RFID Shoe Tags

[ogtrack]

Hi Everyone

    we are new to this system and have a question about the reusable RFID shoe tags.  Are you able to write the bib number on the tag?  What is the best way to keep the bib and RFID tag so the coaches/athletes do not get them mixed up.  Any help is greatly appreciated.

thank you,

Mike and Jeanette  

[reece.bell]

Hey guys! Welcome. You can use a dry erase marker of print a label. Some have found that some labels reduce read rates. You would then safety pin the chips directly to the number.

[Oscar's Race Results]

Yes, you can program and reprogram but what works best for me is making a serious effort to get my chips back.  My races do not run over 200 people.  I have 2 cat litter buckets painted nicely and have workers watching.  The red tag lets you tell at a glance if people have them on right or not or are wandering around after the race with them.  I laminate a sheet of 25 Alien 9662's with the fiber reinforcer, then spray the whole thing white with pretty good paint.  When that is dry, mask off all but the tip and spray that red.  Then cut them out and grind them smooth.  There will be a few you have to spray red separately.  I program them myself, use a permanent sharpie and do an inventory and replace what few are lost after every race.  

But, for accuracy and reliability, it is like Brian says, those skinny legs just let the waves go right through.  I can have walkers get within a meter of the line before they are picked up.  And that is with side circular antennas at ground level.  With those BIG numbers and getting 99+% reads, you could almost get away with no bibs.  

[Brian Agee]

My head timer still has athletes place them on the shoes out of habit, but for a couple of years now I've had participants place one tag on each side of their shorts ("chips on the hips"). This causes the tags to come back looking brand new since they were no part of them were cinched down with the laces, the tags are less likely to be ripped off by participants that don't know they aren't supposed to rip them off, and the tags are easier to attach/detach after the race.  Two tags are not required, but I do it anyway to double my chances of 100% reads.

Every since I went to paperless registration and dynamic bib assignment (bibs are not assigned until they check in on race morning), the process for managing bibs has changed since the following video was created, but if you watch from the 31:25 to the 35:21 part of this video you can see how we prepare and organize our tags. If you want to write the bib # on each tag, a wet erase marker is best.

For XC races I use the Team Roster report to print a roster for each team. I fold each roster in half, place the bib #'s (with their corresponding tags) in each roster, and use a couple of paper clips to hold it all together. I then place each roster (one for each race) for each school in one gallon zip lock bag with the name of the school written on the outside of the bag. You can now use the "Team Labels" report and place a sticker on each bag for each school instead of writing the name with a sharpie. Here is an old post where you can see photos of the coaches packet: https://groups.google.com/d/msg/agee-race-timing/S1dQPoShF9A/w_3l6nWO6jQJ

[Oscar's Race Results]

Early packet pickup is an invitation to having folks leave their chips at home so assigning and handing out on raceday is a big plus.   

I had trouble getting people to put "chips on the hips" in the right place.  They would have them pinned to their numbers sometimes.  For me, it is less work to use a permanent Sharpie on a chip I know I have programmed right.  Brian can attest to how challenged I am in this department.  He is very correct that they come in bunged up because no matter how much you try, some people tuck (actually 'cram') them in laces effectively destroying the chip.  Some rip them out rendering them useless.  My personal preference is to sterilize what I get back, inventory and replace a few after every race rather than reprogram them.  I love the reliability and accuracy of the shoe chips which is the deciding factor for me.  It is a hoot to tell my Chronotrack buddies with the Flashpoints, "Lets see your system do this"  when someone strolls in and gets picked up right at the line.

Oscar