This is a tricky question, and there's no "right" answer.

The problem is that if you do officially offer free access to the other stages to anyone who marshals, you'll even larger numbers of folk signing up purely so they can go and watch for free, and the quality of the marshalling will drop as a result.

The vast majority of marshals love doing it, take pride in doing it properly and responsibly, and indeed do an excellent job. However, as threads here over the last few days, and other incidents in previous years seem to demonstrate, there are a small minority using the tabards as an excuse to get out of the spectator areas and behave how the hell they like.

While at the moment it's only a small minority, if such an incentive scheme was offered on a widespread basis, there's little doubt that abuse would increase. :(

Having said that, I can't see a problem with marshals taking their youngsters to have a squint round service; it's not like there isn't plenty of space for them there.

Unofficially, I believe that many marshals still do get in to watch other stages for nothing. This is probably the best way to do it, as at least that way the ones who marshal most often will get to know "the score", and thus it'll be the ones who put the most time in who get the most reward.


[Edited by greasemonkey - 11/9/2003 11:44:39 AM]

Yesterday me and my partner who is a Marshal and his 14yr old son went to the service area to show his son the cars because he couldnt take him on the rally it's self as he would have had to been in a spectators area while my partner was in the Marshals area which he couldnt do as he didnt want to leave him on his own, anyway getting back to my point,

As my partner is a Marshal we are quite annoyed that he didnt get a discount going into the service area! and had to pay full price!

Most jobs voluntry or paid if they have an event going on and you work for them you usually either get in for free or have a discount!

I agree - it's not very good.

Some of the marshals were saying that if they want to see any other stage (apart from the one they are marshalling of course), they have to pay full whack. Doesn't sound fair to me.

It was only the service area he wanted to get into to show his son the cars, it's not like he wanted to get into watch the rest of the rally,

I understand what you are saying about people just marshalling to get onto the stages for free but at the end of the day it was only the service area not the actual racing he wanted to see.

but im not going on and on about it at the end of the day we paid full price and there is nothing that just one person can say that will get everything changed.

so now i'll shutup about it ha ha

Would this be the same Service at Felidre that I took my daughter to and had to pay full price, only after over an hour of standing in the cold wind so as to secure a good veiwing spot when Tommi & Petter, to have a group of Marshalls come and stand right in front of us and obscure our view 5 mins before the cars came in. Too right you should have to pay full price

Marshalls should pay, as their ordinary just people. When their not marshaling their a Spectator, and spectators have to pay.