How Canada Games ski races are timed to a fraction of a second

In the high-speed sport of alpine skiing, a single hundredth of a second is often the difference between a podium finish or, as the 2023 Canada Games witnessed, can lead to a tie.

Nearly 200 of the best youth skiers from across Canada have been competing at Crabbe Mountain, northwest of Fredericton, in slalom, giant slalom and super G events. The ski area also hosted mogul competitions last Friday and Saturday.

The Canada Games, being held mostly in Prince Edward Island, have brought world-class technology, course designers and timing officials to New Brunswick, where alpine ski competitions wrap up Thursday.

In the small timing shack by the finish line, Ted Savage is leading a team keeping a close watch on the results. As an official with the International Ski Federation, he's timed sports at 16 Olympic Games, many World Cup races — and now the 2023 Canada Games.

"It's an Olympics-type experience, it's a games experience," he said. "Going in and competing in that type of atmosphere is an extremely valuable thing to do, regardless of where they finish in the results."

Savage, who grew up in Quebec's Laurentian Mountains, was a ski racer, which eventually led to a career officiating winter sports.

During Tuesday's races, three ties were recorded, including one for second place in the super G female final, something that's not uncommon.

"By the time they get to the bottom, if they are tied to the same 1/100th, that's how precise this needs to be in order to be fair to the athlete and to say that's what distinguishes one place from another," he said.

In the timing shack, there are two devices that record incredibly precise times of day. 

At the starting gate, a skier hears a series of beeps that indicate when to push