Cheaper than racing and (sometimes) twice the fun!

Interested in keeping your racing budget down but still want to be part of the action, hear the sounds, smell the smells and get a good old fashioned adrenalin rush? Have a friend or family member who wants to get involved. Don't know how to start? Here is a deal for you! You, your friends and family can learn to be an SCCA flagger.

On March 28 and 29, 2009 the Mohawk-Hudson, New England, New York and Northern New Jersey regions of the Sports Car Club of America will conduct a two day Flagging and Communications school at world famous Lime Rock Park There will be separate courses for new (no previous experience is necessary) and experienced flaggers. You don’t have to be an SCCA member and there is no charge to attend. You need only to be at least 16 years of age and possess a strong desire to have fun.

For novices who have never set foot on a race track before, do not worry. The school will cover everything you need to know: what to expect at the track, what the flags mean and how to use them, how to prepare for a day at the track, how to communicate effectively, and, most importantly, how to do all these things safely while having fun.

Experienced flagger seminar sessions will include Philosophy (what we're trying to communicate and to whom and why), Execution (concentration, efficiency, technique), Details (care and feeding of equipment, forms and reports), Control operation and "The Art and Science of Blue Flagging".

Saturday will be devoted to classroom sessions and track orientation rides for novices. Sunday will consist of on-track simulations of the types of situations that could be encountered at a race event. (You must participate in Saturday’s sessions to attend Sunday)

Lunch Will Be Provided Both Days!! That’s right, a free lunch.

Advance registration is required. Deadline: March 22, 2009. To register, contact:

Karen Paul
[email protected]
37 Paul St. Bristol, CT 06010
Phone 860-583-8615

Flagging and Communications School
March 28-29, 2009
Lime Rock Park
Lime Rock, CT
8:30 - 5:30

Most of us have experienced one or more of those nail-biting weekends where we're not sure if enough workers will show up. This is a great way to help out your fellow drivers while keeping in the thick of the action. If you've not flagged before you'll be amazed at how much you can learn about good and bad racing tactics from the various corners. And don't forget - there are a number of professional races: Grand Am, American LeMans Series and others that need SCCA flaggers. You can get a great view of these races up close and personal. Give it a try!

For further information, contact the Flag Chief for your region
--------------------
Chris Milton-Hall

Still time to register and join the fun!

Is it still snowing in Maine?

Or at least stuck in the mud.

I am a FireFighter and a racer. Is there a school for Emergency Services or do they not use volunteer's?

Dan, Emergency Services does not have a school per se that I am aware of, at least not in NER. If you are interested, I can put you in touch with the NER Regional and NEDiv Divisional administrator for ES. I'm sure he would welcome your help. Send me a PM if you're interested.

The Flag School is next weekend (March 28-29), at LRP. We have had an extremely good response, with lots of new people signed up to attend. We're going to show them a really good time, teach them a lot, and hope they will want to come out and flag for us (for you, actually!).

If any of you drivers have a friend, or co-worker, or family member who is interested in volunteering in some capacity at the racetrack, we would welcome them at the Flag School. We need to take every opportunity to increase the numbers of flaggers because right now those numbers are going down down down. Flagging is a ton of fun, it is also challenging and a great deal of hard work in sometimes difficult conditions (sounds a lot like driving, eh?). Our first priority is to keep the racing safe, and we need to have enough flaggers to be able to do that. Please help us recruit new flaggers. You're doing it for yourself, really.

Pre-registration is REQUIRED for the school. PM me for more information if you are interested. THANK YOU!

Any chance of this happening this year? My wife and I are very interested.

NER will be have a flagging school @ NHMS at the April/MAy Drivers school.
Details are being worked out and more information will be available soon.