You have either come to this page because you are the curious type or you are looking for a solution to a problem or issue. The topics listed here are broadly in the sequence of their occurrence. They start with entering the race and finish with the race itself. We hope that you find what you are looking for.
Sport Systems host a number of on-line stores for different races. Currently and for historic reasons each of these stores is a separate entity. So, although of our stores my have similar functional look and feel you will need a separate account for each store. NOTE: You can have the same email user name and password across our stores but they will not be recognised unless you have already created an account for that specific store.
Our stores use shopping cart technology. This means that you can add as many people to the race as you like at the same time. Just continue shopping. Even if the overall event has say a 10K, Fun Run and there is a race t-shirt to purchase, you can add them to your cart at the same time.
From 1st April 2008 the England Athletics registration scheme for runners was fully implemented. This replaced the previous unattached levy and entitles registered runners to a discounted race entry fee. As the scheme stands now (October 2008) only club runners can be registered, however some clubs have decided to operate schemes where individuals can choose to be licensed or not. So, even if you are a club runners you may not be licensed! The definitive test is whether you have a valid England Athletics Competition Licence card and registration number. If you don’t then you are not licensed and not entitled to the discounted rate. For more information (when available) please visit www.englandathletics.org. Similar runners registration schemes operate in the other Home Countries.
There are two reasons for this. First, you need cookies enabled and/or second, you need an Account. Please see below.
You can create an account by going to the store and clicking the "Your Account" link at the top of the page and then clicking the "New Customer" button. The account you create is for billing purposes and NOT your race entry.
After you have an account click the "Enter" link at the top of the page and pick the appropriate product e.g.
Half Marathon - With UKA Licence Half Marathon - Without UKA Licence Fun Run
Fill out the form and click the "Add" button under the product options. This will create the online entry and will have all the information we need to enter you into the event and to send your race information pack.
You will then see your "Shopping Cart" with the order. Under the order information there are two buttons. The first is "Continue Shopping" (in purple). This lets you add friends and/or family into the event, with their permission. The second is "Proceed to Checkout" (in green). This will lead you to the payment part of the order so you can complete the transaction.
Our sites do not work without cookies, they are only used for login and shopping cart purposes and are safe to allow. Here is some information on why we use cookies and how to enable cookies.
An order with a Pending status has not yet been Paid and although we have received your details you are not yet entered into the race.
There are two parts to the ordering process with Sport Systems. The first is where we take your details for the race, (and if you are using the store for the first time create an account for you). Second is where we pass you to our secure payment service. This is currently Barclaycard's EPDQ. Once they have taken your payment they pass you back to us.
When your status is Pending it is because the payment process has not been completed. Please follow the instructions below to make the payment.
Locate the "Your Account" menu option on the store and log in using your email and password (you may still be logged on from when you made the entry). You will see your Pending order. Select the order and you will then see "Your order will be completed when payment has been verified. Please check your order status regularly for changes. Re-submit Payment"
Select Re-submit Payment and this will once again take you to Barclaycard to make payment.
Once the payment has been successfully taken you will get an order status of Paid and a confirmatory email.
As it says above you do not have to re-enter all you details if your entry didn't work first time; but you have! Don't worry; you’re not the first and you won't be the last. Follow the instructions above to convert one of the Pending orders to Paid. The other one will remain Pending and will be ignored.
Sorry! This does not mean that you have a poor credit history! In all likelihood it’s because you have miss keyed a piece of information, perhaps you have transposed the start and end date of your payment card. Locate the "Your Account" menu option on the store and log in using your email and password (you may still be logged in). You will see your Pending order. Select the order and you will then see "Your order will be completed when payment has been verified. Please check your order status regularly for changes. Re-submit Payment"
To reduce credit card fraud the card payment systems like Barclaycard (used by Sport Systems) and Mastercard, in conjunction with the card issuers, have introduced additional “Card Not Present” security when purchasing on line. This requires an additional password or pin or memorable question to be answered before payment can be taken. It may be that you will be asked to set this up for the first time while entering a race through Sport Systems, or your payment fails because an incorrect security response has been given. From our observations in talking to customers it seems that your cardholder may give you some grace time before you have to set a password but in the end it’s just another level of security that we will all have to deal with and (sigh) another password to remember.
When you place an order on one of our online stores your statement will show a transaction from “Sport Systems Ltd.” rather than showing the individual race name.
When you enter you will receive three emails from us.
The first is from [Abbreviated Four Character Race Name].esales@sportsystems.net and starts.
Dear [Your Name], This is to confirm that you recently saved an order in our store. Your order status is currently 'Pending' but as soon as payment has been received and verified you will be sent an email thanking you for your payment, your order status will be updated to 'Paid' and we will then process your order. It contains the details for your entry.
The second is from esales@sportsystem.net and starts
Thank you for your online order from Sport Systems. Your order details follow: Order #: [Abbreviated Four Character Race Name][Number] Tax: Shipping: Total: £NN.NN If you have any questions regarding this order, contact our customer service at 0870 350 5123.
The third is from [Abbreviated Four Character Race Name].esales@sportsystems.net and says
Dear [Your Name], Your Order Status was updated to : Paid ----------------------------------------------------- Name : [Your Name] Order Number : [Abbreviated Four Character Race Ref][Number] Order Date : 99/99/9999 Order Total : £NN.NN ----------------------------------------------------- Thank you for your support. Sport Systems Limited
The most common reason for a failed order is in transposition of credit card start and expiry date so pleas be careful in filling in the payment information.
If Sport Systems are sending out race numbers for a race we normally post them between three weeks and one week before the race. You can normally review a list of people entered into the race from a link via the store. If you are on the list you are entered into the race. If you are not on the list and think that you should be please contact us; after having checked that the status of any on line entries is Paid!
As the race draws closer we endeavour to update this list every twenty-four to forty-eight hours. We will also publish information via the store about number mailings.
If you have lost your number or it has not arrived please don’t panic you are not the first nor the last! Please still turn up and we will issue you with a replacement. We will have a list of competitors but it would assist us if you have a copy of your final email from us showing the Paid status.
For health and safety and results integrity we do not encourage people to exchange numbers. It is not unknown for the nearest and dearest of a hospitalised runner to be contacted by the race organiser and for them to discover that the injured party is someone entirely different. Or a number originally allocated to a lady to be worn by a man who then wins a prize.
Each race will have its own policy on number changes but as general guidance if you want to swap a number please take the number and other relevant information to the race's information desk for them to adjudicate on.
We use two chip timing systems; the first (DAG) is disposable and the chip is stuck to the back of your race number. Please do not remove the chip and use it as a necklace or bracelet; it will not work! This chip is detected by a wire antenna that is above the start/finish line.
Attach the number, as shown in the graphic on its rear, ideally using four pins, to the front of the item of clothing that you will be wearing as you crossing the finish line. If you have an over top that you are planning to removed during the race its best not to attach it to this garment. Chips however can be read though clothing. This system has a back up hand held scanner that is held close to the chip just in case it has been missed at the finish.
We do not normally want the chip/number back, but if you want to return it please leave it near the timing vehicle for us to collect.
The second system (IPICO) is a reusable chip worn on the shoe attached by two twist ties. It is detected by a mat at the start/finish. We like to get these chips back at the end of the race. We provide them in postage paid envelopes which will also contain your ties. If you can’t take part please send it back to us the so the event organisers do not get unduly charged for lost chips.
This chip is fastened to the shoe using the two ties. The ties go under the laces and then threaded though the holes in the chip. Twist the ties together to secure the chip to the shoe. You can see an illustration of how to do this here. It doesn’t matter which shoe you use or which way up the chip is although we prefer the orange side up as the chip is easier to see.
Please do not place the chip in your pocket or wear it anywhere else other than your shoe as it will not be detected. There is no back up with this system so if the chip is not picked up by the systems you will not get a time and you will not appear on the results.
The chip will be taken from you at the end of the race sometimes in exchange for your race memento.
Neither of the chip timing systems we use have any personal information, just your race number.
Once you have crossed the finish line keep moving on. The first person to greet you once you have finished will be holding one of our back-up scanners. They will pass their bat across your number and it will be recorded for the second time. (The first time was when you ran beneath the antenna). Do not worry that you are not scanned in the order you crossed the line. The scanners are looking for rouge chips not worn as directed and that was not detected. These are then inserted into the results.
Age Graded Results (AGR) are based on the Open Class Standard produced by The World Association of Veteran Athletics (WAVA) which Sport Systems have incorporated in their RaceMaster98 race management software. An AGR gives runners their result expressed as a percentage, where the value shows how well they did regardless of their age and gender. This allows for easy comparison of relative performance across age and gender. With AGR it becomes easy to see, for example, if the 25 year old in 26th place (AGR 65%) ran better than the 57 year old in 113th place (AGR 72%).
To find out more about the mathematics behind this process we have a more technical answer to AGR.
At many races we are asked to produce two times. The first is what is called the Gun Time. It's the official race time and is the time that the runner takes to complete the course from the time the gun was fired. Of course if you take say thirty seconds to cross the line this additional time is part of your race time.
We can also produce a Chip Time (or Chip to Chip Time as it’s sometimes referred to). This is the time that the runner actually takes from the time they crossed the start line (even if they took thirty seconds to do so from went the gun was fired) to the time they crossed the finish line. However, this time has no relevance to the results whatsoever and is used for information purposes only.
As far as the rules of athletics are concerned the Gun Time is the important time, and this is what the results and prizes are based on, otherwise the race becomes a time trail where the winner need not be the first person to cross the finish line.
At some events it is not possible to produce Chip Times because of the constraints of the course. For example, the race may start on a road where there is no legal road closure and so setting up the timing equipment is impossible. However, we always have timing equipment at the finish which enabled us to produce Gun Time results and prize lists quickly and efficiently.
Sport Systems uses passive RFID chips. They get their power from the field generated by the antennas. Our questions to the manufacturers lead us to believe that they do not have any effect on pacemakers.
SportSystems uses a Dot Net web site. Mac users may run into some difficulties with links and form filling. We suggest that you use FireFox for Mac's. This is a free alternative and fully tested to run on Mac's.