SleepMonsters and TrackMe360 “SPOT” New Opportunities

Rob Howard / 05.05.2008

SleepMonsters and TrackMe360 are now working in partnership to maximise the benefits and potential of the new SPOT Satellite Messengers in tracking adventure racing.

After pioneering the first use of SPOT in an international race at the Baja Travesia last month, preparations are now underway for coverage of this month’s Florida Coast to Coast race and the Untamed New England race in June, with live tracking maps and instant leader-board updates.

Until now race tracking via satellite was limited to a few big budget races a year, but the launch of the SPOT device heralds a revolutionary change in race management, safety and media coverage. SleepMonsters and TrackMe360 are taking the lead on this, working closely with SPOT so that racers, supporters and Race Directors can now benefit from more accessible and affordable race tracking and live event reporting.

Mats Jansson quickly saw the potential of using SPOT in adventure racing and established TrackMe360 to rent out SPOTs to races, ensuring they didn’t have to subscribe to the annual satellite time contract, which is the primary cost of the SPOT service.

“For racers the SPOT devices are easy to carry and use, and ensure their position is known and that they can call for help if needed. That safety cover is of vital importance to Race Directors, and there is the added advantage of positional tracking for effective race management,” said Jansson.

The partnership with SleepMonsters began with the development of their existing race leaderboard to enable teams in Baja Travesia to signal their position on arrival at a checkpoint. The race leaderboard then updated … provided they were in the right location!

After recent work with SPOT this process is now more easily implemented for future races, and supported by positional mapping of teams, ensuring online race coverage is instantly updated.

“We’ve successfully used mobile phone networks to update leaderboards at every transition during our World Championship coverage,” said Rob Howard, Managing Editor of SleepMonsters, “but this was the first time we’ve been able to use satellite communication to mark a teams arrival at every checkpoint.

“The SPOT messengers are lighter and smaller than previous satellite trackers, and with TrackMe360 making them much more affordable we expect to see them used extensively for race tracking and timing on SleepMonsters in the future.

“This is great news for race followers and for everyone involved in adventure racing; teams, sponsors and race organisers. We already provide extensive race coverage, and our service and technical support are free to races. Now the partnership with TrackMe360 will add a new dimension to our race coverage.”