Chip? Clock?

The timing chip works by starting and stopping when you cross over the mats -- at the beginning of the race, into and out of transition, at the end.
You usually put it around your ankle - it's a velcro strap most commonly
Transitions totally depend on the race --- at one race I did, the mat was RIGHT out of the water, so the swim time was accurate but it was a short run to T1... at others the mats are right outside the transition areas.

As for time: if you have a long run from the swim to the transition area, you'll have a longer t1 time.  Plus, you have to take your bike off of the rack and walk it outside of transition .. that all adds up !

(and these aren't stupid questions!)

You wrap your chip strap around an ankle. When you see a blue mat, step on it, that's the sensor for the chip and you'll hear a beep telling you that you've been registered on that mat.

Suggestion is left ankle, away from the bike's drive train.

Transitions start somewhere after the swim and bike and somewhere before the bike and run. It all depends on where they put the mats. Some races, you'll have 10 yds after the swim before the mat and then 100 yds after the mat before you're on your bike and some will be the other way around.

Occasionally you'll see mats that are ..25 mile away from the transition area just because that's the only place they could put them. That's where all the time comes from usually.

- You strap the chip around your ankle, and when you pass across the timing mat, it picks up the signal from the chip and records the time.  You don't need to buy one, all races provide one.

- The transitions... at some races, the mats are right next to where you get out of the water.  At others, I've seen up to a 1/4 mile run to the transition area.  Normally, the bike dismount is pretty close to the transition area (the area where all the bikes are racked).

- T1 includes the total time from when you pass over the timing mat after you get out of the water, run to your spot in transition, possibly taking off a wetsuit,  get the helmet/shoes on, running the bike to the mount point, to whenever you pass over the timing mat to start the bike.  So there is more to it than just putting on the ol' helmet and shoes.

Edited by newleaf 2009-06-18 10:57 AM

Definitely not stupid questions.  I volunteered last week at a sprint, and about half the participants asked the same questions.

The transitions do depend on where the mats are placed.

The chip usually comes with one of those snap bracelets to secure it to your left ankle.  You can buy a chip belt for about $5 from a tri store (and usually at the race) that makes it a lot more comfortable.  I highly recommend it!

Definitely not old school.

From http://www.championchip.com/home/index.php

What is a ChampionChip?

ChampionChip is a miniature transponder in a specially designed plastic housing. This device contains a chip in combination with an energizing coil. These elements are encased in a waterproof glass capsule, meaning the ChampionChip can be used under all conditions (wet, dry, cold and hot).

The ChampionChip can be worn in different ways. For running races, the ChampionChip is attached to the runner’s shoelace. In triathlons it is attached to an ankle bracelet.

Transitions start and end at the timing mats.

Transition times also include the run from the mats at the entry to transition to the bike rack, and then to the mats at the bike exit.

Words I understood in that: "a" , "used" , "this" , "these"

Edited by trishie 2009-06-18 10:56 AM

Basically, it emits a low frequency signal, and each chip has a unique identifier that it sends out. The timing mats sense this when the chip crosses over the top of it, and sends a ping to a tracking system on the computer running the timing.

You wear it around your ankle. Most of the time, they will provide a velcro strap for this purpose. If you put it on your wrist, you run the risk of the mat not picking up your times, as it's too far away from the mat.

The transitions start and end at the mats. A lot of the time, the mats will be right at the entrance/exit to the bike transition area. Sometimes the T1 mat is right out of the swim. The times calculated are from mat crossing to mat crossing. So, if you run back and forth over a mat because you dropped your goggles or something, you're going to have some funky times.

At my last sprint, it went like this:
400m swim. Climb the stairs out of the water, 100m run to the mat. My swim time includes the swim and the run up to T1. I cross the mat, and my T1 time starts. I run to my bike, strap on shoes/helmet/sunglasses, and grab the bike. As I run out of T1, I cross another mat. My T1 time is now finished, and my bike time starts. (At this particular triathlon, there is now a 150-200m run to the mount/dismount line. Annoying.) I do the bike portion, come back, and run over the mat into the transition area. This stops my bike time, and starts my T2 time. I rack my bike, lose the helmet, get in the running shoes. As I exit the transition area, I run over a mat again. This stops my T2 time, and run time begins. Then at the finish, I run over a final mat for the end time.

John

I can't be responsible for the density of the reader. Seriously, my six graders would have no problem reading and understanding that paragraph. Even if they didn't comprehend "transponder" they would know how to look it up in a dictionary, or **shudder** on Google.

Thanks. I think I get it now.
one more while I'm at it.
Could there be a line at the mats?

There's usually multiple mats side by side and about 6-10' across. I've never seen a line for a mat. I would imagine even mass starts there couldn't be more than a couple second wait at most.

six graders are ahead of where we used to be...i bet they don't even know what a dictionary looks like these days.

trish, it's ok, we'll make the mean man go away.