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RACE TIMING

A Simple Explanation

A typical SDA downhill race will have an average entry of about 300 riders. This means 300 start times and 300 finish times per run, a total of 1200 times that need to be logged, checked, sorted and categorised before finally being posted on the results board.

It requires a timing team of up to 6 individuals working non-stop for the duration of the whole race (about 5 hours) to achieve all this.

The SDA own and run their own bespoke timing system.  Each timing unit (start and finish) consists of a self contained battery powered unit incorporating a keypad, multi-line display, tally roll printer, and a very accurate temperature compensated clock providing an accuracy  to 1 millisecond (1/1000th of a second). The two clocks are synchronised before the start of the race. An infrared beam linked to each unit creates the start/finish line. When a riders front wheel breaks this beam, the absolute time is recorded. Obviously the difference between the start and finish times is the riders run time Although laptops are used in generating results, they are not used for actual timing.

At the start line the riders’ number is entered into the start unit, the unit also generates the “countdown beeps” and when the rider breaks the beam the time is allocated against his number.  This is then printed out in both numeric and in barcode form on the paper tally roll, and is also sent via radio modem to the live timing laptop in the pit area.

Similarly at the finish line, every time a rider breaks the beam the time is logged in the finish unit. The riders’ number is then appended against the time and again is printed out in numeric and barcode form and also sent to the live timing laptop where the commentator can now read out the riders run time.

In essence, the paper tally rolls generated at the start and finish lines, basically form a hardcopy audit trail of the whole race in chronological order and thus provides essential information should there be any queries.

The information on the paper rolls is entered into a second results laptop by scanning the barcodes.  Using the barcodes means that there will be no “human error” in entering all the information (there is a lot of it !). The results laptop runs SDA commissioned bespoke software that links the rider number with his previously entered personal details such as name, category, club, licence number and automatically calculates both run times and sorts them in position and category and finally generates a printout that goes up on the results board.

The radio modem works on a  “line of sight” principle. Normally it is impossible to get a direct link from the start to the finish as the hill is in the way. This is solved by using a “repeater modem” which is normally sited in the far distance from the start and the finish but in line of sight of both. The signal therefore makes a journey from the start line out to the distant repeater which then in turn re-transmits the signal back towards to finish line at the bottom of the hill.

That’s it in a nutshell, sounds easy but it isn’t, so at your next race, spare a thought for those stressed out timing folks and give them a smile, your support will always be warmly appreciated .

Iain Wilkie