Runners set for a good time

Tuesday 08 September 2020

Butterfield has donated new timings mats to the Guernsey Athletics Club for use in the upcoming 2021 Guernsey Island Games, as well as other local events.

The advanced timing technology now belongs to the GAC and will be used in the Island Games Half Marathon next year.

The mats made their debut at Guernsey's athletics Summer Series 10k Road Race last month, before recording the official race times of the hundreds of runners who took part in the Butterfield Half Marathon last week.

"The mats use a chip timing system that requires each runner to wear a small, lightweight chip which will be built into their race number," Race Director, Louise Perrio explained. "Each chip uniquely identifies the runner as they cross the electronic mats, which will be placed at the start and finish lines.

"The method is extremely precise and will mean that each runner receives their exact time over the distance. This is particularly helpful for events with lots of participants like the Butterfield Half Marathon.

"Without the use of the timing mats, runners would set off under one timer, which does not account for the delay in cross the start line for any runners not at the front of the line-up. In previous years, the Guernsey Tri Club have been kind enough to lend us their timing mats for the half, however it is fantastic to have mats of our own in time for the Island Games next year."

The Butterfield Half Marathon was due to take place on Father's Day in June, but had to be rescheduled to 6 September because of covid-19.

"When Guernsey won the bid for the 2021 Island Games, we knew that we wanted to provide our support," said Managing Director of Butterfield Bank in Guernsey, Richard Saunders. "The GAC were in need of timing mats for the games and at the same time we were stepping into our first year as Half Marathon sponsors, so investing in the equipment was well timed.

"It was important to us to demonstrate our commitment to the popular community event and, at the same time, make a positive impact for the island's athletics community."

Pictured top: The new timing mats in action.