Motor Sports Association announces initiatives to attract
more young people into motor sport
The Motor Sports Association – the governing body
of UK motor sport – has unveiled a series of development
initiatives to stimulate participation and interest in motor
sport, particularly among the younger age groups.
In the build up to the UK’s flagship motor racing event,
the British Grand Prix held this weekend at Silverstone, the
MSA has outlined its commitment to ensuring that Britain continues
to hold a pre-eminent position in world motor sport. In so
doing, the MSA hopes to utilise the attention that has greeted
Lewis Hamilton’s stunning F1 debut to stimulate interest
among the public in the various motor sport disciplines.
The MSA’s significant investment in talent development
has seen the launch this year of the MSA British Race Elite
scheme. Building on the success of the Rally Elite programme,
the Race Elite has selected six of the UK’s brightest
young prospects to benefit from an intensive training programme,
led by internationally-renowned racer David Brabham. The six
were at Silverstone on Thursday to witness first hand the
world of Formula 1 and to rub shoulders with the teams, drivers
and the media at the pinnacle of the sport, including Jenson
Button, Anthony Davidson and Christian Horner.
The MSA is also targeting new recruits to the sport. In recent
weeks the level of enquiries to karting venues around the
country has increased dramatically and this will inevitably
create a surge of new young drivers. By breaking down the
barriers to entry, the MSA hopes to attract as many of these
newcomers as possible into official competitive motor sport,
rather than simply the ‘arrive and drive’ leisure
activity.
One particular initiative will see the MSA in effect offering
free licences to competitors who are under 16 years of age.
Having purchased their initial ‘Go Racing’ or
‘Go Karting’ packs, competitors will then be credited
for the cost of their first licence when they ultimately make
their application.
But it’s not just behind the wheel where the recruitment
drive for younger participants is taking place. It is also
within education, and into volunteer officials and administration
that the MSA is seeking to spread the word of motor sport.
To reflect the importance of attracting the younger audience
into the sport, the Motor Sports Council has recently announced
the creation of a new advisory forum aimed at young people.
It is anticipated that membership of the ‘Next Generation
Forum’ will be limited to people under the age of 25
and the group’s recommendations will be presented to
Council for consideration.
The Council has also recently approved the creation of Cadet
Marshals. Aged between 11 and 16, these cadet marshals will
be permitted to join the ranks of the 12,000 registered marshals
in the UK. While always safeguarding them from unnecessary
risk, the MSA will allow the cadets to assist with limited
duties on certain events and it is hoped that this will bring
valuable new blood to the vital groups of volunteer officials
without whom motor sport simply could not take place.
The Volunteers in Motorsport programme has been working hard
with the motor clubs in this area, signing up a staggering
800 new marshals in the first two years. With particular relevance
to the youth market, however, ViM has worked closely with
universities and colleges to establish recognised vocational
training and qualifications in motor sport marshalling.
Colin Hilton, Chief Executive of the Motor Sports
Association says:
“The youth market is vital to the ongoing strength
and success of UK motor sport, both on the track and off it.
It is absolutely essential that we do everything we can to
attract more young people to this fantastic sport.
“We know that the licence fee is one of the smallest
costs in terms of starting competitive motor sport, but we
also know that we have to address all potential barriers to
entry. Subsidising the initial licence fee gives a very clear
indication to young people that we want them in our sport.
“Lewis Hamilton’s achievements so far have been
a wonderful boost for everyone involved with the sport. We
must now use this renewed interest to drive up participation
across the board, but not just in our flagship disciplines
like circuit racing. There are 22 disciplines and thousands
of motor sport events taking place every year across the UK.
Many of them are low-cost events and some are undertaken in
one’s own road car, so we need to get the message through
that there is more to our sport than just Formula 1.
“The UK boasts the best motor sport in the world. We
have a glorious history of British success and our championships
have always been the proving ground for young competitors
from around the globe. No fewer than nine of the current F1
grid cut their teeth in British championships and that is
great news for our sport.
“It is critical for the future that we ensure continued
UK representation at the highest level of international motor
sport and that we bring more people into the sport, either
as participants, spectators or volunteer officials. We will
continue to develop our programmes to deliver these results
and I hope that these initiatives will make a big impact.”
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