Photofinish from FIS World Cup, Lake Louise

And you need a non-homologated $15000.00 digital camera with a single athlete crossing the finish line because.....?

Sorry couldn't resist

Heehee

BECAUSE.....at the World Cup level, providing photofinish is a FIS recommendation as per the FIS Timing Working Group.

You can technically still get away without bringing photofinish to FIS World Cup, but it is unwise and unprofessional. If the slightest thing goes wrong (not only with Timing, but also with TV graphics, FIS live-to-web, Commentator Information Screens, or scoreboards), your means of defense are limited. You may find yourself dragged through the mud in the worldwide press, and possibly into a CAS hearing, even if the timing tapes are perfect, for the slightest problem with any display technology....even something as simple as a GAZ display running out of battery in the middle of a race. The wonders of live TV showcase mistakes instantly to about 50,000,000 people in 30 countries.

It's not quite the same ballgame as lower, non-televised forms of racing.

As Doug DeAngelis says, "not only is photofinish the least controversial way of settling disputes, it's also admissible in court".

Line Scan Camera
The use of a dedicated line-scan camera on the finish line is currently not an official solution and cannot be retained as official timing device. However, both Serge Carnal and Ted Savage indicated that they would be using such technologies in selected future World Cup events in 2005-2006 and would report back on the success of the devices relative to classic photocell technology as currently Homolgated.

These devices, when synchronized in Time-of-Day to the A and B systems would provide photographic evidence of finish times to 1/1000th or better optical resolution as seen in athletics and cycling etc. This could also be done at the start but failures there are far less likely and atmospheric conditions are less conducive to such an optical-based installation.

Test data from the Alpine World Championships in Vail 1999 is already on file with Ted Savage and was proven there to be exactly accurate to the photocell data of the main timing system. Ted acknowledged that in that case a very experienced line-scan camera operator, Mr. Fred PATTON of the USA had been responsible for collecting this excellent data and that perhaps not every installation would be capable of such refined results from this source. Regardless, test data from this year would allow us to perhaps add a level of optical protection to assist in situations where the finish photocells exhibit problems (Schladming) or actually miss a time (Val D'Isere) or the main system crashes (GS Salt Lake Olympics).

I know, I know. I'm just jealous....

Jealous or not just remember the laws of supply and demand. As more people use these systems the price should come down.

Yes that is true. We already rent systems for boarder/skier cross and xcountry sprint events on a regular basis. I suppose alpine will not be far behind.

Photofinish/Line scan cameras are really the way to go for real backup timing. You can set the camera up far from the actual finish line so that it cannot be hit by falling skiers. It has always been my experience that one good reason for hand timing is not the racer that falls and takes out the cells but the poor guy right behind him that gets a less than ideal time.

I will say though that I have not used photofinish on a regular basis for pro time trials. Pro races (world cup level/ nationals etc.) are pretty straightforward as we all know. Timing elite athletes in their element is just about as predictable as it gets. All of the fancy gear and backups should really be deployed for the childrens races where all hell usually breaks loose. Of course there is rarely a budget for that. My hat is off to all of those timekeepers and parents who handle the events on an average weekend.