Do you want to get an easy 0.25sec PB*?
Timing Pads In the Pool? – You Know What To Do…
When timing pads are in the pool then this is simple – and best of all it helps the AOE Operator, Referee and Finish Judge!
“So what do I need to do?” I hear you cry!
Swim ‘through the pad’! Well not swimming through the pad, but at least hitting it with a firm, and positive touch.
The timing pad is a piece of equipment that works when the pad is moved enough that a contact forms between 2 thin metal straps that sit behind. A firm touch, perhaps a bit firmer than when playing keepie-uppy with a party balloon, or pushing open a door, is all that is needed – and ‘swimming through’ rather than ‘swimming to’ should give that effect. (But don’t forget that this firm, positive touch, needs to be with both hands when doing Breaststroke or Butterfly!)
“But how will this give me a better time?”
When using Automatic Officiating Equipment (AOE) timing, the timing system is started with the starting tone, and stops when the swimmer hits** the pad at the end of the swim. The starting blocks also have a Back-up Button (usually a red cable with a handle and button on the end), which the Finish Judge will press once the swimmer is observed to touch the wall. Unfortunately if the pad hasn’t had the firm contact, then this back-up button forms the basis for the official electronic time (checked against the Finish Order). The thing is that this is not a fully automatic time – the Judges reaction time is also in the mix – the time taken to observe the finish and then press a button, which is on average around 0.25sec.
“Hang on, so what about when AOE isn’t in use – surely my times must be slower than they should be?”
Nope – not really. The Timekeepers start their watches as a reaction to the starting signal, and stop their watches as a reaction to the swimmer touching the wall. The slight delay for the reaction time at the start is cancelled out by the slight delay at the finish. Plus there are usually more than 1 timekeeper, so it’s either an average (2 TK’s) or middle time (if 3TK’s).
So, there you go – swim through the pad!
Wanna test the ol’ reflexes? Try this link:
https://humanbenchmark.com/tests/reactiontime
* An average. Depends on several things…!
** Please dont ‘hit’ the pad though – it upsets the AOE operator, and the technicians that have to fix it…