Introduction
As the technical delegate for Zone IV Swimming, I travel extensively in our region and see a varying array of timing equipment. Some new, some old, and some usable but with issues: cables, buttons or touchpads missing, or controllers that are faulty.
A lot of countries are in this same situation. As such, I have been taking our TimeDrops with me to see where it could be used in place of, or as backup to, existing equipment. I also wanted to showcase to other countries a solution that is not only affordable but can work with existing infrastructure and, in the case of TimeDrops, is very portable and easy to deploy at different swimming venues.
Background
Eswatini Swimming, in this particular case, does not have much in terms of equipment or infrastructure. There are in fact no 50m pools in the country. The venue planned for the 21st Zone IV Swimming Championships was an 8-lane 25m SCM pool.
This pool does not have much servitude on deck, and as such the less on deck the better. They have a Dolphin System and Infinity Start but have had a few issues with it in the past. There is no tolerance for touchpads in the pool either, but they do have decent starting platforms and backstroke ledges. They do not have a scoreboard either.
Why Time Drops?
With the above in mind and the issue of servitude on deck, the need for a scoreboard with live timing, and the existing equipment they have, it was a no-brainer that we look to use TimeDrops with their starter and Meet Manager environment (via MM Link).
There are several reasons that TimeDrops not only adds value to the event but makes it easy to run and administer:
- Wireless Environment: No cabling on deck means not only a tidier setup but a safer one as well. We used 3 buttons per lane with 2 manual backup stopwatches.
- Live Results: TimeDrops Live meant that following the event from any of the 14 countries attending the meet was easy and accessible from abroad.
- TV Overlay: TimeDrops Overlay was a huge help for live TV broadcasting. This is usually a big stumbling block wherever we go, as there is often a high level of coding and scripting needed to integrate timing graphics.
- Start System Integration: The Start Adapter meant easy use of the existing Infinity Start System.
- Scoreboard Display: Live timing was easy with TimeDrops Scoreboard. We erected a 5m x 3m LED outdoor screen for the duration of the meet. This was very easy for spectators and swimmers to see, and the screen doubled as a backdrop for the podium during medal ceremonies.
"Many of the countries came down at the breaks to see TimeDrops itself and look at how it works, as they were impressed and keen to look at getting it into their countries and clubs."
Network Setup
For the network environment, we set up a dedicated router with a SIM card exclusively for the TimeDrops environment. TV ran a LAN cable for the live timing overlays and graphics feed.
I always run a router UPS in case of a power failure or glitch to ensure there are no interruptions or issues. The TimeDrops controller also has a built-in battery backup.
Results
This was the first time that this event had a solution like this in play, and it really elevated the level of competition in terms of not only the timing itself but the look and feel as well. The ability to watch the app timing, the scoreboard, and the results in real-time transformed the spectator experience.
Overall efficiency improved dramatically with the move away from traditional paper-based events. We printed very few meet programs and only printed lane timer sheets for the backup times.
"As a solution and how it performed, it was as good if not better than any other timing system on the market. In the 4 days of competition, we only reverted to backup manual times on 3 occasions."
Any glitches or errors that occurred were really down to user errors at the end of the day. TimeDrops simply picks up all the slack in an environment where there are any missing elements for the running of a meet.