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Road / Cross Country Results Recorder

When organising smaller Road or Cross Country races without chip timing, you need a quick and easy way to get the times and places recorded, and then onto the web. The recorder function makes it really easy to take times and places, for any XC or Road race which using a traditional finish funnel.

Our software emulates the very careful processes used at British cross country races such as County championships, or the Surrey Cross Country League. It has been used very successfully at races with hundreds of finishers.

For reliable recording, we recommend having two timekeepers at the funnel entrance. It works well to have one using our screen or another timing app, and a second with pen and paper. At the funnel exit, likewise, two independent recorders note bib numbers - one on app and one on paper.

Shortly after the race, the captured series can be aligned side by side in a spreadsheet, manual corrections made if needed, then a series of bibs and times can be pasted into the results grid

Types of Recording:

There are four main modes:

  • Solo Recording - This mode is ideal for small races, where you only have one volunteer to take down times and positions. It's a good training exercise before using the other two modes.

  • Timekeeper mode - This emulates the traditional timekeeper at the funnel entrance, where you won't have time to type each bib number down before the athlete crosses the line. As with paper and clipboard, you can (and should) record the occasional bib number when there is a long enough gap between runners.

  • Recorder mode - This is for the person at the end of the funnel, when athletes are walking out of the back. We assume you can record 100% of the bib numbers, although (since they finished up to 30 seconds earlier) the times are disregarded.

  • Splits mode - This is for someone "out on the course". For example, at the halfway point, they might record the first few runners to help spectators know what's happening; and/or record the last runners and "back markers", to know who is in last place and whether anyone is missing.

Pre-Race Setup

Ensure everyone who's recording, has been given the requisite access:

  • Everyone who is recording will need to have either recorder access, or a higher level access such as admin or director.
  • The meeting manager will need to invite all the recorders who don't already have access using the Officials management screen.

Setting up the funnel:

  • Before your race starts, you need a finish funnel starting at the finish line that guides the athletes away from the race course, the length of which depends on the number of athletes you have running and how many will be finishing simultaneously.
  • Your timekeeper(s) will stand at the finish line, and take each athletes time as they cross the finish line, but they won't have their place taken until they pass the recorder, who will be at the end of the funnel, so it's very important you ensure they stay in the order they finished in.
Finish Funnel Diagram

Starting the race:

  • Make sure you're logged into your OpenTrack account.
  • Navigate to the competition's page on OpenTrack, and then go to the Start List/Results tab, where you can select the event you are about to time. If you only have one event, you'll be brought straight to that event.
  • Then click the yellow recorder button, and make sure you select the correct recorder type.
  • If you're a solo recorder or a timekeeper, as race begins, you'll need to hit the green BANG! button to start the clock.
  • If you miss the start of the race, you can check someone else's watch and add an offset in to correct the clock, before you hit the BANG! button. For example, you can wait until they are approaching ten minutes, then synchronize clocks
  • Once you've started the race, click RECORD to get ready for the winner and all subsequent athletes to cross the finish line.
Recorder Selector

Recording the results

Solo Recording:

  • As you see the first/next athlete approaching the finish line, you need to type in their bib number, using the keyboard and then as they cross the finish line you need to hit the CLOCK button, to record their time. You then repeat this step for each athlete who approaches and crosses the line.
  • If you have two many athletes approaching the line, and you don't have time to type in the bib number before an athlete will cross the line, you can hit the UNKNOWN athlete button, and then note down the athletes bib numbers to add to the results later.
  • If you're about to have a number of athlete's cross the line all at once, you can also hit the blue CROWD button which will mark a ** in the results to indicate a group finishing together. This will mark where you need to add the missed athletes in later. If this happens too often, you probably shouldn't be working solo!
Inputting Bib Number


Timekeepers:

  • You have a very similar role to the solo recorder, but you just need to hit the CLOCK button, to record each athletes time, and you also can hit the CROWD button if multiple athletes all cross at once.
  • You will notice you have a keypad, like the a solo recorder has, this is to allow you to type the odd bib number in before the athlete crosses the line. While this is not a requirement, it can be very useful when processing the results as it will give you a few points of reference to help align the results, in case you or the recorder missed an athlete.
Uploading Results


The Recorder:

  • The recorder will stand at the end of the finish funnel, and type in each athletes bib number and then click the TICK to confirm the bib number.
  • Once all the athletes have crossed the finish line, you'll need to hit DONE and then confirm your selection.
  • You then will be able to click the green TICK to upload your results.
  • You can then hit the FINISH RACE button to conclude the recording.
Uploading Results


Uploading your results

Uploading for solo recording or one timekeeper and one recorder:

  • Once all the athletes have crossed the finish line, and you've recorded their time or place, you'll need to hit DONE and then confirm your selection.

  • You then will be able to click the green TICK to upload your results.

  • You can then hit the FINISH RACE button to conclude your recording.

Uploading Results


Reconciling multiple timekeepers and recorders:

  • Documentation Coming Soon!

Publishing your results and marking them as official:

  • You can then go look at the results, which will be published on OpenTrack for you to see, as well as to all the athletes and spectators.

  • You can edit the results to make any corrections, by clicking EDIT RESULTS, but this will be easier on a laptop than your phone.

  • Once you're happy that your results are all correct, you can mark them as official.

Results