Club Gossip

Posted on in News

BMMC Chair 
As per the club update issued on 11th March 2024 Nadine Lewis has resigned as National Chair due to personal reasons.
 
As such the club is recruiting for a new National Chair. The role description for the National Chair role can be found here https://bit.ly/3IAImP6 . The Directors would like to thank Nadine for all the hard work she has done on behalf of our members in raising the profile of marshalling, and wish her every success in the future.
 
Should any member wish to stand for election to the role of National Chair please contact  nat.secretary@marshals.co.uk by 30th April at 5 pm.
 
 
National Training Officer 
Alan Page has been appointed as the new BMMC National Training Coordinator (NTC) and will assume his post as a member of the National Council with immediate effect.
 
Alan brings a wealth of experience to the role as a professional educator running his own training consultancy and delivery company. He has been involved in the design and delivery of training courses since 2002. 
 
Alan has been delivering motorsport training since 2007 when he first gained his Training Instructor licence, then following that became an International Trainer, delivering both Marshals and Trainer courses in several different countries under the FIA’s direction.
 
Please contact Alan at nat.training@marshals.co.uk
 
Around the regions / Rally 
As we are at the beginning of the season, little to report from the regions re circuit racing. Motorsport UK have amended the regulations re signals. Please refer to the Marshals Bulletin March 2024 for further information , with a video for review https://bit.ly/49hUorq
 
NOTE: Cadwell Park will become the latest venue to install the light panels this year.
 
In Rally, the Jimmy McRae Award was presented at Autosport International to Pheebe Fletcher. BRMC are currently working on three recruitment events, the Historic Rally Festival, Rali Ceredigion (ERC) and Castle Combe Rally Day. 
 
A practical training day is planned for the 21st April at The Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells. This event will be funded by the British Motorsport Trust and run with the cooperation of the Welsh Association. On-line training continues to be available for rally training 
 
Recruitment 
Autosport show 2024 -Our show exhibition stand was attended on all four days with club members from track and rally disciplines. Their help in setting up and manning the stand is to be commended. 
 
We had a lot of interest and have some great opportunities to recruit new members from other motorsport related clubs. The Autosport show also provided a great networking opportunity too. 
 
Marshal recruitment – Donington We are pleased to announce that to support recruitment at Donington, MSV have confirmed that we will have a permanent base exclusively for BMMC recruitment and taster day activities. We hope to have occupation in early April with a plan to host our first taster day of the season and recruitment event the following weekend.
 
Membership and Grading 
2024 membership packs are currently being issued in batches and should be with everyone within the next week.

The new online application form is working well, with all applicants having completed the Motorsports UK training before joining the club. 
 
We have 94 new adult members, 14 Students and 3 cadets who have joined since December 
The new updated BMMC membership database has gone live, providing additional security for membership data. 
 
Congratulations to the following members who have upgraded recently:
 
Nigel McCutcheon, Michael Plant, Emily Mansfield, Rebecca Kennedy , Will Brindley, Patrick Lambe, Matt Froud, Dan Lynn, Malcom Thompson, Bryony Sherlow, John Scott and Christopher Trace. 
 
Regalia
The club merchandise eShop was launched at the end of November 2023 and has been received well by the members. Visit here https://bit.ly/3xnjc40 
 
New regional patches and patches supporting our chosen charity Mission Motorsport are now available through your Regional Regalia Officers 
 
Formula E 
The London E-Prix is a unique event which sees the pioneering all-electric single seaters tackle a tight circuit with an indoor/outdoor layout around the Docklands conference centre. Applications for volunteer marshals for the 2024 race are now open – if you’re interested in joining the team, please click on the link to register: https://www.msvr.co.uk/car/formula-e-london-marshal

Insurance and Marshalling Abroad 
As it is the start of the racing season, a quick reminder of our insurances.
Marshalling in the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

  1. You need to be a member of BMMC to be eligible for cover.
  2. You need to volunteer either through the BMMC volunteering site or, if that deadline has passed, directly with the organising Club or Chief Marshal. 
  3. Our brokers have advised us that as long as you are a member of BMMC, then you are covered and therefore no need to tick the “For Insurance Purposes Only” button.
  4. Your cover will start when you leave your house to attend and finish when you have returned home. If you are staying overnight then cover extends to this period as well.
  5. You need to sign on as proof of your attendance (although with electronic sign on prior to a meeting, proof of attendance will be the post allocation sheets etc)
  6. If the meeting is mixed 2 wheel and 4 wheel ( ie Goodwood), then you need to check if the meeting is being held under two Permits – MSUK for 4 wheel and ACU (Auto Cycle Union) for 2 wheel – as Goodwood is. 
  7. In that case you need to sign on with both MSUK and ACU, therefore the overall Organising Club should have two sheets for you to sign (or two electronic ones).

Marshalling Overseas.

  1. It is advisable for overseas marshalling to take out Emergency Repatriation Insurance (EMR) to cover your repatriation should the need arise. The cost of this is £20 and covers as many trips in the calendar year. 
  2. You will need to email me (nat.treasurer@marshals.co.uk) with your name and address as per your passport, your BMMC membership number, the date of your first trip overseas and proof of payment (Our bookkeeper will do this part).
  3. Our account is held at HSBC –Account 71061968: Sort Code 40-39-11: Name: British Motorsport Marshals Club.

There is a fuller explanation on our web site athttps://www.marshals.co.uk/marshalling/bmmc-personal-accident-insurance/and https://www.marshals.co.uk/marshalling/repatriation-insurance/

BMMC Annual Accounts to 31st December 2023.
The following is a brief precis of our results and a fuller narrative can be found on our web site here https://bit.ly/3ITKZfb

Income –

  • Membership further increased in 2023 from £46,620 to £50,950. 
  • Contributions from BMT – the organisation that funds our training costs – matched our expenditure on training.
  • Although we retained all of our marshals’ clothing sponsors, the Club still contributed £3,720 to ensure that the standard overalls/wet weather clothing was fully subsidised. 
  • Our income from Sprints was much lower in 2023 probably due to the economic climate.

Expenditure –

  • Although many costs increased substantially in 2023 (Insurance costs rose by 10% despite going out to the market), we did make savings on Postage, Stationery, and Council expenses.  
  • Regional Expenses increased significantly due to the Fun Cup challenge, which cost the Club over £1,800.

The net result of the above was a surplus of £6,160 for the year.

This surplus will be used in 2024 to ensure that we can still fully subsidise your clothing ( we have lost a couple of sponsors for 2024 but Prodrive have agreed to contribute to our clothing costs) and to offer marshals with over 40 years’ service  life membership.
 
Please provide any feedback on the BMMC monthly blog to nat.secretary@marshals.co.uk
 
John Edwards 
National Secretary 
07800 587391