SKATE TIP OF THE WEEK
Inline secrets from the world's top skaters and coaches

This week's tip:

Safe by Design

A guide to setting up a safe and fair finish for an inline speed skating road race

By San Diego Street Elite

Chip Timing

Safety

Chip timing systems vary and it is beyond the scope of this guide to discuss all the details. Here are a few tips specific to inline skating races.

1. Selecting a timing company
   
   • Try to use a company that times bicycle races, not just running races. If they are good at bike races they can do a skate race.
   • Ask if they have timed an inline skating race before. If so, ask for the phone number of the inline skating event director and call the director for an opinion on the company. You may be better off selecting a company with bike experience than one which has timed an inline skate race before, but poorly.
    
2. Mat issues
   
   Many timing companies use a mat across the finish line to read the timing chips. New technology is eliminating the need for a mat but is not always available. Mats are acceptable for inline skate races but not ideal for the following reasons.
   
   i. Tripping
   
   Skaters can trip when they cross the mat due to the sudden increase in friction which tends to pitch them forward. They can also trip if the edge of the mat flips up. Be sure to tape down the leading edge.
   
   ii. Fear
   
   Even if a mat is smooth and taped down and doesn’t cause a skater to pitch forward its scary. There’s no way to know what to expect until you roll onto it. Skaters never experience the transition from pavement to carpet except at races.
   
   iii. Jumping
   
   Due to fear of falling due to the surface change some advanced skaters will jump over the mat. This may keep the timing chip too far away from the sensor mat to be read.
   
   iv. Chip placement
   
   Some skate boots are very large and high so that the chip may be worn too far above the sensor mat to be read.
    
3. Gun to mat vs. mat to mat
   
   Running races are sometimes timed so that the clock starts and stops individually for each runner. The runner’s time starts when the starting mat is crossed and ends when the runner crosses the finish mat. This is done so runners in large fields, who may have to wait minutes after the starting gun goes off to cross the starting line, are timed accurately.
   
   However this “mat to mat” timing is a disaster for skating races. Due to the pack style of skate racing, a skater could intentionally delay crossing the starting mat, skate a pack, lose the sprint at the finish line, but still be declared the winner! This is not only unfair to the competition but also dangerous as it encourages fast skaters to start behind slow skaters and go around them.
   
   "Gun to mat" means each skater is timed from the starting gun to when the skater crosses the finish line. "Gun to mat" is the only acceptable timing scheme for an inline skating race. Large fields may be broken into different categories with separate races.

Next: Shared Finish Line (Skaters and Runners)

Back to Safe by Design introduction

• Talk about this story

• San Diego Street Elite

Related reading:

• Skate Tip of the Week Archive
• Beginners Guide to Outdoor Racing
• Beginners Guide to Inline Skating