Girls on Track UK in the virtual world
Every calendar month, Girls on Track UK hosts a series of activities to complement a dedicated theme. In September, the community is delving into the virtual world of racing in partnership with Codemasters, the UK’s leading publisher of racing games on console, PC and mobile, for a series of extra-special webinars.
So far this month, Girls on Track UK has introduced its members to sim racers from Codemasters’ ‘Racing Ahead’ community. Alethea Boucq (aka Theamusante), Naomi Rachael, who competes under the handle _JustHun, and Jon Armstrong chatted to Steph Wentworth about how they first started in the world of sim racing, why they got into it and shared their top tips and tricks for being the best on track. If you missed the chat, stay tuned to the Motorsport UK YouTube channel to catch up.
This week, we will get up close and personal with some of the successful women behind the scenes at Codemasters to answer the burning questions the community has submitted.
On Wednesday (22 September), Jenny Marshall will divulge more about her role as Community Engagement Specialist, from shaping the long-term strategies behind engaging and creative campaigns to managing the F1 Esports social presence across all Codemasters’ channels. One of Codemasters’ newest recruits is Siwan Owen, who will share insights into what it’s like working as an Associate Development Manager alongside programmers, artists and designers like Rebecca Crossdale. Rebecca is a Senior Games Designer and is responsible for building the track and recreating real-world racing experiences. She has been working on various racing games titles for over a decade, including DiRT, DiRT Rally and GRID worlds, and joins Jenny and Siwan on the Codemasters panel talking to Steph. The penultimate guest is avid tabletop gamer Amanda Carrington, who has made a career out of her passion for developing digital versions of fan-favourite games as an Associate Game Designer. And last but by no means least is Associate Brand Manager Catrin Price, a total newbie to the gaming industry but who has been working in motorsport for almost five years and competing for even longer.
If you like what you’ve heard, there is still time to sign up to attend Wednesday’s webinar. All you need to do is register your attendance in advance here.
In addition to the webinars, Codemasters has provided a limited number of one-use codes to the Girls on Track UK community members to download a free copy of DiRT5 on X-box, Playstation or PC to inspire a new audience to try virtual racing. And to add an extra level of interest, a unique Girls on Track UK DiRT5 competition is taking place this month. The winner of the fastest lap time behind the wheel of the Škoda Fabia on the Norway track or the best-designed car livery has the chance to win a bag of Codemasters’ goodies!
“Codemasters is proud to partner with Motorsport UK and Girls on Track to help promote the motorsport industry, highlighting the wide range of roles available across multiple disciplines for women of all ages,” said Codemasters Talent Acquisition Manager Meg Daintith. “As a specialist racing videogame developer, we know the benefits diversity and inclusion brings to an organisation and how important representation can be. We hope the upcoming webinars will give valuable insight and encourage more women to consider a role within this dynamic, fun and rewarding sector.”
Join the Girls on Track UK community on Facebook or see how they’re inspiring the future women in motorsport on Twitter and Instagram. Find out more about Codemasters here.