VIRA© Event Management & Timing
VIRA (VIrtual Race Assistant) is a fitness event management service specializing in road races, nordic ski, showshoe events, mountain bike, duathlon, and cross-country meet management (timing). We focus on conventional timing (electronic but not RFID (chips).
Here is the thing with chips....
Chip technology (RFID) is the event timing method that is most widely accepted as the "best" in terms of accuracy. This is because that technology does more of the work and leaves less open to "human error", both on the part of the timing crew and the participants.
The downside, of course, is cost, along with the fact that chips are also not completely fail-safe. RFID technology is significantly more expensive than other timing methods. We at VIRA target events that have a need for accurate results delivered in a timely fashion but may not need chip technology. We believe, and have a record of supporting with our services, that chip technology is not a pre-requiste for delivering accurate results.
There is no pre-determined point where chips become a necessity rather than a luxury. It depends on factors like race length, field size, the ratio of competitive to recreational participants, etc. We routinely time 5k events with in excess of 400 or 500 participants and have done cross-country meets with over 1800 participants in 6 races. We have done all of this without the use of chips.
We at VIRA believe strongly enough in the spirit of these events that we will not take on an event that we do not feel we can deliver accurate results for. If you aren't sure if your event needs chips, give us a call. If we can't do the job we will direct you so someone who can.
