Rally pace to keep children safe
The colourful, roaring rally cars are impressive, and the visits of the rally drivers and their equipment arouse the curiosity of the youngest. In this way, the organisers of the Rally Silesia – the most important automotive event in the region – use motor sport to educate children and young people, as well as…
This year’s Rally Silesia will take place on 8-10 September. The event with the base at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów is not only a round of the Polish Rally Championship. This year, the competitions gained international importance and were included in the itinerary of the FIA ERT (European Rally Trophy) series. The opening round was the Valasska Rally in the Czech Republic (asphalt, 31 March-2 April), and the final is scheduled in Germany during the Lausitz Rally (gravel, 2-4 November). The FIA ERT itinerary includes, among others: such excellent and well-known events as the Rally Antibes (France, Côte d’Azur), Rali Vinho de Madeira (Portugal, Madeira), the Rally du Valais (Switzerland) or the Český Krumlov Rally (Czech Republic). This year, the Rally Silesia , an event in which the Silesian Voivodeship is the main partner, was also promoted to be included among them.
The 2023 Rally Silesia – competitions under the honorary patronage of the Marshal of the Silesian Voivodeship, Jakub Chełstowski – will begin with a ceremonial start in the centre of Katowice. One of the super stages of the rally will also take place on the closed and professionally secured streets of the city. Other sporting trials will be held in the south of the region. And it is in this part of the voivodship that the organisers (the Foundation of Automobilists) held a cycle of meetings and lectures in June with school pupils from the cities and towns along the route of the rally.
– A visit by rally drivers to the school, the opportunity to see a high-performance rally car up close or other equipment used in this sport arouse great interest among the youngest. This is a great opportunity to reach them with an important message about correct behaviour in traffic. During our meetings, children and young people often ask when the rally will take place and where they can see the rally cars in action. In response to these questions, we teach them the rules of safe and responsible cheering. This is how we build the automotive culture from an early age. We also know that such activities have an impact not only on the youngest. Children can also use the acquired knowledge to teach…adults about safe behaviour and observance of the rules” – explains Grzegorz Wróbel, President of the Foundation of Automobilists, Organiser of the Rally Silesia.
Each meeting is attended by a rally driver who talks about what one must do to race in this sport and what his equipment consists of. Children can see, among other things, professional helmets and non-flammable racing suits.
The visit is also a great opportunity to remind and practise with the youngest the behaviour that improves their safety on the road. One of the most important behaviours is to ensure proper visibility. And that is why, at the end of each meeting, all participants receive colourful reflective bands, which significantly improve the visibility of pedestrians, especially in autumn and winter.
The Foundation of Automobilists (organiser of the Rally Silesia ) has held five such meetings to date. On 19 June, the rally co-driver Marcin Naworol and the representatives of the Foundation met with pupils from two schools in Jastrzębie-Zdrój (Primary School No. 15 and Primary School No. 17). A day later, together with the organisers of the Cieszyńska Barbórka Rally and the driver Marcin Górny, meetings were held in the Hażlach commune (in Pogwizdów and Zamarski). On 21 June, in turn, the organisers of the Silesia Rally, as well as the driver Jarosław Szeja and the Katowice city councillor Dawid Kamiński, who are involved in the “Katowice as a driving force behind safety (in Polish: Katowice Motorem Bezpieczeństwa)” campaign, gave a large dose of automotive knowledge to pupils of Primary School No. 27 in Katowice.
The Foundation of Automobilists is planning further such meetings, as well as other road safety initiatives.
2023 Rally Silesia – information:
The honorary patronage over the competitions was taken by the Marshal of the Silesian Voivodeship, Jakub Chełstowski.
The main partner of the Rally Silesia is the Silesian Voivodeship.
The organiser of the Rally Silesia is the Foundation of Automobilists.
All information about the Rally Silesia can be found at www.rajdslaska.pl, Facebook @rajdslaska, Instagram @rajd_slaska and Twitter @RajdSlaska.
