Head Race Timing

Start Timing

Before racing begins the timing application must be started. This involves selecting the competition meeting and division followed by a clock synchronisation procedure to ensure that all PDAs are using the same time base.

  • First off ensure that the App main screen is showing that timing is not active. If there is a timing session active then Stop Timing before proceeding.

  • Now choose the Setup Timing button to move to the setup screen.

  • Select the competition meeting/division from the chooser list.

    If the required meeting/division is not available then you may need to reload the meeting list following the instructions in the Reload the meeting list section below.

  • Now select your timing location as either Start or Finish as appropriate.

  • At this stage you should make contact with the timing team at the other end of the course via either phone or radio.

  • Once contact is made it is time to start the timers. First arm the timing setup by clicking on the Start Timer button. This will popup the the Ready to Start Timer? screen.

  • One nominated individual should count down 3, 2, 1, go and everyone on the team shouldclick the Start Now button together along with starting backup stopwatches.

  • Once started the front screen will be shown with the timer running and you should validate that the timers are consistent.

Timing Crews

Timing crews is the key purpose of the timing App. You must have followed the Start Timing procedure before crews arrive at the start or finish line.

By default the timing app will display the Front screen and show the current timer reading in the centre panel and the timings collected so far in the right panel. You are advised to keep this screen displayed until crews are imminent to minimise the chance of wrongly timing crews.

  • When crews are imminent select the Enter Times button from the Front screen.

  • The crew timing screen is now displayed.

  • Navigate using either the left and right arrows, page drop down in the title bar or swipe left and right. Ensure that the expected crew numbers are displayed on screen.

  • As a crew crosses the timing line click on the button that is labelled with that crews number. This will record a timing record for that crew in the right hand sidebar.

  • If a button is inadvertantly pressed it can be immediately corrected by pressing the Oops button. Note that this only undoes the very latest timing record. To correct any others use the Correcting Errors procedures.

  • If crew numbers are not visible, crews arrive in quick succession or arrive out of order and are not visible on the current screen then use the Park buttons to record a time. The parked time can be transferred to an appropriate crew later once the details are known and time allows (see Parked Crews).

If crews are not arriving imminently it is suggested that you click the Suspend Timing button in the title bar and return to the main screen. The timer keeps running but there is no danger of inadvertantly hitting the timing buttons.

Note that the timing activity log records each timing operation/button press. As such it is generally advisable to click a button as a crew crosses the line. This can be transferred to the correct crew later but if no button was pressed there is no timing record to transfer.

Parked Crews

Parked crews are timing records that have not been associated with a particular crew yet. This facility is typically used when a crew number is not known, multiple crews cross the line in a short period of time and where a crew finishes out of numeric order and switching pages would take too long.

Once you are ready to transfer the parked crew to the correct location:

  • Click on the Select button underneat the parked crew record.

  • The label on the button now changes to Transfer signalling that the transfer operation is in progress.

  • To transfer the crew click on the appropriate crew number button whilst the Transfer signal is shown. This will move the timing record from the park entry over to the selected crew. The Park button will be re-armed ready for use later.

  • If the transfer was started in error click on Transfer and that will cancel the operation returning the button to the Select label.

At the end of racing ensure that all parked crews have been properly transferred to appropriate crews.

Stop Timing

Once all crews have completed racing the timing session should be formally stopped to record the end of the race and to prevent inadvertant modification of the results. This can conveniently be done either on location or back at race control. It is best to ensure that there is an internet connection at this time to make sure that all timing records are properly transferred.

  • First ensure that all crews have passed your timing location and that there is no chance of having to time additional crews.

  • If the timing screen is open use the Suspend Timing button in the title bar to return to the App Front screen.

  • On the Front screen select the Timing Completed button.

  • This give a Stop Timer dialog. Select Stop Timer Now to stop the timer.

  • At this stage the timings will be confirmed with the timing console server and a notice will be momentarily displayed when the upload/confirmation process is completed.

After this point the timings can be reviewing by selecting the competition meeting and division in the left sidebar of the application. The timing actions will be displayed in the right sidebar of the application. Many errors can be corrected by clicking and holding on the appropriate timing record in the right sidebar entry. See Correcting Errors for more details.

Restart Timing

If the timing is not synchronised correctly there are a number of options:

  • The best is to stop and restart all timing tables/stop watches. This is typically only practical if there is an issue prior to the racing starting in that division.

  • If racing has started and only one PDA is affected then the best course of action is to stop and restart the timing on the single PDA. It is best to start exactly on a minute boundary (easier to get head around time differences). Once racing has completed the results administrators can add a time offset onto the whole restarted timing session (see Division Timing Procedure).

  • If racing is suspended and crews are restarted then there is no need to stop the PDA timing. The second recorded start time for a crew on each PDA will override the first recorded time.

  • However if timing is suspended for a long period of time then it might be better to stop and restart the timing computers to ensure that only a clean set of results is recorded. In this instance the results administrator would likely need to ensure that any recorded timings from before the suspension are blacklisted and hence not used when calculating the results

Reload the meeting list

Prior to a competition the PDA should be synchronised with the timing console server to ensure that there is an up-to-date list of competition meetings and divisions loaded on the PDA. This can be done on location if an internet connection is present but it is generally best done during preparations and equipment setup.

  • The meeting list can be reloaded from the menu on either the App Front screen or Timing Setup screen.

  • The menu is access via the 3 vertical dots icon at the top right of the screen in the action bar.

  • Select the "Reload meeting list" option from the menu and the list will be reloaded in the background.

  • One the list has been reloaded a notification will appear on screen and the revised list will be accessible from the Enter Timing Details screen.

Correcting Errors

To document.

Manual Timing Setup

To document.