Mike Murray
I want to also reiterate that we are using the Finishlynx photo finish
camera to record the entire race. Using this we can reconstruct the entire
race, although it is very time consuming. Combining manual number
reading, and photo finish along with computerized laps calculation allows us
to get results out fairly quickly for all riders without a large cash cost.
There are errors, just as with all systems, but they are more recoverable
than with chips alone. The primary source of error is difficulty in seeing
the number, which is something that YOU can help with by paying careful
attention to how you put your number on.
The way the current system works is:
- Multiple officials read all the numbers in the race in the order that the
rider passes and record these on a separate sheet each lap, i.e. a finish
order sheet.
- The numbers on these sheets are entered in a spreadsheet that attaches the
number to rider name and other data and calculates the number laps each
rider does and their finish order on those laps. This is used to produce
results at the race.
- Simultaneously the race is recorded on the photo finish camera. The images
from the camera are read to create another finish order sheet. This is
slower than writing down the numbers as the riders go by but can be more
accurate, especially if many riders come by close together.
- After the race is over Candi compares all the finish order sheets and
looks at the spreadsheet to identify discrepancies. When there are
discrepancies the camera images are looked at again to see if they can be
resolved.
- After Candi catches all the errors that she sees she broadcasts the
results to the list serve. Note that these results are nearly always
different from the "at the race" results because analyzing all the info
takes time.
- Candi then waits for people to contact her with errors. Usually these can
be resolved with extra info.
Fortunately most people are pleasant about pointing out errors, although
some are not. Personally I feel sorry for the people that send rude
messages about errors because it must be very lonely in their world.
As for chips; they could potentially cut down on number recognition errors
but there would still be errors as Serge pointed out in his note. In order
to reconcile these errors there would need to be a back up system. An ideal
system would be to use RFID chips, photo finish as well as manual number
picking. Adding chips could improve accuracy and, with the right software
and a good data entry system and rider cooperation, could produce more
accurate results more quickly. The cash cost is high and personnel costs
would be at least as high as they currently are.
Mike Murray
-----Original Message-----
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
Behalf Of Jon Myers
Sent: Saturday, October 07, 2006 22:09 PM
To: obra@list.obra.org
Subject: [OBRA Chat] Timing chips and the Cross Crusade
We did try using timing chips last year. The chips missed many laps, the
results were always late, and there were many complaints about the results
last year. When the chip timing worked, people like it, but many times they
just did not work. There was a huge amount of time manually fixing the chip
results so they were correct.
If you look back at last year's forums on crosscrusade.com, people were
talking about how they were missing from the chip timing results, or had
missing laps, etc.
We are constantly evaluating alternative timing/scoring systems and we
will try other methods in the future as they improve.
The chips do work for marathons, 10k's, Tri's and other events that do
not have high lap counts by many people. In many marathons, 10k's, and
Tri's, racers may only go by a timing mat once. They may go by a couple of
mats in a 2-12 hour event, but they do not do a lot of short laps. Maybe
mud was a problem. For whatever reason, the 6-10 laps per rider per race
just did not work. We tried it, we spent a lot more money and it did not
work. I have heard many reasons/excuses why it did not work, but the fact
remains that it just was not reliable and it cost a lot more.
There have been problems with the manual timing, but many of those
problems have been related to poor number placement. Many numbers were put
on upside down. Others were tucked into shorts, some people forgot to put
them on.
We are going to make a bigger effort to make sure that all the racers
that line up have numbers that are placed correctly. With that effort, we
believe that results will be more accurate and faster next weekend at
Hillsboro.
Please make sure to let us know if you see a problem and we will work on
it. If you see a result problem, help the officials out by letting them
know what race you did, what your number was, what you were wearing, and any
other details you might remember. They can go back over the tapes and
correct things.
Thanks for your input and patience.
-Jon Myers, Cross Crusade Board
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