Grading etc?

[Stuart Hill]

Can anyone please explain what happens to your grading if you are no longer a member of the BMMC? We joined BARC this year as we are going to do a lot their meetings and felt that the BMMC had lost their way. We are wondering what happens about all the years that we had spent earning our grades?
Any info would be much appreciated.
Thx

[manicmarshal]

I would expect that as you register with Barc at whatever grade you are now thats where you will stay. They wont expect you to start all over again. I have never been a member of BMMC and have my grading through Barc. No real problem as far as I can see.

[theracegypsy]

Stu, you contact BARC Marshal's secretary, |Karen Coddington, kcoddington@barc.net and tell her you want BARC to be your lead club. She will then put your MSA registration on the BARC list, and either you or her tell the MSA. You continue on the same grade, and any upgrade signatures you have are still valid. Provided any further signatures are from MSA registered Examining Observers it does not matter which club they are members of ( unlike the Marshal's club who will only accept upgrade signatures by their own members.

[Stuart Hill]

thx for that guys, will take of it tomorrow.
Cheers

[Mark Mitchell]

I'm pretty fed up with the BMMC as well. I have just been given free membership to the BRSCC (It's how the NW Region reward their marshals for doing all their meetings).
I reckon that if I fill in all the stamps on the marshals card they give you, that will then entitle me to 50% off next years membership renewal(If I have to pay next year) which will be around £15....cheaper than the BMMC. Can't see the point of being a member of more than one club really.

[sss]

why should a volunteer pay to do a voluntary job? marshals should be given free membership for any club they marshal with

[Mark Mitchell]

Because they keep bleating on about the cost of insuring us!

[DarrellB]

BARC membership is also free provided you have obtained sufficient stamps during the year.
The advantage of the BMMC insurance is that it provides cover from the time you leave home.
Membership fees are needed to offset some of the cost of providing training considering the BMMC has developed most of the standard training materials which MSA trainers use.

[Peter Scillitoe]

Originally posted by DarrellB
The advantage of the BMMC insurance is that it provides cover from the time you leave home.

My understanding is that the MSA insurance also now does this. Worth checking the position with your club. I am sure that BARC announced this a few years ago. If so, that takes away perhaps the only remaining reason for be a member of the BMMC

[Tony_J]

I really dont see a point in being a member of a motor club. At one time I belong to a good few of the popular ones. Now only the BMMC. The other clubs are there essentially for racing members, the marshal element is just an add on.
The BMMC may have temporarily lost its way but then again so have many marshals

[sss]

bmcrc, provide it all free for marshals, training, handle the licencing and provide extra insurance for the marshals including travelling to & fro. now if they can do it just doing club meeting why cant the others, i have my opinion as to why but thats another story

[Marshal]

I agree with Tony, BMMC are the only Marshals Clubin the UK - for all their faults I like to have an organisation which is independant of race organisers representing me.

[Mark Mitchell]

Up north way (Cheshire, Lancs, merseyside etc) the BMMC/BRSCC/BARC are all pretty much the same entity. However, you are more likely to get answers to your questions or some sort of response to a particular gripe or requisition from the Racing Clubs than the Marshals Club. I'm not saying this is the same in other parts of the Country, but that's how I feel about my region!

[Tony_J]

Sadly its the racing clubs that due to finacial pressures etc put on the protracted race meeting that so many of forum members complain of. There are a lot of the 'I'm not going to xxx circuit again because of the late nights. Its a bit difficult to boycott a particular circuit/event when its your racing club that causes the problem. They always come back full of apologies and excuses but at the end of the day it comes down to £££.

[JimW]

Well no one has to join any club to go marshalling. With marshals being in short supply you will be welcomed almost anywhere. With lists like this and the volunteering and dates information available at http://www.marshals.org.uk/ you can do what you want (with a very few popular exceptions limited to members and with a bit of experience and a decent reputation, you can get in there).

Joining the club of your choice is optional and depends on what you are looking for.

<End of objective bit, personal views start here>

But if you want to contribute to marshalling and work in a community of like minded people, then join the Marshals club. You are not being charged the modest sub to go marshalling but to support the things the club does.

Insurance
Training
Newsletter
Representation
Community
Grading (the club developed the scheme now adopted by the MSA)
and Recruitment of more marshals.

Regards

Jim

[Mark Mitchell]

Jim, I can't speak for the region of the BMMC that you're in charge of, but in mine I think it's on the slippery slope in a downwards fashion!

Training - Ok I suppose - the Seminars were better, however due to the wonderful new Telephone Volunteering method we adopted this year, meant that lots of names were deleted and many didn't get instructions etc for the training days.
Newsletter - The National Newsletter is not quite up to standard and regionally.....!!!! We get a **** poor photocopied bit of A4 paper occasionally with very little content. Usually the content is well out of date by the time it's arrived on the doormat! I've seen your regional newsletter and it's 100% better than ours!

Personal views you understand from a disillusioned member of a Northerly Region of the Club. Considering transferring back to my original, more "Centrally Located" region!

[Richard Sneader]

Hi Observer,
I do noy know your position in your region of the BMMC but in the South East it is Healthy.
Have you spoken to your region committee about issues like newsletters etc or even so do you have the time to do it.
It is hard and we can never please everyone but unless people tell us what they think direct then we cant attempt to put things right.
I get the SE newsletter out every 2 months and I advertise in it every time for people to contrubute to help me make it as interesting as I can get it. Only the odd occasion this happens so it does become difficult to fill a newsletter. If you are not happy with the National magazine then approach them and tell them your thoughts.
Sorry if this sounds negative and bulshy but we need to be told what is going wrong to fix it.
Regards,
Richard Sneader.