Marshal Drill™

Marshal Drill study guide

Everything the practice rounds and exams test, from setting up a stage to closing it. ARA's rulebook covers what competitors must do. Stage setup and marshal duties come from each event's ARA-approved safety plan and marshal instructions, so those are cited too. Reading it takes about 20 minutes. It isn't required, but it covers every answer the exams look for.

Words you'll hear

Stage signs

Time control warningYellow clock. The control zone starts here; a time control is ahead.25–50 m before the red clock

Time controlRed clock. The time control, where the card is timed.50–200 m before the start

Stage startRed sign, black flag. The start line of the stage.End of control zone 25–50 m after it

End of control zoneBeige, three black stripes. The control zone ends here.After the start, and after the stop

Danger signYellow, "DANGER!" with a black dot. Warns of a hazard.On the stage

Radio warning pointYellow, lightning arrow. A radio point is ahead.About 100 m before the radio point

Radio pointBlue, lightning arrow. The radio is here; crews stop here to report.On the stage

Medical point warningYellow, white cross. A medical point is ahead.About 100 m before the medical point

Medical pointBlue, white cross. Medical crew here. Medical points always include a radio point.On the stage

Flying finish warningYellow, chequered flag. The flying finish is ahead.100–200 m before the flying finish

Stage flying finishRed, chequered flag. The stage time stops here. No stopping between here and the stop.End of the stage

Post finish warning boardsWhite boards with three, two, then one blue stripe, counting down to the stop.Between the flying finish and the stop

Stop controlRed, STOP. Crews stop here for their finish time.Usually 200–500 m after the flying finish

Signs and distances are from the ARA Stage Sign Setup sheet; distances are approximate. Your event's sign plan comes first.

1. Your job, in one line

• Stage marshal: close your road or post, keep the public off the stage, signal the course cars, and report anything that happens.
• Spectator marshal: keep the public in safe, taped areas, move them out of danger politely, and report problems early.
• Drivers and co-drivers must follow marshals' instructions (RCR 4.1.7), and ignoring them is an infraction (6.4.8). Even so, you don't direct the race. Tell drivers and co-drivers what's happening, and leave decisions to Net Control and officials.
• You have no power to arrest anyone. Your tools are courtesy, a clear explanation, and your radio.

2. Before the stage

More layouts from the ARA blocker guide. Every junction is different: picture where a car would naturally go if it missed the turn or mistook your road for the route, and leave it somewhere to go. Parking on the inside of a corner is a good start.

The finish exit matters most: anyone who gets in there meets the rally cars head-on. Even a minute's delay gives the Stage Captain time to warn the stage or stop it.

• The stage road closes to non-rally traffic about an hour before the first car, or whenever your safety plan says. Every access is blocked with a vehicle or barrier.
• Park across the side road you're blocking, far enough back that a car missing the turn can't hit it. ARA's blocker guide says to take the distance you think is safe and double it, and to leave an escape route for a car that misses the turn (parking on the inside of a corner is a good start). Stay clear of thrown rocks, and expect Course Opening to reposition you if needed. Then watch from a safe spot, not beside your car.
• Put any downed banner tape back up first. Where it's likely to be broken, add a second row, and reset broken tape as soon as it's safe. Wear your vest.
• Both ends of the stage get a physical block too. The finish exit matters most: a vehicle that gets in there meets the rally cars head-on.
• Never move or remove stage arrows and caution signs, and keep people from standing in front of them.
• Bring food, water, warm clothes, a flashlight and batteries, and a full tank. Leave the alcohol at home. FRS radios and scanners are welcome.
• Be in position before spectators arrive, and stage-ready before the course cars.

3. Danger zones and safe places

• No-go: the outside of corners, straight ahead at junctions and hairpins, escape roads and run-offs, jump landings, ditches and anywhere below road level, and right at the road edge.
• Also avoid: log piles, walls and fences near the road, and banks on the outside of a corner that slope up and could launch a car.
• Safer: high ground well back from the road, ideally behind a tree line or something solid, and well back on the inside of a bend.
• Never assume drivers can see you. Drivers "can and will leave the road with no notice."
• The LSPR handbook's setbacks: at least 150 ft at intersections and 500 ft straight-on, always leaving a path for run-off.

4. Spectator areas

• At ARA events, yellow banner tape usually marks the spectator area (stand behind it), and red tape marks no-go areas. Your safety plan sets the colors and distances, often with a diagram for each area.
• Each area has taped viewing spots, a radio operator, a medic, marshals and controlled parking that keeps ambulance access open. Parking goes on one side only.
• Spread marshals across the area, with at least one at each end, all in safe spots.
• Crossing points are marshaled on both sides. Under the LSPR handbook, spectators may cross only before the 000 car, and then they stay in place until the green light.
• The start and the space from the flying finish to the stop control stay free of spectators. ARA's sign setup puts the yellow flying finish warning 100 to 200 m before the red flying finish board, usually 200 to 500 m from the flying finish to STOP with stopping forbidden in between, and the end-of-control sign 25 to 50 m after STOP. The finish is never on a corner.
• Never move the tape closer to the road. If an area is full, send people to the overflow spot or another published area.

5. Course cars and your signals

• Thumbs up: all is well at my post. Crossed arms in an X: there's a problem, so stop.
• Marshals don't use the SOS or OK signs. Those belong to the drivers and co-drivers (RCR 5.15).
• If 00 doesn't stop for your X, signal the 0 car the same way. If you have no radio, the course cars are your link to the stage captain and Net Control.
• Only the Clerk of the Course can let anyone onto the stage once it's closed, and no one goes in after 00.

6. When something happens

• Driver and co-driver signals: the OK sign or a thumb up means no medical help is needed. The SOS sign or crossed arms above the head means they need help (RCR 5.15.2, 5.15.4, 5.15.8).
• Car off, driver and co-driver OK: note the car number, time and place, and pass it to radio.
• SOS: get it to radio immediately. Following cars stop: the first gives aid and the second reports at the next radio point (5.15.9).
• Reporting: say where (stage, mileage or route book instruction), the car number (no names on the air), the time, and whether there are injuries or medical help is needed. On the air, say only "Driver and co-driver OK" or "Injuries are being reported and medical help is being requested."
• Keep blocking your road, but be ready to move aside for emergency vehicles. Don't pull an injured person from a car unless there's fire or another immediate danger, and don't move a car with someone inside. Help only to the limit of your training.
• Triangle out: a stopped car is ahead, so following cars slow down. Drivers and co-drivers collect their triangle before moving on (5.15.1, 5.15.7).
• On the emergency list: injuries, uncontrolled fire, a breach of stage security (a civilian car or people on the road) and a completely blocked road (5.13.2, 5.13.3, 5.15.2).
• Don't help, or let spectators help, a car in a ditch. Fight a fire only while it's safe.
• Stopping a competitor is a last resort: someone on the road who won't move, or a civilian vehicle on the stage. Use crossed arms in an X, big and moving, from a safe spot with a long sight line. Tell the driver and co-driver what's happening, give no other instructions unless officials direct you, and report it.
• Stopping, re-pacing or cancelling the stage is decided by officials through Net Control (RCR 5.14).

7. Talking to the public

• Be tactful, patient and courteous. Explain why, and show people where they can watch instead.
• Keep children supervised and dogs on a leash. Use camera flash only once the car is alongside.
• At a spot that isn't a published spectator area, explain that it's restricted for their safety, point people to the nearest published area, and tell them the stage may be cancelled if they stay.
• If people still won't move, tell radio or the next course car. Warn them politely that the stage may be cancelled. Course cars can and will cancel a stage over unsafe spectators.
• Report anyone hiding stage-side outside the taped areas. Don't walk down a stage to move them.
• Never threaten arrest. Keep the road permits handy if someone challenges the closure.

8. After the stage

• Never assume the stage is finished because no car has come for a while. Gaps mean stoppages or holds.
• If the stage runs again, stay for the next run. Leave with your captain so everyone is accounted for.
• Nothing comes down until the green light on the stage's last run. Then take down the banner tape and signs at your location, return signage to your captain, take your trash, and encourage spectators to take theirs.

Quick reference: marshal point

Before the event

• Register, check in and pick up your equipment (vest and so on). Confirm your ARA waiver.

Setting up

• Be at the pick-up point on time and follow the caravan to the stage.
• Park where your instructions say, blocking the stage entrance in a safe position.
• Everyone wears a high-visibility vest.
• Check the banner tape covers the full width of the road, and fix it.
• If you have a radio, put out the signs and tell Net Control you're in place.

While the stage is running

• The vehicles, in order: advance, safety, then the stage is hot for 000, 00, 0 and the competitors, then the sweep.
• No one enters the stage after 00. Keep the authority letter from your packet handy.
• Visitors at a point that isn't a spectator area: kindly send them to one.
• Spectators stay behind yellow banner tape and in safe places. No one goes behind red tape.
• Media on foot may be allowed access to the stage; it depends on their vest color, blue or red (see Media access).
• A vehicle gets onto the closed stage: tell Net Control by radio if you can. Stopping the stage is the last resort.
• A competitor in trouble or a crash: don't assist, and don't let spectators assist. If the crew is unresponsive, crossed arms in an X. Stopping the stage is the last resort.
• The road opens only after the green-light sweep. Don't leave, and don't let any vehicle onto the road, until it has passed. The stage may run more than once.
• Avoid confrontation. Explain that the stage only keeps running if everyone is safe.

Shutting down

• Clean up and take down the banner around your point.
• Return signs and equipment to the stage captain or whoever they name.

Source: LSPR 2026 Marshal Handbook, Quick Reference Guide: Marshal Points.

Quick reference: spectator captain

Before the event

• Register, check in and pick up equipment. Confirm your ARA waiver.
• Email your team: check-in, pick-up time and place, and the schedule.

Getting there

• At the pick-up point: check in every volunteer, hand out vests and packets.
• Give a safety and operations briefing: safety, road blockage, the green light and cleanup.
• Caravan to the stage in order and on time, using the event directions.

Setting up the spectator point

• Follow the event directions exactly for vehicles, blockers, radio and medical. Safety delegates and the 0 car will check it. The route book has the specifics.
• Check the banner tape and fix any problems.
• Setbacks: at least 150 ft at intersections and 500 ft straight on, always with a path for run-off.
• Medical must be able to reach the stage directly.
• Radio must be placed where it can reach Net Control.
• Put out the radio and medical signs as the route book shows.
• Place enough spectator marshals for crowd control.
• Parking on one side of the road only. Volunteer vehicles near the spectator point. If the event uses barriers, no spectator parking beyond them. Consider a marshal to direct traffic and parking.

While the stage is running

• Same as a marshal point: no one enters after 00, spectators behind yellow tape, no one behind red, media access by color.
• Spectators may cross the road only before the 000 car, and then stay put until the green light.
• Avoid confrontation, and explain the stage stops if it isn't safe.
• Use your radio volunteer to contact Net Control if something critical comes up.

Shutting down

• Only after the green-light sweep, start cleanup.
• Take down all banner and road closure signs.
• Release spectator marshals once cleanup is done, and help back to the main road any who need it.

Source: LSPR 2026 Spectator Captain Handbook, Quick Reference Guide: Spectator Captain.

When civilians turn up

People on their own property and their invited guests are the exception. Anyone else at a point that isn't a published spectator area:

1. Explain it's a restricted-access, non-spectator location, for their safety, and that they won't be allowed to stay if they don't follow your direction.
2. Recommend the nearest published spectator area. You'll have directions to hand out; they're also published locally and at headquarters. Those areas are set up for spectators' safety.
3. Politely explain that if they won't move and won't follow your instructions, the stage may be cancelled.
4. Have your copies of the road permits and agency documents (such as the DNR's) that give the authority to restrict access.

If they still won't move, in this order:

1. Call Net Control by radio if you have one. Calmly give your location and the situation. Net Control will direct you and send help.
2. No radio: tell a Course Opening vehicle when it reaches you. They can talk to Net Control.
3. If it happens while the stage is running, make every reasonable attempt to send them to a spectator area. If that fails, you have the authority to halt competition on your stage. If you judge it controllable and safe, they may stay, as long as they follow your directions on where and how to watch.
4. To stop the stage, signal the next competitor with crossed arms in an X. Explain the situation and let the competitor safety procedures take effect. Don't give competitors instructions unless Net Control or rally officials tell you to. Use this only as a last resort.

How to handle it

• Tact, common sense and patience. Be courteous to residents about what's going on and why access is closed.
• Keep your road closure permits handy if someone complains.
• Never threaten anyone with arrest; you don't have that authority. Suggest they watch a few cars instead. Once rally cars pass at speed, most people understand.
• Keep casual onlookers at your intersection in a safe, controllable place (see the safety sheet in your packet).
• Before you leave, take down all banner and signs and bag the trash. Leave the forest cleaner than you found it.

Source: LSPR 2026 Marshal Handbook, Marshal Instructions.

The incident report

After you report

• Keep blocking your road, but be ready to move aside for emergency vehicles.
• Once an SOS is displayed, there's no more competition on the stage except cars already on it. Help stop them before they reach the incident.
• When Course Closing passes, follow their directions, or those set when the stage was laid out.
• Keep everything you gathered. If an incident report is needed, the Safety Steward will contact you through the Stage Captain.

Reporting injuries

• Notification is your first job. Under no circumstances give out the condition of anyone injured, or the progress of emergency crews, on the air or to anyone else.
• Whoever asks, only two answers: “Driver and/or co-driver are/is OK,” or “Injuries are being reported and medical help is being requested.”
• Treat injured people to the limit of your training with the equipment you have. Don't guess.
• Don't pull anyone from a vehicle unless there's imminent danger of fire or further life-threatening injury, and don't move a vehicle with an injured person inside.
• If a crew is upside down and hanging in their belts, don't release the belts without a way to catch them.

Source: LSPR 2026 Marshal Handbook, Emergency Plan for Marshals.

Media access: red and blue vests

For every vest

• In place before the 00 car passes. Off the stage road from 00 until the green-light sweep.
• Never in a red-taped area. Yellow tape isn't a guarantee of safety either.
• Keep off the outside of corners and jump landings, work from behind something solid, and keep an escape route.
• ARA, event officials and marshals have the final say on where media stand. Media move without discussion when asked. Course opening cars can remove media from a stage.
• Anyone breaking the safety rules is removed at once. If a media member's actions cancel or delay a stage, they and their outlet face a two-year ban from ARA events.

At your marshal or spectator point

• A blue vest may walk in from your marshal point, but only after showing you their movement plan: where they're going on the stage. No movement plan, no entry. Red vests don't walk in from your point; they stay in spectator locations or approved spots.
• From the stage start, blue vests hand their Stage Access form to the start or stage captain instead. A spectator captain may also let them cross through pre-approved areas near a spectator area, outside the yellow tape.
• Nobody goes in after 00, whatever their vest.
• A red vest asking to walk down the stage: send them to the nearest spectator area.
• The spectator captain manages any media team that arrives at a spectator area.

Source: ARA 2026 Media Policy and Accreditation Procedure; LSPR 2026 Marshal / Spectator Captain Handbook.

Spectator placement

The basics

• Spectators watch only from published spectator areas. Anywhere else may not be safe.
• Yellow banner tape marks where spectators stand. They stay behind it, and don't stretch, move or lean on it. Never move the tape closer to the road.
• Red tape marks the dangerous spaces at a spectator area. No one goes behind red tape. Marshals put it up and keep people out.
• Where there's no tape and no marshal, treat the red-zone places in the table below as no-go anyway.
• Competitors can use the whole road and more, and can leave it with no warning. Never assume a driver can see you.
• Safety delegates and the course cars check every spectator area before the stage. If spectators are somewhere unsafe, the stage can be cancelled until they move.

Choosing and checking a spot

• Look for height and depth: high ground, or behind a tree line, with room to stand well back.
• Natural protection between the road and the crowd helps: a steep bank, solid trees.
• Think about speed on the approach, and where a car goes if it gets it wrong. That direction is no-go.
• Check the area is still safe if the stage runs in the other direction.
• Keep clear of competitor escape roads and run-offs, the same ones the blockers leave open.
• Avoid ditches, anything below road level, and banks on the outside of a corner that could launch a car.

By road feature

Diagrams aren't to scale. Distances are the guidelines published for an ARA event and are a minimum; the LSPR handbook's setbacks are at least 150 ft at intersections and 500 ft straight on. Your event's safety plan comes first.

Getting spectators there and keeping them safe

• Parking on one side of the road only, all facing the way out, so the other side stays open for emergency vehicles. Don't block driveways or access roads.
• Volunteer vehicles park near the spectator point. If the event uses barriers, no spectator parking beyond them.
• Spectators may cross the stage road only before the 000 car, and then stay where they are until the green-light sweep.
• Spread spectator marshals through the area, with at least one at each end, all in safe spots.
• Daylight stages need extra care: cars can be quieter than people expect and arrive before anyone hears them.
• Photographers wait until a car is alongside before using a flash, so they don't blind the driver.
• Explain the why: the stage only keeps running if everyone is in a safe place.

Source: LSPR 2026 Marshal / Spectator Captain Handbook; ARA Typical Blocker Positioning V2.0 (escape routes and run-offs); STPR spectating guidelines and STPR 2026 Spectator Guide (ARA Championship events); LSPR spectator safety.

Where the rules come from

Your event's safety plan, briefing and stage captain take priority over this guide. Times and distances vary by event. Rules are paraphrased, and the 2026 RCR on the ARA's Sportity board is the authority.