"Volunteers are not paid, not because they are worthless but because they are priceless." - Anonymous

Race workers are the life blood of race tracks, marque clubs, any and all who need to use a race track. At SCCA-sanctioned events, workers are required to be SCCA licensed. Most workers at other professional race venues have come from the SCCA worker ranks. The Northeast Division has opportunities for many such venues whether for amateur, professional, or special event racing.

Worker specialties come in many sizes and flavors. Below you will find the description and divisional administrator contact information for the many specialties the SCCA offers. If one of the following specialties looks interesting to you contact the Divisional Administrator (the person who keeps track of licensing and regulations) listed. Doggone it, if you don't know what any of them are, contact all of them! They are always looking for new faces.

National Runoffs Volunteers of the Year Honored at Road America

Volunteer of the Year honors were announced at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs® at Road America. Congratulations go out to the following Northeast Division winners. SCCA Volunteers of the Year are selected from nominations submitted by members, the peers of the award recipients.

The 2009 SCCA Club Racing Volunteers of the Year from the Northeast Division are:

Scrutineers - Kyle Springer - Washington DC Region
Steward - John Nesbitt - Washington DC Region
Timing & Scoring - Linda Louie Northern New Jersey Region

Complete list at SCCA.com

NESCCA Worker of the Event - NJMP National

"Dale Gogel of the Philadelphia Region, was chosen the NESCCA Worker of the Event at the Jersey Devil NESCCA National Race held June 5-7 at the Thunderbolt Course of the New Jersey Motorsports Park. Dale, who holds licenses in both F&C and Pit/Grid, covered the pit lane by himself during a rain-filled Friday practice day, then worked as one of only three pit marshals for the two race days. Having recently had surgery on both feet, Dale's dedication was exemplary.

Dale will receive a lightweight jacket embroidered with his name and the NESCCA logo. He joins previous 2009 winners Rob Shydo (NER), Dave Badger (MHV) and Kyle Springer (WDC). Congratulations, Dale!"

New E-mail Address For T&S DA

Denise Patten, Northeast Division T&S Divisional Administrator has a new e-mail address. She can now be contacted at dmpatten@gsinet.net.

Important News On Minor Waivers

16 to 18 year old participants must have a waiver from Topeka to enter any hot area—not just drive the track, but also work a corner, ES, Grid, etc. Each region will declare the hot areas for the track for their event so be sure to check at Registration.

To obtain the waiver, contact SCCA membership and licensing for the forms and directions. Generally, these are “turned around” within a week, but as the season starts soon, now is the time to act.

Minor Participants: After years of telling drivers not to include minors as crew, the rule has changed for SPECTATOR events. In order for a minor to be covered by the SCCA insurance, they must be listed as minor participants. For those who use the NESCCA on-line registration system, there will be a place to put the names of minors in the same box as the crew names. Those who use other registration systems should check with the registrar on the process used. Workers will be asked to list their minor participants on a sign in sheet at Registration. Minors should have an annual waiver or an SCCA photo ID to be listed.

This year’s Annual Minor Waiver is lime green. Why don’t you contact your local Registrar now and get it taken care of before the season begins?!

Addition - 4/15/09

At SCCA SPECTATOR events, minors who are members of SCCA will be issued a Minor Waiver if they are listed as a Minor Participant on the Driver’s entry or with the Worker Registrar. This will make them eligible for the Participant Accident Member Medical Coverage. If the minor is not a member, they will not be issued a waiver and will be covered under the Spectator Liability coverage.

At NON-SPECTATOR events, all minors will be issued Minor Waivers. Please list the minor participants on the entry or with the worker registrar.

To ensure that your minor is covered, add them by changing to a Family Membership.

Are you ever bored at the racetrack but don’t want to stand in the sun or rain?
Do you wish that you could see the whole racetrack while the race is on?
Ever wonder what it is the Stewards and Control do up there in the Tower?

Here’s your chance to do something about all of that

BECOME A LOGGER!!!

A logger is a volunteer who works with the flag control operator and the Stewards in the Tower during qualifying sessions and the races. Their task is to write down all of the communication between the Tower and the corner workers. The information is used as evidence in any protest, evidence in any kind of injury (especially those requiring transport), tracking driver performance on the track, and becomes part of the official record of the event.

There is a form of shorthand used—easy to learn and very straightforward. The logger needs to be able to focus on what is coming in on the radio and what is being said in return. Example: Station 3 no flag, car 16 black, off track driver’s left and continued would look like: 3 NF 16blk dl @ cont. Takes a little practice, but not hard. (And there are always others around to give a hand if you miss something!

We are looking for teenagers, wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, friends, buddies, sisters, brothers, neighbors—anyone who thinks they might like to sit in the Tower for a couple of hours to 2 full days, out of the weather (hot, cold and wet), see and hear the entire race, and learn a lot about our sport. You do not have to have a hot pass to go to the Tower. The only skills you need to bring are the ability to concentrate when others are talking and to write fairly fast.

If you are interested—even in just trying it out--please contact Terry Roberts at terryroberts@comcast.net or your regional Flagging and Communications Chief. If there is enough interest, we will hold a training session at the NEDiv RoundTable on March 7 in Cromwell, CT. You do not have to attend this session to participate—you can be trained at the track at an event.

FOR THE FUN OF IT!

Annual Waiver - Updated 1/15/09

The SCCA has adopted an Annual Waiver Program. This is an OPTIONAL program. The annual waiver itself will be valid at ALL SCCA events.

Beginning with January 2009 renewals, members who hold a competition license or those that have worked at least two days in the previous year will, upon completion of the Annual Waiver Form and Hard Card Application, receive their Hard Card free of charge. If you do not match the above criteria, members will pay $10 and complete the Annual Waiver Form and Application.

To participate, members must complete the Annual Waiver Form which should in included with your renewal information. The Annual Waiver must be witnessed by either a licensed registrar or notarized. Submit the signed Annual Waiver and the Hard Card Application to SCCA and you will be issued a Photo ID Hard Card. The Annual Waiver will expire on the member's renewal date.

A few of hints:

-You will have to either send a picture (license size) with your application OR scan one in on line with the Hard Card Application OR if you already have one on file at SCCA, that can be used.

-The 2009 SCCA Hard Cards with the annual waiver will be imprinted with a red stripe with embedded expiration date for ease of identification. Future years the color will change.

-Workers will receive a vertical card; competition license holders a vertical card; members who hold both will receive the horizontal card.

-All licensing information will be on the back of the card.

-Members presenting valid SCCA Photo ID Hard Card with an Annual Waiver date will not be required to sign the event waiver form.

If you have any questions, contact your regional Chief of Registration or Terry Roberts, DA Registration, NEDIV (860) 678-8356.

Annual Waiver Update

The overall response and submission of Annual Waivers has been very positive. We have identified a couple of areas that need to be addressed.

First, the Annual Waiver must be witnessed by an SCCA Registrar or Notarized. No Exceptions. We have received a number of Annual Waivers without the appropriate signatures.

Second, due to the manner in which we receive mail and membership applications/renewals, please do not include pictures with the Annual Waiver. Instead, either email them to Member Services or better yet, upload them at ams.scca.com. Receiving pictures by standard mail increases the likelihood for errors, and delays processing as we have to scan and resize the photos. If you feel it absolutely necessary to send via mail, make sure to identify your name and membership number on the back of the photo.

New E-mail Address For F&C DA

Richard "Mack" McCormack, Northeast Division F&C Divisional Administrator has a new e-mail address. He can now be contacted at nedivflags@fairpoint.net.

DA Expense Report

Click for Divisional Administrator Contact Info

Race Specialties

You can be a club racing worker, up close to the action and making it happen. Your passion for motorsports may present itself in a number of ways. Maybe, for whatever reason, being a competitor is not for you. Motorsports is more than just driving. There are ways to get involved and be close to the action without being in the driver’s seat. Running an SCCA Club Racing event requires the talents of a wide variety of dedicated individuals, serving in several types of exciting positions known as “worker specialties.”

The following is a summarized description of the worker specialties available in SCCA Club Racing:

Registration: At any event, the first people that the drivers, workers, vendors, media, and guests meet are the Registrars. Before the race the Chief Registrar receives and catalogs the entry forms. Pre-race material is organized for Timing and Scoring. Waivers, drivers’ packets, and entry lists are prepared. Note: the harder the Registrar works before the event, the smoother Registration will go once the doors open. When it’s 7 a.m. and 250 drivers and crew members are already in line, you’d better be ready. Once Registration is open, the Registrars greet all participants and issue them the appropriate credentials. Tell Me More!

Scrutineering: People with a passion for cars can deal with the latest technology of formula cars or the basic mechanics of classic production cars if they become Scrutineers (Tech Inspectors). Every car that is raced must undergo an annual technical inspection, which gives the Scrutineer an opportunity to talk with the owner or crew and really look the car over. The driver’s safety gear is also checked at the same time. At each event, the Scrutineer must verify that the annual tech has been done and issue an event tech sticker, allowing the driver to go on the track.

After an on-track incident, the Tech crew must examine any damage. After each on-track session, the cars may be impounded and spot-checked to ensure compliance with the car specs or event rules. Tell Me More!

Pit: Since many SCCA races include practice and qualifying sessions before the races, many drivers spend time in the Pits making adjustments to the cars. The Pits can become a busy place with cars and people on the move. Pit Marshals direct traffic, ensure the safety of the driver and crew, and check that the car is ready to return to the track before it leaves the Pit Lane. Sometimes Pit Marshals put out small fires, make sure that no one crawls under a car without a jack stand, and check on a reported oil or coolant leak. Pit Marshals are also responsible for directing cars into the paddock and back onto the track in a safe manner. Tell Me More!

Grid: Being a Grid Marshal gives a person a special opportunity to talk to the drivers while they are on the Grid waiting their turn to go out on the track. It’s another role where the right attitude can make for a better experience for both the official and the driver or crew. Before the five-minute warning, the relaxed atmosphere leads to friendly banter, but once the drivers begin to get ready, it’s all business. The Grid Workers make sure everyone is using all the required personal safety equipment, sometimes even offering a helping hand as the drivers get ready to go. Tell Me More!

Starters: All eyes are on the Starter holding the flag at the beginning and the end of the race, but waving the green and the checker flags is just a small part of what Starters do. They maintain the lap count and elapsed time for the session, follow the race order by charting the race, and, as if that were not enough, they act as a flag station, performing many of the same tasks of that specialty. Tell Me More!

Timing & Scoring: T&S workers are the people who are responsible for all of the statistical information about the event. They time the cars, create the grid line-ups, record every car on every lap to establish the running order, develop lap charts that visually chart the positions of the cars throughout the race, and produce the results sheets for all sessions. This specialty has a computer based component, but all computer generated results must be checked against the data compiled by humans. T&S typically has the most comfortable work area of any of the specialties. At Pocono, T&S works from a converted school bus just after Turn 1 – what a view!! This specialty is known for its “team” atmosphere. Tell Me More!

Sound Control: This can be a solitary specialty because a single person can handle it by him/herself. In addition to logging sound readings on every car, Sound Control measures and records the changing atmospheric conditions during the event since sound readings can change along with the barometric pressure and humidity. Personnel are always stationed alongside the track in a relatively safe location. When an incident occurs, they are not expected to respond. In other words, Sound Control is an excellent place to sit and watch racing. Tell Me More!

Flag & Communications: F&C is probably the most visible specialty, partially because it is also usually the largest in size and also because the F&C staff is much more out in the open than the other specialties. Stationed strategically around the course, the white-clad Flaggers communicate with the drivers through the use of brightly colored flags and hand signals. They also communicate with the Operating Stewards via radio. F&C personnel are the first responders to any on-track incident and recommend the appropriate assistance to safely resolve the situation.

Without a doubt, Flaggers have the best overall view of the race and are located in areas where, if things do go wrong, they can respond quickly to provide a push or assist a driver to move to a safer position. Tell Me More!

Emergency Services: Emergency Services make our events the safest places you can find. At a moment's notice they can be on the scene of an incident anywhere at the track. They are responsible for picking up disabled vehicles during and after sessions. They also help clean up the mess an errant race car can make. Tell Me More!

Stewards: While many of the previously mentioned specialties are comprised of people who either have no desire to race themselves, or plan to do so in the future, most Stewards are current or former drivers. Many have extensive experience in other specialties. Wherever they come from, all Stewards have accepted the responsibility for conducting road racing events.

The Chief Steward and his/her assistants take on the operational roles: managing the timeline, supporting the other specialties, ensuring the drivers’ safety and dealing with on-track infractions. The Chief Steward is also the head rules enforcer, charged with making sure the general conduct of the event is in accordance with the General Competition Rules. This official is also charged with maintaining order, which can be accomplished as simply as meeting with the people involved in a problem situation, by fines, or exclusion from the event of any person who is guilty of misbehavior.

The Stewards of the Meet and their Chairman are the judicial side of the race administration. They hear protests, deal with Requests For Action (RFAs) from the Chief Steward and decide penalties when rules have been broken. Tell Me More!

(Note: some of the material used in the above descriptions was based on a piece written by Laurie Sheppard & used with permission)

Last updated 11/10/09.