How chip timing works
Each participant wears a small timing tag, usually on the back of the bib. As participants cross a timing line at the start and finish, antennas read the tag and record when it passed. A tag is usually read many times while it’s in range, so scoring software reduces those raw reads to one clean passing per timing point.
Because everyone is timed from the moment they cross the start line, each participant gets an accurate chip (net) time, even in a crowded start where the back of the field reaches the line well after the gun.
From reads to results
Timing is only half the job. Scoring turns passings into results: overall and gender places, age groups, masters, and any custom divisions your race awards. Each distance and wave is scored with its own start time, so a 5K and a 10K, or several wave starts, can share one finish line.
Before anything is final, we review every result against the start list. Missing reads, bib swaps, and late registrations are much easier to sort out before awards than after.
Gun time or chip time?
Your race decides which one determines awards. USA Track & Field rules allow either for non-championship road races, as long as the basis for awards is stated in the entry materials. We’ll help you choose and recommend publishing it in your race information.
What we need from you
- Start times, waves, and distances
- Award categories and age group brackets
- Whether awards use gun time or chip time
- Access to your registration data, or a participant file export