Alien Technology''s RFID tags and readers have been pressed into use in the world of athletics to save time and money for event organisers and participants - starting with the Blodomloppet race in Scandinavia.

     Alien''s local VAR, Racetimer, is using the company''s RFID products at race events around Europe to benefit more than two hundred and fifty thousand runners. Assigning a unique identification (ID) tag number to runners has been a common practice for more than a decade, and this has usually meant attaching bar code labels or low-frequency RFID tags to the laces of runners'' shoes. 116.30.15.182 This article is copyright 2007 UsingRFID.com.

No more mats 
     In conjunction with the tags, often-cumbersome mats often need to be spread on the ground to track runners at checkpoints throughout the race track. The mats incorporate an integrated RF antenna to track the runners'' time at these designated checkpoints.

"Race organisers have long been dissatisfied with the technology options for tracking runners," explained Ronnie Skoeld, Marketing Director for Racetimer. With Alien''s UHF readers and antennas, there is no need for runners to stand in line after crossing the finish line to have their unique ID tag scanned by the organisers.

Read range
     Race administrators benefit from accurate RFID reads up to 20 metres (approximately 60 feet) away to identify runners, saving up to several minutes per runner using UHF RFID instead of barcode or LF RFID technologies.

Skoeld added: "Racetimer is currently under contract for numerous diversified sporting events including a major cycling event, BMX race, cross-country, triathlons and horse races. Relying on Alien''s UHF reader and tag solutions saves us 20% on costs per event, and up to 5 hours per event in manpower and resources, compared to barcodes or LF RFID."

Racing give-aways
     Racetimer is making use of the UHF readers and tags at the well-known Blodomloppet race (the second largest cross-country race in Scandinavia). Each runner is equipped with a disposable UHF passive EPC-compliant Gen 2 Alien Squiggle tag.

     Collecting runners'' tags after the race is a time consuming and inefficient distraction for race organisers and runners alike, so the Squiggle tags (which are low-cost and disposable) can simply be given to the runners as a keep-sake after they cross the finish line.

                                                                                                                             Extract From Information Week