It is 12.45pm on Tuesday in the Absa Cape Epic’s Venue Operation Centre (VOC) – a mobile office parked in the race village – when race operations head Glyn Broomberg sits upright.
On the screen in front of him is a map of Stage 2 and hundreds of yellow dots on the course, each one showing where a team is at that moment. One of the yellow dots has turned red and is “bouncing” up and down.
A rider has pressed his SOS button.
Broomberg quickly alerts the ER24 team sharing the VOC and soon three blue dots on the screen – two medics on motor bikes and a 4x4 ambulance – are moving towards the red one. Within minutes the first medic is on the scene and treating the rider, who has crashed and is concussed. He also has possible fractures.
A short while later he has been stabilised and evacuated off the mountain in the ambulance.
And that, in considerable part, is due to the satellite tracking feed introduced to the 2018 edition of the event by Globalstar Satellite Africa – the Official Tracking Partner of the Untamed African Mountain Bike Race – and their SPOT Gen3 tracking devices.
Globalstar provided each of the 680 Absa Cape Epic teams with their lightweight SPOT Gen3 device, about the size of the palm of your hand, as part of a three-year investment that saw the race migrate from a GSM-based cellular tracking system to a satellite tracking solution.
Given the remote, rugged nature of the Western Cape, some sections of the route have little or no cellular coverage. The partnership with Globalstar Satellite Africa ensures continuous connectivity and enables the organisers to keep tabs on all teams and logistics from start to finish every day.
As happened on Tuesday, when a team needs assistance they push the SOS button to alert the organisers and set in motion emergency support. Globalstar Satellite Africa also supplies SPOT Trace devices to 60 support vehicles – the blue dots on Broomberg’s screen – and two helicopters for the duration of the eight-day race.
“This has been a big step forward for us,” said Broomberg. “The satellite-based system has substantially improved our ability to track teams and react rapidly to emergencies across the whole course.”
He pointed out that the devices given to support vehicles such as ambulances has given the event organisers the flexibility to monitor and move them as required.
The SPOT Gen3 devices also have an extraordinarily long battery life: they were switched on before the Prologue on Sunday, March 18, and will not need to be recharged until after the event has finished on Sunday, 25 March.
“The SPOT tracking feed has worked 100% for us from the moment it was switched on,” said Broomberg.
However, the facility which allows fans and family to track their favourite teams has been hampered by a glitch on the Absa Cape Epic’s website: “We have had a problem with our own interface and it has been heartbreaking because we are getting this amazing feed from the SPOT technology,” said Absa Cape Epic marketing and communications manager Sarah Harrop.
Globalstar have become a world leader in satellite and communication devices for recreational use since they were founded in 2007. They have now been responsible for 5800 recues worldwide and continue to provide emergency messaging and support worldwide. Their devices have already been used in the grueling 250km Marathon Des Sables through the Sahara to great success.
Besides its SOS and tracking functions, the SPOT Gen3 has Custom Message button – which you can use to let family or friends know where you are by sending a pre-programmed message with your GPS location. A Check-In function lets contacts know where you are and that you’re okay at the press of a button.
And SPOT has a search and rescue member benefit programme linked to GEOS International, with coverage reach across almost the entire world.
Sean McCormick, Managing Director of Globalstar Satellite Africa, said: “The satellite tracking technology provided by Globalstar Africa enables race organisers, competitors and loved ones at home to have the ablity to see all the action live, giving peace of mind that individual’s locational information can be found regardless of cellular coverage, and that help is just a push of a button away ”.
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