ChronoTrack Systems Inc. is pleased to announce that 20 leading timers have signed contracts agreeing to use ChronoTrack Timing Systems and ChronoTrack disposable UHF RFID “D-Tags” for the timing of athletic events in North American. These systems are scheduled to ship in the latter part of June and are eagerly awaited by their new owners as a means to streamline their processes, improve their efficiency and provide a better product for their customers.

Prior to starting development ChronoTrack went to the marketplace and intently listened to the needs of timers and events. “As a result of these discussions we feel we have developed a product that meets these needs and far exceeds the functionality of any other product on the market today. We are obviously very exited by the amount of interest our initial product release has generated” say Dan Howell, President of ChronoTrack. Howell further added, “Not only have we improved the functionality and cost of the basic timing system but we have also greatly reduced its complexity.”

At the heart of the ChronoTrack system is the disposable UHF RFID “D-Tag”. The use of this tag eliminates the need for chip assignment, cost of shipping chips to events, lost chip costs and the need to create a secure zone for chip collection. The elimination of the costs for these processes directly affects the events’ and timers’ bottom line. On race day the timer can now benefit from a systems that is over 99.8% accurate, does not have to be tuned, does not suffer from interference from spurious EMI sources, can be powered by its internal Lion batteries, external car batteries, AC generators and/or an AC socket in the back of a van.

The new ChronoTrack System has undergone extensive testing in race events across the country. The production version was used to time the Los Angeles Marathon in March 2008 and the Cleveland Marathon in May 2008. During the Cleveland Marathon there was heavy rainfall and exceptionally high winds throughout the race. “The results from the these races prove that the system is a professional, all weather timing system ready for the rigors of timing races in the 21st Century” said David Simms, President SAI Timing.

Timers that have joined the ChronoTrack team:

• Accu-Split, Bettendorf, IA
• Gault Race Management, Flushing, MI
• Results Event Timing, Ft Walton Beach, FL
• Super Race Systems, Garrison, NY
• Run Far Racing Services, Austin, TX
• Race Central, Rialto, CA
• Split Second Timing, Weston, FL
• Run Wild Sports Timing, Houston TX
• Event Tech, Sylvester, GA
• Lakeshore Athletics, Chicago, IL
• Granite State Racing, Newport NH
• Queen City Timing, Moorsville, NC
• Classic Race Management, East Grand Rapids, MI
• Event MKT and Mang INT
• Kale Running, Chesapeake, VA
• Capital Running, Rockville, MD
• Race Management Systems, Marion, SC
• Hermes Sports, Cleveland, OH
• RS Racing Systems, Canton, OH

Portability
One of the many highlights of the ChronoTrack System is portability. Below are images of a single, 14 foot line being loaded into the trunk of a mid-sized car. The same amount of equipment could just as easily fit in the back seat of a smaller car.

Durability
Although the ChronoTrack System may be compact and lightweight, this is by no means an indication of fragility. Below are images of an 8000 lbs forklift being driven over a pair of ChronoTrack Interrogators (Gators).  On race day there may be many circumstances where heavy equipment must cross a timing line – fire trucks, ambulances, press buses, race official vehicles etc…  As demonstrated ChronoTrack Gators are ready for the task.

Alan Jones, author of RunScore, announced today that race timing data produced by ChronoTrack Systems Inc has now been fully integrated into RunScore. Jones said “The integration process was simple and was tested in a live environment by scoring a race with 10,000 entrants”. Jones added that an additional advantage of using the ChronoTrack system lies in the fact that the tag ID encoded into ChronoTrack “D Tag” is the same number as the runner’s bib number. This greatly simplifies the timer’s task of identifying a runner who crosses the finish line and who is not in the timer’s database. Now all the timer has to do is enter the data for that runner and print the results. There is no longer a need to cross reference the bib-number to the runner’s chip number.

Visit the RunScore website 

Race Organizers Say Technology Helped Make Event Most Successful Ever

EVANSVILLE, Indiana, March 20, 2008 – Recently formed ChronoTrack Systems, Inc., today announced that the company’s road race timing system, based on Impinj UHF Gen 2 radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, performed flawlessly at the recent Los Angeles Marathon, held on March 2.

ChronoTrack’s “D” timing tag allows race organizers to print an integrated bib and tag for each participant, encoding the runner’s bib number into the tag’s RFID chip at the time of printing. The peel-off, disposable portion of the bib becomes a tag that runners attach to their shoes. ChronoTrack’s tag solution is lighter, less expensive than previous timing methods, and most important to race organizers and participants—disposable. Runners no longer need to stand in long lines to “tag check” their timing devices as with previous solutions. And after the race, tired participants can avoid yet another line to return expensive tags.

Continue reading "ChronoTrack Systems and Impinj Bring RFID Technology to LA Marathon"

The ChronoTrack system will be in use at the following upcoming events.

April 19 — Pat’s Run in Tempe AZ
May 3 — Pat’s Run in San Jose, CA
May 18—  Rite Aid Marathon in Cleveland, OH

In order to develop a timing system that will accurately time athletes in all environments, we have tested the ChronoTrack system in a variety of weather conditions. One of the harshest environments for a timing and tracking system is rain. Checkout the video below to see how the ChronoTrack system handles our Rain and Water testing.

Are you looking for some additional information about using the D-Tag? Check out the instructional video with directions on attaching the D-Tag to your shoe below!

“ChronoTrack’s solution contributed to the best LA marathon in its twenty-three year history and I’m very pleased. Our third party timing verifier told us it was the most accurate timing method he’d ever seen, and he compared it against the same method used to time the Olympics. Both race setup and clean up were much easier—hours instead of days, we needed fewer volunteers and far less equipment. We easily saved between fifteen and twenty thousand dollars, had a smoother race operation, and heard nothing but praise from race participants. Definitely a win-win solution for me.”

-Terry Collier, executive race director of the LA Marathon