Measuring for the gold

Judging sports events worldwide

From the Olympics to local clubs, Leica Geosystems measurement technology provides accurate results in precision efficiency. When judging sporting events, such as Hypomeeting, the speed and accuracy of measurements is crucial for keeping the event on schedule and providing correct results.

Leica Geosystems’ Leonhard Koepf, senior product manager, and Gian-Philipp Patri, applications engineer, understand just how calculated these measurements need to be made. As members of the Measurement Team for the Hypomeeting, part of the Leica Geosystems community relations programme, the two spent the recent spring weekend taking anywhere between 500 to 600 measurements with the new Leica TS16 total stations for the meet. They kept constant track of the distances of jumps and throws for the 30 athletes in the competition using 360-degree mini prisms for faster calculations without the need for repeated aiming.

“The judges in these competitions are not necessarily measurement professionals, and making the process simpler for them is important so they can focus on determining the winner,” said Koepf. “With the ability of the TS16 to stay locked onto the prism and the total stations automatically inputting results into the review system on the field, the judges can quickly make informed decisions.”

Another important aspect of the measurement process is not getting in the way of the athlete’s focus. From the zero line to where the athlete or the object he has thrown lands, the measurement technician must take extreme care not to interrupt the athlete’s progression while keeping the line of sight clear of obstructions.

“These men and women come out here, and they are zoned in on what they have to accomplish. We can’t be in their way, breaking their concentration with our measurements,” said Patri. “With the GRZ101 360-degree mini prisms, we don’t have to keep walking back to the pole and turning them. We stay out of the way and quickly provide the measurement without distracting the athlete or slowing the event down.”

Canadians Damian Warner and Brianne Theisen Eaton took the tops scores for the decathlon and heptathlon, respectively, for Hypomeeting 2016.

Back to Reporter 76 article overview

Story: Measuring for the gold
Chapter 1: A global competition
Chapter 2: Judging sports events worldwide