Female Marshals

[Mackmot]

I was watching a program earlier where I had an idea for a marketing campaign for this particular company. I thought they would be interested in sponsoring the British Female Marshals Club. Then when I searched the internet I realised there wasnt one.

Why dont you have a club, I would have thought there is enough of you to do that??

Anyway, if any of you are interested in setting one up use this thread to get mobilised and then I may be able to help get some funding. I have been interested in finding away of advertising to the 20% of race goers that are women, and this could be the ideal way.

[KayBee]

Are you going to sponsor the British Male Marshal Club as well?

[Mackmot]

not with the company I have in mind

[Dave Brand]

Originally posted by Mackmot
Anyway, if any of you are interested in setting one up use this thread to get mobilised and then I may be able to help get some funding.

Let's hope Kaybee's reply is indicative of the general level of interest......and what she said to me on the subject was most unladylike!

[Tim Falce]

What about a gay marshals club as well?

[Mackmot]

Ok Im sorry, I wont bother putting ideas forward in future, and I deffinately wont put any effort into finding a sponsor to give marshals money to train and get free equipment. I dont see why your not interested in a female marshals club but their is a well respected female drivers club that has a lot of interest.

[Stephen Green]

Mackmot, I don' think anyone meant any disrespect to you or your idea and offer of help.

At the moment the British Motorsport Marshals Club (BMMC) caters for both male and female marshals. With the BRSCC, BARC and BRDC each having their own marshals club (of which many marshals have multiple membership) it doesn't make sense to dilute membership by splitting into sex.

I'm sure that if you were to offer help through overals or other means to female marshals there would be no objection. Non of us would turn down sponsorship providing it was within the bounds of decency etc.

I hope you will take the comments above in the friendly anner in which they were made. If I can be of any further help (I'm a Centre Member for the BMMC SE Region) please drop me a PM and I will try to help.

[alec]

I think what they're getting at is a female club is rather exclusionist (to males for once). The more divisions and 'clubs' the more political it gets, and the harder it is to concentrate on just doing the job well.

[Alan Green]

Mackmot,
Your possible involvement in getting marshals sponsorship would be appreciated, but from the way it's been suggested there is a huge discrimination problem. Find a company to support all marshals (male, female, alien, etc) and try again.

There isn't a difference between male & female marshals (except the obvious ones, granted!), we are all part of a marshalling team, regardless of gender, so marrketing to one group isn't an option.

Alan

[Stephen Green]

Alan lets not say it isn't an option because if Mackmot can get sponsorship for some of our marshals it has to be better than non at all?

[Alan Green]

Agreed, sorry that came out wrong. It is an option, but a full group sponsorship deal would surely be a more satisfactory offer. From the areas I work in, I know that there was a fallout when certain individuals recieved sponsored overalls without anyone else being approached or offered the opportunity. It has to be handled delicately to avoid people getting the huff (especially after just forking out £50 at the start of the season).

[Stephen Green]

Sure I understand that but if through sponsorship we are able to offer some (female) marshals help with overals etc, then I have to say it gets my vote.

[Dutch chap]

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Alan lets not say it isn't an option because if Mackmot can get sponsorship for some of our marshals it has to be better than non at all?
__________________
The Priest Catcher

And put them on the receiving end of ‘you only got this overalls/cap/whatever for free because you’re a woman’ remarks? I don’t think any of the female marshals would want to be in that position.

The only thing that comes to my mind is that the girls suffer more from the lack of decent toilet facilities then the boys. If some company would want to sponsor mobile toilets the girls would get some more benefit from it, but we would all have some benefit. If that is done under the name ‘it’s for the female marshals’ it’s fine with me. Just hope this would not lead to the situation that a male marshal gets told ‘you can’t use that, it’s ours’.

Anyhow, no reason to start a separate club I think. I never had the idea that a waved yellow looks different pending on the sex of the marshal who’s waving it.

[Stuart Hill]

Originally posted by Mackmot
Ok Im sorry, I wont bother putting ideas forward in future, and I deffinately wont put any effort into finding a sponsor to give marshals money to train and get free equipment. I dont see why your not interested in a female marshals club but their is a well respected female drivers club that has a lot of interest.

While I'm all for anything that promotes marshalling and/or aids marshals and their costs, I'm not sure if we need a seperate branch of the BMMC. Here is a brief summary of my marshalling wife's comments:

Don't even think of me as a "dolly-bird"!!!
I'm a Marshal who happens to be female.

I think that it all depends on what your potential sponsor would want for their money. If they are thinking about glamorous females in/out of sexy orange outfits then forget it !!!!! but;

if they would be able to highlight the fact that the general public's perception of women in motorsport (which is limited to the "rent-a-sticks" that we all see at the Autosport show or the F1 grid girls etc) is so far from the truth then there might be something useful to be gained.

Women are in fact becoming increasingly involved "at-the-sharp-end" ie Incident/Rescue as well as their long-held duties such as Timekeeping/Race Control etc. (not to mention the Pits, just in case Sheila M reads this!! )

So I think the answer to your original post is that Yes, under the right conditions, there would be room to welcome a sponsor of females marshals but, and this is the big point, they, IMHO, would HAVE to be shown as Marshals first and Women second.

I can only speak on behalf of MrsCrazyStu and myself and would welcome any constructive comments from other female marshals.

[Dutch chap]

on the sex of the marshal

that should be 'gender'I think (am I making a fool of myself again?)

[Stuart Hill]

Originally posted by Dutch chap
that should be 'gender'I think (am I making a fool of myself again?)

No you're not! you probably use better English than wot we do anyway !!

[Dutch chap]

No you're not! you probably use better English than wot we do anyway !!

I noticed WOT you mean by that!

[Stuart Hill]

The other thing to remember is that if the "Package" put together to aid female marshals here in the Uk (whatever form that might take) actually worked then...... maybe other companies could be interested in the rest of us?

It all depends on just what this potential sponsor wants in return for their money because don't forget, they are not about to throw money at us, they are going to want to see a return.

[Mackmot]

Would a womens club or wing of the BMMC not attract more women into the sport. From the outside it is often viewed as a mens sport. Surely by having a womens club new members might feel more comfortable joining because they will know there are other women there.

[Dutch chap]

It all depends on just what this potential sponsor wants in return for their money because don't forget, they are not about to throw money at us, they are going to want to see a return.

The Dutch ladies hockey team were on a calender a couple of years ago, dressed in, err, let’s say it was very nice weather at the moment and, in order of not having to do all the washing and ironing afterwards….

Just a thought

[Mackmot]

I would see the return coming from the untapped market of the female spectators. There thousands every year that dont have any advertising aimed at them. Ive spent the last few months thinking about this market, unfortunately there are not that many female drivers in the high exposure events. Whereas marshals are there at every event,including the grand prix, the bike grand prix, and the superbikes

[Dutch chap]

Would a womens club or wing of the BMMC not attract more women into the sport. From the outside it is often viewed as a mens sport. Surely by having a womens club new members might feel more comfortable joining because they will know there are other women there.

I’m sure that highlighting the fact that women are welcome as well, and are treated the same way as men, and have the same .. let’s call it job opportunities, will help bringing in more women.


This thought came just came up: about 20 years ago or so an aged fellow marshal at Zandvoort, looking at a girl that was on post with us, moaned and said: ‘I remember the days when we talked about women, now we’re talking to them’. Classic!

[Jo Hill]

Originally posted by Mackmot
Would a womens club or wing of the BMMC not attract more women into the sport. From the outside it is often viewed as a mens sport. Surely by having a womens club new members might feel more comfortable joining because they will know there are other women there.

Anything that would promote the fact that women are as involved as men in motorsport has my total support providing it does not show us in the "grid girlie" mentality. I personally feel there would be no benefit in a separate arm of the BMMC.
As a female marshal, I do not want to be treated differently from my male compatriots as our duties "on-the-bank" are the same. Therefore, a separate branch/club would be doing just that as well as possibly alienating some male marshals.

[Stuart Hill]

Originally posted by Dutch chap
This thought came just came up: about 20 years ago or so an aged fellow marshal at Zandvoort, looking at a girl that was on post with us, moaned and said: ‘I remember the days when we talked about women, now we’re talking to them’. Classic!

I think I've marshalled with him !!!!

[Dutch chap]

I think I've marshalled with him !!!!

Just a question: what subject(s) were you discussing?