Uncategorized

3rd European Timing Conference 17/18 September

RFID Race Timing Systems is pleased to announce that this years timing conference will be held at the Radisson Blue Hotel in Riga, Latvia on the 17 and 18 September. Come along and here the latest technology developments from RFID Race Timing Systems as well as other invited speakers discussing ways to improve your timing business. The event kicks off with welcome drinks and food on the Tuesday night followed by a full days conference on the Wednesday. This is a fully catered function so all attendees must register with us by email. Rooms should be booked by attendees directly with the hotel at the soonest convenience to avoid disappointment.

Radisson Blue will again play host to the 2013 RFID Timing Conference on 17/18 September

4th USA Timing Conference Announcement – 2 to 4 Feb 2014

We are pleased to announce that next year’s biennial RFID Race Timing Systems Conference will be held in San Antonio (Texas) at the Emily Morgan Hotel between Sunday Feb 2 and Tuesday Feb 4, 2014.

This is an opportunity for you to find out about the latest technology developments in sports timing as well as methods and strategies to get the most out of the equipment and software. The focus of the conference will be about ‘improving my timing business’ and is a must for all timers looking to grow and expand their business. The format follows that of previous conferences with a Sunday evening cocktail party followed by 1.5 days of structured seminars and dinners. This unique hotel venue is opposite the historic Alamo and famous River Walk so there is plenty to see and do after the conference.

More information on the agenda will be released closer to the conference date.

The Emily Morgan Hotel is opposite the Alamo and River Walk

HBF Run for a Reason – Sunday May 26

The 2013 HBF Run for a Reason is particularly special to RFID Race Timing Systems given it is on our doorstep here in beautiful Perth. This year we were contracted to time and report the results of over 29,500 entered runners and walkers using a 12m start line and 16m finish line in a novel finishing environment – a horse trotting track.

The setup with Ultra and disposable transponders worked flawlessly and the weather was close to perfect at a time of year that can sometime see winter storms emerge from the nearby Indian Ocean. The race is primarily a charity event where runners can choose to donate to any number of charities and over 1.3 million dollars was raised. This event has grown from just over 10,000 runners in 2010 to one of the countries biggest fun runs. A great video of the event can be seen here.

Copenhagen Marathon – Sunday May 19

11,000 hardy souls competed in the Nykredit Copenhagen Marathon. Despite the wet conditions good times were posted with the event eventually won by Rachid Kirsi of Morocco (2:17:22) and Anne-Mette Aagaard of Denmark (2:44:12).

The event was timed by Ultimate Timing (DK) using 23 Ultra8 units, all feeding data over the cellphone network to a live tracker that showed where the runners were on a map of the course.

RFID Race Timing Systems Outreach software was used as the backbone for these live transmissions of times. The web interface developed by Ultimate Timing was particularly impressive given the position on the map of the lead runners correlated exactly to where they could be seen on the live video feed. Race organisers Sparta were more than happy with the service as were the athletes and spectators that came out to play.

Two Oceans Marathon

A total of 28,000 runners took to the streets over the easter weekend at the 44th Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town South Africa. A record 11,000 runners took part in the bruising 56km premier event which was won by a rank outsider David Gatebe in blustery conditions. The marathon is considered the most scenic in the world and caps off a busy month with the equally large Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour a few weeks prior. Both events are timed by RaceTec who uses our HDD Systems.

Two Big Weekends in South Africa

The Cape Town Cycle Trust runs the largest timed cycle event in the world (Cape Argus Cycle Tour) at over 30,000 riders this year on March 10 . The 109km ride takes in some of incredible scenic coastline and is a annual favourite of any South African who owns a bike. The Cycle Trust owns and operates their own timing system consisting of 14 RFID Race Timing HDD Systems and low frequency transponders.

A week later (17th March) another major timing company in South Africa (Finish Time) used Ultra to time the Spar Womens Race in Cape Town. This event is part of a 6 race series that tours South Africa and this year Cape Town had 18,000 women run either the 10 or 5km event. This entire race course was a sea of purple. Craig Eldridge from Finish Time reported excellent read rates with the disposable tags.

A purple theme for the Spar Womens Race in 2013

Racetec – Special Bundle Pricing

RFID Race Timing Systems is pleased to announce a limited time offer on bundling Racetec and Live-to-Web with any Ultra8 sale for only an additional $500*. That is a saving of $1200 over normal retail pricing for Racetec and the Live-to-Web option! Racetec is the most powerful race scoring and results reporting software available in the world today and uses Microsoft SQL Server** to handle literally millions of splits for any size race with ease. The software is now 10 years in the making having had its genesis at the famous Comrades Marathon in South Africa. The software interfaces perfectly with the Ultra hardware to provide live timing of any timing point. Other software packages boast all sorts of special features but Racetec has been doing these things for years – and does them well. The Live-to-Web option allows timers to push results immediately to a hosted web site with full searchable results displayed in dynamic pages. Racetec also has a fully integrated commentator system (both PC and web based), text messaging, Facebook updates and a results kiosk.

With this one time offer new customers are able to tap into the power and reliability of the software used at many Ironman and Half-Ironman events in the Southern Hemisphere. Racetec and Ultra are the perfect partnership to give you the most professional timing service available today.

Ultra at Tour Down Under

Cyclist as far as the eye can see start on their journey from Modbury to Tanunda in South Australia

Almost 7000 cyclists took to Stage 4 of the Tour Down Under (TDU) before the main peloton on January 25 in South Australia. The TDU is Australia’s premier cycling event attracting cyclists like Andy Schleck and Andre Greipel. The BUPA Challenge is a chance for everyday cyclists to ride one stage of the TDU and complete the 127km ride on the same finishing straight as the big men later in the day. For the second year Ultra was used to track all riders at four start locations and intermediate points along the course. A custom web tracker was developed for the organisers and emergency services personnel to track how many riders were between locations and which riders had yet to finish. All Ultra units were equipped with GSM modems and using OutReach, all times were sent instantly to a webserver that fed the web-tracker. Side antennas also made the job that much easier with the unclosed roads.

Largest Cycle Event in NZ Timed With Ultra

The Ultra System made its debut in one of New Zealand’s largest sports events (and largest cycle) in Taupo on the 24th November. The Taupo Cycle Challenge had been timed before by systems that have since come and gone. When it came to using the latest disposable chip technology, RFID Race Timing Systems was the obvious choice. The low profile soft antenna mats and the reliability of double transponders incorporated into a  professional vinyl seat post sticker make Ultra ideal for road cycling. Split points along the 180km route used side antennas which were the best choice for roads that were not closed to vehicle traffic. The event was timed by our new customer TimeIT based in Hastings NZ. Over 10,000 bikes took part making this year’s event one of the worlds largest  and most iconic mass cycle rides.