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By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

NEW SEMI-AUTO SYSTEM

Michener Aquatic Centre gets timing technology upgrade

Mar 7, 2025 | 12:43 PM

Competitive swimmers in Red Deer can now enjoy the benefits of an updated timing system at the Michener Aquatic Centre thanks to the Red Deer Masters Swim Club.

At the end of January, the Club finished installing a new semi-automatic timing system by Time Drops, which is more efficient and reliable than the Colorado Dolphin system previously used, Club President Roy van der Sluis explained.

With the new system, when the horn sounds and the race begins, the timer automatically starts running. Then, when a swimmer finishes a lap or completes the race, a volunteer timer presses a button that logs their time and immediately uploads it to the display. The buttons are all synced to a main timing module in addition to saving the data internally in the event a communication error occurs.

“As a swimmer finishes, he or she can look up and see their time and instantaneously it also shows up on people’s phones, so even if they can’t visually see the finish because of where they’re sitting,” he said, “that phone allows them to see, okay my swimmer finished and here’s the time.”

Times displayed on the new timing system. (Supplied)

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Van der Sluis added, the volunteers controlling the buttons have all received sanctioned training from Swimming Alberta and Swimming Canada.

“There is some training involved because taking a time is one of the most critical pieces of the race,” he said. “For swimmers, it’s all about trying to get that fastest time to qualify for nationals; so, 0.002 of a second makes a huge difference, so the timers need to be doing their job.”

The cost of the project was $5,400, which included installing the timing module and button system as well as two televisions to display results. Of that total, $4,700 was provided by the City of Red Deer through the Community Recreation Enhancement Grant program and the rest was covered by the Red Deer Masters Swim Club.

While the Club was responsible for completing the project, it has made the technology available to all of Red Deer’s primary swim clubs, including the Catalina Swim Club, Special Olympics and the Red Deer Marlins.

Van der Sluis said feedback so far has been “nothing but exceptional,” whether it came from swimmers, coaches or parents.

While the improvements are welcome, competitive swimmers in Red Deer are still hoping for more, he said.

“That was another big reason for going after this system: just to improve what we have and give our swimming community some form of improvement, because there hasn’t been anything in well over 30-40 years,” van der Sluis explained.

He said that in other municipalities, timing technology is provided by the City — but not here, adding that clubs have been advocating for an updated facility for about two decades.

“The aquatic groups are extremely frustrated with our poor facilities,” he said, but seeing this upgrade in the meantime has improved the situation for now.

The Red Deer Masters Swim Club, also known as the Silver Sharks, is a not-for-profit organization.