ACM actively recruits members for its crew, and the youngest who have been involved during the NM find the tasks exciting and fun. We had a chat with three of them after race, and although they had enjoyed themselves, fortunately they had many suggestions for things that could be done better.
- How have your day been?
- Great fun and a bit boring, smiles Aria Høgset
- Yes, there was more action yesterday, says John-Magnus Kvitnes and that tell us that it's three of the flag posts we have had a chat with. A championship with fewer participants than normal will of course be easier for the track crews to handle, and it is not difficult to understand that some of the heats can be a bit boring. At some of the posts, it is therefore only necessary to wave the green flag for a clear course, and occasionally to indicate that it may be wet on the course. During the NM, conversations like this have been repeated on the connection:
- Now it's raining a bit at post 9.
- Okay. Mark with a flag, says the race control, before shortly afterwards adding:
- Now it's raining at the 12th too.
The track crews are the extended gaze of the drivers. A driver naturally cannot see around the bend - that is the task of the flag posts. If something important is to be announced to the drivers who are driving at close to 200 km/h on the track, it is done with a flag. On a track as open and clear as ACR, the flags are controlled in close collaboration with Sissel Lande's hawk eye from race control, but the posts must also be able to react lightning fast on their own. This security of the flag guard is based on experience, and comes gradually.
Being on post for a whole day can be both cold and wet, and just as tropical and hot. It is a demanding task, and during the actual races the individual is very concentrated on his task. Most of the breaks in an event are primarily taken out of consideration for the crews on the field. They are brought in for lunch and dinner, and on hot days cold drinks and refreshments are brought out. Each one constitutes an important part of the safety of the drivers, and in sum they are the organizer's most valuable resource. They are volunteers but receive an allowance of NOK 500 per day from ACM in addition to food and drink.
- Some of you have a couple of seasons behind you. Where do you think we as organizers should be better at engaging young people?
- For those of us staying overnight at the arena, it would have been nice to have a little more activity in the evening. Not much, but a place to sit with some cards or board games and have a good time together, says Aria.
- Yes, and then we could meet the drivers and teams, and get to know them a little more, adds John-Magnus.
- Many of the drivers are nice. Someone waves to us after the race, says Alex.
- I raised my hand to remove water from the tarpaulin I was standing under, and then there was a driver who waved back. Maybe he misunderstood, Aria wonders before her laughter takes over.
For ACM, recruiting young people is a priority field. It has become more demanding to recruit volunteers than ten years ago, the youth cohorts are smaller, and the young people have far more activities to choose from. ACM therefore aims to strengthen the training and add new and exciting challenges. In the long term, ACM will be able to take track crews with them to races abroad.
Do you want to volunteer and be part of the ACM team? Do your registration here.