>Actually, Ed, that's not quite right, at least as far as USATF rules are >concerned. The chip time cannot be the official winning time. When chips >are being used, the official time must taken by human timers (who are >timing based on the torso), not by the chips. So it is not correct to >characterize the hand timing as a "back-up" system. It is the primary >system for determining the winning time. See USATF Rule 36.4(g).
Bob - You are of course correct about the winning "time", but I was talking about place, which is not covered by Rule 36.4 or rule 37 to which it refers. In fact, is there anywhere in the rules where it allows the use of a transponder system for picking places? I can't recall it anywhere, which means that technically all places are supposed to be determined by finish judges as per rule 34 and rule 65-1, correct? So I guess I shouldn't have used the word "backup" for place determination, either, except that in practice the chip is used to determine both place and time at many races and for all runners except perhaps first place. Sooner or later I can't help wondering if the lack of a judge on a money place (say first woman over 40 or something like that) in a chip-timed race is going to really cause a problem. - Ed Parrot
