In a blog entry dated yesterday, USATF Masters T&F Committee Chairman Gary Snyder admits that final results posted on usatf.org are what they are, and “a number of events will never have a time and are indicated by NT. If any of you feel there is still an error, the only process remaining is to contact me either by email or telephone. . . .  I will post the inquiry and the result of each investigation here on my blog.”  And without naming names, he says the timing outfit “was the major cause of this mess, especially the Hy-Tek operator(s). It is my understanding the operator reported late on Saturday the first full day of the meet when we were trying to start the meet with well over 200 60m competitors. In addition a different operator showed up mid-day and was not qualified to handle our meet. . . .  Another source of confusion was the inconsistent posting of the official results on the results board on the wall near turn two. The results would flash up for a brief time and sometimes not at all, leaving the competitors wondering what happened. This was entirely Hy-Tek operator error.”

 Here’s what Gary posted:

Hi Everybody,

On Friday May 15th the USATF National Office posted the latest and final version of the results from Landover. Unfortunately a number of events will never have a time and are indicated by NT. If any of you feel there is still an error the only process remaining is to contact me either by email or telephone. Please do not contact the Meet Director, Games Committee etc as they have been instructed to refer all inquires to me. I will post the inquiry and the result of each investigation here on my blog.

I want to acknowledge the extensive efforts of the Craig Chasse the Meet Director and Sandy Pashkin of the Games Committee who spent many hours reconstructing races from Hy-Tek files and finish line photos. Also, Carrol DeWeese, Games Committee Member who reviewed the video produced by a vendor who filmed the meet for commercial purposes. The video can only be used to determine place but not times.

In my opinion the timing company was the major cause of this mess, especially the Hy-Tek operator(s). It is my understanding the operator reported late on Saturday the first full day of the meet when we were trying to start the meet with well over 200 60m competitors. In addition a different operator showed up mid day and was not qualified to handle our meet. The Games Committee Hy-Tek expert, Sandy Pashkin, who could have stepped in unfortunately was not at the meet. As problems continued Games Committee member Rex Harvey went to the timing area to lend a hand.

In addition the finish line clock, which is supposed to be connected to the Hy-Tek computer so the computer race time is exactly the same as the finish line clock, was being operated manually. Some one was starting it when the gun went off and stopping it when the first person passed the finish line.

Another source of confusion was the inconsistent posting of the official results on the results board on the wall near turn two. The results would flash up for a brief time and sometimes not at all leaving the competitors wondering what happened. This was entirely Hy-Tek operator error.

I have asked Jim Flanik the Chair of the Games Committee to make a recommendation to the USATF Masters T&F Committee for consideration prior to the Oshkosh meet to ensure the timing equipment and personnel are adequate. More on this later.

See you on the track!

Gary

garysnyder@att.net
617-480-606

I salute Gary for going public with these issues and taking responsibility for fixing this. The explanation was late in coming but appreciated.

We’re all adults here. We can handle the truth.