IPICO Sports Systems to Time 2012 Tokyo Marathon
IPICO Sports announces that The RECS, Inc., a division of Tokyo based R-bies Corporation, will utilize IPICO Sports systems to time the sixth edition of the Tokyo Marathon on February, 26, 2012. Since its debut in 2007, the Tokyo Marathon has rapidly grown in both size and significance. In 2010, over 335,000 applicants entered the lottery for 32,000 available positions in the marathon, and 3,000 available positions in the accompanying 10 km race.
With the largest disclosed prize purse in Japan, the Tokyo Marathon is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race. The event will also be used as part of the selection process for the members of the 2012 Japanese Olympic Marathon Team. IPICO Sports began working with The RECS, Inc. in 2007. In July 2009, The RECS, Inc. expanded its partnership to become responsible for the distribution of IPICO Sports automated tracking and timing solutions for use in the active sports and wellness markets in Japan.
The RECS, Inc. has extensively used IPICO Sports systems in many major events throughout Japan over the past few years. Based on this demonstrated success, R-bies Corporation recommended the use of IPICO for the Tokyo Marathon 2012, and then the Tokyo Marathon Foundation accepted the proposal.
Tad Hayano, Director General, Chief Operating Officer, and Race Director of the Tokyo Marathon and the Tokyo Marathon Foundation, said, “We are very excited about the IPICO Sports products, with their advanced automated tracking and timing solutions for active sports. We are delighted to be working with this company. We have thoroughly tested the IPICO Sports system in other events through RECS, and we are very confident the system will meet and exceed our expectations.”
IPICO Sports President and CEO Gordon Westwater said, “We recognize the significance of the active sports market in Japan, and we are very pleased to be working with R-bies, the industry leader in Japan, to impact that marketplace in a very significant way. As part of our expansion plans in Asia, we consider that working with the Tokyo Marathon and being selected by them and by R-bies as their preferred timing system, to be very important.”
R-bies Corporation President Jiro Hashimoto said, “We will do our best to achieve great success at the Tokyo Marathon 2012 using IPICO timing. Their innovative solutions offer our customers in Japan many benefits. We have worked closely with IPICO during the last three years, and we look forward to the successful introduction of their solutions into the active sports market in Japan.”
About R-bies R-bies Corporation (formerly Runners Inc.) was founded in 1975 and is the leading event management company in active sports in Japan, and it also provides online registration services for events, video and photo services, sports equipment development, and produces numerous print media publications. Through its event management and sports timing divisions, The RECS, Inc., it timed over 900,000 participants in more than 400 major events in 2010, including the Tokyo Marathon, Nagoya International Women’s Marathon, Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon and Hokkaido Marathon. Visit http://runnet.jp/