About Sport Systems Ltd.

Sport Systems is managed and run by a group of runners, so we know all about races! We were never the fastest, so we got involved in organising the races staged by our own clubs. Dissatisfied with the race management software available we developed and marketed our own. Now the popular RaceMaster98 race management software is used by over 450 UK clubs and race organisers.

We are:

Rob Champion (Commercial Director):

Rob founded Sport Systems in 1990 with the launch of the original DOS version of RaceMaster II. He now has responsibility for the commercial, sales & marketing and financial aspects of the business.

In his early career he worked as a systems professional in the oil and brewing industries before joining an american software development company specialising in supply chain planning software. He sold this product throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

He was a keen club athlete with Cheltenham Harriers and latterly Tadworth AC until knee injuries forced his retirement. He achieved PB’s of 28:56 for 5 Miles; 36:36 for 10k; 59:54 for 10 Miles; 1:18:21 for the half marathon and 3:17 for the marathon. He’s proud to have run in the first London Marathon in 1981 where he beat Dave Bedford!

You can contact Rob at: robchampion@sportsystems.co.uk

Mark Thomas (Business Development Director):

Like Rob, Mark has worked in the oil industry and he’s come across many old rock bands; while studying geology; a discipline for which he found he had no aptitude. After half a working career in data and database management, mainly in the publishing industry, when life turned forty (plus) he set out looking for new challenges and was invited to join Sport Systems.

A misspent 20s got in the way of his best running years but he achieved 37.18 for 10K, 61:30 for 10M 1:22:48 for the half marathon and 3:13 for the Marathon. Now Mark’s a keen supporter of age graded results and even keener supporter of body mass index adjusted results where he believes he has broken a few world records! When he’s not involved in helping Sport Systems’ customers organising their races Mark, not surprisingly, likes to organise races, being involved with the Wedding Day 7K and River Relay.

He says that Usain Bolt couldn't have won his Beijing gold without him, but that's only because he drove him to the airport.

You can contact Mark at: mark@sportsystems.co.uk

John Schofield (Director):

John will be known to many, especially in the North of England, as the face of UKResults and has 25 years of experience in providing a results service for many events throughout the UK. He is also heavily involved with the Safaricom Lewa Marathon and Half Marathon held each year in Kenya.

John enjoys working at events every week of the year and is proud to now be a director of Sport Systems. Having been a race organiser in the past, John has an understanding of the pressures upon, and requirements of, every event organiser.

Like Mark, John also had a misspent 20s, being a drummer in two rock bands during the 1970s and has been a "runner" (in the loosest sense of the word) since the mid-1980s but, unlike his fellow directors, has no claim to fame for beating any famous athlete or setting any world record (BMI adjusted or not) except for, just once, finishing ahead of Ron Hill in a 5 mile race! Nowadays, Ron would beat John hands down even if given a head start!!

You can contact John at: john@sportsystems.co.uk

Emma Gray (Customer Services Manager):

You will no doubt get to speak to Emma if you have a race query or need a quote as these are her main office tasks. She is one of the (diminishing) Sport Systems team who is still an active runner and all round sports person enjoying cycling and swimming and the occasional triathlon along with competition wine sampling. Her Marathon PB is 3:28, 10 Miles 69:59 and 10K is 43:05. She has achieved a 77% Age Grading and regularly achieves 73%. Before joining Sport Systems as Customer Services Manager Emma worked in the printing industry.

You can contact Emma at: emma@sportsystems.co.uk

Hazel Imeson (Administrator):

Hazel works part time at Sport Systems administering race entries and queries She’s also seen from time to time at our events. She’s President of Tadworth AC, the route of the Tadworth 10 goes past the front of the office. A skier and a very keen horsewoman, she’s ridden competitively on the flat, she now supports her daughter in the Tetrathlon, a combination of running, shooting, cross country riding and swimming. Something of a daredevil Hazel has a head for heights having parachuted, flown a glider and taken a trip in a hot air balloon. Hazel has PBs of 62 mins for 10M, 29mins for 5M, 38mis for 10K, 1:26 for a Half and 3:10 of the Marathon.

Unlike Rob and Mark, Daniel has only ever given money to the oil industry. While studying IT he was bitten by the “geeky bug” and worked for computer companies, mainly building and fixing PCs along with fun, fun, fun data entry! He finally settled down and joined us in early 2007 as our web developer after we, by serendipity, met him working part time in a pub!

Much as we have tried, Daniel is still evading running. He claims he is too young but has a PB of 21.32 for getting to work but only one of 33.24 getting home again.

Daniel brings down the average age of the work force by about ten years and makes significant contributions to debates on the techniques and hazards of attaching thousands of chips to numbers.

Dan is now studying full time for a degree in Computing and Business but still works at events for Sport Systems.

Don Anderson (Photo Finish Technician):

Don doesn’t like athletics – he loves it - and it's not surprising why! In the mid 1970s he regularly ran sub 2 minutes for the 800 metres, sub 10 minutes for the steeple chase but his best pb is 52.13 over 10 miles. More recently he can be seen holding the finishing tape at the Manchester Commonwealth Games Triathlon.

A club man throughout Don was President of Belgrave Harriers in 2004, the year the club won the National Cross Country Champs, but he’s still on the cleaning rota for the showers at Belgrave Hall.

Outside of athletics he gained electronic experience in the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers where he also did Modern Pentathlon - poor horse!. In civvy. street he numbers Racal and IBM amongst his past employers. Don has also worked for VSO in Eldoret in Kenya where he swapped his Belgrave vest with Henry Rono.

Don is the Sport Systems’ photo finish technician but is also first in the queue to procure the bacon sarnies, especially on cold mornings.

You can contact Don at: Don@sportsystems.co.uk

Sport Systems Limited. Company Registered in England - No. 3021175. VAT No. 652 8600 35
Directors: Rob Champion, Mark Thomas and John Schofield