A "Chip" for MORA
The Mora Vasaloppet goes high-tech with computerized "chip" timing
By Greg Marr The cancellation of last year's Mora Vasaloppet was a crushing blow not only for thousands of skiers who make the trip to Mora, Minn., an annual pilgrimage, but to the small town that hosts the events. While
nothing can be done about the weather, the Vasaloppet staff refuses to let something like a lack of snow keep them from planning improvements for the 2000 Mora Vasaloppet on Feb. 13.
The Vasaloppet goes high tech this year with the introduction of 'chip' timing. The Vasaloppet board of directors, after over a year of study, voted last summer to use a computerized timing chip. The decision will
affect not only how the race is timed, but how the finish line is set up, how times will be posted, the time of the awards ceremony and even how skiers enter the start area before the race.
Gone will be the timing booths standing as sentries in the middle of the finish line. Gone will be the wooden chutes. Gone will be bar-coded tags to help mark your order of finish.
All this because of a small electronic chip provided by ChampionChip of Minnesota.
While new to the Vasaloppet, ChampionChip has been used at a number of other silent sports venues, perhaps most notably in our area is the North Shore Inline Marathon in Duluth.
Skiers at Mora this year will find an envelope inside their race packet that will contain a chip attached to a velcro strap. On the envelope will be the chip number as well as instructions. The chip number is matched to
the name and age class within the Vasaloppet's timing database (it will not match the individual's bib number). The chip is then attached around a skier's ankle or around the top of a ski boot with the velcro strap.
When skiers cross the finish line, the chip is recorded by sensors in a large mat buried in the snow. The mats are connected to computers which process skiers' time and class placements. A short time later printed
results will be available to skiers. That potential for faster race results should also translate into the ability to schedule an earlier award ceremony.
"An earlier awards ceremony was one of the reasons we decided to move toward chip timing," says race president Wade Weber. "But another key reason was to provide a more open, safer finish line."
In past races the timing booths formed the finish line and skiers sprinting toward the finish had to either slow
down earlier than they wanted or attempt a nimble stop at the front of the narrow chute formed by the timing booths.
This year, skiers will cross an open finish line, go to the sign representating thier race to receive their completion medals from Kranskullas, remove their skis, and turn in their chip. Only after the chips are collected will skiers exit the secure finish line area to eat at the soup stop and collect their clothing bags.
Remembering to afix the chip is critical: Leave home without it and your efforts for the day will not be officially recorded. If skiers are part of a group or a family of skiers, and somehow everyone's chips get mixed together, it is important to be sure to wear the correct chip. Each chip will have a number which will correspond to a number that will be on the label on each individual race packet. That label will have the skier's name, class, bib number and chip number.
While remembering yet one more detail on race morning might seem daunting, the chip has worked well at other large races. In addition to the inline marathon, the 'chip' technology has been popping up at running and bike races.
Veteran Mora skiers will also find big change at the starting area. Many skiers are accustomed to entering the starting area by simply ducking under the blue and yellow flagging. Now skiers will enter the start area
through two gates at which time their chips will be "read" by the timing computers and a record of who started the race will be created.
Skiers who do not pass through the gates and have their chips recorded will not be timed for the race and the result will be the same as not wearing a chip at all – the skier's efforts and even participation will not be recorded.
It is also important to note there are no timing mats at the starting line which record the exact moment of
crossing that line. This means skiers, as always, will be racing on "gun time" (or, in the Vasaloppet's case, "dynamite" time).
The procedure is actually very simple. Attach the chip to your ankle or ski boot. Pass through one of the two gates at the start to insure your chip is read. Cross the finish line with your chip and turn it in before you leave the secured finish line area.
The chip isn't the only thing new at the Midwest's second largest race. The race will have a better chance of being held in even the most marginal of snow conditions thanks to new mowing equipment purchased for this year. The flail mower can give grass and even brush a Marine-issue cut so even a couple of inches of snow can be packed for a skiable surface.
Away from the trail skiers and visitors will find the new Vasaloppet Nordic Center trailside just north east of
Trailview School. The center will provide changing rooms, sauna, a wax room, meeting room, public area and timing area for races.
Finally, skiers who have prerace jitters can compete in a Nordic Sprint Tour event at approximately 3 p.m. on Feb. 12. The Mora Sprint is the first of four events in the series (others are in Vermont, California and Idaho). The procedure is simple: Ski one kilometer as fast as you can. A multiple heat, double elimination
format will determine the final champion. Making the effort worthwhile is a top prize of $1,000, $500 for second, $300 for third, $100 for fourth and $45 each for fifth, sixth and seventh place.
Keep in mind, however, that the competition will be stiff as the full complement of the Fisher Factory Team is expected to participate. Register at the Vasaloppet office, by calling 1-800/221-0598 or e-mailing mtmxc@sover.net.
Thousands of skiers have come to embrace this special set of races and thousands more have experienced it vicariously as spectators. With a colorful mass start, separate 58K and 35K courses, wooded trails, and exciting finish – coupled with the generous support of the entire town and over 700 race volunteers – it's not
surprising that many skiers felt last year was just not a complete ski season. Bring on the snow! FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact the Feb. 13 Mora Vasaloppet at P.O. Box 22; Mora, MN 55051; 1-800/368-6672; Fax: 1-320/679-4840; e-mail: information@vasaloppet.org; website: www.vasaloppet.org.
Racing beings at 9 a.m. with the 42K classic. The 58K and 35K freestyle events go out at 10 a.m.,
followed by the 13K at 1 p.m. | 
