Back to Back Events in Germany
In Hamburg, Germany on August 12 & 13, Colorado Time Systems' equipment featured prominently at the Deutscher Ring Aquatics competition in Hamburg, Germany. The event was part competition and part entertainment extravaganza.
The competitions – which included the breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and freestyle events – were integrated with a professional entertainment show each day. The unique event is just one more international competition relying on CTS for precision timing.
Photo: Craig Jacobs, CTS
Three world records were set during the two-day event. Roland Schoeman (RSA) became the first person ever to break the 21-second barrier in the Short Course 50M Freestyle with a time of 20.98. This beats the previous record by a staggering 12 hundredths of a second. The two other world records were set in events not traditionally included in swimming competitions. Hamburg native Tom Sietas broke his own records for distance swimming underwater. On Saturday, while wearing SCUBA fins, Sietas swam an incredible 213 meters without taking a breath. On Sunday, Sietas returned to swim, this time without fins, an equally impressive 181 meters. Because of the extended period without oxygen, an important condition for achieving these records is that the swimmer must not cause harm to himself or herself while swimming. Upon surfacing, a team of medical personnel asked Sietas a series of questions to verify that his mental faculties were intact.
CTS equipment was also used in June for the German National Championships in swimming. "Europe is not our backyard," said Anita Sayed, president and CEO of CTS. "But we're slowly getting to markets there, which is great for us. People are trusting the fact that our products are reliable."
A Large Audience
Spectators saw the same thing. According to Juergen Wolff, general manager of Boards & Timesystems – a European distributor of CTS equipment since 1991 – there were more than 14,000 spectators attending the two-day event. Even German national and international television channels broadcast the event.
Photo: Craig Jacobs, CTS
And it's not just the event itself that is unique: The facility the competition was held at – Tennisstadion am Rothenbaum – is actually the tennis stadium where the ATP Masters are held and can hold up to 10,000 spectators. A team of 15 workers started on construction of a mobile pool July 27th, and finished two weeks later. It took 48 hours to fill the pool with 775,000 liters of water (about 205,000 gallons) and facility managers even let the public in to watch its progress.
Photo: Craig Jacobs, CTS
The International Future
"This was the first event (of its kind)," Wolff said, adding that there are plans to continue the event annually for the next five years, and that they already have sponsorship commitments for the next three. "It was a great competition."
The Deutscher Ring Aquatics championships are just another jewel in CTS's crown when it comes to tapping an international market, Sayed said. Another market that CTS is very active with internationally is China, which has a plethora of aquatic competition events every year.
Photo: Craig Jacobs, CTS
"The need for our product is growing throughout the world. We're definitely spreading our wings."
Click here to visit CTS' website. For more information on the company, call (970) 667-1000.
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