New ‘Stile’ of entering for ICC CWC 2007 matches
Guyana Chronicle
March 23, 2007
ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 has brought a lot of new features to the cricket experience in the Caribbean and the advent of electronic turnstiles at tournament matches is one such element.
Some fans across the region were surprised to see the devices – which are part of the overlay (temporary) components for the Event – when they turned up for Group Stage fixtures in Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago. There was even some uncertainty regarding how turnstiles operated. However, members of the CWC VIBES volunteer teams and security personnel have been on hand to lend assistance with what has proved to be an easy and efficient system.
In St Kitts & Nevis, security supervisor Wilmot Alleyne is among those directing patrons how to enter Warner Park through the turnstiles.
“It’s not complicated like some people think,” he said assuredly, “you just need to know what to do when you get here.”
Tickets are individually bar-coded, he explained, the side with the bar code must be inserted into a slot in the turnstile. The code is then read by a central computer to which all turnstiles are connected in the Venue Operations Centre (VOC). Once it is verified that the ticket is valid, a green light illuminates and the patron removes the ticket and enters the stadium.
However, if a ticket has already been used and someone tries to enter with it again, the machine flashes a red light indicating that the ticket was previously used and is therefore invalid. The turnstile will not rotate to allow access.
“Once this happens, a volunteer is authorised to seize the ticket and pass it over to security because it’s not valid and officials at the VOC are informed,” elaborated Alleyne.
There were instances in which valid tickets were rejected by the turnstile because some fans, unfamiliar with the procedure, did not enter within the stipulated time.
“There is a ten-second window to get through the turnstile once the green light comes on. Some people were hesitating and the ten seconds elapsed. When this happens, a patron is still allowed to enter but the perforated end of the ticket (with the bar code on it) is torn off and submitted to the VOC at the end of the day.
“That way, there’s always an accurate account of the number of persons who have entered the stadium on a particular Match Day,” disclosed the security official.
Alleyne noted that with each Group Stage match, people have become more comfortable with the turnstiles.
“It’s the first time we’ve had something so sophisticated. Normally fans just walk up and hand their tickets to someone who physically tears the ticket and let’s them into the ground. We don’t need to assist as many people now, especially those who came to the earlier matches. They know what to do and the turnstiles are functioning very well,” he said.