The Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race provided off road competitors and spectators with an enthralling end to the BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship where overall champions and class winners were decided.
Motorsport Australia’s dedicated officials were there every step of the way, efficiently running the event not only on the weekend, but also in the days leading up to Prologue to ensure the off road season came to a satisfying conclusion.
Among the cohort of 115 officials, 32 women were integral to the running of the Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race taking on a variety of different roles throughout the event.
Of the women officiating, three served roles in senior positions in race control, four teams lined up at checkpoint, women were positioned in five course cars, 50 per cent of the medical team were women, two teams of women acted as Spectator Marshals and in total women made up 25 per cent of officials in attendance.
Motorsport Australia Off Road Manager Campbell Smith stated it was a welcome sight seeing so many women officiating at the Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship and he looks forward to see this grow in the years ahead.
“The off road community is a terrific community to be a part of, not just as a competitor, but also as a member of our team making these extraordinary events possible across the country,” Smith said.
“Motorsport Australia’s Officials Training is the benchmark nationwide and widely respected internationally, and to see more and more women getting involved with off road officiating at such a professional level is awesome to see.”
Motorsport Australia encourages women of all ages and backgrounds to consider becoming an official for rally and off road events.
Motorsport Australia’s world-class Bronze Rally/Off Road training program is extensive, and includes the roles of the senior officials of the event, preparing for the event, arriving at the event, safety and personal conduct, a checklist of personal items, stage/control setup, securing a stage in preparation for competition, roles of control officials/spectator marshals and more.
The learning objectives for this module also touch on the application of communication techniques appropriate to the various roles within a Rally/Off Road team environment, identifying event safety management principles at Rally/Off Road events, resolving environmental impacts at a Rally/Off Road event and more.
Head to motorsport.org.au/officials/training/ to learn more.
