EVENT TIMING

As a race director I fully understand how important race day is, how stressful it can be and how a negative experience for your entrants can impact your reputation and the future of your events. At NE Timing we strive to take as much stress out of your day as possible. Prior to your event our aim is to gain as much information from you as we can, this enables us to work seamlessly in the background on the day, leaving you to focus on the important stuff.

Our Equipment

Our timing equipment uses Ultra High Frequency RFID technology, with competitors wearing a passive timing chip. The chip is read as the competitor crosses a mat or passes an antenna and the times are sent to our state of the art timing software, to be processed. This enables us to provide you and your competitors with fast and accurate times and results.

The Chips

We currently offer a choice of 2 types of chip, a reusable ankle chip or disposable chips, these can either be attached to the back of your race number or worn on the shoe.

For larger races (over 400 competitors) we would highly recommend disposable chips, which removes the inconvenience of collection at the finish and drastically cuts down on registration time and resources. If required disposable chips can also be posted out to competitors prior to the event.

Planning

Before race day we require certain information from you to ensure the smooth running of your event, this is likely to include:

Race layout - Is the start and finish in the same place? If there is a significant distance between them we will require more equipment and/or manpower. To ensure we have the correct equipment we will also need to know how wide the start and finish are. For multi-sport events we will need a clear picture of your layout and transition points.
Race format - Is it a standard event or maybe something different? Multi-lap for example, where the start/finish is crossed multiple times. We like to set up and test every event before we arrive on-site to ensure there are no last minute issues.
Age categories - These are essential for prize giving, we can deal with any categories that you wish to use.
Additional prizes - Is there a team prize for example and how do you want that to be calculated.
When the chips are required - If you require the chips prior to race day then they will need to be shipped to you.
Competitor information - This is required in Excel or CSV format, 48 hours before the event. We also need to know the expected number of 'entries on the day'.

Race Day

We will arrive at the venue at least two hours before the start time and give you the timing chips if they have not been previously posted. We will then set up the finish area first, erecting a shelter to

work from and set up our timing equipment. We will work with your registration staff, gathering any on the day entries and keying them into our timing software.

If the race start is at a different location to the finish we will set this up and test all equipment 30 minutes before start time, moving back to the finish once the runners have departed.

Depending on the size of the field the first 100 to 150 finishers will normally contain the prize

winners. We can produce a list of overall and category winners as soon as all the category winning positions have been filled or at a time pre-agreed with you. Once the last runner has finished we can provide a full set of results.

For all races a number of “on the day” entries can be accommodated, any last-minute additions and alterations present no problem to us.

We handle post-race timing enquiries quickly and directly so runners are not kept waiting and we will provide amended results to reflect any alterations. We know how important your reputation as race organiser is to you and as runners ourselves we understand how much it means to get an accurate race time after all the effort!

How resilient are our systems?

We always use 2 timing lines at the start/finish, this reduces the chance of a misread and enables us to continue timing in the event of equipment failure. In addition to this our data is fully backed up and we also have the ability to manually record times via a tablet. The tablet links directly to our results software, so results would be calculated as normal. We also video the finish line as an extra backup.

Results Service

All of our results are sent ‘live-to-web’, meaning they are available online as soon as a competitor crosses the line or progress can be tracked in a multi-sport event. Prior to your event we will provide a web link that can be put on your race website or sent out in a pre-race email. The link will not change once we have supplied it, so will also be the destination of the final results. This means there is no longer a need to wait for your results to be sent to you in order for you to upload them to your website, simply use the link supplied and the results will be there as the race progresses. Our results site also has functionality to export the results, so you can either export them yourself or we can send them to you in your required format.

Results Kiosk

Our results kiosk enables competitors to obtain an individual print of their time as soon as they cross the line. We find this service extremely popular so now include it for free at all our events.

NE Timing

As a team we have been organising road races for 8 years and have over 15 years’ experience in the sports event management business. As regular and serious runners ourselves, we also have a personal understanding of what competitors expect and want from an event.

We strive to keep our prices as low as possible whilst also giving you the best service possible. We are therefore confident our prices will not be beaten!