Officials duties during an event are many and varied, they have the responsibility to ensure meetings are conducted in the safest environment possible for competitors and spectators alike.
Officials in Focus is our initiative to get some background information on a range of Officials accredited with Motorcycling Victoria. Done in a similar way to the Club Coach in Focus, we ask the questions and they tell us more about themselves.
We turn our focus now to Bryan Noble, who is a member of the Dandenong Motorcycle Club.
How long have you been an Official?
Since 1985 from memory, been a long time.
What level of Official are you currently?
Level 4.
What are the main roles you find yourself in when officiating? (e.g. Steward, Clerk of Course etc.)
Officials roles I do are varied depending on the type and level of event but generally Clerk of Course, Steward or Sound Control Officer. From time to time I also do Scrutineering, Timing and Flag/Track Marshaling for MX events.
What disciplines do you usually officiate in and are you interested in working in other disciplines?
I mainly do Off-Road/Enduro events as that is my passion but I also do some other events if the need arises; MX, Dirt Track but it is fair to say I stick with dirt bike events.
What do you enjoy about officiating?
Helping clubs run fun, safe and successful events and especially seeing kids develop their skills over the years.
There would be many challenges as an Official, what is one challenge you’ve had to overcome as an Official?
Having been involved with Enduro most of my officiating life, extreme weather that can occur during an event would be the biggest challenge I have faced.
As with Enduro you have 200 riders on an Enduro course a long way from the start/finish area and if extreme weather arrives you can’t just stop racing and go home, you need to get competitors, officials and support crew back to the event base/start area safely.
What has been one of your best experiences as an Official?
Clerk of Course at an A4DE many years ago with a very large but great support team of about 80 people that ran a very successful event for 260 riders over four days.
Would you recommend becoming an Official to other people?
Yes, most definitely as you can have a lot of enjoyment, make some good friends and best of all be involved with lots of people having fun on motorcycles.