SPORTident chips are popular in orienteering, trail running and enduro mountain biking events. This article focuses on how to use Webscorer PRO to obtain & post results from an enduro mountain bike race timed with SPORTident chips.
There are 3 practical ways to time an enduro mountain-biking race - where there are multiple stages, and where the transitions in between the stages are excluded from the total time. The sum of stage times is the racer’s total time.
1. Manual timing
- Volunteers are responsible for recording the start & finish times at each timing point
- Advantages: Inexpensive to organize as the volunteers can use their own phones as the timing device
- Disadvantages: Prone to operator errors
2. Self-timing
- Racers scan a QR code placed on a waterproof sign at the start and finish of each stage with the Webscorer app
- Advantages: Inexpensive and easy to organize, reliable timing with live results
- Disadvantages: Requires each racer to carry their own phone, and must pull the phone out of pocket at start & finish
3. Chip timing
- Racers pass by a SPORTident Air antennas at the start & finish of each stage (or punch the card manually)
- The SPORTident chip carries by the racer records the time for each pass and is handed to the organizer at the finish
- Advantages: Fully automated, requires no volunteers on course
- Disadvantages: Expensive chips and control stations
Steps to time a race with SPORTident chips
1. Webscorer PRO setup
- You’d post a start list or use Webscorer online reg as usual
- Example app setup for a 3-stage enduro:
Start type = Individual
Record lap times = On
Number of laps = 5
Customize lap names = On
Start = S1 Start
Lap 1 = Stage 1
Lap 2 = S2 Start
Lap 3 = Stage 2
Lap 4 = S3 Start
Lap 5 = Stage 3
Exclude laps = On
Exclude = S2 Start, S3 Start
Chip timing = On
Chip timing system = SPORTident
2. How to scan SPORTident chips at finish
- If you want results to be posted live, select “Live results = On” on the “Race Start” panel
- Connect the SPORTident reader to the USB port of Windows device
- Tap “Start race clock” to start reading chips
- The race clock is only relevant for manual entry (e.g. someone lost their chip)
- Tap the racer box (name or bib) of the racer whose chip you’re about to read
- Place the chip into the reader
- A preview of the chip data will be shown on the screen, and can be edited prior to acceptance
- Once the data is read in, you can make further edits via the fast-tap list on the app
Examples of races timed with SPORTident chips:
Notes:
- The “Start” punch is required when using “Start type = Individual”
- The “Start” punch is treated as a lap punch when “Start type = Mass or Wave"
- The start time for a mass or wave start is specified in the “Race Start” panel
- There’s no need to tap the racer box prior to reading the chip if:
(a) You’ve programmed the racer name into the SPORTident chip, or
(b) You’ve entered the SPORTident chip ID into the start list’s “Chip ID” field on Webscorer
- If you want to allow multiple stages to be traversed in any order
(a) Custom lap names must match SPORTident control point numbers (1 - 511)
(b) Each stage’s start and finish must have a different control point number
- Either the BSM7 and BSM8 USB readers can be used
- Supported only on the Windows version of Webscorer PRO
- SPORTident chip timing requires the PRO Automated timing subscription