Officials Changes Made To Support Club Level Rallying

Consistent with its repeated commitment to club level sport the CAMS Board has approved a recommendation from the Australian Rally Commission (ARCom) to remove the requirement for rally road closure and control officials to hold an officials licence; subject to them having undergone a thorough standardised briefing covering key issues set down by ARCom.

The National Officiating Committee will continue to work through a review of the officials system, stemming from its 2005 review of the program. The decision recognises the feedback to CAMS that rally organisers are continuing to have increasing issues with obtaining sufficient officials, in particular Road Closure and Control Officials, to run events. This has seen some stages cancelled and threatened the viability of some events.

ARCom made the recommendations, designed to provide immediate assistance to rally event organisers in the area of road closure and control official availability, following feedback received during the successful National Rally Forums held earlier this year.

The following process is now approved and will be implemented:

Subject to the official receiving a standardised briefing meeting the minimum requirements set out by ARCom and signing on as an official, that:

• there be no requirement for a Rally Road Closure or Control Official to hold a CAMS Officials Licence;
• the provisions relating to ‘supervision’ outlined in the National Officiating Program (NOP) not apply to Road Closure or Control Officials.

CAMS CEO Graham Fountain said “the decision reaffirms CAMS commitment to support and nurture club level motor sport.”

“This is the first of similar initiatives to be approved by the Board consistent with its renewed sport and club development focus. It is a clear indication that we have listened and acted on something that is important to our members and is representative of us adopting a can do attitude in the interests of the sport,” said Fountain.

ARCom Chairman, Colin Trinder is pleased with the result which he believes is an important step on the path to improve the operations of rally events and the demands on rally organisers.

“We trust this will make it easier for rally organisers to source these officials, which in turn will make the difficult task of running rallies a little less complicated,” said Trinder.

“Most people in rallying accept that officials licensing and accreditation is a valid response to managing high risk activities. However, there has been debate in rally circles regarding the NOP and its effectiveness for the rally discipline”, he continued.

“ARCom is looking forward to working with the National Officiating Committee and building on the good work that has already been completed to ensure there will be a strong and suitable officiating program in place for rallying into the future,” he stated.