ACTIVE Network has announced ‘world-class success in timing accuracy’ by its ACTIVE Network | IPICO timing system used at the sold-out, 10th edition of the Tokyo Marathon.
ACTIVE notes that, with just over 36,000 runners chosen from a lottery of more than 360,000 entries, the ACTIVE Network | IPICO system was selected for its fifth year as the event’s exclusive timing partner.
ACTIVE Network | IPICO’s dual frequency RFID system, which included real-time athlete tracking, was used to time and track almost 35,000 finishers at the Tokyo Marathon, resulting in nearly 520,000 separate splits recorded with an overall 99.9998% accuracy.
The Tokyo Marathon is organized by the Tokyo Marathon Foundation with support from Tokyo Metropolitan Government. ACTIVE Network | IPICO supported R-bies, a leader in timing services to major events over the last 25 years, who timed the event.
With 14 timing points dotting across Tokyo’s most historic landmarks, the complex timing environment was staffed by an on-site team of 70 timers who provided a live feed to televised and web media, as well as via text messages to friends and families of participants.
Using the ACTIVE Network | IPICO timing system was also reportedly easy to set up. The Tokyo Marathon timing crew spent an estimated 20% less time setting up and operating ACTIVE Network | IPICO’s timing equipment than was spent setting up the equipment of its previous timing provider, thereby reducing the manpower needed.
“Once again, we are happy with the performance achieved by our timing partner, R-bies, using ACTIVE Network | IPICO timing technology,” said Tadaaki Hayano, Race Director and Chief Strategic Officer for Tokyo Marathon Foundation.
“This is the fifth year we’ve been working with R-bies and using the ACTIVE Network | IPICO technology. Each year, we are impressed with its ease of use and, most importantly, its accuracy. We look forward to another successful event in 2017.”
The Tokyo Marathon utilized a customized set of hardware for the event that included ACTIVE Network | IPICO’s IP-X dual-frequency readers, varying lengths of antenna mats to meet the road widths of each split point and custom-branded souvenir shoe tags for runners as a memento from the event. Tags were specifically designed for men and women.
“ACTIVE Network | IPICO strives to continually improve upon our already existing industry-leading read and accuracy rates for timing,” said Sam Renouf, General Manager of Sports at ACTIVE Network.
“With a world-class event like the Tokyo Marathon, it’s paramount that all race results are accurate – from the elite runner to the first-time marathoner. We are very proud of our timing partner Motohiko Kato and the R-bies team for their accuracy using ACTIVE Network | IPICO technology. We are pleased to have significantly exceeded industry standards by achieving 99.9998% accuracy in a marquee event such as the Tokyo Marathon.”
“We’ve been using ACTIVE Network | IPICO timing tags and equipment since 2007,” said Motohiko Kato, Head Timer for RECS, the timing division of R-bies Japan. “We continue to be impressed with its accuracy. For an iconic event like the Tokyo Marathon, accuracy is crucial. To achieve a 99.9998% read rate with the ACTIVE Network | IPICO Tokyo Marathon souvenir design tags is a wonderful result.”
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