Is iPhone tracking legal?
My wife wanted me to get the more timely athlete tracking you can see with myathletelive.com for IM WI. However, by the time I ordered, apparently they were sold out...or at least were nearing their max. I got an order confirmation, but this morning got an email saying they weren't going to fulfill my order due to high demand.
As I look around the web, there is some disagreement about whether carrying (but not otherwise using) a smartphone for "Find my Friends" type tracking on the bike is ok or not. I see some "no, never" quotes and some "if it's in your bento and not used, it's ok"...but nothing definitive.
Is there a recent and/or definitive ruling on this?
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I assume by "legal", you mean whether or not it is allowed in a race.
From Jimmy Ricotello's statement at the start of the Ironman Athlete Guide:
"Sorry, absolutely NO communication devices, MP3 players or other audio devices. (Yes, that means NO cell phones, Oakley ThumpsTM or Apple iPods®
."
Since USAT competition rules apply in WTC events, he is presumably interpreting the relevant USAT rule: "Unauthorized Accessories. No participant shall, at any time during the event, use or wear a hard cast, headset, radio, personal audio device, or any other item deemed dangerous by the Head Referee. Any violation of this Section shall result in a variable time penalty."
Sounds to me that, strictly speaking, no cell phone. But just as you could ask, what if I draft and get away with it, you could take along the iPhone, not "use" it, not be seen carrying it, and probably be OK. In violation of the rules as stated, but OK in terms of not receiving a penalty in an IM.
But in a non-WTC event, it seems more nuanced. Depends on what the meaning of "use" and "dangerous" are. On the one hand, it could be argued that sending out your location is "using" the device. On the other hand, if your involvement is totally passive, not putting yourself or others at risk on the course, and doesn't result in receiving any *physical assistance", well, the item can't be deemed "dangerous", and the intent of the rule is not broken, IMO. (Another USAT rule: "...The receipt of information regarding the progress, split times, or location of other competitors on the race course shall not be considered the acceptance of unauthorized assistance…")
I don't have to worry about any of this, because I have a dumb phone.
Get a Garmin GTU-10, or borrow mine. I don't use it when racing, but use it for safety and other reasons when training many days.
Somehow that Garmin gadget had escaped my notice. Looks like it's been discontinued... did they ever set it up so you could track live for more than 5 hours?
Al - I had been looking at web-based rules and discussions of them instead of the athlete's manual. Duh. Thanks.
When I get to T1, I put it in my pocket in my top.
I am guessing that it is ok as long as you don't use it during the race — as in that would be potentially dangerous.
My wife then can use FindMyFriend to see where I am on the course.
Jeff - if I understand right, the Garmin unit you have requires a cell phone to couple up for live tracking...so you face the same basic issue with it - that carrying the phone itself is apparently against the rules (though more data gets transmitted).