My second triathlon was a sprint distance. I still got a wristband and body markings, but now my black wristband had two little white tabs Velcroed onto it. I had to turn one in after the swim and one before heading out on the run so that I could get my split times. This way I knew how long each leg took. Although I didn't know it at the time, Kevin and Anita Miller were busy in the background, calculating everyone's time by hand.
A few years later, there was new excitement - a race (I believe it was Riding Mountain, but I may be wrong) introduced chip timing. Chip timing had been used for some time in the Manitoba Marathon, but this was a first for MB Triathlon. Goodbye to remembering little white tabs in the middle of the race. Hello more accurate results (or so some thought).
However, other things have come along with this technological advancement - lost times and slow time posting, for example. I'll never forget seeing a friend visibly upset after a Riding Mountain race because her time was gone. She had completed the race, but there was no record of it. (They were able to "dig" through the computer and find her results eventually.) I've seen times messed up because someone crossed the mat at the wrong time, and it was difficult to see what was supposed to be where. Oh, and if you didn't stay after the race to see your results, forget about finding out until at least a day later, because they simply won't be posted yet.
On the other hand, Kevin and Anita had results posted at the race almost instantaneous with the last person crossing the finish line, unless something went awry. Kevin came up to me at one race and asked me for my times (I had been keeping my splits with my watch). It turned out that they had a rookie in the timing crew and someone had pushed the button too many times, registering an extra time. Within minutes, Kevin had gathered enough information to find the false time, and they were on their way. No lost times. To my knowledge, next to no wrong results, and nothing that went unfixed. Oh, and if you didn't stay after the race to see your results, they were posted on the Tri MB website that afternoon (unless the Millers did not happen to have access to the Internet where they were - then they were up as soon as they did).
Kevin and Anita have been doing race timing for years. Years and years. Understandably, they are done. They don't want to haul the equipment around to every race. The challenge of getting accurate timing has been met so many times that it doesn't really present a challenge. They want to race, not time. Chip timing (though I can't say it's really better) is the new era. I get that. At the same time, I sure will miss the quick, accurate results that they have provided consistently, race after race, year after year. I'll miss the "human touch" of what they do. Thanks Kevin and Anita for your many years of service to the triathlon community. Job well done.
The only thing I won't miss is those darn little white tabs...
I only had the honour of working with Kevin once for timing the Triple Threat Tri, and I was amazed at how seamlessly he completed the task. He and Anita have been great assets. Looking forward to seeing their own timing now. Way to go Kevin and Anita.
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