Syria Officials and Young Drivers Development Project Hani Shaban, SAC Vice President /Director Of Programs

Syrian Automobile Club History Since 1950 The Syrian Automobile Club was established year 1950 by number of Dignitaries and Business men in Syria as a social non profit organization specialized in promoting tourism in Syria by cars. SAC joined the Int. Automobile Federation FIA in After its establishment SAC members were active in the Social life in Syria and the club started issuing cars travel documents and International driving license Due to the economical and political situation in Syria in particular and the region in general SAC wasn't able to take any active role in Motorsport But dreams and hopes for a better future were always there

Year 2000 A Fresh new start in Syrian Motor Sport In year 2000 the SAC started in organizing the first ever Rally in Syria as a candidate event for the Middle East Rally championship which eventually became a round of the MERC since This event was followed in the next year with establishing the Syrian Speed test championship, and later on in 2003 an Int. Hill climb race was added to this championship which is also part of the middle east hill climb challenge.

More dreams and projects became true and others are in the future plans of SAC: -The new SAC facility with a Karting Track is planed to be opened in the summer of Creating the Syrian local Rally championship on Tarmac in 2012 Designs and construction observation were done by SAC members and Volunteers The Karting track was designed according to CIK grade B specifications In July 2008 the first speed test event was organized to announce the soft opening of the club track

SAC Volunteers and Officials Since the first motor sport event in Syria the SAC felt the need of a new blood in the club and started in attracting young Syrian volunteers to help organizing its events. A small number of young people with big faith and confidence and a lot of love for their country volunteered, many of them are active members and board member of the club now In 2002 the club established the motorsport office and started planning the future of motorsport in Syria in a more advanced vision. The training of the club officials was done internally with the help of many friends from the neighboring clubs in the Middle East and by sending our officials to attend Int. events

2009 FIA Institute funding programs In 2009 SAC was introduced to the FIA institute funding programs for Officials Safety Training OSTP and Young Drivers Safety Training YDST, it was a great opportunity to upgrade the training program of the Syrian Motor Sport officials to an international level and help create a new generation of officials that can implement the Int. safety standard. The applications were filled with the help of the FIA institute personnel and was approved for 2010 in both programs OSTP and YDST

Syrian Officials Safety Training Program OSTP 2010 In 2010 SAC concentrated in training its officials on the safety skills that relates to directly saving lives in Motor Sport accidents so the program had three sections : 1- Basic First Aid Training Program BFA this program targeted all levels of officials and Volunteers involved in the, organization of motorsport events in Syria, the target was to have as many people in the event that are able to take correct and immediate care of a person who has been injured in the event and to prevent death or further illness and injury and relieve pain until advanced medical aid can be obtained More than 200 officials and volunteers benefited from this training which had theoretical and practical training in the techniques of BFA.

2- Basic Trauma Life Support Program BTLS the target of this program is to give more advanced life support training for Officials that are directly involved in the organization of the motor sport events on the ground and to have few groups of organizers in different locations that can interfere in severe cases. The training contained theoretical and practical training in : A- primary survey and assessment B- clearing airway and airway management C- recovery position and CPR D- head neck and back trauma as well as spinal injury E- fractures and burns

3- Fast Intervention Rescue Program FIR The target of this program is to train the officials on how to take all necessary precautions and on the best ways to deal with motor sport dangers and accidents. The training focused on : A- chain of command B- how to get to the accident C- assessment D- communication, and how to report an accident E- what to expect in a rally car F- fire fighting training

Syrian Officials Safety Training Program OSTP 2011 In 2011 and after the success of the 2010 seminars and the positive feedback that all officials expressed, SAC applied to the FIA Institute for 2011 improved program that contained all the 2010 programs with some modification on the contents based on the reviews of the participants and the presenters, and an important new seminar was added to the program ( Extrication Seminar ) The Extrication seminar Idea came from the Czech republic club that held this program in Zlin in April 2010, two SAC officials attended the seminar and preparations started to organize the same seminar in Syria in 2011

Extrication in addition to First Aid and Rescue training were all held in one seminar on an Int. level in April, presenters from France (Mr. Jean Duby) and from Turkey (Dr. Erdem Yilmaz) and our freinds from the Czech Republic club (Mr. Jan Regner, Martin Konecny, Tomas Novotny) in addition to our Syrian presenters were all there with a large agenda program and experience. The attendance exceeded 120 person of Syrian Officials and medical doctors, rally drivers and officials from the Sultanate of Oman. The participants had a great chance to benefit from the presenters experience and to have practical training on extrication using our new Extrication Trainer, also on using the HANS devise and all problems that can result from having these safety tools in a rally car.

Syrian Young Drivers Safety Training Program YDST 2011 The Drivers safety training was established in 2010 with the Support of the FIA Institute, it targeted the young generation of the drivers who are interested in Motor Sport. The reason of this program is to train the young drivers on the safety behavior before and during motor sport events and to explain the necessity of implementing the regulation and using all the safety tools requested. it also gave the participants information about the communication between participants and officials in the event and each part duties

In 2012 SAC is preparing new training program for its officials in all fields: -Marshals training -Safety officers -Scrutineers -Stewards -Clerk of the course -Etc. We are also working on preparing manuals for all different officials levels and duties and on implementing an on-line training system and licensing system for all officials based on training and knowledge. Our goal in the near future is to achieve a high level of training for all the Syrian officials and build an easy and clear system for volunteers wishing to take part in this sport.

THANK YOU SAC is grateful to the chance that was given by the FIA Institute to develop Motorsport in Syria and hoping to get silver accreditation in 2012 in preparation for the next level of being a Regional Training Provider RTP in the near future.