are going to make the most of being able to take a summer holiday after two years of restrictions.  Whilst this will see reduced numbers at events and will put some pressure on those in attendance I hope that you get to take a break and come back refreshed.  There’s a packed calendar of events still to come after championship breaks too and next years’ calendars are already being announced.  So plenty of motorsport to keep you going for a while yet this year.

Krazy Races Wolverhampton is later this month and if anyone is available to help out at this fun event please do let me know ASAP. 

One year after the tragic accident that led to the loss of one of our own, we remember Robert Foote, who was a member of our South West Region.

Robert was a regular at Brands Hatch, Gurston Down and Goodwood and was also a scrutineer – he is missed by all.  

The outpouring of support, assistance and offers of help following Robert’s loss were humbling and a reflection of what it means to the motorsport community when one of our own suffers such a tragic event.

BMMC Chair Nadine Lewis said: “Reflecting on Robert’s sad loss one year on serves to remind us all that motorsport can be dangerous and the anniversary of this tragic accident is a timely reminder to us all that we must always be on our guard to look after one another.

“We’re forever grateful for the generosity and support from the close-knit motorsport community and the way they rallied around in our time of need.”

🧡 RIP Rob Foote

With thanks to the contributions made by MG Car Club Competitors throughout 2021, it was fantastic to be able to make a further donation to the British Motorsports Marshals Club whilst at our recent visit to Cadwell Park.

Chief Marshal Paul Stilling presented BMMC National Treasurer Stephen Woolfe with the donation in the sum of £1,000. A number of Marshals were able to join in the presentation as well as representatives from MG Car Club and all agreed that this would be a helpful contribution.

BMMC Treasurer Stephen Woolfe said: “The money will be used to help provide some of the invaluable training that BMMC delivers to Marshals every single year. MG Car Club Competitors recognise that they simply cannot go racing without the ‘army’ of volunteers that keep them safe during every race.”

The two clubs look forward to continuing to work together and support each other for many years to come.