AST 'enters` its third Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon

The JSE-listed AST Group will again be the official IT partner for the 2003 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon, to be held on 19 April 2003. This will be the third year in terms of the existing agreement.

The Web-based system handling the online-entries developed by AST for the 2001 race has proved to be very successful, making it a great deal easier for runners to submit their entries. The accuracy of the information received by the race organisers has improved dramatically since the implementation of the system, significantly reducing in the administration usually associated with such an event.

The weekly statistics for entries for the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon showed that entries for this year`s race grew at an unprecedented rate, with the entries for the 2003 ultra and half-marathons currently double those of 2002, at the same comparative date. The organisers are confident that the 2003 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon will post its highest number of entries ever.

International entries have also continued to grow and are currently 1 1/2 times the 2002 comparative figure. Over 70% of all entrants have opted to enter online, which runners can do at www.twooceansmarathon.org.za, 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

Race director Chet Sainsbury said: " AST`s contribution to the administration of the race has made a huge difference. Runners are happy about being able to register online, the information we received is accurate and up-to-date and our staff and volunteers on race days have been impressed with the service levels achieved by the AST staff."

AST`s involvement over the past two years has led to significant technological improvements in the race administration, including online security, downloading results onto the Web immediately, co-ordination of the end results and providing a system infrastructure which interfaces with the outside broadcast unit, in order to produce the leader boards and captions for the live SABC broadcast.

"Being the IT partner for the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon has brought with it significant challenges. We are satisfied that we have provided the race organisers with the best service that we were able to, thanks to the commitment of our staff and our suppliers," says Gillian Misplon, project manager at AST Cape.

Once again, the ChampionChip will be used for time keeping during the race. The runners are provided with a chip that they tie to the laces of their running shoes. When they run over a mat, the runner`s time is recorded on a system, linked to the AST system via LAN. The timing details are imported into a SQL database; the chip details will be linked to the administration details to produce the individual`s results.

The results and other information will be provided to the media for publication and will also be available on the Old Mutual Two Oceans marathon Web site, www.twooceansmarathon.org.za.

In addition to all the technology, AST provides an information centre for the press and other interested people to search for finishing times and other information.

As official IT partner for this event, AST is proud to show its commitment in the sporting arena to both its clients and all South Africans.