Tutorial - Webscorer PRO

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WEBSCORER PRO OVERVIEW

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Part of Webscorer race timing ecosystem

Webscorer is an integrated system for organizing timing-sport races. It includes three components:
  • Webscorer PRO - Manual timing app that runs on an iPad, iPad mini, iPhone and iPod touch
  • Webscorer FAN - Simple timer & results app that runs on an iPad, iPad mini, iPhone and iPod touch
  • Webscorer.com - Website that supports results posting, online race registration and racer interaction services
Webscorer PRO is designed to handle the race setup, timing and results for most types of timing sport races - the following is a brief overview of some of the key features.
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Import start lists from your PC or from the web

  • It is easy to create the entire race setup directly on Webscorer PRO, but you can download complete start lists in multiple ways
  • Create a start list on Excel, and then
    • Copy start list file to Webscorer PRO via iTunes as a tab-delimited .TXT file
    • Or, upload the start list file to Webscorer.com for easy downloading to Webscorer PRO
  • Or, use results from a previous race as a template for the next one
  • If you're using an online registration for your race:
    • Load the registered racer list into Excel
    • Open the Webscorer sample start list for the correct start type and delete the sample racers
    • Copy the racer data from the registration list to the Webscorer list
    • Save the file as "Tab-delimited .TXT" file and transfer to Webscorer PRO via iTunes or via Webscorer.com
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Support for multiple start types

  • Mass start - All racers start at the same time
  • Individual start - Racer starts when ready
  • Interval start - Racers start at fixed intervals, e.g. every 30 seconds
  • Pursuit start - Racers chase the leader at pre-defined intervals
  • Wave start - Racers start a distance, category or custom group at a time
  • Relay start - Teams of racers start together or in waves
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Time a race with multiple distances and categories

  • Allows multiple races of different distances to be timed at the same time
  • Assign age categories or other criteria to classify racers within the same distance
  • Results can be organized by distance, category or both
  • Option to list overall results, overall and category results or just category results for each distance
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Flexible race finish panel

  • Graphical view shows all racers on course with name, bib #, distance, category, running time & lap #
  • Tap racer's name or bib # as they finish
  • Or alternatively, first tap a time, then fill in the name or bib #
  • Or alternatively, pre-enter a name or bib #, then tap a time when racer crosses the finish line
  • On tight finishes, tap multiple finish times, then fill in the names or bib #'s
  • On big races, use a keypad to enter bib #'s
  • On even bigger races, use a 2nd Webscorer PRO as the bib recorder alongside a primary Webscorer PRO recording time stamps
  • The two devices can sync the bibs automatically via Bluetooth or via a cellular connection
  • Three levels of error correction: immediate, late and after-race
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Lap / split times

  • Record official lap times for all racers
  • Or, time a point-to-point race with intermediate splits with multiple Webscorer PRO apps updating the same race
  • Or, use a sophisticated split-time feature designed for coaches to provide race status updates to racers
  • Multiple coaches can have their split times sent automatically to each other's Webscorer PRO, timing the same race
  • Lap and split times can be posted live so anyone with a Webscorer FAN or PRO or web access can follow the race progress
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Integration with Webscorer.com online registration service

  • If you use Webscorer.com to have racers register for your race, a start list is generated automatically
  • This can help eliminate errors when dealing with .TXT files to transform a registration list to a start list
  • The start list can be downloaded to Webscorer PRO minutes before the race, allowing late closing of online registration
  • Note that the use of Webscorer.com online registration is optional
    • You can continue to use any method of registration you like and import the start list to Webscorer PRO as a .TXT file
    • The webscorer.com online registration can be used anywhere in the world if no payment is collected
    • The paid registration option is available worldwide, only limited by PayPal's support for your local banking arrangements
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Post races to Webscorer.com

  • You can post the start list to Webscorer.com before the race so that fans, spectators and coaches can more easily follow the race
  • Results can be posted to Webscorer.com "live", during the race or after the race:
    • You can opt to time the race "live" which automatically updates Webscorer.com within 10 seconds of each racer finishing
    • You can post "preliminary" results manually during the race when there's a break in action
    • The race has to be completed to post "final" results
    • Choose the "public" posting option if you want the start list or results to be visible & searchable by anyone, or the "private" posting option which requires that you must know the posted URL to access the start list or results
    • The "private" posting option should be used when posting practice / test races or when you don't want other coaches to see your live splits
    • 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
  • If you already posted the results and want to make a correction, reposting updates the previously posted results
  • When posting to Webscorer.com, you can include your own race photo and type of race notes that get displayed on the results page
  • Optionally, you can specify the distance(s) for the race in km or miles and have the website display the racers' pace as:
    • km/hour
    • miles/hour
    • time/km
    • time/mile
  • After posting the results to Webscorer.com, by signing in to the website with your email address, you can:
    • Edit the race name, date and time
    • Change the sport type
    • Upload a race photo
    • Change the "pace" metrics
    • Add race organizer credentials
    • Add a link to your own website
    • Edit the race notes
    • Adjust the race location
  • Editing race results (times, racer names, team names) is most easily done on Webscorer PRO, then reposting
  • However, if you need to make big edits to the results:
    • You can also download the results to your computer from Webscorer.com ("Download results as .TXT")
    • Make the edits using Excel
    • Save the file as a tab-delimited .TXT file
    • Repost the results to Webscorer.com via the "Edit race info" menu option on the race page
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Download races from Webscorer.com

  • Download both results and start lists, posted by you or others
  • Search for races based on date, sport, location or "race ID" (race ID is the unique identifier 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 PRO and FAN users via Bluetooth
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Share races via Bluetooth

  • When there's no internet connectivity at the race site, Bluetooth is a handy option to share start lists and results
  • You can share start lists and results via Bluetooth with other devices running Webscorer PRO or FAN
  • Give coaches a copy of the start list so they can do their own split-timing
  • Sharing results electronically is a quick way for racers to get results at the race site, no printouts needed
  • Preliminary results can be shared via Bluetooth during the race (the transfer takes about 10-15 seconds)
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Download races via Bluetooth

  • Download start lists and results via Bluetooth from other devices running Webscorer PRO or FAN
  • Handy option to share the start list via Bluetooth when timing a race with more than one Webscorer PRO when there's no internet connectivity at the race site
  • If you're not timing the race, as with Webscorer FAN, you can get a copy of the results from the race organizer's Webscorer PRO after the race
  • Or, get preliminary results even during the race
  • Once you have a copy of the start list or results, you can share them with other Webscorer PRO and FAN users
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Time a race "live"

  • One of the unique features of Webscorer PRO is the ability to time a race "live"
  • This feature requires internet connectivity at the race site (typically a cellular connection)
  • This option is built-in and simply requires you to turn the "Post live results" setting "On", everything else is automatic
  • When a race is timed live, the updates for racers finishing or completing a lap will be posted to Webscorer.com within 10 seconds
  • Racers, fans and spectators with Webscorer FAN, or with browser access to the internet can follow the race as it happens
  • By timing the race live, you can eliminate results printouts or a big-screen results display, which require power and shelter
  • There's no extra cost for timing a race live, it's included with the weekly / yearly PRO subscription
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Follow a race "live"

  • As with Webscorer FAN, you can also follow a live race with Webscorer PRO
  • Once started, the live race will appear Webscorer.com, ready for downloading to Webscorer PRO or FAN
  • Tap the race to download it, tap the distance / category / lap you want to follow and just watch the results appear automatically
  • A live race can also be followed on Webscorer.com, but the app has several advantages:
    • Results are downloaded to the app, so you'll have the results locally to view later without having to reconnect to Webscorer.com
    • The app displays the results full screen vs. having to move a web browser's page to fit the tiny phone screen
    • Downloading the results to the app consumes less data than accessing a web page for the results
    • Scrolling, sorting, moving between distances and categories are local operations with the app and thus much faster than navigating pages on the website
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IMPORT START LISTS

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Introduction

  • While you can create the start list on Webscorer PRO, you can also import the start list from your computer
  • The start list can be maintained as an Excel spreadsheet and then saved as a tab-delimited .TXT file for importing to Webscorer
  • Webscorer PRO supports importing the start list as a .TXT file via 2 methods:
    • You can upload the .TXT file to Webscorer.com from your computer and then download it from Webscorer.com to Webscorer PRO
    • You can transfer the .TXT file from your computer to Webscorer PRO via iTunes
  • The same tab-delimited .TXT file works with either method
  • The upload to Webscorer.com is practical when you are not at your own computer (and hence don't have access to your own iTunes)
  • Another reason to use the upload to Webscorer.com method is that the start list is then also available to racers, spectators and coaches
  • The transfer via iTunes is practical when you do not have Internet access to upload the start list to Webscorer.com
  • Note that you can also post the start list to Webscorer.com once you have loaded it to Webscorer PRO via iTunes
  • The start list file must be in the format supported by Webscorer PRO and encoded as UTF-8 or UTF-16 to ensure special characters display correctly on the website
  • Use of Excel as the authoring tool to create the start list file is recommended but not required
  • You can use either the Windows or Mac version of Excel
  • In Windows Excel, save as file type = "Unicode text"
  • In Mac Excel, save as file type = "UTF-16 Unicode Text (.txt)"
  • Note that if you use the file type = "Text (tab-delimited)", this will work but special characters don't transfer correctly
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Start list file format

  • The easiest way to create a Webscorer start list file is to use the sample start list files on our website
  • Go to Webscorer.com / Resources / Sample start list files
  • The sample files are offered both in Excel and tab-delimited .TXT file formats
  • You can load either file type into Excel (the Excel files are in Excel 97-2003 format)
  • The Excel format has the advantage of column width formatting and the required headers are shown in bold for easier identification
  • Choose the file that matches your start type; there are 11 sample files that correspond to the options on the app's "Race Setup" panel:
    • Mass start
    • Individual start
    • Interval start
    • Pursuit start
    • Wave start / Manual / By distance or category
    • Wave start / Interval / By distance or category
    • Wave start / Manual / Custom grouping
    • Wave start / Interval / Custom grouping
    • Relay / Mass start
    • Relay / Manual wave start
    • Relay / Interval wave start
  • Load the sample file that matches your start type into Excel and replace the sample racer data with your own
  • If your race does not use some of the available options (such as multiple distances), simply leave the column empty
  • The start type descriptors and column headers must have the exact same text as shown on the sample files
  • The start list file can include the following columns (note that only the "Name" column must have data - the rest of the columns are optional)
    • Name
    • Team name
    • Team name 2
    • Age
    • Distance
    • Category
    • Wave
    • Bib
    • Start time
  • The header text in parentheses (showing max # of characters) can be left in the file or deleted
  • You can leave some columns empty and configure the data on the app (such as bib number)
  • If you enter names that are longer than the specified limit, the names will be truncated from the end
  • The order of racer data columns does not matter
  • Once you've entered all of your racer data, simply save the file as:
    • Windows Excel: Unicode text
    • Mac Excel: UTF-16 Unicode Text (.txt)
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Excel tips

  • Webscorer PRO expects the racer name to be one field, not a separate first name / last name as is typical for some online registration sites
  • To combine two Excel cells into one, simply type in a new cell the following: =a1&" "&b1
  • This will combine the first name in cell a1 with the last name in cell b1 and add a space in between
  • When reading in a .TXT file into Excel, make sure all the columns containing times are specified as type=Text, as the default type=General will lose the "hh" from any time in the format hh:mm:ss
  • If there are any special characters in the file, the website assumes these to be in UTF-8 or UTF-16 format
  • If you're using Excel as the authoring tool, use file type = "Unicode text" in Windows Excel and "UTF-16 Unicode Text (.txt)" in Mac Excel
  • If you are using some other tool, the easiest way to convert the file to UTF-8 is to open the saved .TXT file in Windows Notepad or Mac Text Edit
  • Once loaded, do a "Save as" and choose the "Encoding" to be "UTF-8"
  • On Windows Notepad, the "Encoding" option is next to the "Save" button
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Import start list file via Webscorer.com

  • To upload the start list file to Webscorer.com, sign in to Webscorer.com with the email address you used during the PRO upgrade
  • Navigate to the "Race organizers" tab, and click on the "Post .TXT start list" option
  • Follow the instructions on the form to upload the file
  • Once posted, you can then go to your Webscorer PRO and download the start list as follows:
    • From the Home panel, tap "Download races"
    • Tap "My posted races"
    • Tap on the start list to download it to Webscorer PRO
    • Once downloaded, tap "Use as race template"
  • An alternate way to download the start list is as follows:
    • From the Home panel, tap "Time a race"
    • Tap "Download start list from Webscorer.com"
    • Tap "My posted start lists"
    • Tap on the start list to download it to Webscorer PRO
    • The start list will be loaded for a new race setup
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Import start list file via iTunes

  • For this method to work your iPhone/iPod touch must be running iOS 4.0 or later and your iPad must be running iOS 3.2 or later
  • To import the start list file via iTunes, first start iTunes (iTunes must be at version 9.1 or later)
  • Connect your device running Webscorer PRO to a USB port
  • Wait until the sync is complete
  • On iTunes, on the left-hand menu, click on DEVICES...your device name
  • On the tabbed view of your device's resources, click the Apps tab at the top
  • Click on the Webscorer PRO app icon
  • Scroll the iTunes page down so you can see a section called "File Sharing"
  • You'll see the Webscorer PRO icon on the list of apps enabled for file sharing
  • On the right hand side, click on the "Add..." button to copy the start list file from your hard drive to iTunes
  • The file will automatically be sync'd with your device running Webscorer PRO
  • On Webscorer PRO, tap on "Time a race" / "Use start list file copies via iTunes"
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TIME A RACE

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General notes

  • All 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 restart
  • You can also turn off the device (e.g. to save battery); the race 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 time as an offset from system time
  • Try to keep the screen dry, the touch sensitivity of the touch screen suffers when water is present
  • When wiping the screen dry, first turn the screen off to prevent any inadvertent taps
  • If the app ever acts in a strange way, this could be caused by a low memory situation (some app on the device has been "eating" memory)
  • A quick and a harmless fix that may work to help clear up the problem is to restart the app as follows:
    • Exit the app
    • Tap the device's home button twice in quick succession
    • This will bring up a list of running apps on your system (provided you're running iOS 4.0 or later)
    • Tap and hold the Webscorer PRO icon until it starts hovering
    • Tap the round red circle to kill the app
    • Tap the home button twice to return to the list of apps
    • Restart the Webscorer PRO app
    • The app will return to the same spot where you left off, no data was lost and the race clock never stopped running
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Help system

  • The gray status line at the bottom of each panel is designed to give context-sensitive help, while this Tutorial provides general help
  • A "Help" button is available on all panels which gives you access to this Tutorial
  • For a a collection of step-by-step "how to" videos, see the "Resources" option off the home panel (internet connection required to watch the videos)
  • All the help files and the videos are also available on Webscorer.com / Resources section
  • If you get stuck, you can send us an email at support@webscorer.com
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Settings

  • The "Settings" toolbar icon is available on panels where you may need to change the available settings
  • The Settings includes your Webscorer.com account email address and password that you chose when upgrading from FAN to PRO
  • The same email address and password are used when signing in to Webscorer.com to access your posted races, or to edit race info
  • If you change your password on the website, you'll need to change your password in the Settings panel as well
  • When you download your own results from Webscorer.com or via Bluetooth, they are downloaded to "My results" and are editable
  • When you download results posted by someone else, they're downloaded to "Downloaded results" and are not editable / postable to Webscorer.com
  • You can enter a different email address and password to gain access to download someone else's posted races as editable
  • Once a race has been posted to Webscorer.com, its original owner / poster cannot be changed
  • E.g. if you download someone else's race (with their email address and password), edit the results, change the email address / password back to your own and repost the results, the race's owner is still unchanged
  • The Settings panel also gives you the option to change the update frequency when watching the results for a "live" race
  • The default is that the app will check every 30 seconds to see if there are any results updates
  • You can choose the setting to be 10, 30 or 60 seconds, or turn off the automatic update by choosing "On panel entry only"
  • Note that when you're timing a live race, any results updates are sent automatically within 10 seconds of any racer completing a lap or a race (this is not adjustable)
  • The settings panel also shows you how long your PRO subscription is in effect
  • Should you wish to purchase an extension, you can do so by tapping one of the available extension options (week or a year)
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Select start list

  • You can create a start list in multiple ways:
    • You can create a start list on the app
    • You can create a start list in Excel and import to the app via iTunes
    • You can create a start list in Excel, upload the start list to Webscorer.com and download it from there to the app
    • You can download a start list (created by you or someone else) from Webscorer.com
    • You can download a start list (created by you or someone else) via Bluetooth from another Webscorer PRO
    • You can download a start list from a Webscorer FAN which had downloaded it earlier from elsewhere
    • You can use your own previously timed race as the start list
    • You can use a Webscorer.com online registration list as the start list
  • Note that if you want to use results timed by someone else as the race template / start list, you must change the email address / password to that of the original race timer before downloading the race
  • Downloaded start lists can always be used as the race template, regardless who posted the start list or how the start list was downloaded
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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 after the race on the Results panel
  • You can also change the race name after posting the results to Webscorer.com via the "Edit race info" menu option on the results page (note that you must be signed in)
  • Multiple races can have the same race name, the app keeps track of the races by combining the race name and race date & time
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Start types

  • Webscorer PRO supports 13 different start types, 11 of which require a start list
  • The PRO version supports same two start types as the FAN that do not require a start list
    • Mass start / Record names at finish
    • Mass start / Record bibs at finish
  • These two start types do not support the advanced features, such as:
    • Multiple distances
    • Multiple categories
    • Lap times
    • Live results
  • The advantage of timing a race without a start list is that it requires no pre-race setup, while the downside is that you'll need to enter racer data at finish
  • The advantage of timing a race with a start list is that you don't need to enter any racer data at finish, while the downside is it requires pre-race setup
The following are descriptions of start types that require a start list:

Mass start
  • All racers start together, at the same time
  • The racers can be racing the same or different distances
  • The racers can be from the same or different categories
Individual start
  • Racers start one at a time, when the racer and timer are both ready
  • Each racer gets a separate race clock
  • The timer taps the racer's name or bib # at the start and taps the name or bib # again at finish
  • The individual start can be thought of an interval start with random intervals that get decided on the spot
  • This start type is particularly useful for informal evening races where racers can start e.g. anytime between 5 and 7 pm
  • An individual start race is a suitable to be timed without bibs as racers typically finish well spaced apart
Interval start
  • Racers start at pre-determined intervals, e.g. every 30 seconds
  • The time interval between racers can be from 1 second to 60 minutes
  • You can have racers start one at a time, in pairs or any # of racers together
  • You can leave time gaps (empty starting slots) in between racers, distances or categories
Pursuit start
  • In a pursuit start race, the first racer to cross the finish line is typically the winner
  • Racers start at pre-determined intervals chasing the leader
  • The start time gaps are often determined based on a previous race, e.g. the ski jumping portion of a Nordic Combined race
  • The app will calculate each racer their actual time, taking into account their starting time
  • The minimum starting interval between racers is 1 second
  • Multiple racers can share the same starting time
Wave start
  • Racers start in "waves", which can be comprised of a distance, category or a custom group
  • In a manual wave start, the timer decides when to start the wave
  • In an interval wave start, the starting times are pre-determined
  • The manual wave start is the more flexible option, allowing the timer to choose the right moment to get the race under way
  • The interval wave start is useful when certain time gaps between the waves must be maintained to keep the overall race on schedule
  • Multiple distances or categories can start together in the same wave
  • The starting times in an interval wave start can be as close together as 10 seconds or as far apart as multiple hours
  • The custom grouping is handy to start faster or slower racers (from different distances or categories) together earlier or later
  • Examples for custom grouping:
    • In an ultra-marathon, racers who need extra time to complete the distance within a time limit can be grouped together to start in the first custom wave
    • Racers from various age categories can self-seed themselves based on ability: "Pro wave", "Sport wave", "Beginner wave"
Relay start
  • Teams of racers start together (relay mass start), or a distance or category at a time (relay wave start)
  • A relay team can have from 2 to 100 team members
  • All relay teams must do the same number of legs
    • E.g. the app does not support timing "4x10 km Men" and "3x5 km Women" together
  • Different categories can do different distances in the same race (e.g. "4x10 km Men" and "4x5 km Women")
  • The same racer can do multiple legs on the same team, e.g. two racers can do 2 legs each in a 4-leg relay race
  • In a relay wave start, teams from multiple distances or categories can be combined to start at the same time
  • The app will time the team's total time as well as individual leg times for each team member
  • A relay race is timed similarly to a normal race with laps, where the # of relay legs is the # of laps
  • If you don't want to take leg times in a relay race, then
    • Time the relay as a normal mass start or wave start race (without taking lap times)
    • Use team names as the racer names
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Multiple distances

  • The app supports timing of multiple distances at the same time, in effect timing multiple different races running simultaneously
  • For example, you can use one Webscorer PRO to time a Marathon and a Half-Marathon, regardless of the start type being used
  • The results from different distances will be separate, and each distance can further have categories with their own results listing
  • Another way to use the "Distance" is to combine it with a category classification
  • E.g. you could setup two distances "30 km Men" and "30 km Women", and then use gender-neutral age categories (20-29, 30-39, 40-49 and so on) for each distance
  • This way men and women are not classified in the same "30 km Overall" results listing as would be the case if you use a generic "30 km" and gender-specific age categories
  • Some race organizers may wish to use the "Distance" concept for skill levels: Pro, Expert, Sport, Beginner
  • There's no limit to how many distances you can have in a race
  • A distance name can be max 25 characters long
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Categories

  • Categories are racer classifications (such as age groups) within a given distance
  • The main purpose to use categories is to separate results, e.g. between men and women
  • Categories can also be used to classify, e.g. the boat type in a kayak race (SUP, MHPK, DSK)
  • Categories can be the same or different for each distance
  • You can separate the results based on categories, or just display the category next to the racer in the "Overall" results listing, or both
  • There's no limit to how many categories you can have in a race
  • A category name can be max 25 characters long
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Waves - Custom grouping

  • If you've chosen either of the following start types, you'll be asked to configure multiple "waves"
    • Wave start / Manual / Custom grouping
    • Wave start / Interval / Custom grouping
  • In a wave start by distance or category, you can't have racers from different categories start at different times
  • In a wave start by custom grouping, the wave members can be from any distance or category, the app will record each racer a start time and use it to calculate the finish time
  • You can also use the custom waves in a race with a single distance and a single category to allow racers to self-seed themselves (at registration time) in waves called e.g. "Pro", "Sport" and "Beginner"
  • The purpose for the custom waves is to assign racers to start in groups based on speed, ability or other criteria (except distance or category)
  • E.g. in an ultra-marathon, you could offer an early start time for the slower runners wanting to get a head start
  • So you'd setup two custom waves:
    • "Early start", and assign all racers wishing to start early to this custom wave
    • "Normal start", and assign the rest of the racers to this custom wave
  • The wave names are only visible on the app and used for organizing the start, they're not shown on the results
  • If you want to find out the start time for each racer during or after the race, you can access the "Start list" from "Race control" or from the "View Results" panel which will list the actual start time for everyone
  • The start times are also listed after posting the results to Webscorer.com; click on the "Start list" menu option on the results page
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Record lap times

  • The app supports recording lap times, sometimes also referred to as "split times" or "leg times"
  • In a race with multiple distances, each distance can have a different # of laps
  • The maximum # of laps per distance is 100
  • Optionally, you can set up a lap race as "Time-limited" which means that:
    • The laps will continue until race is ended via "Race control" / "Finish race"
    • The results will show a finish time for racers on the lead lap only
    • Races no on the lead lap will be shown on the results as "-1 lap", "-2 laps" and so on
    • Racers who are the same number of laps behind the leaders will be placed based as of their last completed lap
  • A relay race is automatically considered as a lap race
  • The laps can also be segments of a point-to-point race, timed with multiple Webscorer PRO apps (timing mode = "Multi-device splits)
  • A triathlon can be timed to be a 3-lap race (swim, bike, run), or as a 5-lap race (swim, transition, bike, transition, run)
  • You can also record lap times for the leaders only for each lap and skip the lap recording for the rest of the racers
  • This is handy in a race where you wan to time the progress of the leading pack, but can't wait to record official lap times for everyone
  • The lap times feature can also be used by coaches to record laps in a workout, e.g. doing 400 meter laps on a track
  • Or, record (and report) split times for your own athletes in an interval start race, e.g. a bike time-trial or a cross-country ski race
  • Multiple coaches can record split times at different parts of the course and see each others' split times live (timing mode = "Multi-device splits")
  • Posting results from a race with laps to Webscorer.com gives you three views to analyze the race data:
    • Overall results with individual lap times optionally visible
    • Lap times ranking per each lap
    • Progress review of situation after each lap
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Exclude laps

  • You can optionally exclude certain laps from being counted toward the total time
  • This is a handy way to time for example a downhill race with 2 runs, where the combined time wins
  • The race would be defined as a 3-lap race, with lap 2 excluded
  • Lap 1 time would therefore be run #1 time, and lap 3 time would be run #2 time
  • The app will add lap 1 and lap 3 times together as the finish time, excluding lap 2 time
  • The lap 2 time is still viewable in results separately, just not counted toward the total time for each racer
  • Another scenario where this feature may be useful is in a point-to-point race where there are timed stages and transition stages
  • You'd set up each lap representing a transition stage to be excluded from the total time
  • You can setup multiple distances, and exclude different laps for each distance
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Post live results

  • If the timing device has internet connectivity (WiFi or cellular), the race can be timed as a "live" race
  • There's no extra cost for running a live race, you simply need to have your Webscorer.com posting subscription in effect
  • In a live race, results get sent from the timer's Webscorer PRO to Webscorer.com within 10 seconds of recording a finish time or a lap time
  • Anyone with Webscorer FAN, Webscorer PRO or a browser connection to Webscorer.com can get immediate "live" results
  • Racers crossing the finish line can go straight to their smart phones and check their own result
  • No more need for a results printouts or big screen results panels that require power and shelter at the race site
  • If you want your race to be timed "live", simply turn "Post live results" to "On"
    • Choose the sport (used to more easily find your race on Webscorer.com)
    • Optionally, you can type a short description of the race, or make any other announcement to be visible on the website (max 280 characters)
  • Timing a race live should not consume more than a few MB of data from your cellular data plan
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Racer setup

  • Each racer must have a name or a bib, or both
  • While most races use both bib numbers, you can run all start types and race options with names only
  • It is also possible to time a race with bibs only, e.g. if you're providing split times for your athletes and don't have access to the start list
  • The app makes it practical to run small to medium-size race without bibs:
    • When racer crosses a finish line, you'll tap a finish time
    • Timer / helper will ask the racer for his / her name
    • The timer taps the appropriate "racer box" on the screen to match the name with the time stamp taken
    • When there are multiple racers finishing together, the timer focuses on getting accurate time stamps and the helper writes the names on a piece of paper in the order of finish
    • When there's a break in action, the helper will read the names in the order of finish, and the timer will tap the corresponding racer boxes on the screen
    • Because you'll have to use the racer-box view (the keypad view requires bibs), an iPad is recommended when running a race with names only
    • A Fast-tap view in a race with names only shows 36 racer boxes per page on the iPad, whereas the same view on an iPhone shows 6 racer boxes per page
    • Having to flip through multiple pages to find the correct racer can be time-consuming, 2-3 pages is still manageable as the names appear in alphabetical order
  • In a bibs-only race, you must first specify the bib range (first bib - last bib), but you can delete bibs from this range from the start list or add bibs that are outside of the range
  • Note that in a bibs-only race, you can fill in the racer names (as appropriate) during or after the race by editing results
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Results ordered by

  • By default, the results are ordered such that fastest time wins.
  • The app also allows you to reverse the results order, such that the slowest time is the winner.
  • In some sports, such as bull-riding in rodeo or strong-man contest who can hold barbells longest can use this.
  • In a race that records laps, there's an additional option to allow the fastest lap (out of many attempted) to win.
  • This option applies to sports such as downhill mountain-biking where racers get several chances to try for the best time.
  • There's also a corresponding option to allow the slowest lap time (out of many) to win.
  • This may be applicable to a skills biking course which you can attempt many times and who can stay on their bike longest wins.
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Team scoring

  • If this option is used, in addition to individual results, team results are listed as well
  • There are two team scoring options:
    • Combined points, where the team members' points are added together for a team total
    • Combined times, where the team members' times are added together for a team total
  • In a combined points race, the winner gets 1 point, the 2nd place racer 2 points and so on (provided each is a member of a qualifying team)
    • The same team members' points are added together to form the team total
  • In a combined times race, the team members' finish times are added together to form the team total
  • A team can consist of 2 or more members
  • For the points option, a "displacement" system popular in US cross-country running is supported:
    • Each team can have additional racers beyond the team limit that "displace" points from other teams
    • I.e. such an extra racer would earn points, but they would not be counted towards the team total
    • You can specify how many displacers to allow per team (0 or more)
  • Another option for the points option is to permit "short teams" (teams that don't have enough racers to make up a full team) to qualify
    • For short teams, the missing racers would be included in the team total as if they had finishes last in the race
    • You can specify the minimum number of racers required to qualify for such a "short team"
  • The last option allows you to specify whether racers who're not a member of a qualifying team would earn points (and thus "displace" points from qualifying teams)
    • If you turn on this option, then if a non-team racer wins the race, that racer would be awarded 1 point
  • The team scoring option requires that all racers from the same team have the same "Team name"
    • Team name "Unattached" can be used for racers who're not a member of any team
    • You can also leave the "Team name" blank to get the same effect
  • You can change the team scoring options during the race and after the race (via the Results panel)
  • The team totals are calculated in real time during the race
    • Note that until the required number of team members have finished, no team totals are calculated as the team is considered not to qualify yet
    • The results panel will show the points per team member
    • Tap the "Team scores" toolbar button in the Results panel to see the team totals
    • Only totals from qualifying teams (required # of racers) are shown in the team results
    • The panel will show total points or total time, depending on the scoring option chosen
  • The team results are posted to Webscorer.com alongside with the individual results, and can be downloaded from there as a .TXT file
  • You can also optionally save the results on the app, and import the .TXT file to your computer via iTunes
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Penalties / Bonuses

  • This option allows the manual entry of penalties (or bonuses) to the results during or after the race.
  • To add penalties (or bonuses), once the racer has finished, tap the racer's name to get to the "Racer Info" panel.
  • There's an option call "Set penalties" or "Set bonuses" which allows the entry of numeric or time penalties or bonuses.
  • If the penalties / bonuses affect the finish time, in addition to actual finish time, "Adjusted time" results are listed as well.
    • The penalty / bonus-adjusted times can be viewed on the app, and on posted results on Webscorer.com.
    • To see the "Adjusted time" on the results, simply tap the "Adjusted time" toolbar icon on the results panel.
    • To return to see the actual finish times, tap the same toolbar button which will now say "Finish time".
  • You can change the penalty / bonus options also during or after the race (via the "Result options" toolbar icon).
  • The penalty / bonus options can also be changed on the website after posting results.
  • The "Penalty Setup" panel has the following options:
    • Penalty / Bonus
      • This option sets the terminology even if the penalties / bonuses are only numeric entries.
      • E.g. penalty loops were skied during the biathlon race so the penalty figures are listed but the "Adjusted time" option is off.
    • Numeric / Time
      • The "Numeric" option is used in Biathlon to list the missed targets as e.g. 1+0+1+2=4
      • The "Time" option is used in Motorcycle enduro racing to add time penalty for late arrivals at checkpoints
    • Scoring system
      • The "Biathlon" option provides for a quick way to tap penalties (0-5) from a graphical list
      • The "Other" option provides flexibility to enter any number as the penalty (including fractions)
    • # of entries
      • This option allows you to specify e.g. how many shooting stations there were in Biathlon
      • Each penalty (or bonus) get listed separately on the website results, e.g. 1+2=3 (# of entries = 2)
    • Adjust finish time
      • Use this option if you want the numeric penalty / bonus entry to affect the "Adjusted time"
      • An example is the "20 km Biathlon" race where each missed target adds a minute to the finish time
      • The 1 minute penalty is offered as the default, you can change this to any time increment you wish
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Handicaps

  • If this results option is used, in addition to individual results, "Adjusted time" results are listed as well.
  • The handicap-adjusted times can be viewed on the app, and on posted results on webscorer.com.
  • To see the "Adjusted time" on the results, simply tap the "Adjusted time" toolbar icon on the results panel.
  • To return to see the actual finish times, tap the same toolbar button which will now say "Finish time".
  • You can change the handicap option also during or after the race (via the "Result options" toolbar icon).
  • The formula how the handicap number affects the time is specified by choosing the "Handicap system".
  • To calculate the "Adjusted time", the finish time of the racer is adjusted based on the handicap specified for each racer.
  • The app supports 8 different handicap types, a brief description of each is as follows:
    • % Handicap
      • This option assumes the handicap number provided for each racer is a percentage.
      • For example, in paranordic skiing, a racer with an amputated arm may have a handicap value of "89.1%".
      • The value entered in the "Handicap" field on the start list would be 89.1.
      • The racer's "Adjusted time" is calculated by multiplying the actual finish time by (89.1 / 100) or 0.891.
      • For example, if the finish time is 30:01, then the handicap-adjusted time is (30 * 60 + 1) * 0.891 = 1605 seconds or 26:45
    • Fractional handicap
      • This option assumes the handicap number is a fractional number, typically just below or above 1.
      • For example, in car racing, a racer may have a handicap value of 1.18.
      • The value entered in the "Handicap" column on the start list would be 1.18.
      • The racer s "Adjusted time" is calculated by multiplying the actual finish time by 1.18.
      • For example, if the finish time is 44.21 seconds, the handicap-adjusted time is 44.21 * 1.18 = 52.17 seconds
    • Age-graded handicap
      • This option uses built-in age-adjusted tables that list the fractional handicap based on age and the distance of the event.
      • To obtain the adjusted times, the racer's Age and Gender must be specified in the "Racer Info" panel.
      • If the Age or Gender is missing, the "Handicap" value will be shown as 1 (no handicap).
      • The tables have been copied from this site: http://id3459.securedata.net/eliteracingsystems/2007_roadraces_results/agegrade.html
      • This option requires that you specify the correct table to use for each of the distances in the race.
      • For example, a 50-year old male runner gets an age-adjusted handicap of 0.8817 for the 10 km road running distance.
      • The value entered in the "Handicap" column for the 50-year old racer would be 0.8817.
      • The racer's "Adjusted time" is calculated by multiplying the actual finish time by 0.8817.
      • For example, if the finish time is 40:00, the handicap-adjusted time would be 0.8817 * 40 * 60 = 2116 secs = 35:16.
      • For a 25-year old runner, the value is 1 (i.e. no handicap).
      • While these tables were developed from running data, they can be applied to other endurance sports as well.
    • Age- & gender-graded handicap
      • This option further adjusts the female racer's times with a male / female running record fraction.
      • The purpose is to be able to compare male and female racers' times – who's the best overall age & gender-adjusted racer.
      • For example, the 10 km road running record for males is listed as 1611 seconds (26:51) and for females as 1820 seconds (30:20),
      • The female / male ratio is hence 1611 / 1820 = 0.8852.
      • E.g. a 57-year old female ran the 10 km distance in 44:12 – she has an age-graded handicap of 0.8174.
      • The Age- & gender adjusted time would be (44 * 60 + 12) * 0.8174 * 0.8852 = 1919 seconds or 31:59.
      • Male racers' adjusted times are the same as in the "Age-graded handicap" option.
    • Sailboat racing: Portsmouth / RYA
      • This option implements the Royal Yacht Academy's handicap system for small boat yacht racing.
      • The formula is best described here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth_Yardstick
      • The value entered in the "Handicap" column of the start list is be the boat's Portsmouth handicap number.
      • The handicap-adjusted time for the boat is calculated by multiplying the actual finish time by (1000 / Handicap).
    • Sailboat racing: Portsmouth / D-PN
      • This option implements the US version of the small boat yacht racing handicap system.
      • The rules are explained in the same article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth_Yardstick
      • The US values for the same boats are different and hence the formula to calculate the adjusted time is different.
      • The value entered in the "Handicap" column of the start list is be the boat's Portsmouth handicap number.
      • The handicap-adjusted time for the boat is calculated by multiplying the actual finish time by (100 / Handicap).
    • Sailboat racing: PHRF / TOD
      • This option implements the TOD (Time Over Distance) sailboat handicap system used for larger sailboats in the US.
      • The formula is best described here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_Handicap_Racing_Fleet
      • The value entered in the "Handicap" column of the start list is be the boat's PHRF handicap number.
      • This option requires that you specify the course length (typically in nautical miles) for each race distance.
      • The handicap-adjusted time for the boat is calculated by subtracting (Course length * Handicap) from the actual finish time.
    • Sailboat racing: PHRF / TOT
      • This option implements the TOT (Time Over Time) sailboat handicap system used for larger sailboats outside of US.
      • The formula is best described here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_Handicap_Racing_Fleet
      • The value entered in the "Handicap" column of the start list is be the boat's PHRF handicap number.
      • This option requires that you specify two values, denoted by A and B that adjust the handicap to the prevailing wind conditions.
      • The handicap-adjusted time for the boat is calculated by multiplying the actual finish time by (A * [B + Handicap]).
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Racer check-in required

  • The "Racer check-in" flag is a handy registration desk tool to automate setting pre-registered racers who don't show up as DNS
  • When the "Racer check-in required" is turned on, each racer's "Racer Info" panel has an extra option called "Checked in"
  • When you're handing out bib numbers for racers checking in, at the same time mark the racer as having "Checked in"
  • When you tap the "Race Start" navigation button from the "Start List" panel, you'll get a pop-up asking whether you want the app to mark the racers who have not checked in as DNS
  • This helps you keep track of all races who actually started the race, allowing you to know who's still on course towards the end of the race
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Results options

  • By default, the results will be ordered by "Fastest time" which is the standard way of listing results
    • You can opt to reverse the order (i.e. slowest time wins) for sports like rodeo where the cowboy who stays on the horse longest wins
    • In a race with laps, you can set the results such that the fastest lap (out of many attempted) determines the results
    • Alternatively, in a race with laps, you can have the racer with the slowest lap (out of many) to be the winner
  • The app will automatically create separate results listings for each distance
  • If you're using categories, you can choose to have the app list
    • Both overall results and category results
    • Only overall results
    • Only category results
  • E.g. in a single distance race (say 10 km)
    • If you don't want an overall results listing, then turn off "Overall by distance"
    • If you don't want separate category results listing, then turn off "Category results"
    • If you want both overall and category results listings, turn on both options
  • The results options apply both to results shown on the app, and when posted to the website
  • You can change this setting for the website results after the race has been posted as follows:
    • Sign in to Webscorer.com with your email address and password
    • Navigate to the results page
    • Click on the "Edit race info" option
    • Change the setting for "Results options" as appropriate
    • Click on "Save changes"
  • In a multi-distance race, you can choose to have the results shown also "Overall all distances"
  • This option makes sense only if all racers are racing the same course
  • E.g. you may be using the "Distance" to separate the overall results between men & women as follows:
    • Distance 1 = 10 km Men
    • Distance 2 = 10 km Women
  • By using the "By overall (all racers)", you can get a results listing "Overall 10 km Men & Women"
  • In running races, it is sometimes customary to exclude the overall winners (or top 3) from category results
  • By setting this option on, you can specify that e.g. the top 3 in each of the distances
    • 10 km Men
    • 10 km Women
    are excluded from the age category results
  • For example, a runner from the Men 40-49 category is the fastest overall runner, the next fastest runner in Men 40-49 will be listed as the category winner
  • If you want to exclude the overall winner and the overall masters winner from category results, here's how to do that:
    • Set the distances separately for Men and Women (e.g. 10 km Men, 10 km Women)
    • Use the option "Exclude top x overall from category results" and set it to "Exclude top 1"
    • When the race is finished, tap the Masters winner from the overall results and assign him / her a new category called "Overall Master"
    • Example here: http://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=4867
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Start list

  • The "Start List" panel shows all the racers added to the race
  • On an iPad, the panel shows the following data (depending on your race setup):
    • Bib #
    • Name
    • Distance
    • Category
    • Start time
  • On an iPhone, due to screen space limitations, the distance and category data is available only by tapping the green arrow on the right
  • Tap the green arrow to the right of the racer to change / configure racer details
  • The left-most column will have a green check-mark if the racer has all the required fields configured
  • If you're assigning bib #'s on the app, you can assign bibs individually or automate the assignment with the "Automate" toolbar button
  • If you're assigning start times on the app in an interval start race, you can assign them individually or automate the assignment with the "Automate" toolbar
  • Tap the "Sort list" button to order the start list by bib #, name, category, distance or start time (as applicable to your race)
  • Tap the "Add racer" button to add a racer to the start list
  • To delete a race, tap the green arrow to the right of the racer, and tap the "Delete racer" toolbar button in the "Racer Info" panel
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Racer info

  • Depending on your race setup, the "Racer Info" panel can have the following options:
    • Name
    • Checked-in
    • Start time
    • Wave
    • Bib number
    • Distance
    • Category
    • Team name
    • Team name 2
    • Age
    • Gender
  • "Team name", "Team name 2", Age and Gender are optional, they're only used for race results listings on the website
  • "Team name" and "Team name 2" are displayed below the racer name on the posted results on Webscorer.com as follows:
    Brad Kirkpatrick
    Bellevue, WA - Team Webscorer
  • In the above example Team name = Bellevue, WA and Team name 2 = Team Webscorer
  • Note that the iPhone version does not show "Team name 2", Age or Gender for space reasons, the iPad version shows all
  • However, if "Team name 2", Age or Gender were supplied as part of a start list file, these will be passed to posted results also on the iPhone version
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Automate bib assignment

  • Via the "Racer Info" panel, you can assign each racer a specific bib # which can range from 1 to 99999
  • Note that to navigate to the right bib #
    • Use the numbers on the right to move e.g from 10000 to 20000
    • Use the "+1000" and "-1000" toolbar buttons to navigate e.g. from 1000 to 2000
    • Use the "+100" and "-100" toolbar buttons to navigate e.g. from 100 to 200
  • If you want to automate the bib assignment, you can do so by tapping the "Automate BIB" toolbar button on the "Start List" panel
  • This option allows you to assign the bibs to the racers based on the following criteria
    • Randomly (e.g. a computerized draw who goes out first)
    • Start list order (i.e. the order in which the names appear on the "Start List" panel)
    • By category (e.g. all racers in a category have a common bib range)
    • By distance (e.g. all racers in a distance have a common bib range)
  • When assigning bibs by category or distance
    • You can first order the racers listed on the page into a desired order by holding and dragging the icon on the right-most column
    • Alternatively, you tap the "Sort list" button on the toolbar to order the racers by name, randomly or original start list order
    • Once you're satisfied with the order, choose the first bib # to be used for the category / distance
  • To start over, tap the "Reset bibs" button on the toolbar
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Automate start time assignment

  • Via the "Racer Info" panel, you can assign each racer a specific start time
  • If you want to automate the start time assignment, you can do so by tapping the "Automate [clock sign]" toolbar button on the "Start List" panel
  • This option allows you to assign start times to the racers based on the following criteria
    • Randomly (e.g. a computerized draw who goes out first)
    • Start list order (i.e. the order in which the names appear on the "Start List" panel)
    • By category (e.g. all racers in a category have a common bib range)
    • By distance (e.g. all racers in a distance have a common bib range)
  • When assigning start times by category or distance
    • You can first order the racers listed on the page into a desired order by holding and dragging the icon on the right-most column
    • Alternatively, you tap the "Sort list" button on the toolbar to order the racers by name, randomly or original start list order
    • Once you're satisfied with the order, choose the first start time to be used for the category / distance
  • To start over, tap the "Reset times" button on the toolbar
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Race clock

  • 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
  • To setup a race countdown, select "Set race countdown" and pick the hours, minutes and seconds from the dial and tap Done
  • The countdown allows you to auto-start the race, if for example you need to leave the start area with the timer a few minutes before the race starts
  • When a countdown is under way, you can 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 deactivated
  • To adjust the race clock to a race that has already started, select "Adjust for active race", and pick the hours, minutes and seconds from the dial and tap Done
  • The adjustment for an active race allows you to start the timer later than the actual race
  • 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
    • Choose the option "Adjust for active race"
    • Set 1:01:00 on the dial, tap Done
    • Wait until exactly 1:01:00 has passed since the race start and then tap the green start button
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Timing modes

  • The app supports 3 different timing modes
    • "Normal" where a single Webscorer PRO handles all aspects of timing the race
    • "Bibs in finish order" in which the 2 devices are used to time the race, 1st recording time stamps and the 2nd recording bibs in the order of finish
    • "Multi-device splits" where 2 or more devices share the timing of the same race, each recording one or multiple laps / segments
  • The "Bibs in finish order" timing mode is designed for races where there are lots of racers finishing close together where it's helpful to separate the functions of recording time stamps and recording bibs
  • The 1st device recording time stamps, and the 2nd device recording bibs synchronize the data via an internet or a Bluetooth connection
  • The "Multi-device splits" timing mode is designed for 2 different uses:
    • A point-to-point race (such as a triathlon) where you want to record the segment times for each racer
    • An interval start race where multiple coaches are giving split times for the same racers and want to share the splits with each other
  • Recording segment times in a point-to-point race does not require an internet connection, the times can be combined by posting the results from each device to Webscorer.com after the race
  • However, having an internet connection will make it possible for spectators and fans of racers at home to follow the progress of the race "live"
  • Sharing split times during a race requires that all participating devices have an active internet connection
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Bibs in finish order

  • The setup for recording time stamps and bibs separately is as follows
  • First, configure the race with the 1st Webscorer PRO as if it were the only timing device, with timing mode = "Normal"
  • Once the race setup is complete, navigate to the "Race Start" panel
  • You'll need to share the start list with the 2nd Webscorer PRO as follows:
    • Tap the "Post start list" toolbar button
    • Choose a sport type and post the start list to Webscorer.com or share it with the 2nd device via Bluetooth
    • On the 2nd Webscorer PRO, go to "Time a race" / "Download start list from Webscorer.com" or "Download start list via Bluetooth"
  • Once you've downloaded the start list to the 2nd Webscorer PRO
    • Navigate to the "Race Start" panel
    • Tap the "Timing mode" option
    • Choose the "Bibs in finish order" option
  • On both devices, you'll need to choose either to "Sync bibs via Bluetooth" or to "Sync bibs via Webscorer.com"
  • Synchronizing bibs via Webscorer.com has the following advantages:
    • The person recording bibs can sync the bibs to Webscorer.com whenever there's a break in bib recording action, without having to coordinate with the person recording time stamps
    • The person recording time stamps can similarly download the bibs from Webscorer.com whenever convenient
    • The uploading / downloading bibs is quicker than via Bluetooth, and happens without disrupting the timing or bib recording activity
    • The two devices don't have to be within Bluetooth range to synchronize
  • It's a good idea to start the race at the same time on both devices so that the race clocks are synchronized
  • The device recording bibs will also record a time stamp when the bib was entered, a close approximation of the finish time which can be useful when trying to recover from errors
  • After the race has started, the device recording time stamps must be switched to "Fast-tap view" (with or without the keypad visible)
  • The device recording bibs is automatically set to the "Fast-tap view", you can choose to be in the graphical racer box view or switch to the "View keypad" view
  • When a racer finishes, the person recording time stamps will tap the green timer button to record a time
  • Correspondingly, the person recording bibs will tap the racer's bib # in the graphical view or enter the bib via the keypad (and tap Enter)
  • To synchronize the two, the person recording bibs will tap the "Send bibs" toolbar button (which appears when there are bibs to send)
  • The person recording time stamps will tap the "Receive bibs" toolbar button to receive the bib(s)
  • After a successful sync, the entries will disappear from the fast-tap list of each device into the Results
  • You can choose to sync incrementally at any point during the race or wait until the end of the race to sync all bibs
  • Note that the person recording time stamps is free to enter bibs on his own, even if the person recording bibs is recording the same bibs; when synchronizing, the "duplicate" bibs are ignored
  • Towards the end of the race where only a few racers remain on course, it's often not necessary to have the second device recording bibs, so the person recording time stamps can decide when to start recording also bibs
  • The one requirement is that the two devices stay in sync with respect to the # of time stamps and bibs recorded
  • If possible, it's useful to check before synchronizing that each device's "sequence #" (the number with a yellow box on the left hand side of the fast-tap list) is the same
  • If you get out of sync with the sequence #'s, the device recording bibs can reset the sequence # to match via an option on "Race control"
  • If your chosen sync method stops working during the race (say the internet connection is down), you can switch to sync via Bluetooth as follows:
    • Make sure both sides are are at the same sequence # (to test this, you can tap a time stamp and tap a bib # to verify the next sequence #, then cancel each tap if they were for testing purposes only)
    • It's possible that the sequence #'s don't match if the device recording bibs had sent bibs to Webscorer.com which the time stamp recording device was unable to download
    • If this case, you'll need to enter the bib #'s manually on the device recording time stamps to bring both sides to sync
    • You can check from the "Results" panel on the device recording bibs which bibs have already been sent
    • Alternatively, you can also reset the sequence # on the device recording bibs by tapping "Race control" / "Set seq. #"
    • After the sequence #'s are in sync, tap "Race control" / "Bib sync" and change the sync option - you'll need to do this on both devices
    • You can then resume performing "Send bibs" / "Receive bibs" as before
  • The alternative recovery method is to enter all bib #'s by hand on the 1st device by copying them off the list on the 2nd device
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Multi-device splits

  • The setup for multi-device splits is as follows
    • First, configure the race with the 1st Webscorer PRO as if it were the only timing device
    • Note that for "Record lap times" must be turned on for the "Multi-device splits" timing mode to be enabled
    • Once the race setup is complete, tap the "Timing mode" option in the "Race Start" panel
    • Choose the "Multi-device splits" option
    • Choose which lap(s) are recorded with the 1st device
    • E.g. in a point-to-point race with one intermediate split station, you'd configure one device to record times for lap 1 (split station), and the other device to record times for lap 2 (finish)
  • Next, you'll need to share the start list with all other devices as follows:
    • Tap the "Post start list" toolbar button
    • Choose a sport type and post the start list to Webscorer.com or share it with the 2nd device via Bluetooth
    • On each of the other devices, go to "Time a race" / "Download start list from Webscorer.com" or "Download start list via Bluetooth"
    • Note that if you forgot to turn "Timing mode = Multi-device splits" before sharing the start list, changing the timing mode afterwards on each device won't work to recover from this error
  • On the other devices, navigate to the "Race Start" panel, tap the "Timing mode" option and choose "Multi-device splits"
  • Choose which lap(s) are recorded with each subsequent device
  • There is no upper limit how many devices can cooperate to time the same race; e.g. in a point-to-point relay race with 20 legs, you could have 20 devices each timing one segment
  • Also note that a single device can time multiple laps, i.e. split times for a 15 km race with 3 loops could be divided by 2 coaches into 6 segments:
    • Coach #1 takes splits 1, 3 and 5 (configured as laps 1, 3, 5)
    • Coach #2 takes splits 2, 4 and 6 (configured as laps 2, 4, 6)
  • Once the race setup in complete on each device, you must synchronize the race clocks so that the race is started at the same time on each
  • After starting the race, timing works in the same manner as if the race was timed by a single device
  • The only difference is that the lap # shown on the racer boxes initially shows the lap you're timing, and after the lap has been recorded will switch to the next lap configured to be timed with your device
  • E.g. in a point-to-point race with one intermediate split station
    • The first device (at the intermediate split station) will initially show that racers are on lap 1/2
    • After the the first lap has been recorded, the racer is "finished" since that timing station is set to record only lap 1
    • The second device (at the finish line) will initially show that racers are on lap 2/2, even if racers have yet to reach the first split station
  • The split times are combined upon posting at Webscorer.com so to get complete race results, you must post the results
  • If you're timing the race "live", the split times are shared between the devices automatically
    • You'll see the splits from the other devices by tapping the "Show splits" toolbar button on the "Race Finish" panel
    • The results are also shown on Webscorer.com, you can find the race ID of your race by tapping "Race control" / "Live update"
    • Your race will also show up on the home page of Webscorer.com with a red "LIVE results" label
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Post start list

  • Once you're done with the race setup and have the final start list ready, you may want to post the start list to Webscorer.com to give racers, spectators and fans access to it
  • This allows everyone to know who's who in the race and gives everyone an idea about start times, distances, categories etc.
  • By posting the start list, coaches can use their own Webscorer PRO apps to do their own timing for their own athletes
  • To post the start list, tap the "Post start list" toolbar button on the "Start Race" panel
  • You can post the start list to Webscorer.com or alternatively, share the start list with any Webscorer FAN or PRO app via Bluetooth
  • If you forgot to post the start list before starting the race, you can get access to the same option via "Race control" / "View start list" option from the "Race Finish" panel
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Show name

  • This is a toolbar option in the "Race Finish" panel which you can tap to toggle between two modes "Show name" and "Hide name"
  • Initially, the race is started in the "Hide name" mode where only the bib #, running time and lap # is shown on each racer box
  • By tapping the "Show name" button, the screen will be updated to show also racer's name, distance and category (if applicable)
  • You can toggle between these two modes whenever you want to
  • The "Hide name" view will show twice as many racer boxes per screen and is more practical in a large race
  • As racers finish and the boxes disappear from the screen, toggling this button will make the empty spaces on the screen go away
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DNS/DNF/DSQ

  • This is a toolbar option in the "Race Finish" panel that allows you to set a race as DNS, DNF or DSQ
  • DNS = did not start
  • DNF = did not finish
  • DSQ = disqualified
  • E.g. to set someone as DSQ, tap the DNS/DNF/DSQ toolbar button, then choose the DSQ option, and then tap the correct racer box
  • Note that you can also change the racer's status to DNS/DNF/DSQ by editing the racer's time
  • In an interval start race, you can set a racer who did not show up as DNS on the "Race Start" panel
  • Similarly, in a wave start race, you can tap the "Racers" option next to the wave on the "Race Start" panel, and set missing wave members as DNS
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Timing views

  • There are three different views to record finish and lap times for racers
    • "Normal view" presents a graphical view of racer boxes, time & racer name / bib are recorded together when tapping the racer box
    • "Fast-tap view" separate the time stamp & racer name / bib recording; you'll tap a time, followed by the name / bib, or pre-enter the name / bib first, followed by the time
    • "Fast-tap view with keypad" is useful in a large race where the racer boxes fill up multiple pages, making it time-consuming to locate the correct name / bib
  • You can switch between these timing views during the race as you wish
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Normal view

  • This is the default view that you arrive at 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
  • Note that in an individual start race, you'll start each racer by tapping their racer box (in all other start types, the starting takes place via a "Start race" button
  • Once tapped, the racer box turns yellow for 5 seconds, after which the racer box disappears from the screen
  • In a race with lap times, the racer box goes yellow for 5 seconds, then changes color to indicate that the racer is now on the next lap
  • During the 5-second period which the racer box is yellow, you can tap the box again to make an error correction
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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, you'll tap the green timer button to record a time for a racer, then locate the racer's box and tap it 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 to record a time for that racer
  • 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
  • Completed entries in the fast-tap view are automatically sent to webscorer.com if the race is being timed live
  • You can edit the time stamp by tapping on the yellow time field
  • You can edit the racer's distance, category and other info by tapping the 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
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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 only practical option when there are more than a few dozen racers
  • This timing view works in a similar way: 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 is to enter just time stamps during the race and wait until the end of the race to enter the bibs (off an assistant's notepad or with another Webscorer PRO running in "Bib sync" timing mode)
  • 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
  • To edit other racer data, tap the green arrow to the right of the "Race clock" field
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Show splits

  • The "Show splits" toolbar icon on the "Race Finish" panel is an alternate way to check results and make error corrections or adjustments
  • This function was designed to make it easy and quick for coaches to check results for their athletes in a split time situation
  • Note that you can see the most recent result / split time taken on the grey status line on the "Race Finish" panel
  • The "Show Splits" panel gives more context for the racer's position in the race, including time behind / ahead of nearest competitors
  • You can also easily see by tapping a toolbar button how the same racer was ranked on a previous lap
  • The "Show Splits" panel separates multiple distances and categories into their own results listings
  • Tap a racer to have the app calculate time behind and ahead of nearest competitors for the tapped racer
  • Tap the yellow arrow to the right of the racer to make error corrections, including time adjustments
  • Once a racer has finished (or completed a lap), tap "Show splits" to see the racer's time & position
  • The last-tapped racer is always highlighted upon the panel entry, making it easy to find the split time / result for the most recent racer
  • The "Show splits" panel toolbar includes the following icons for quick navigation within the results:
    • "Next distance" toggles through all the different distances in the race (e.g. 10 km, 30 km)
    • "Next category" toggles through all the different categories within a given distance (e.g. Overall, Men, Women, Junior boys, Junior girls)
    • "Next lap" toggles through all the different laps within a given distance (e.g. lap 1, lap 2)
    • "Show difference" / "Show time" - this button is available for space reasons only on the iPad version. It allows you to control the timing view in the "Show splits" panel; the "Absolute" option will show each racer's split time, whereas the "Relative" option will show the time difference from the highlighted racer. This option is sticky - it stays as set for subsequent races until changed. On the iPhone version, this option can be changed via "Race control".
  • Tap the "Race finish" toolbar icon or the "Race Finish" navigation icon to get back to the "Race Finish" panel
  • While taking split times in a race as a coach, if you want your own athletes to show up with green highlighting for easier identification on the Show Splits panel, follow these steps:
    • Before starting the race, edit either the "Team name" or "Team name 2" field for each of your racers to be "My Team Racer"
    • If "Team name" is already used, you can use "Team name 2" (note this field editable on the app only with the iPad version)
    • Note that if you end up posting the results to Webscorer.com, the "My Team Racer" will show on the website as the Team name or Team name 2
    • During the race, each of your racers will then be shown with green background highlighting in the "Show Splits" panel
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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 from Results before the "Restart race" option is available
  • Another option on the race control is to finish the race, tap the "Finish race" option to end the race
  • Once all the racers have finished, you'll need to end the race via the "Finish race" button
  • Note that you can still enter a time and bib # for a racer not on the original start list by switching to the Fast-tap view with the keypad visible
  • If you enter an "Unknown bib", you'll get a popup with instructions how to add that entry into the results
  • Other "Race control" options include (depending on your race setup):
    • "View start list" - this gives you view-only access to the start list, e.g. to check actual start times
    • "Bib sync" - if you're using a 2 device setup to record time stamps and bibs in finish order separately, this option allows you to switch the sync method from cellular to Bluetooth during the race if cellular is not working for some reason
    • "Set seq. #" - when recording time stamps and bib #'s separately with two devices, this option allows you reset the sequence # on the bib recording device to be in sync with the sequence # on the time stamp device
    • "Live update" - if you're timing the race "live", this option gives you the race ID of your race on Webscorer.com, and the status of the last successful update sent to Webscorer.com
    • "All to next lap" - in a race with laps, if you've missed taking lap times for a few racers, this option allows you to move all racers to the next lap (the racers you've missed will get a "-" as their lap time)
    • "All to last lap" - this is a quick way to move everyone you've missed in earlier laps to the last lap, ready for recording the finish times
    • "Restart wave" - this option allows you to restart just selected wave(s) in a race with manual wave start
    • "Pause start" - in an interval start or interval wave start race, you can tap this button to pause the starting of racers or waves or racers. This is handy when e.g. in a downhill ski race there's been a crash on course and the starting has to be paused until the course is clear again. The racers already under way are still be timed normally.
    • "Resume start" - tap this option when the course is clear and you're ready to resume the starting of racers. Upon resume, the app will calculate the next start time to be such that the next starter has sufficient time to get ready. You can pause and resume the race multiple times.
    • "Show splits" - this function allows you to control the timing view in the "Show splits" panel; the "Absolute" option will show each racer's split time, whereas the "Relative" option will show the time difference from the highlighted racer. This option is sticky - it stays as set for subsequent races until changed. The default is "Absolute". The iPad version has room for a button on the "Show splits" panel that provides an alternate way to set this option - and to quickly toggle between the two timing views.
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Correcting errors

  • The app has three levels of error correction:
    • Immediate
    • Late (during the race)
    • After-race
  • Whenever something is highlighted in yellow on the Race Finish panel, you can tap that area to make an immediate error correction
  • You can perform the same error corrections "late" via the "Show splits" function if you miss correcting the error immediately
  • After the race is complete, you can always edit racer data, including names, team names categories, distances and times by editing the results
  • In the racer box view, when tapped, the racer box turns yellow for 5 seconds during which time you can tap the box again for an immediate error correction
    • "Cancel tap" is a way to undo an accidental tap
    • "Swap tap" allows you to transfer the time stamp recorded to another racer (choose the "Swap tap" option and then tap the correct racer box)
    • "Restart racer" (in an individual start race) allows you to recall a racer that may have done a false start
    • "Skip lap" (in a race with laps) allows you to move the racer to the next lap when you missed taking a lap time for a given racer ("-" is recorded as the lap time)
    • "Finish racer" (in a race with laps) handles a missed lap time situation where you notice after tapping a time for a given racer that the racer was finished, rather than going for another lap
  • In the Fast-tap view, you can
    • To cancel an entry in the fast-tap view, tap the yellow square on the "Pl" column
    • To edit a time in the fast-tap view before a racer has been associated with the time stamp, tap the yellow square around the time to make an adjustment
    • In the Fast-tap view, once both the time stamp and a name or bib # has been entered, the entry will similarly disappear into Results after 5 seconds
  • If you miss the 5-second time window for making an immediate error correction, you can make the same corrections "late" via "Show splits" toolbar button on the "Race Finish" panel
  • To perform a late "Cancel tap":
    • Tap "Show splits" button which will bring up the "Show Splits" panel with the last-tapped racer automatically highlighted
    • Tap the yellow arrow to the right of the racer name
    • In the "Edit Time" panel, tap the "Delete time" toolbar button and confirm the tap via the pop-up displayed
    • The recorded time for this racer is cancelled and the racer is returns to the race if finished, or previous lap in a race with laps
  • To perform a late "Swap tap":
    • Tap "Show splits" button which will bring up the "Show Splits" panel with the last-tapped racer highlighted
    • Tap the yellow arrow to the right of the racer name
    • In a race with bibs, tap the "Bib" field and enter the correct bib number
    • In a race with names only, tap the green arrow to the right of the "Name" field and pick the correct name from the list
    • The time recorded is assigned to the correct bib or name and the wrong bib or name is returned to the race if finished, or previous lap in a race with laps
  • To adjust a time for a finished racer, tap the racer's entry on the Results panel, and you'll get to the "Edit Racer Data" panel
  • On the "Edit Racer Data" panel you can adjust the recorded time or change the bib # or edit / change the name
  • If you want to remove an entry from the results, simply tap the "Delete racer" and you'll get a pop-up to confirm that you want to remove the racer from the results
  • One disadvantage of the fast-tap view with keypad is that it easier to enter a wrong bib as you are not selecting from a list of available bib numbers
  • When you're operating in the keypad mode, the app has built-in mechanisms to deal with the 3 possible error scenarios:
    • Bib entered not on the start list
    • Bib entered has already finished
    • Bib entered has not yet started
  • In each case, you'll get an error pop-up asking you how you wish to deal with the situation if you're sure that the bib number entered is correct
    • If the bib is not on the start list, the error pop-up allows to record the bib as "TBD" to be dealt with later
    • If the bib has already finished, the error pop-up allows you assign the bib to the time stamp, and return the earlier (incorrect) time stamp to the fast-tap view with a "Bib TBD"
    • If the bib has not yet started (e.g. in a wave start), it's likely you missed starting the wave - the pop-up allows you to record the bib anyway and you can go start the wave delayed (with a race clock adjustment), and the recorded bib & time stamp will be processed into results automatically
  • The "Show splits" function is the quick way to make timing corrections during the race, but you can also edit racer data via the "Results" panel
  • The following edits are available only via editing racer data via Results:
    • To fix a misspelling in a name, find the racer in "Results", tap the racer's name and edit the name via the "Racer Info" panel
    • If a racer switches from one distance to another (e.g. a marathon runner quits at half-way and wants to be transferred to the half-marathon), you can switch the racer's distance by editing the "Racer Info" via Results
    • You can correct all racer data via Results except "Wave" and "Start time"
    • In a race with laps, the "Show splits" function allows you to edit the last lap time, "Results" allows you to edit all lap times
    • Note that to edit the finish time in a race with laps, you must edit the lap times which will then be added together to come up with the new finish time
    • Tip: if you edit one lap time, tap the other lap time field to have the app recalculate the resulting finish time
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Results

  • Once you entered a name or bib # for a recorded time, the Results navigation button appears on the top right corner of the Race Finish panel
  • You can visit the Results panel during the race to view or edit results or to pass through 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), tap the racer's time field, tap the DNS/DNF/DSQ button and choose the correct option
  • 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)
  • After the race is finished, tap the "Home" toolbar button to get back to the Home panel
  • 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
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Bibs recorded

  • This is a toolbar option on the "View Results" panel which lists all the bibs recorded during the race in the Fast-tap view (with or without the keypad)
  • The list includes a sequence # that corresponds to the "#" column on the Fast-tap view, the bib recorded and the race clock time when the bib was entered
  • Note that the time recorded is not necessarily the race time for the racer, as a possible start time has not been subtracted from the race clock time
  • This list may be handy in determining errors during the timing during or after the race, the only purpose for this list is to figure out problems during the timing
  • The list is kept both when a single device is recording the entire race, as well as in Timing mode = "Bibs in finish order"
  • Note that if you enter any bibs in the "Normal view" (where tapping the racer box records both the time and the bib #), this entry will not appear in the "Bibs Recorded" list
  • Therefore, it's recommended that you stay in the "Fast-tap view" for the entire race to get an accurate list of bibs recorded
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Edit results

  • You can edit results during the race, as well as after the race
  • The fastest way to edit results during the race is via the "Show splits" toolbar button on the "Race Finish" panel
  • But you can also edit results via the "View Results" panel
  • The "Show Splits" panel allows you to assign the time to a different name or bib #, edit the recorded time or assign the time to a different lap
  • To edit a racer's name, team name, change category or distance, you must do so via "View Results"
  • The last-tapped racer is highlighted in the "Show Splits" panel, but you can edit anyone's time by tapping the yellow arrow on the right
  • If you tap the "Delete time" button, it has the effect of returning the racer to race or to previous lap ("late cancel tap")
  • Notes about editing times in a race with laps:
    • "Show splits" tool allows you to edit only the most recent lap time
    • To edit earlier lap times, you can go to "Results" / "Situation after x laps" / "Racer name" and tap Edit
    • In a lap race, you must edit lap times to change the overall time; the lap times are added together to calculate the overall (finish) time
    • You can mark a lap time as "-" by tapping the "Missed lap" button, but that means that the time must be added to another lap to keep overall time correct
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Post results via Bluetooth

  • To post results via Bluetooth or to Webscorer.com, you must first choose a sport from a list of options
  • The sport is used as a sort / search index when looking for a race in the race archive or on Webscorer.com
  • To share the results with Webscorer FAN (or PRO), tap the "Share results 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 device Settings / General)
  • 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 Webscorer FAN users, they get a non-editable, non-postable copy of the results
  • If the recipient's Webscorer PRO has the same email address (see Settings), then an editable / postable copy of the results will be shared
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Post results to Webscorer.com

  • If you choose to post the results to Webscorer.com, you can choose to post the results as "public" or "private"
  • "Public" results are visible on the Webscorer.com home page, and searchable by anyone using the website or the app
  • "Private" results can be found only by knowing the results URL on Webscorer.com, or by knowing the "Race ID" when downloading to the app
  • An alternative for posting results to Webscorer.com is to share results via Bluetooth
  • The app and the website uses your Webscorer.com account email address to keep track of your own posted races
  • When you download a race posted by your email address, 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
  • Note that an Internet connection must be active when posting to Webscorer.com
  • You don't have to post the results immediately after the race, you can do so any time by accessing the race via "Race archive" / "My results" off the Home panel
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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, limit is maximum of 280 characters
  • The website can optionally show each racer's "pace" in km/hour, miles/hour, mins/km or mins/mile
  • To enable this option, you simply have to turn "Pace = On" when posting results, choose the metric and specify the exact length for each race distance
  • Once you've sucessfully 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, 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 your own website information
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RACE ARCHIVE

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Four archive locations

There are four archive locations for races on your local device:
  • My Results - stores all race results timed by your email address
  • Downloaded Results - stores all the results downloaded from Webscorer.com or via Bluetooth and created by someone else's email address
  • My Start Lists - stores all the start lists created by your email address
  • Downloaded Start Lists - stores all the start lists downloaded from Webscorer.com or via Bluetooth and created by someone else's email address
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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 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
  • You can download the race again if the deleted race was downloaded from Webscorer.com or via Bluetooth
  • 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 (unless the race was originally posted by you), 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 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 download via Bluetooth to another device) for archival purposes, should you ever lose your device
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Results info

  • The "Results Info" panel gives you a number of options what to do with the archived race
  • For your own results, you have the following options:
    • View / edit results
    • Use as race template
    • Post results
    • View results on web / email posted URL
    • Erase posted results
  • For downloaded results, you have the following options:
    • View results
    • Share results via Bluetooth
    • View results on web / email posted URL
  • For your own start lists, you have the following options:
    • View / edit start list
    • Use as race template
    • Post start list
    • View start list on web / email posted URL
    • Erase posted start list
  • For downloaded start lists, you have the following options:
    • View start list
    • Use as race template
    • Share start list via Bluetooth
    • View start list on web / email posted URL
  • Note that you can share your own results and start lists via Bluetooth, that option is accessible via "Post results" and "Post start list"
  • You can edit your own results and start lists and repost; the earlier version is replaced by the new one
  • Erasing posted results or start list can also be done via the website, just go to webscorer.com, sign in with your email address and go to "My posted races" under the "Race organizers" section
  • If you want to edit a downloaded start list and post it as your own, you can do so as follows:
    • Choose the "Use as race template" option for the downloaded start list
    • This will load the start list as a new race setup
    • Make the edits you want, and navigate to the "Start Race" panel
    • Tap the "Post start list" toolbar button to post the edited start list
    • This will be a new start list, i.e. it will not replace the one you downloaded
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DOWNLOAD RACES

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Introduction

  • This function off the home panel allows you to download races
    • From Webscorer.com, or
    • Via Bluetooth from another Webscorer PRO or from Webscorer FAN
  • The downloading via Bluetooth was already covered in the topic above - but it bears repeating that for a Bluetooth transfer to be work
    • Both devices must have Bluetooth enabled (in device Settings / General)
    • Both the sender and receiver must initiate the posting / downloading options simultaneously
  • To download races (results or start lists) from Webscorer.com, you have three options
    • My posted races
    • Recent races
    • Search races
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My posted races

  • This option will appear on the "Download Races" panel once you have posted a race to Webscorer.com
  • The website will keep track of your posted races based on the email address you used during the upgrade to PRO
  • Your own races will download as editable and you can 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
  • Results posted by others will be downloaded to "Downloaded results" folder
  • You own posted start lists will be downloaded to "My start lists" folder
  • Start lists posted by others will be downloaded to "Downloaded start lists" folder
  • You can also manage your own results on Webscorer.com by signing to the website with your email address and password
  • To download a race posted by someone else as editable / postable, you can change the email address and password to match using the "Settings" toolbar option
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Recent races

  • Tapping on "Recent Races" will download just the race headers for the most recent 100 races posted on Webscorer.com
  • The app displays the following for each race: race name, Results / Start list, race date & time, sport type, location and race ID
  • The "race ID" is the digits at the end of the race URL, e.g. 1464 in http://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 selected, you can proceed to "View final results"
  • All downloaded races will be stored in "Race archive" / "Downloaded results" or "Race archive" / "Downloaded start lists"
  • To download another race, go back to the Home panel and choose "Download races" / "Recent races"
  • As the system 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 three types of filters for the most recent 100 races list:
    • List only results, only start lists, or both
    • List races only in sport(s) you're interested in
    • List races in your country only (US & Canada have an additional state / province option)
  • Once set, the app will remember your selections and will always filter the 100 most recent races list based on them
  • Note that the race list on "Recent Races" will update automatically:
    • If you're waiting for a live race to start, you can be simply waiting on the "Recent Races" panel
    • The list is updated at the same frequency as the live results display (default every 30 seconds)
    • When the race is posted to Webscorer.com, the panel will update the race listing by placing the most recent results at the top
    • Live races are highlighted with red color, others in standard black
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Search for races

  • The "Search Races" panel is useful for finding races that may have happened a while ago or to download races 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
  • There is no filter for start lists so the race listing will always include both results and start lists
  • 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. race ID=1426 with 9,901 racers) can take a couple of minutes
  • Download speed depends on your device's processor speed and the speed of your internet connection
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Download via Bluetooth

  • Tap this option to initiate the download of race via Bluetooth from another Webscorer PRO or Webscorer FAN
  • 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 transfer does not succeed, check that you have Bluetooth turned on in your device's Settings / General
  • If the transfer fails, simply try again
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Follow a LIVE race on your device

  • As with Webscorer FAN, you can follow results from a race that's timed "live" with another Webscorer PRO
  • To follow a live race, first find the race via "Recent Races" or "Search Races" and download it to your device
  • A live race will appear in the race listing with the date line in red color, and with the label "LIVE Results"
  • Once downloaded, tap "View preliminary results" and navigate to the distance / category / lap you're interested in following
  • Any results updates will appear automatically, you don't have to tap anything to get the results to show up
  • Webscorer PRO will post updates to Webscorer.com within 10 seconds of each racer finishing
  • Webscorer FAN will check for updates on Webscorer.com every 30 seconds (default setting)
  • The bottom right corner of the results panel will show a countdown to when the app will next check for results updates
  • You can change the frequency at which your device checks for updates via the "Settings" toolbar option
  • The main reason to change the setting is if you're concerned about cellular data usage in a large race
  • The available settings are 10, 30 and 60 seconds plus an option which turns the automatic update off (you have to exit & re-enter the particular results panel to see updates)
  • The live race feature does not consume much cellular bandwidth as it transfers only the new results data on each update cycle
  • No data is downloaded if there are no new results on a given update interval
  • Even a race where 1,000 racers finish in a span of 4 hours should consume 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
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RACER NAMES, TEAMS, DISTANCES & CATEGORIES

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Introduction

  • The app automatically maintains 5 cumulative master lists as new races are configured:
    • Name list, which is a list of unique racer names
    • Team name which is a list of unique names used to identify the racer's team / club / home town / sponsor
    • Team name 2 which is a list of unique names used to identify the racer's team / club / home town / sponsor
    • Distance list, which is a collection of unique race distance names (e.g. 10 km / Half-Marathon)
    • Category list, which is a collection of unique category names (e.g. Men 40-49 / Junior Boys)
  • The purpose of these lists is to make it easier to configure new races using data entered for a previous race
  • This race / racer data is automatically added to the master lists each time you configure a race or load a race template
  • You can delete entries from the master lists any time, this will not affect any races in your archive
  • To delete an entry, tap the "Edit" button on the toolbar or simply swipe on top of the entry you want to delete
  • To edit an entry, or to delete all entries, tap the "Edit" button on the toolbar
  • These lists aren't visible during race setup if a start list or a previous race is used as a race template
  • Note that "Team name 2" is configurable only on the iPad version of the app
  • However, the iPhone version of the app will pass the "Team name 2" when posting results if "Team name 2" is defined in the start list used for the race
  • The "Team name" and "Team name 2" are only visible via "Racer Info" on the app's own results listing due to space considerations
  • The "Team name" and "Team name 2" are displayed on the website results as follows
    Racer name
    Team name - Team name 2
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Name list

  • Racer names can be max 40 characters long
  • The racer name can be in any format (e.g. James Smith / Smith, James / Smith James)
  • All names entered during the race setup get added to the name list, ready to be used at the next race
  • 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
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Team name list

  • "Team name" can be max 40 characters long
  • You can use this field to describe racer's team name, home town, club name, sponsor name etc.
  • The use of "Team name" and "Team name 2" is optional
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Team name 2 list

  • "Team name 2" can be max 40 characters long
  • You can use this field to describe racer's team name, home town, club name, sponsor name etc.
  • "Team name 2" is not visible / configurable on the iPhone version due to space limitations on the "Racer Info" panel
  • However, if "Team name 2" is configured as part of the start list that is used to run the race, then "Team name 2" is sent as part of results also from the iPhone version
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Distance list

  • Category names can be max 25 characters long
  • This limitation exists to make the racer-box view on the "Race Finish" panel readable
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Category list

  • Category and distance names can be max 25 characters long
  • This limitation exists to make the racer-box view on the "Race Finish" panel readable
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RESOURCES

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My account

  • This panel indicates your PRO subscription status and expiration date
  • You only need to subscribe to PRO from one device and you may use PRO with the same email address on all your devices
  • You can extend your PRO subscription before it expires at any time during your subscription period
  • To extend your Webscorer PRO subscription by one week costs $10 (USD)
  • To extend your Webscorer PRO subscription by one year costs $50 (USD)
  • You'll see the price in your local currency when you proceed to the purchase
  • The price will be charged to your credit card on file with Apple
  • The "Settings" toolbar icon gives you access to this same information
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Tutorial - Webscorer FAN

  • This option gives you access to the Webscorer FAN tutorial file
  • The same text is also available on Webscorer.com in the Resources section
  • Note that this file will be updated automatically, as the text is revised at the website
  • Each time you access this panel, the app checks for the most recent tutorial file from Webscorer.com
  • Let us know if there are topics or data missing from this tutorial, you can submit a bug report directly from the app
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Tutorial - Webscorer PRO

  • This option gives you access to the Webscorer FAN tutorial file
  • You can also access this file from any Help button throughout the app
  • The same text is also available on Webscorer.com in the Resources section
  • Note that this file will be updated automatically, as the text is revised at the website
  • Each time you access this panel, the app checks for the most recent tutorial file from Webscorer.com
  • Let us know if there are topics or data missing from this tutorial, you can submit a bug report directly from the app
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Post .TXT results to Webscorer.com

  • This option explains how to post results to Webscorer.com from a .TXT file on your computer
  • Posting results to Webscorer.com as tab-delimited .TXT files is free
  • You don't need a Webscorer PRO license to post results via .TXT
  • There are several possible reasons why you may want to post results to Webscorer.com via a .TXT file
    • You have results in Excel format and either don't have your own website or your webmaster is not cooperative
    • Your chip-timing results don't provide category results breakdown, and it's quicker / easier to allow Webscorer.com to handle it
    • You're a racer and want to copy results from another website to Webscorer.com to more easily include the race on your racer profile
    • You've posted results from Webscorer PRO and need to make major edits that are easiest to in Excel
  • The following are some of the features / benefits for posting results on Webscorer.com
    • Makes your results downloadable to Webscorer FAN and PRO apps
    • Modern website graphical look & feel
    • Automatic distance / overall / category results separation
    • "Winners" table in a distance / category race
    • Built-in race pace calculation (km/hour, miles/hour, time/km, time/mile)
    • Built-in % back from winner calculation (coming soon)
    • For a race with laps, additional "Show laps", "Race review" and "Lap times" results views
    • Ability to add race organizer notes
    • Inclusion of race photo (or sport-specific stock photo)
    • Permits racers to make comments on the race
    • Allows racers to add the race results to their own "My racer profile"
    • Easily find racers via sorting by bib / name
    • Allows anyone to download race results as a .TXT file
    • Paging / high-performance servers make it practical to view even the biggest races
    • Race location shown on a Google map
    • Easily find previous races via "Find races", sorted by sport, location, race name, date
    • Easy sharing of results to Facebook / Twitter / Email
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FAQ

  • This panel helps explain what Webscorer is and what it is not
  • The FAQ includes comparisons of Webscorer to chip-timing systems and laptop-based timing software
  • Webscorer business model is explained and overall pricing is detailed
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Report a bug

  • Use this panel to report a bug directly to the development team
  • Using the panel requires an active internet connection
  • Please be as detailed as possible, a reproduction scenario for a problem is most helpful
  • Please include your email address so we can contact you for more details, if we're unable to sort out the problem
  • You can also submit a bug by emailing us at support@webscorer.com
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Request a new feature

  • Use this panel to request a new feature
  • Using the panel requires an active internet connection
  • Note that we're unlikely to add a feature to the FAN version that's already available in the PRO version
  • Please include your email address so we can contact you for more details, if we are unable to understand your feature request
  • You can also submit a feature request by emailing us at support@webscorer.com
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Webscorer FAN videos

  • This panel will show a list of available training videos for Webscorer FAN
  • To watch the videos, you'll need an active internet connection
  • The videos are streamed from our website, so you may want to be on a WiFi connection for best quality
  • You can also watch the videos on Webscorer.com / Resources
  • The list of videos will grow over time, so check back for new entries
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Webscorer PRO videos

  • This panel will show a list of available training videos for Webscorer PRO
  • To watch the videos, you'll need an active internet connection
  • The videos are streamed from our website, so you may want to be on a WiFi connection for best quality
  • You can also watch the videos on Webscorer.com / Resources
  • The list of videos will grow over time, so check back for new entries
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Webscorer.com videos

  • This panel will show a list of available training videos for Webscorer.com
  • To watch the videos, you'll need an active internet connection
  • The videos are streamed from our website, so you may want to be on a WiFi connection for best quality
  • You can also watch the videos on Webscorer.com / Resources
  • The list of videos will grow over time, so check back for new entries
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Go to Webscorer.com

This is a shortcut to open Webscorer.com on your device's browser.
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Testimonials

  • This panel includes testimonials from present Webscorer FAN and Webscorer PRO users
  • We're including these so you'd be able to identify a user who already has used Webscorer in your sport or type or race
  • If you're a happy user, and would like to submit a testimonial, please send us an email at support@webscorer.com
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Reviews

  • This panel includes reviews by magazines and websites that have evaluated Webscorer
  • Note that as the app is brand new, there are likely to be few such reviews early on
  • If you'd like to do a review of Webscorer FAN or Webscorer PRO, please send us an email at support@webscorer.com
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Contact us

  • This panel provides an email address to contact us in case you're unable to find the answer you're looking for in the resource materials provided