Marshalling
Be part of the action!
Are you interested in motorsport and would you like to be involved in the sport without necessarily becoming a competitor? Have you considered becoming a Motorsport Marshal? You don’t need any special skills or qualifications to start, just some common sense.
Motorsport is more diverse and accessible than you might imagine, with many different ways to get involved behind the scenes as well as behind the wheel.
Marshals are there to make sure that events are run safely and effectively. Duties range from displaying flag signals and clearing debris to providing communication cover as well as running a start, finish line or assembly area.
The Scottish Motorsport Marshals Club is the only Club in Scotland that is dedicated to marshalling in all four-wheel motorsport disciplines.
The disciplines that SMMC marshals are usually involved in are Rallying, Racing, Hill Climbing and Sprinting. Other disciplines we follow include Autocross, Karting, Autotests and Hill Rallying.
Marshalling at motorsport meetings allows you to participate in this exciting and challenging sport by playing a vital role to ensure the safe and effective running of the many motorsport events that take place every year.
By the very nature of the sport many events take place at non-permanent locations throughout Scotland. This is particularly true in the world of Rallying. Our varied and challenging topography is loved by competitors everywhere and dozens of well-known and long established rallies take place in and over our Scottish countryside during the year. There are many reputable local car clubs running these events and marshals are always in demand. Autocross, Hill Rallies and Autotests also tend to take place at non-permanent facilities and again there is always a need for marshals at these meetings.
Race, Sprint, Hill Climb and Karting events in the main tend to take place at permanent venues. In Scotland. Race meetings are run at Knockhill circuit in Fife and many of our members also travel to circuits south of the border to attend events there. Croft outside Darlington, Oulton Park near Chester and Silverstone in Northamptonshire are amongst the circuits regularly visited by Scottish Marshals, as are Kirkistown and Bishop’s Court in Northern Ireland.
Permanent facilities at places such as Forrestburn in Lanarkshire, Doune in Perthshire, Bo’ness in West Lothian and Fintray in Aberdeenshire see regular Hill Climbs being run there and licenced Kart race meetings take place at circuits at Larkhall south of Glasgow, Crail in Fife, Boyndie in Banffshire and Golspie in Sutherland. Sprints also take place at many of these permanent venues and at dedicated facilities such as Kames in Ayrshire and Alford in Aberdeenshire.
The Scottish Motor Racing Club (SMRC) runs most race meetings in Scotland. In addition, both the British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) and the British Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC) run high profile meetings at Knockhill.
A large number of SMMC members marshal at race meetings in Scotland - most of these meetings count for SMMC attendance purposes.
Increasingly SMMC members are travelling further afield to race meetings - Croft is becoming a popular destination and there are always SMMC members at Silverstone for the Grand Prix.
"Speed" events are hillclimbs and sprints.
For many years the SMMC has been the main source of marshals for the Lothian Car Club's hillclimbs at Doune with the two National championship meetings being the highlight of the season for many.
SMMC normally provides marshals for every round of the Scottish Sprint and Hillclimb championships.
We email our members with information about each round of these championships and also publicise the dates of rounds where our members are required in our Calendar.
SMMC concentrates on providing safety radio network and rescue services on rallies, but marshalling is still important.
The "premier" rallies on which the Club has run stages recently include the Intercontinental Rally Challenge Rally of Scotland and the Mull Rally.
How to get involved
For any event to take place, be it a small club sprint or a grand prix, a dedicated army of marshals is required. As a volunteer marshal, you'll get the best seat in the house (apart from the drivers obviously).
Motorsport is dependent on volunteers, and without the minimum number of marshals required for a meeting the event simply cannot take place. That is the worst case scenario, and in reality it rarely happens due to the unrivalled enthusiasm and commitment of countless individuals with an amazing variety of background and experience.
Marshals carry out a wide range of duties on and off the track: observer, flag marshal, course marshal, incident marshal, spectator marshal, paddock marshal, pit marshal, startline marshal, timing marshal, radio marshal and rescue unit crew; it goes without saying that marshals really do save lives. And for those who prefer not to brave the elements, there are also plenty of administrative duties, usually with a roof provided.
There are duties to suit everyone, almost irrespective of age, gender or disability and you'll make many friends and enjoy a great sense of achievement.
We strongly encourage all members to register with Motorsport UK, as this is the best way to ensure that you receive the proper training for your role regardless of the discipline. You will need to undertake an online, multi-discipline module to become a Registered Marshal.
As a Registered Marshal, you can attend any discipline of the sport to assist the marshalling team - but you must inform the organising club if you are just starting out on your marshalling journey or are new to the discipline – they will then ensure that you are supported by someone with the appropriate experience.
If you have not previously undertaken the Rally Marshal Accreditation Course (which is available on the Motorsport UK Learning Hub), you must do so before being permitted to marshal unsupervised on a Stage Rally and you will be required to show evidence to confirm that you have met this requirement, otherwise the organiser will need to place you with someone that has done the course.
Motorsport UK's online training and accreditation scheme for rally marshals is part of the RallyFuture campaign to further enhance safety on UK stage rallies. Its purpose is to ensure that all rally marshals have a common understanding of their roles and responsibilities, the management of spectators and how to handle an incident.
Minimum Requirements
In general terms, there are none. Volunteers are welcome at any age, although the duties of young people may be limited in certain situations. Children aged between 11 and 16 years old can join as a Cadet Marshal. Cadet marshals must be accompanied at all times and can undertake appropriate duties for their age and type of event. Young people aged 16 to 18 years old can progress from a Cadet Marshal to a Trainee Marshal and may perform marshal duties relevant to their grade designation and level of experience.
All motorsport is run by teams of volunteer marshals, officials and safety crews, and having a disability doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t perform one of these roles. Motorsport offers equal opportunities at all levels. If you have a disability, still speak to us, we can see what can be done to accommodate you so that you can be involved in motorsport. We would be very happy to hear from you.
If you already have special skills – technical, mechanical, rescue, vehicle recovery, medical, first aid or administration – you may wish to use them as a volunteer with us.
Find out more about how to get involved.
Get in touch
- Marshalling Co-ordinator: Nick Clarke
Life as a rally marshal...
This short video sees presenters Jacqueline Campbell and Rory Bryant get a taste for life as a rally marshal as they follow the marshalling teams around the 2015 Granite City Rally.
Useful websites
Doune Hillclimb
The Doune Speed Hillclimb Course is recognised as one of the sports premier venues in Britain and hosts two rounds of the British Speed Hillclimb Championship and four rounds of the Scottish Hill Climb Championship annually.
The Doune Hillclimb is organised by the Lothian Car Club, and SMMC have been the main source of marshals since we were formed in 1973.
