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MY MOTOR SPORT
Closed road motor sport events would be of great benefit to local communities in terms of tourism and economic prosperity
GO MOTORSPORT
A Q&A with new MSA Development Officer Jess Fack What’s your motor sport background?
I was very much born into it. My uncle, Julian, my father, Jerome, and his twin brother, John, are all long-standing sporting trials competitors. I went to my first event when I was knee-high to them and as I grew up I went from spectating to marshalling to passengering and now driving.
CLOSED ROAD EFFORT TAKES STEP FORWARDS MSA
MSA calls in Portland to help deliver law change support that we have within the motor community in order to demonstrate, not only to government but also to other important groups, that this would be of great benefit to local communities in terms of tourism and economic prosperity, at no cost to the public purse,” said Hilton. Research commissioned by the MSA and conducted by the Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University has shown that a closed road motor sport event could generate more than one million pounds for local communities across the UK. While the MSA is closer than ever to making closed road motor sport a reality there remains a long way to go, and should the campaign be successful the first events would be unlikely to run before 2015.
CLOSED ROAD PETITION More than 7,500 people have already signed an online petition supporting the MSA’s campaign. To add your name, please visit www.petition.co.uk/msa
I studied Geography with Sport Management at Loughborough University and then found my way into a volunteer development job at British Judo. The role took me to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London, which was a fantastic experience and a great note on which to move on from judo and into a professional role in motor sport. How important is it to get more young people involved in motor sport?
It’s certainly important but I think it’s perhaps even more important to focus on bringing in first-generation competitors and volunteers, whatever their age. Many people currently involved in the sport, particularly the younger people, are second or third generation such as myself, and while those people will keep coming through you can’t rely on them. We need to work out how to attract brand new people without prior connections to the sport if we really want to grow the grass roots. How do you think we can do that?
Go Motorsport is a grass-roots participation drive and it’s great that we’ve got ambassadors on board to help grab people’s interest, but I think the trick is to spark that interest in the right way to actually show people that it’s a lot easier and cheaper to get into motor sport than they might think. I think working with motor clubs will be key to this and should be one of our priorities, because ultimately it’s the clubs who are running grass-roots motor sport. Ultimately Go Motorsport is saying, “Go and find your local club and get involved.” That’s a message we need to back up with real action, and it’s going to be an exciting challenge trying to make that happen.
Winter 2012 www.msauk.org
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GALERON/LAT
The campaign to bring closed road motor sport back to mainland Britain has been bolstered by the MSA’s appointment of leading public affairs agency Portland to the brief. The Portland team, led by Head of Portland Local Kevin McKeever, will combine grass-roots campaigning among MSA clubs with a targeted Westminster, Whitehall and media effort to deliver a change in the law to allow local authorities to close a road without needing a costly Act of Parliament to suspend the Road Traffic Act. “The MSA’s campaign plays to Portland strengths: strong understanding of the local government context, combined with an industry-leading track record at Westminster and with the media,” said McKeever. “We’re looking forward to working with the MSA on this exciting campaign.” MSA Chief Executive, Colin Hilton, is confident that Portland will be able to help the governing body convince power brokers of closed road motor sport’s potential social and economic benefits. “Portland will assist the MSA in mobilising the resources and
What about your career background?
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31/10/2012 13:53