INTRODUCTION

Motorsport is an exciting sport and anyone can participate!
If you want to be more involved than just as a spectator, the Canterbury Car Club are eager to have people involved in the organising and running of events.
Volunteer officials are essential to any event, and there can be as much sense of achievement at being part of a successful event organisation team as there can be from being in the actual winner’s team.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer at the Canterbury Car Club, please email us at volunteer@canterburycarclub.co.nz Ph. 03 349 6003 or use this basic contact form to submit some info: https://form.jotform.com/220606714306044

Volunteer rewards scheme – While helping out at events is a voluntary role, to thank our awesome helpers for their time we do have a a rewards system where you can gain points to exchange for CCC/Ruapuna merchandise.

The following are just some examples of how you and your family can get involved in race events:

CLUB/EVENT MANAGEMENT
Most clubs and events are run with a business-like approach, so if you have secretarial, organising, marketing, numeracy or literary skills then this may be your niche.

RACE CONTROL
As a Clerk of the Course, or assistant in the control tower, you manage the competitors and volunteers throughout the event.

FLAG MARSHALS
If you’re looking for close to the action excitement, then become part of a team of marshals.
As a flag marshal you will be responsible for relaying important messages to the race car drivers. You are also acting as a spotter for anything important which may need to be relayed to race control.

GRID/PIT MARSHALS
Grid marshals have the responsibility of controlling the movement and location of vehicles within the pit area. Grid spaces and other important messages can also be relayed through here.

TIMEKEEPERS
Becoming a timekeeper makes you responsible for timing each competitor correctly over the course and recording their time. Electronic computer timing or manual stopwatch timing can be used at events depending on the requirements.
At race circuits lap scorers check off completed race laps for each competitor, and handicappers assess the starting order and grid positions based on times from previous races.

RESCUE/FIRE MARSHALS
This is an exciting and specialised activity for reasonably fit volunteers. You are the first response team when a car spins/crashes or stops on track. Rescue Marshals work and train as a team, and will assist ambulance officers when called to do so.
Crews are also responsible for extinguishing fires and assisting with crash recovery.

VEHICLE RECOVERY
Recovery volunteers are responsible for returning stricken vehicles to the pits after breakdown/incident.

SCRUTINEERS
If you are interested in all things technical and mechanical, then maybe you would like to become a Scrutineer.
Scrutineers are required to check competing vehicles, and the safety equipment of the driver prior to an vent to ensure mechanical integrity, safety and compliance with the event regulations. Training courses are available to gain the appropriate knowledge and experience in the regulations of the sport. Un-trained volunteers with good mechanical knowledge may assist in this area too.

TRACK MAINTENANCE
Occasionally things don’t go quite to plan and repairs are needed to get the track back into a race condition. Track maintenance can be called on for jobs like patching up tyre walls or assisting with other cleanups.

CLUBSPORT EVENTS
Eg Motorkhana, Circuit Sprints.
Helpers of various roles are always useful at other events too. Organising entry level events, timekeeping, spotters etc are needed to help all kinds of events run.

Minimum ages do apply for these roles, varying depending on the situation.

Many of these volunteer roles can be done with little or no experience, pre event or on the job training is given to volunteers.
Some roles also have licences or additional training available through Motorsport NZ.

The Motorsport NZ website also has a lot of information about the various roles, training, licences etc:
https://motorsport.org.nz/officials/