Question - Can I have a cell phone on arm during Branson 70.3 half ironman race for tracking only?

Nobody here can answer the question- only the Race Director.

but if I were you- I'd get a wrist strap for it and a big sticker that says "Garmin" over the face of it. 

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

Well, I sent this letter to the race director and within not even a 1 minutes time I got a reply that yes, I could use it: 

"May I use a cell phone for gps only and have the cell phone
part of it disabled?  

I really want my friends and family to be able to track me
live for those who are in branson with me so they can get a better idea of
where I am at in the race to cheer, especially the elderly family I have so
they aren’t sitting out for longer than they need to."

I'm going to print out the reply email and have it on hand just in case i'm asked    
(Now I can close down this Garmin logo image that I found that I was going to print out, heh) 

I am surprised too. I had a race announcer in a 70.3 last week announce that possession of a cell phone, even if just for tracking purposes, was considered against the rules and would result in immediate disqualification.

Of course, you could always spend a few bucks for this www.TrackMyAthlete.com.

While it's nice to hear from the RD, he is not the USAT official which is the sanctioning body for the race. I would get in touch with the head referee just to make sure it is not considered "any other item deemed dangerous by the head referee."  Refer to the USAT competitive rules section 3.4 i :  i. Unauthorized Accessories. No participant shall, at any time during the event, use or wear a hard cast, headset, radio, personal audio device, or any other item deemed dangerous by the Head Referee. Any violation of this Section shall result in a variable time penalty. 

Just a precaution and my 2 pennies. Good luck Sunday, looks to be a great day for racing.

FWIW the Branson bike course is fairly easy to spectate on if someone is willing to drive out to it but the run course is the best area to watch-4 laps at Branson Landing-shopping, restaurants etc.

I would suggest spectators watch the swim start and T-1 then either take the shuttle to the landing or back to the hotel and be ready when you really need it-and can appreciate it- on the run.

Av8rTx,

How often do the shuttles run?    Also, is the shuttle the best way for spectators to get to T1 to watch the swim?   I didn't even think that they wouldn't be able to drive and park for the swim.  

Thanks for this heads up.

Ken

This very issue has come up at races i have officiated, and to date we have not allowed the use of an iPhone for any purpose in a race. Primary rationale is that race officials do not have time or ability to monitor participants to see what function their iPhone is currently operating. Doesn't take a lot to turn back on these said "communication functions," or the mp3 player in the iPhone. I do understand that head of officials Charlie Crawford is reviewing the rules as they pertain to the issue.

Yeah i understand it is easy to turn back on...if I wanted to stop and waste the time   Heck, I don't even want to type in my password to unlock the phone(I have to cause of security with employer) and go to Endomondo(the app) and start the tracking in T1, let alone make a call or listen to music(which I severly dislike seeing people even training with music while running, let alone suicide by music on the bike...I just feel it is dangerous to know what is going on around you, but that' just me).    I'm even turning my sound on the app off since it wants to give me audio update on what mile/time I just completed and my overall time....I don't want to annoy other racers and I don't want it to do anything else but feed gps points back to the app for people to track with.

Glad to see they are reviewing the rules.   I thought about storing my phone in my bike bag but I'm going to instead wear it on my arm cause I'm worried the signal in Branson is already weak as it is and I'm going to have my little bag packed with tube, co2 cartridges, and inflator

I also totally understand why people want to listen to music.  I personally think it is dangerous, but I just never have done it so I guess I don't know what I'm missing.   I also completely understand that people try to 'sneak it'.  I remember seeing a guy trying to put it on out of T1 at Trizou and they immediately yelled at him and told him to get rid of it.     Glad to see they are reviewing the rules.   I doubt it will take much to DQ/penalize someone who is seen with buds in their ears or talking on a phone instead of just calling out someone with a device strapped to their arm.   I'm actually thinking I might just take my chances and put the thing in my bike bag anyway so people won't judge me and get the wrong idea I'm breaking the rules.

I think it is 3 laps of 4 miles.   Either way you are running through the middle of a outside shopping district and lined on each side are shops and lots of branson tourists and shoppers cheering everyone on.   Probably one of the best atmospheres for non stop cheering on a run, well at least a half ironman run.    It is also mainly flat so I'm very happy with all of that cause after the grueling bike, I'll welcome lots of cheering, distractions, and tedious flatness.

btw, you can with some phones have custom apps that will disable the cell radio and the gps will still work fine.  It uses satellites and not cell towers, I believe.

To add on to the discussion of rules enforced by officials and such.

From the athlete guide, and WTC head referee Jimmy Riccitello:

UNAUTHORIZED EQUIPMENT: Sorry, absolutely NO communication devices,MP3 players or other audio 
devices. (Yes, that means NO cell phones, Oakley Thumps™ or Apple iPods®.

 So if u do go with it on your arm, you may have to plead your case.. which would involve going to an on course penalty tent. At the penalty tent it is volunteers, and they are just doing the job of writing down info and marking bibs for "3 strikes then DQ", so your case will not be able to be adjudicated (since no ref or rd)

but if the app is going to update others online it will need the cell towers to transmit the data.  GPS is just a receiver.

You are right.    I wasn't think about that.   Hmm, so I'm wondering more and more if they RD said okay but maybe wasn't supposed to, since all the feedback here it looks like this is something new that no one else has seen allowed before.   I'm going to put my phone(windows phone) in T1 and when I get to T1 I'll start the app, start the 'workout' for tracking and put it in my bike bag.    I'll just do without it on the run.   The run is easier for them to see anyway and they'll know when I'm about to get to the run anyway.

And if at the race meeting they call out 'that guy who we said it was okay to use the cell phone for tracking and then posted what we said on the BT forum', sorry but you can't use your cell phone at all.  Then, it isn't like they are taking my race away...I still get to have a great race and put to use my hard work and training.   

I have two friends who will be logging in with my facebook who will be updating my status's with the ironman live time updates and link, and if allowed, the endomondo updates and links.  

Thanks all.   This is by far my fav community of any forum I'm a part of.

Normally, I'm a stickler for the rules, but this is one of those cases where the letter of the rules and the intention may not really match. These gadgets turn into a hazard when people fiddle with them during the race, try to make calls on them, or put on the headphones/speaker rather than stay alert and aware of their surroundings and other racers around them.

If you're not doing any of those things, what's the difference between this device and any other GPS? If garmin adds MP3 functions to their next generation watch, would it be disallowed?  What if it require headphones and the user doesn't have headphones in their possession? At a certain point in time, common sense has to prevail. It's the use of the device which should be banned, not the possession of the device. Kind of like states passing the no cell phone use in school zones laws. It's not illegal to have a cell phone in your car as you drive through a school zone, it's illegal to be talking on it.

I use a Garmin 310, so this doesn't really apply to me. But if I normally used a smart phone as a data collection device, I'd make sure all the ringers and shakers were turned off and put it out of sight in the pocket of my shorts. As long as its not on display, not making any noise, and you're not fiddling with it, I wouldn't think there'd be a problem. Kind of like "Don't ask, Don't tell"! If it turned into a problem, I'd have the race director e-mail in my bag and deal with it after the race.  

If they are not allowed it is a lot easier for a ref to determine if the device is authorized or not.  If he sees one, bam, penalty.  If they are allowed in a certain mode, how does the official deter if the device is being used legally or illegally.  I understand that the OP states that he doesn't want to use any other mode but I'm sure others would.   And if Garmin did add an mp3 player to the next version I think it should be banned, but that's not the discussion at hand.

Allowing such devices is opening a big headache for the refs as a whole. 

You do not see phones and mp3 players in the races at the present time.  If and when that changes, then you can use it.  I personally would not take a chance.  I don't want to spend my valuable time writing to the race director and officials and then re-explaining it to them when they try to penalize me in a race.

Lobby to change the rules for the future, but for now, don't use it!

OK, I'll step back down off my pulpit now.