CLUB OFFICIALS:
The Shepparton & District Car Club is a CAMS affiliated car club and as such our club requires people suitably qualified to act as officials at our events. Anyone who wishes to help with the conduct of an event is required to be recognised as an official.
Once obtained, an official holds a CAMS accredited “Officials Licence”
In order to gain a qualification as an official there is a formal process to be followed:
- General Official – You can apply for a general official’s licence by completing an application form which recognises you as a trainee. Trainees are required to work in a supervised capacity for three events, getting the licence application form signed by the Clerk Of Course each time.
During this period, or after, you are required to undertake a CAMS “On-line” training module. As a club we try to organise four – five people at a time who are ready to do the module and run a group session. The module can be done at any time on your own if you wish.
Once the on-line module has been completed your official’s trainee licence form is submitted to CAMS where upon you will be issued with a “General Officials” licence.
- Under the CAMS Officials structure, officials’ licences are graded into Bronze, Silver & Gold levels. The General Official’s licence referred to above is a Bronze level.
As a club we require a number of officials to hold specific Bronze level licences (Key Officials), these are:
- Clerk Of Course – This official is in charge and responsible for the running of an event.
- Steward – This official (whilst often being provided by the club) is the CAMS representative for the event and is responsible to ensure that the event is being run according to the CAMS guidelines and will hear protests and will consider matters of safety etc.
- Scrutineer – This official is responsible to ensure that competing vehicles meet the required standards and are suitable for competition on the day.
Other officials required to run events are:
- Event Secretary – This official is responsible for applying for event permits, receiving entries and checking entrants’ licences and club membership at events.
- Timekeeper – This official is responsible for the timekeeping at events.
- Flag Marshall – This official’s role is generally adjacent to the competition area and will provide pre-grid, starting or flag marshalling at strategic point around the track.
In order to attain accreditation at a Bronze level in any of these specific duties, you need to have your General Official’s licence book signed off at three events where you have worked in the position as a supervised or assistant capacity and complete the appropriate CAMS training module. Some of these modules are available as “on-line” modules on the CAMS website and others require attendance at a training session (generally a one day course). Once both requirements are met, you then complete an “Officials Licence Up-Grade form” and you should be granted a Bronze accreditation for the specific licence area.
Upon gaining a Bronze level General, or specific licence, you are able to offer your services at any CAMS event and if positions are available, you would be able to assist within the capacity of your licence.
As a member of the Shepparton & District Car Club, it is expected that after an appropriate period of membership (say one year), that members would undertake the necessary training module to gain a “General Officials” licence and then proceed to take on a specific licence category in an area of general interest to them.
At Non-Speed events Key officials are permitted to compete, eg: Clerk of Course, providing that there are two Clerks of Course nominated for that event.
At Speed events, the key officials are not permitted to compete.
Currently, all of the key officials in our club are also competitors who wish to compete regularly. For this reason it is important that we have a number of people duly qualified in each of the required key areas to allow these jobs to be shared throughout the year.
