Tutorial - Webscorer FAN

expand collapse
expand collapse

OVERVIEW

expand collapse

Part of the Webscorer race timing ecosystem

Webscorer is a complete system for organizing timing-sport races:
  • Race registration: Webscorer.com provides easy-to-use online registration (free & paid)
  • Race timing: Webscorer PRO is a full-featured manual timing app that runs on an iPad / iPhone
  • Race results: Webscorer.com supports posting of results directly from Webscorer FAN or PRO, or via a .TXT upload
Racers and spectators can follow the registration confirmations, start lists and results on Webscorer.com or download the free Webscorer FAN app that runs on an iPad / iPhone (and soon on Android).
expand collapse

Basic race timer

  • Mass start only (PRO version provides additional start types)
  • No limit on the # of racers
  • You can create a start list for quick recording of results or to start race quickly you can enter racer data at finish
  • You can adjust the race clock to a race already under way or do a countdown to race start
  • Ability to restart a race (false start)
  • All racers are assumed to be racing the same distance
  • Only overall results (no age / gender category results)
  • You can time a race with racer names only (no bibs required) or with names & bibs
  • When a racer finishes, tap a time and then fill in the name or bib #
  • If multiple racers finish together, tap-tap-tap a time for each racer and then enter the names or bib #'s
  • Cancel / error correction for all actions
  • You can edit recorded times, names or bib #'s during and after the race
  • Racers can also be marked as DNS, DNF or DSQ
  • If you missed starting the race on time you can correct this during or after the race
expand collapse

Results posting / sharing

  • Share the results via Bluetooth with another Webscorer FAN or PRO
  • Or, post the results to Webscorer.com
  • You can choose a public posting, where the start list or results are visible & searchable by anyone or a private posting which requires that you must know the posted URL to access the start list or results
  • Use the private posting option when posting practice races
  • If you use the private posting option, you can still find your own races via My posted races both on the app and on Webscorer.com
  • Preliminary results (during the race) can be shared via Bluetooth and posted to the website during the race
  • If you already posted the results and need to make a correction, edit the data on the app and repost - this replaces the previous posting
  • When posting to Webscorer.com, you can include your own race photo and race notes that get displayed on the results page
  • After posting, you can add your race organizer credentials, link to your own website, edit the race notes and adjust the race location on Webscorer.com
expand collapse

Download races from Webscorer.com

  • Download both results and start lists
  • Search for races based on date, sport, location or race ID (race ID is the 4- or 5-digit number at the end of the posted race URL)
  • Once downloaded, no internet connection is required to view start list / results
  • Keep a permanent archive of downloaded results on your device
  • Results downloaded from Webscorer.com can be shared with other Webscorer app users via Bluetooth
expand collapse

Download races via Bluetooth

  • Get a copy of the results from the race organizer's Webscorer PRO after the race (or even preliminary results during the race)
  • Or download results and start lists from another Webscorer FAN
  • Once you have a copy of the results, you can share them with other Webscorer app users
expand collapse

Follow a race "live"

  • Webscorer PRO can post live results to Webscorer.com during the race, within seconds of each racer finishing
  • Webscorer FAN can follow such a race live, all you need in an active internet connection
  • Once started, you can find the the live race on your Webscorer FAN by tapping Download races / Recent results
  • You can stay on the Recent results panel waiting for the live race to appear - the panel updates itself automatically
  • Tap the race to download it, then tap the distance / category / lap you want to follow and just watch the results appear automatically
  • By default, the app will check for live results every 30 seconds; you can change this to every 10 seconds via the Settings toolbar option
expand collapse

TIME A SIMPLE RACE

expand collapse

General notes

  • Times are recorded at an accuracy of one tenth of a second (0.1 seconds)
  • You can exit the app even when a race is running - the app will resume where you left off upon resume
  • You can even turn off the device to save battery during a long race, the race clock keeps running and no data is lost
  • Only word of caution: do not adjust the device's system time during a race - the app keeps track of race clock as an offset from system time
  • Try to keep the screen dry, the touch sensitivity of the screen suffers when water is present
  • When wiping the screen dry, first turn the screen off to prevent any inadvertent taps
  • We recommend against using any screen protectors (thin sheet of plastic), these tend to reduce touch sensitivity
  • The grey status line at the bottom of each panel is designed to give context-sensitive help
  • A Help button is available on all panels which gives you access to this Tutorial
expand collapse

Race name

  • You can use the default name or type in a race name of your choice (minimum of 4 characters, maximum of 40)
  • You can change the race name during or after the race on the Results panel
  • Multiple races can have the same race name; the app keeps track of the races by combining the race name and race date & time
expand collapse

Race options

  • Choose Create a start list if you know who's racing before the race start
  • Choose Enter racer data at finish if you don't have time to create a start list or don't know who's racing
  • Choose Names-only race if you're not using bib numbers
  • Choose Race with bibs if racers have bib numbers
expand collapse

Race clock adjustment

  • If no adjustment is made, the race clock starts at 0:00:00
  • Tap the race clock field to make an adjustment to the race clock
  • The countdown allows you to auto-start the race, e.g. if you need to leave the start area with the timer before the race starts
  • To setup a race countdown for 10 minutes to race start:
    • Select Set race countdown
    • Choose 10 mins 0 secs from the dial
    • Tap Done
    • When it's exactly 10 minutes to race start, tap the green timer button
  • When a countdown is under way, tap the green Start button to stop the countdown and tap the button again to start over
  • During the countdown, all other options on the Race Start panel are disabled
  • The adjustment for a start time allows you to start the timer after the actual race start time
  • For example if you are not able to be present at the start area, someone else can note the start time and allow you to synchronize the timer later
  • Say a race started an hour ago:
    • You'd set the race clock to Adjust for start time
    • Set 1:01:00 on the dial
    • Tap Done
    • Wait until exactly 1:01:00 has passed since the race start before tapping the green start button
expand collapse

Name list

  • When creating a start list, it's quickest to first add all the names to the name list before navigating to the Start List panel
  • You can also add names on the Start List panel
  • The use of the name list is optional when recording racer data at finish
  • However, pre-entering names makes it quicker to record racers as they finish
  • The name list is available for editing before the race as well as during the race
  • Name can be in any form (James Smith / SMITH James / Smith, James), maximum length is 40 characters
  • All names entered before, during or after the race finish get added to the name list, ready to be used at the next race
  • Note that if you delete a name from the name list, that name is not deleted from the results
  • Duplicate names are not allowed; if you have two racers with identical names, use a middle initial to make the names unique
expand collapse

Race control

  • Once a race has been started but there are no finishers yet, the Race control toolbar icon gives you the option to restart the race
  • This is handy when there has been a false start or perhaps there was an immediate crash after the start, prompting a restart
  • If there are times already tapped or racers finished, you'll first need to cancel any tapped times and / or delete finished racers before the Restart race option is available
  • Alternatively, you can also choose to finish the race and start a new race, using the just finished race results as a template (via Race archive / My results)
  • Once all racers have finished, tap the Finish race option to end the race
expand collapse

Timing views

When using a start list, there are three different timing views to record times for racers
  • Normal view presents a graphical view of racer boxes where the time stamp & racer are recorded together when tapping the racer box
  • Fast-tap view separates the time stamp & racer recording
    • You can tap a time stamp, followed by tapping the racer box
    • You can pre-enter the racer box, followed by the time stamp
  • Keypad view is useful in a large race where the racer boxes fill up multiple pages
    • You can tap a time stamp, followed by keying in the bib number
    • You can pre-enter the bib number, followed by the time stamp
You can switch between these timing views during the race as you wish
expand collapse

Normal view

  • This is the default view when starting a race
  • The racers are presented as graphical boxes on the screen
  • To finish a racer, you'll tap the racer box which will record a time for that racer when the racer crosses the finish line
  • Once tapped, the racer box turns yellow for 5 seconds, after which the racer box disappears from the screen
  • During the 5-second period which the racer box is yellow, you can tap the box again to make an error correction
expand collapse

Fast-tap view

  • This view separates the steps of recording a time stamp for a racer and associating that time entry with a particular racer
  • You can switch to the Fast-tap view by tapping the toolbar icon on the Race Finish panel
  • To finish a racer, tap the green timer button to record a time for a racer, then tap the correct racer box to associate that racer with the recorded time stamp
  • Or alternatively, you can tap the racer box first (if you know which racer is approaching), followed by tapping the timer button
  • When multiple racers are finishing close together, this view allows you to tap multiple times in quick sequence (tap-tap-tap)
  • Once you have recorded time stamps, you then have no time limit to enter the bib #'s or racer names in finish order sequence to match
  • You can also pre-enter multiple bibs (or names in a race where bibs are not used), followed by tapping time stamps for them when the racers cross the finish line
  • If you pre-enter 2 bibs (or names), the timer button will split into two:
    • Tap Different times to record separate time stamps for each racer
    • Tap Same time to record the same time stamp for both racers
    • You can edit the time stamp by tapping on the yellow time field
  • You can edit the racer's name by tapping green arrow to the right of the time stamp
  • If you want to assign the time to another racer, you can tap the yellow Bib box which will bring up a pop-up allowing you to swap the bib to another or assign the time to a No bib
  • If you want to cancel the fast-tap entry altogether, tap the yellow Seq # box which will give you a pop-up to confirm the cancellation
  • Tap the yellow Race clock field to edit the recorded time stamp
expand collapse

Keypad view

  • A fast-tap view on an iPad can show 72 racer boxes, whereas the fast-tap view on an iPhone 5 can show just 16 racer boxes
  • Hence especially on an iPhone, the keypad mode of entering bibs is the most practical timing view when there are more than a few dozen racers
  • Same principle as Fast-tap view: you can tap a time followed by the bib or you can pre-enter the bib followed by a time stamp
  • You can tap any number of time stamps before entering matching bib numbers
  • In fact one "safe" timing strategy in a busy race is to tap time stamps only during the race and enter the bibs after all racers are in (bibs recorded separately on paper by a helper)
  • You can switch between the three timing views (Normal view, Fast-tap view and Keypad view) at any time during the race
  • To change a bib #, tap the yellow Bib field
  • To delete an entry, tap the yellow Seq # field
  • To edit the time stamp, tap the yellow Race clock field
expand collapse

Results

  • You can visit the Results panel during the race to view or edit results or to post preliminary results via Bluetooth or to Webscorer.com
  • Note that if you share results via Bluetooth or post results to Webscorer.com before the race is finished, the results will say Preliminary results
  • You'll need to repost the results once the race has been completed to change the Preliminary results to Final results
  • To enter the names in a race where bibs are recorded, you can enter the names on the Results panel during the race one at a time or after the race together
  • If you want to mark a racer DNS (Did Not Start), DNF (Did Not Finish) or DSQ (Disqualified)
    • During the race, tap the DNS/DNF/DSQ button in the racer box view, choose the option, then tap the racer box
    • After the race, tap the racer's name, tap Edit next to the time and tap the DNS/DNF/DSQ button
  • In a large race, you can use the Sort list button to order the results based on Time (fastest time on top), Name (alphabetical order) or Bib # (smallest to largest)
  • If you tap the Home button when the timer is still running, you'll get a pop-up asking you whether you want to finish the race; this is an alternative to the Race control button to end the race
expand collapse

Post results via Bluetooth

  • To post results via Bluetooth or to Webscorer.com, you must first choose a sport type from a list of options
  • The sport is used for making it easier to search for races on Webscorer.com
  • To share the results with another Webscorer FAN (or PRO), tap the Share via Bluetooth option
  • Note that the recipient of the results must simultaneously tap Download races / Download via Bluetooth
  • Once both sides have tapped the Bluetooth option, the sender will see the recipient's device name on the pop-up window
  • To initiate the transfer, simply tap the device name and wait for the transfer to complete
  • If there are multiple devices on the list, pick one (only one device can receive the results at a time)
  • If there are no devices on the list, make sure that both devices have Bluetooth turned on (see Settings app of the device)
  • If you get an error (e.g. timeout), just retry the transfer
  • Note that Bluetooth typically requires that the devices are within 10 feet / 3 meters of one another
  • Posting results via Bluetooth is always free
  • When you share the results with other Webscorer FAN users, they get a non-editable, non-postable copy of the results
  • If the recipient's Webscorer FAN (or PRO) has the same email address (see Settings), then an editable / postable copy of the results will be shared
expand collapse

Post results to Webscorer.com

  • Before you post results to Webscorer.com for the first time, the app will ask you to register an email address / password
  • The app and the website use the account information to keep track of your own posted races
  • When you download a race you posted, you'll have edit and reposting rights
  • When others download a race you posted, they'll get a read-only copy; this is to ensure no one else can make changes to your results
  • You don't have to post the results immediately after the race, you can do so later by accessing the race via Race archive / My results
expand collapse

Post results options

  • You can optionally include your own race photo when posting
  • If no photo is supplied, the website uses a sport-specific stock photo on the results page
  • You can also include optional Race notes which can describe the race, who organized it, weather or other related facts
  • The race notes are displayed as part of the Race Info on the results page, max 2000 characters
  • Once you've successfully posted the results, a Results Posted panel gives you the URL of the results page
  • You can email this link to your racers or click on an option to open the results page with the browser on your device
  • You can erase your own posted results from Webscorer.com via Race archive / My results / Race name
  • Another option to erase the race is to sign in to Webscorer.com with the same email address / password you entered in the app
  • After signing in with your email address / password, navigate to Race organizers / My results
  • You can delete the results form this list
  • Once signed in, you'll get an extra menu option called Edit race info on the results page on Webscorer.com
  • The Edit race info option allows you to edit the race name, date, race location, add a race photo and include race organizer information
expand collapse

RACE ARCHIVE

expand collapse

Four archive locations

There are four archive locations for races on your local device:
  • My results - race results timed by you on your device or posted by your user ID to Webscorer.com and downloaded to the app
  • Downloaded results - results posted by others and downloaded from Webscorer.com or via Bluetooth
  • My start lists - start lists created your user ID & downloaded to the app from Webscorer.com or via Bluetooth
  • Downloaded start lists - start lists created by others and downloaded to the app from Webscorer.com or via Bluetooth
expand collapse

Archive management

  • You can delete races from each of the archive locations by swiping on the race name
  • Or, tap the Edit button to do delete individual races or tap the Delete all button to delete all races on that archive
  • Each stored race takes a minimal amount of storage space on your device, even a race with 1,000 racers uses up less than 1 MB
  • You can sort the races listed in each archive using the Sort button on the toolbar
  • The sort options are race name & date for My Results, and race name, date, sport, location and raceid for downloaded races
  • Once a race has been deleted, there's no way to undo the delete locally
  • If you delete the race from your device but you had previously posted the race to Webscorer.com, you can download it back to your device
  • Downloaded races can't be edited or posted to Webscorer.com but they can be shared via Bluetooth
  • You can erase your own posted races from Webscorer.com using the Erase posted results option on the Results Info panel
  • Provided you're using the same registered email address, your own races will be editable and re-postable after downloading from Webscorer.com
  • It is a good idea to post important races to Webscorer.com (or to another device) for archival purposes, should you ever lose your device
expand collapse

DOWNLOAD RACES

expand collapse

My posted results / My posted start lists

  • This option will appear on the Download Races panel once you have posted results to Webscorer.com
  • The website will keep track of your posted races based on the email address of your Webscorer account
  • You can download your own races back from Webscorer.com, edit them and post them again to Webscorer.com
  • Races posted by others, will download as non-editable and cannot be posted to Webscorer.com
  • Your own posted results will be downloaded to My results folder
  • Races posted by others will be downloaded to Downloaded results folder
  • You can also manage your own results on Webscorer.com by signing to the website with your registered email address and password
  • To download a race posted by someone else as editable / postable, change the email address / password using the Settings toolbar option
expand collapse

Recent results / Recent start lists

  • Tapping on Recent Results will download just the race headers for the most recent 100 results posted on Webscorer.com
  • The following is shown for each race: race name, race date & time, sport type, location and race ID
  • The race ID is the digits at the end of the race URL, e.g. www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=1464
  • Once you find your race, simply tap on the race and it will be downloaded to your device
  • The app automatically displays the Results Info panel for the race you tapped & from there you can proceed to View results
  • All downloaded races (posted by others) will be stored in Race archive / Downloaded results
  • To download another race, go back to the Home panel and choose Download races / Recent results
  • As Webscorer gains popularity, the most recent 100 races may not include the race you're looking for, hence you may want to set your own race filters
  • To set race filters, tap the Race filters option at the top of on the Recent Races panel
  • You can set four types of filters for the most recent 100 races list:
    • Filter races by the sport(s) you're interested in
    • Filter races by country (US & Canada have an additional state / province option)
    • You can filter the results by start type
    • You can also filter the results by additional Webscorer PRO features
  • Once set, the app will remember your selections and will always filter the 100 most recent races list based on the settings until changed
expand collapse

Search for results / Search for start lists

  • The Search Results panel is useful for finding results posted a while ago or to download results when you know the race ID
  • You can search for races that took place on a particular date, with or without sport or location filters
  • You can use just one filter type or all filters together
  • If the search criteria finds more than 100 races, the most recent 100 will be listed
  • You can keep honing in your search filters until you find the race you're looking for
  • Once you've found the correct race, tap the race name and it will be downloaded to your device
  • Downloading should be relatively quick, a few seconds in most cases
  • However, large races (e.g. this one with 9,901 racers www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=1493) can take a couple of minutes
  • The download speed will depend on your device's processor speed and the speed of your internet connection
expand collapse

Download via Bluetooth

  • Tap this option to initiate the download of race via Bluetooth from another Webscorer FAN or Webscorer PRO
  • To receive the race, you don't need to do anything but to wait until the download has completed
  • The sender will need to initiate the transfer simultaneously from the other end and pick your device name from the list
  • If the download does not succeed, check that you have Bluetooth turned on via your device's Settings
  • If the download fails for some other reason, try again by initiating the transfer from both ends
expand collapse

Follow LIVE results on your device

  • Webscorer FAN allows you to follow results from a race that's timed live with Webscorer PRO
  • The app makes it much easier & quicker to follow live results vs. using a browser to access the live results page on Webscorer.com
  • First find the race via Recent Results or Search Results and download it to your device
  • A live race will appear in the race listing with a red label LIVE Results
  • Once downloaded, tap View preliminary results and navigate to the distance / category / lap you're interested in following
  • Results updates will appear automatically, you don't have to tap anything to get the results to show up
  • The Webscorer PRO used for timing will post an update to Webscorer.com within seconds of each racer finishing
  • Webscorer FAN will check for updates on Webscorer.com every 30 seconds (default setting)
  • You can change the frequency at which your device checks for updates via the Settings toolbar option
  • The available settings are 10, 30 and 60 seconds plus an option which turns the automatic update off (i.e. you have to exit & re-enter the particular results panel to see updates)
  • The live race feature consumes minimal amount of cellular bandwidth as it transfers only the new results data on each update cycle
  • No new data is downloaded if there are no new results on a given update interval
  • We've measured that a race where 800 racers finish in a span of 4 hours consumes less than 2 MB of cellular data
  • Unless the you follow the race continuously with your device on from start to finish, the data usage will be significantly less than 2 MB
expand collapse

HELP RESOURCES

expand collapse

General notes

  • This panel provides access to various documents and videos that help you better understand the Webscorer race timing ecosystem
  • Most of the same information is also available on Webscorer.com
  • You can submit a bug or a feature request, we will respond / reply to you directly if you supply an email address
  • If you're a happy user, we'd encourage you to tap Rate Webscorer to help us spread the word via an App Store review
  • If something isn't working, please give us an opportunity to try to assist by emailing us at support@webscorer.com
expand collapse

SUBSCRIBE TO WEBSCORER PRO

expand collapse

Features of Webscorer PRO

Webscorer PRO provides the following additional race timing capabilities:
  • Import start lists
    • Download from Webscorer.com
    • Transfer via iTunes
    • Share via Bluetooth
  • Multiple start types
    • Mass start
    • Wave start
    • Interval start
    • Individual start
    • Pursuit start
    • Relay start
  • Lap times
  • Ability to "exclude laps" in a multi-stage race where transitions don't count toward total time
  • Time multiple distances within the same race
  • Support for multiple categories
  • Handicap-adjusted times
  • Show penalties in results & penalty-adjusted times
  • Live / automatic results
  • Team scoring
  • Use one device for time stamps, another for recording bibs
  • Use 2 or more devices to time a point-to-point race
expand collapse

Subscription pricing info

  • This panel presents the pricing for the PRO subscription
  • The pricing is shown in USD currency, your local pricing will be shown once you tap the Subscribe to Webscorer PRO button
  • The subscription price will be charged to your credit card on file with Apple
  • You can subscribe to Webscorer PRO for a week or for a year
  • If you have an active subscription, you can extend the expiration date by purchasing an extension for a week or for a year
  • You can subscribe to Webscorer PRO without entering an email address or password
  • If you wish post results to Webscorer.com, you will be asked to enter an email address and choose a password
  • These will be used for your account on Webscorer.com, allowing the website to keep your posted results editable only by you
  • There is no additional download, the app will be transformed to PRO after you've completed the transaction