As a cross reference, WA introduced them six weeks before the first Super Series (state round) of the 2011/12 calendar season last August/September, which seen a bit of an uproar due to the announcement being made so close to the start of the season.

Everything smoothed out though and now it all works a treat, and the additional data offered by transponders gives the WA BMX community something back for their investment. (After each event BMXWA posts full results including lap times, as well as other reports such as fastest 50 laps, fastest 50 riders etc).

BMXWA charge $135 for the unit or $10 per event to hire. For every event you hire, half goes towards your purchase of the unit. Ie hire a transponder five times at $10 a round, and you will have $25 taken off of the price of the unit when you choose to purchase one outright.

I think its pretty fair but as always you can never please everyone.

I have owned my transponder for around 15months now & over the next 2 race meets it will have paid for itself.

I personally love being able to record my times on each track & have the ability to review them after each meet.  Its a great motivator to see that your times are dropping.

An example of them providing great data was at the Sa vs Vic meet this year.   I was involved in a race where the top 3 riders were seperated by 1/10th of a second.  2nd & 3rd place were seperated by 7/1000 of a second.  Sure they may not be perfect but people got a great laugh from seeing how close the results were by being able to log in live to check out the times.

It would be great to see some kind of payment plan option being offered for people who need it or have 3 people in a family racing etc.

The only extra that I would love to see is that transponders are used at club meets or training nights for people to get extra benifit from them as a training tool.

Russ

Hi Cyclops,
I am glad you enjoyed Maryborough on the weekend.  I don't think anyone would have gone home saying they did not get enough riding.  The Gate Starts on Saturday were huge and when they wern't racing they were on the pump track.
You will find it is only Southern zone that is living in the 20th century and not using transponders for Open Days.  At the other 3 zones transponders are the norm.
I will personally keep pushing for transponders until it is normal for clubbies to be run with transponders.
By the way how many people actually use the eZeventing?  Is it worth having at Open Days?

from Marty.

Have had one for a few years now and i reckon it paid for now with the saving if u race enough transponder events. Southern zone is lagging by not running them at their events, the parents and riders  would love the lap times and the results they provide. The track at Maryborough was top class Marty and the pump track the kids loved. Not sure why it was closed on Sunday but if it was from complaints then parents should get a reality check as it was a ride at your own risk thing and everyone who rode it knew that, so to keep riders off them was crap. Top marks with building it Marty.
Cheers

Any wonder participation numbers in Vic are low compared to other states. If this sport is to grow, bmxv needs to have a serious think about what a move like that will do. Decisions like that, only serve to put bmx racing further out of reach for kids and families. Grass roots sporting bodies should be making moves to make participation easier and cheaper. Why a need for a one hundred percent price rise on hiring fee's? Why can i buy a transponder cheaper from other sources? Why do i pay the same for a licence for my 9 year old as a AA pro rider? Why are numbers in Vic lower than say WA? All questions with the same answer if you ask me.

I'm loving the use of Transponders in WA now.

Initially I was a critic as we didn't get huge notice & I had to buy 4 transponders (son & I both run 20" & cruiser & can't be bothered moving transponder from bike to bike).

Now with the introduction of Ezeventing it is great to be able to get lap & reaction times quickly & easily on my phone. Really helps you analyze your races.

Hard to justify in NSW, I used one for the first time a couple of weeks ago at the Southlake Pre-titles, none of our open events use them, however I do believe that is changing,
And I would have to say after using transponders, they are great, seeing your results over the entire day is cool, times, placings, etc.