UCA Members,

This is an important announcement from the UCA Board that affects everyone who races UCA events. Please read this carefully.

Good Evening:
 
As you know, last year we required chip timing for all UCA points races.  Almost all of the races were timed using the Winning Time Chips.  We had mixed results.  Here is a list of some of the issues that we faced:
 
-          Renting Chips - very difficult to track and hard to take a deposit
-          Registration – almost impossible to process 10 to 30 people 30 minutes prior to the race and rent 10 chips at the same time.
-          Database issues – due to registration problems, we had incomplete databases which created incomplete results
-          Chip placement – if the chips were not placed correctly, they did not read.
-          Incorrect readings – we had a handful of chips that would read a few second earlier than they should.
-          Software issues with Winning Time, not SBO.  The SBO software worked exactly as advertised.
 
There were also several advantages to the chips:
 
-          By the middle of the season, Cat 1/2 and 3 timing was almost always correct and very fast
-          Riders finishing way behind the pack were given a good score and an accurate score
-          When they worked, results were fast and accurate.
 
We tried to remember that the goal is for fast results with accurate times.  Electronic timing will get us to this end, but we felt that changes were necessary.
 
After reviewing all options, we have come up with the following policy: All UCA Points Races must be electronically timed.  This means that all points races must use chips or a professional camera specific for sports capture.  It will be the promoters’ prerogative to determine what system he/she will use.  For instance, for chip timing Mac at milliseconds.com or Jon Gallagher at Sports Base Events are available.  For a professional camera, Jon Gallagher is also available.  The prices for Sports Based Events to use a camera or chips will be approximately the same.  The camera timing may be a little cheaper.
 
I know that this will mean that many of the races will not be using the Winning Time chip that many of you have purchased.  This doesn’t mean that we will not return to chip timing in the future when we get all of the bugs worked out.  But, until chip timing can solve the issues they currently struggle with, we feel that we need to offer other affordable options to the promoters.
 
The UCA will also supplement the salary of an individual who will help us with database upkeep and results uploading.  This will be immensely important to keep our new website clean and updated.
 
Our hope is that everyone will be able to get accurate and fast results at every UCA event.  We feel that this decision will be the best way to meet that goal.  If you have any questions, please contact me or any other member of the UCA Board.
 
We are going to have another great season.  I have never seen so much enthusiasm (by promoters especially) this early in the season.  We appreciate all of you and your love for our sport.
 
Ferg