MSA Rally Media Accreditation

[gary396]

Not sure if this should go here or in the Rallying forum but I've just noticed this (circulated via Croft Circuit re an upcoming rally). New rally media accreditation process from the MSA - apologies if already known or circulated but it's the first time I've seen it:

https://www.msauk.org/assets/msarall...tation2016.pdf

Note the requirement for a licence at £60pa plus £150 deposit for a tabard.

I wonder if something similar will come out for circuit races?

[andrewc]

The MSA did run a media accreditation scheme for many years until they stopped it about 3 years ago.

You still had to apply to each event you wanted to cover, but it meant that some of the hoops you have to jump through could be considered pre-jumped each time.

[mark_l]

How can you complete a risk assessment without first having seen the risks (i.e. the individual stages)?

[EastonNeston]

Do a 'generic' one based on your experience from other events & venues!

Many risks are the same from event to event.

[grantp]

An interesting form filling exercise. With a few rally related exceptions it reads just like all of the others I have seen over the years - including the general MSA version that was abandoned 3 years ago.

The question is .... do the rally organisers have to insist on MSA registration before issuing media accreditation or do they still retain some local autonomy?

A second question would be "How much additional benefit would be obtained by accreditation compared with what is available to normal spectators?

Or, to put it another way, are "normal" spectators going to be subject to greater location access controls than has previously been the case? And if so, how is that going to be policed?

I can see how it would be quite easily possible for single venue events. So presumably we will see many more of those and far fewer forest or open road based events?

Or maybe just fewer events?

How about remote controlled cars on eRallies with live 4k video streams so people can watch at home on their tablets? Hardly any risk to life and very "green".

Actually, why not just licence every event as a video game and run it that way? Sell a media licence to make screen grabs and publish them.

[mark_l]

As I read it,

You can still apply to each organising club for accreditation, although this limits you to public spectator pens on the stages, so no real benefits there.

If you have MSA level 2 accreditation then you are allowed out of the spectator pens and are allowed to roam a bit more around the stage.

I expect spectators will be held in pens called "Viewing Areas" and not allowed to roam. Like to see this tried in somewhere like Kielder.

I suppose it is the price to be paid to save rallying before it gets strangled in red tape and health and safety nonsense.

[mark_l]

Originally Posted by grantp

How about remote controlled cars on eRallies with live 4k video streams so people can watch at home on their tablets? Hardly any risk to life and very "green".

Actually, why not just licence every event as a video game and run it that way? Sell a media licence to make screen grabs and publish them.

Tablets need electricity to be charged up, that creates greenhouse gases, so not very green. The risk to life is huge, eye strain, sprained fingers from jabbing at the tablet when the stream buffers, not to mention the risk of falling asleep watching something so boring and then standing on the tablet, that has fallen on to the floor, when you wake up.