How can I help?
Northwest Region's
races, like those organized by all the other Regions in SCCA, are a surprisingly
major undertaking... it requires the efforts of literally dozens of people,
working up front and behind the scenes, for the better part of the year, to make
even a modest Regional racing schedule happen. Happily, those wanting to lend a
hand are welcomed with open arms, and are rewarded with adventure, camaraderie,
and friendship. In addition to races held locally, Northwest Region's race
officials (all volunteers
are called officials in SCCA) help staff major professional events throughout the U.S. and Canada,
and some have even traveled to Formula One races in Australia and Europe! And if
you ever thought you might like to give racing a try, working races can give you
valuable insights into driving, preparation, and the race tracks themselves.
There are lots of jobs to do-- one of these might be for you:
The Course Marshals main responsibility is the distribution of
corner equipment and the maintenance of corner equipment, including fire
extinguishing equipment between events. In addition the Course Marshals may
assist in clearing the track of disabled and stopped vehicles. Some of these
cars may have a mechanical problem or they may simply have run out of gas and
they need to be towed back to their paddock area. Course Marshals may
also assist in clean-up of the track during and after events in the event of
fluid spills or other situations that may leave debris on the track surface.
For more information on this Specialty contact Tom Masterson.
Their
main job is to respond to incidents on the track where the corner workers need
assistance. The activities include fire
fighting, emergency medical assessment and extrication of trapped or injured
drivers. Emergency coordinates the retrieval of broken racecars off the
track in a safe manner. Sometimes the cars
only need to be flat towed and other times they need to be lifted off of tire walls or maybe even turned right side up.
Emergency staff are trained to use the "Jaws of Life" and other driver
extracting equipment. This is why firefighters and emergency medical technicians
fit into this job perfectly, since they already know the ropes of extricating
people from wrecked cars.
For more information on this specialty please contact
Northwest Region Chief:
Kevin Needham
Standing on every corner of
every race track around the world are the 'people in
white'. This specialty, commonly referred to as "corner workers", is actually
made up of three subspecialties. Flagging, Communications, and Safety. The Flagging and
Communications worker may actually participate in all three areas throughout a given day
without ever leaving his or her station. Flaggers relay information to the drivers on
course with a variety of different flags. Communicators use radios at each corner to call
race control and advise them of any changes that will affect the drivers on the course.
The third part of this specialty is Safety. Corner workers assigned to Safety go to an
incident scene to provide a first response and communicate back to the corner what stopped
cars may need in the way of assistance. For more
information on this specialty please contact: Flagging
& Communications Chief
Mike Evans.
Your first contacts at any event are
the smiling workers of Registration. Prior to the weekend, we process the
competitors’ entries in preparation for the Driver’s and Crew’s arrival, assign
car numbers and race groups. At the track they make
sure you have the proper credentials (photo ID., license)
and have signed the waiver. While Registrars are
usually most busy in the morning when they first open, they do not stay open all
day long, so there is some time during the day to do other things, watch racing,
help other Specialties or just relax. For more information on
this Specialty please contact Northwest Region Co-Chiefs:
Sherri Masterson.
If
you think the race track sometimes gets crowded, imagine what it is like where
the cars park when they are not
racing. Paddock is the group that is responsible for ensuring the safe and
speedy passage of the race cars to the grid prior to their event, and from
the track back to their paddock areas. You could say that these are the
folks who direct traffic-- For more information on this
Specialty contact
Ken Jones.
Pit Marshals are responsible for enforcing
rules of conduct as per the GCR, the purpose of which is the safety of ALL
personnel in the Pit area. During the racing event, the PM's
are there to ensure entry to and exit from the Pit area of competition cars in a
safe manner and to oversee the safety of car crews. To
sum up: traffic control, crew control and safety supervision.
For more information on this Specialty contact
Northwest Region Chief:
Ray
Mortensen
Pre-grid's job is to make sure everyone is lined up in the proper order before
they enter the track for
qualifying and racing. This is where you get to meet race drivers up close and
personal.
It's also important that the driver is checked
for safety gear and the car is safe to go out on course. This includes checking
for items left in the car, hood pins latched and the driver
in his safety equipment and seatbelts fastened.
The crews are an important part of the specialty too. Probably about 50%
of the drivers have crew people to take care of them. Even though there may be
crew members present, it is still the job of the grid workers to double check
the driver. The driver has his session on the mind and may forget to put on
gloves or latch the hood down. Grid is probably the best specialty at the track.
Not only do you get to be with all the great cars, you do get
to know the drivers, crew and families. For more information on this Specialty
contact Northwest Region Chief:
Scott Sesin
Race Control covers smaller subspecialties. It is a "catch all" specialty covering those people that assist in various tasks that are not in a
"hot" area of the track. As an example, the track announcer falls
into this category as well as the people who plan the "after hours" activities
such as dinners and parties, Drivers Services, Trophies and Radio Tech are also in this specialty.
These are all people needed to make a successful event.
For more information on this
Specialty contact
Ken Jones.
There are two primary functions of tech. The first entails a complete visual inspection
of all the safety equipment. This includes driver suits,
helmets,seat belts, shoulder belts, roll cage, fire
system, and general integrity and race worthiness of the car. The second function is to
impound cars at the end of a race to determine their legality with respect to the General
Competition Rules and the specifications for their class.
For more information on this specialty contact Northwest
Region Chief: Tom Masterson.
Racing noise may be music to a fans ears, but to the nearby landowner it may not be so
pleasant. The sound output of the cars is recorded during practice, qualifying and the
race to ensure compliance with a set level, usually 103 decibels. These readings
are logged by car number and class every lap when the car is clear of traffic
that could interfere with the reading. Weather readings, Temperature, Humidity,
Wind Speed and Direction, Barometric Pressure and Weather condition are also
recorded regularly. Regular sound level meter calibrations are checked and
recorded. Cars that exceed the maximum allowable level are reported to the
operating Steward so that appropriate action can be taken to correct the problem
and allow the car to return to the track. Cars that are close to the maximum
level are advised so they may be adjusted, so that weather condition changes do
not cause the sound level to exceed the maximum allowed level.
This Specialty is looking for new members For more information on this
specialty please contact Northwest Region Chief:
Kelly McCloskey
The
Starter communicates the Chief Steward's instructions to the drivers through a
series of colored flags, beginning with the green flag to start the race. The
Starter also uses other flags, including : blue, black, red, yellow, white, and
of course, the flag every leading driver eagerly awaits, the checkered flag!
For more information on this
Specialty please contact
Gerry Gordon.
The Stewards are normally long term members of the club, and are very experienced
officials. They are usually ex-drivers, and are responsible for the general conduct of a
racing event in accordance with the "General Competition Rules". Stewards are
the executive decision makers at an event, and have broad powers to assure the safety of
an event and the legality of the race cars. Stewards hear and decide the outcome of
protests, and may impose penalties as a result. Like other workers and officials, stewards
have license grades that depend on their level of experience. The Chief Steward is the
senior official at a race.
For more information on this specialty please
contact:
Bob Grass.
Want to
have the best viewing seat on the course, stay out of the weather and have first
hand knowledge of whose who and whose winning, then, Timing and Scoring is for
you There is a special friendship among those in Timing and Scoring as they all
work toward that common goal - to make a race a race. T&S
times the cars during qualifying sessions, and
track the running order during races. There are many jobs available in Timing &
Scoring. For more information on this Specialty please contact Timing & Scoring
Chief
Sherri Masterson
As you can see, there's lots to do, and your help would be appreciated.
There are many other jobs available where assistance is
needed like trophies, points keepers, newsletter, marketing and more.
Find out who to contact
for all the above jobs and more!
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