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Race Day Operations

Start Times

In mass start events, the actual start rarely happens at the exact scheduled time. Usually, the real start occurs a few seconds or even minutes later, so the precise start time can only be determined once the start has actually taken place. You should check the actual moment the start was given and enter this time as a start rule for the relevant group of participants. You may enter a planned start time in advance, but as noted above, it will most likely need to be corrected after the real start has occurred.

Start rules are properties of each Run and specify which start times are assigned to which participants. This mechanism allows you to quickly specify start times for large groups while maintaining flexibility—you can apply times to a specific group, a range of bib numbers, or individual numbers.

If multiple Runs start at the same time (for example, a marathon and a half-marathon), you need to create separate start rules for each Run.Every Run that has started must have start rules set.

The start rules mechanism is not intended for assigning unique start times in individual start scenarios (for example, time-trial with many different start times). If you need to do this, define the times outside the system and import them into a special start checkpoint, and in the relevant track structure, specify that the start should be taken from this checkpoint.

Another option to handle individual start times is to enter them directly through the RaceTribe timing app. For this scenario, you need to specify in the relevant track structure that the start should be taken from a start checkpoint, and in manual timing, set the target log file to that same start checkpoint. Improvements to make manual entry of start times more convenient are currently in development.

Setting Up a Start Rule

To define a start time for participants, use the “Start Rule” form:

Apply to: Select which participants the rule should apply to:

  • All participants – Sets the start time for everyone in the Run.
  • Specific categories – Select one or more participant categories to apply the start time to.
  • Num range – Enter a range of bib numbers (e.g., 101–150) to apply the start time to those participants.
  • Individual nums – Specify individual bib numbers for a custom selection.

Start time: Set the desired start time using the date and time picker. The format is YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss.SSS. You can either type the time directly or use the calendar and clock icons to select the date and time.

How Start Rules Are Applied

Start rules are applied in the order they appear in the table. You can reorder them by clicking the More icon in the upper right corner of the table and selecting Reorder rules. If a participant matches multiple start rules, their start time will be taken from the last rule that applies to them. For example, if the first rule sets all runs to start at 10:00:00, but a second rule sets the “Men’s Elite” and “Women’s Elite” categories to 09:55:00, then participants in the elite groups will have a start time of 09:55:00.

Edit participants timing data

How Data Synchronization Works

To prevent data synchronization issues, the checkpoint data table always contains all records received from the cloud via data subscription. The sync mechanism is designed so that it will always pull in any records from the cloud into the event context if they are not already present locally.

This means that if a record received from the cloud (Origin: CLOUD) is deleted, it will be automatically re-imported as long as data subscription is active. Therefore, deleting cloud-synced records is pointless—instead, you should mark such records as ignored. Similarly, when swapping participants or changing a participant's bib number or time, the system does not modify the original record; it marks it as ignored and creates a new one.

This concept may seem a bit confusing, but you generally do not need to worry about the technical details. Just remember: instead of deleting records, mark them as ignored. Also, if you use the "Delete All" option under the More icon in the table, all records will be deleted. However, if data subscription is active, records from the cloud will be re-imported, while your manual edits or manually imported records will be lost.

Participant Timing View

This is a key section where you can see all times recorded for a participant within the event. (Currently under development.) At this stage, the only way to edit a participant's times is to go to the relevant checkpoint's Data view. See: Checkpoint Data view.

Checkpoint Data view

The Checkpoint Data view is where you can see, manage, and correct all timing records for a specific checkpoint. This table displays each data entry with key details such as bib number (Num), timestamp (Time), whether the entry is ignored, its origin (e.g., CLOUD), and priority.

Main features:

  • Show ignored:: Toggle to display or hide entries marked as ignored. Ignored entries are not used in result calculations.
  • Add data entry:: Manually add a new timing record for a participant.
  • Search by num: Quickly find all entries for a specific bib number using the search box. When you enter a number, all times recorded for that participant at this checkpoint will be shown in a dropdown. Clicking on a specific time in the dropdown will scroll the table to that entry and highlight the corresponding row. Once a time is selected, navigation arrows appear next to the search field, allowing you to jump between all of that participant's entries in the table.
  • Actions: For each entry, you have three available actions:
    • Up arrow: Swap this entry with the one above it.
    • Down arrow: Swap this entry with the one below it.
    • Plus button: To add a missing entry. This works like Add data entry, but opens a dialog where the time field is automatically pre-filled with a value exactly between the current entry and the one below.

More menu (three dots):

  • Show ignored: Toggle ignored entries on/off.
  • Reload data: Refresh the table to show the latest data.
  • Import data / Export data: Import or export timing data in bulk.
  • Delete all: Remove all entries from the table. (Warning: If data subscription is active, cloud entries will be re-imported automatically, but manual or imported entries will be lost.)

Typical workflow:

  1. Use the search to find a participant's entries.
  2. Mark any incorrect or duplicate entries as ignored.
  3. Add or edit entries as needed for corrections.
  4. Use the "Show ignored" toggle to display all entries that are currently excluded from the results.

Refer to the screenshots above for a visual guide to the interface and available actions.

Referee Decisions

The referee decisions module is designed to conveniently manage all official decisions made by referees during the event in one place.

Adding or Editing a Referee Decision

The referee decision form allows you to manage official decisions for one or more participants across all or selected races/runs. The available options are:

Apply to participants: Choose whether the decision applies to all participants, specific categories, a number range, or individual bib numbers. Enter the relevant categories, number range, or individual bib numbers as needed.

Apply to races/runs: Decide if the decision should apply to all races/runs or only selected ones. This is important if a participant can compete in multiple Runs (for example, a morning and an evening run). It is also especially relevant when applying a time restriction ("Accept times only in specific range"), as such restrictions usually apply to specific Runs, not to all Runs.

However, in most cases where you need to apply a referee decision to individual participants (such as setting status to DSQ, applying a penalty, or marking as Out of Competition or Under Investigation), and each participant is only competing in a single Run (not multi-run mode used), it is perfectly fine to leave "All races / runs" selected.

Decision options:

  • Set status: Assign a new status to the selected participants (TLE, DNF, DSQ, DNS). If you uncheck the "Set status" checkbox, the status will be set to OK.
  • Set penalty time: Add a penalty time (in seconds) to the participant's result. If you uncheck the "Set penalty time" checkbox, no penalty will be applied.

  • Accept times only in specific range: Restrict accepted times to a defined time window. Specify the "Accept from" and "Accept to" fields using the date and time pickers. If either field is left empty, that boundary will not be applied.

    This option is useful in situations where a Run must be ended early (for example, due to force majeure) and results should only be calculated up to that point.

    It is also helpful in sports with lap-based courses (such as biathlon, road cycling, etc.), where lapped participants are removed from the course to avoid interfering with the leaders. Using this option ensures that these participants still receive a result and prevents extra finish readings from being accidentally counted after they have left the course but remain near the finish line.

  • Mark as Under Investigation (UI): Flag the participant as under investigation. This is useful when a protest or review is pending for a specific participant. Applying this status does not affect the results themselves; it simply displays a UI label. Remember to remove this status once the investigation is complete.

  • Mark as Out of competition (OUT): Mark the participant as out of competition. This means the participant will appear in the results according to their achieved time, but will not be assigned an official place, as they are participating out of competition.

Notes:

  • Public note: Add a note that will appear next to the results table and is visible to everyone. For example, if a participant receives a penalty or is disqualified, it is best practice to specify the rule or reason for the decision (e.g., "Penalty applied for violation of Rule 5.2" or "Disqualified under Article 3.1 for unsportsmanlike conduct").
  • Private note: Add an internal note visible only to event timers and referees.

After filling in the required fields, save the decision to apply it to the selected participants and races/runs.

Tip: You can reuse an existing referee decision as long as the content of the decision itself does not change—simply update the list of participants to whom it applies. For example, if you discover that participant number 34 is riding without a helmet, you assign a disqualification and add a clear public note referencing the specific rule. If later you find more participants riding without helmets, you do not need to create a new referee decision; just add their bib numbers to the same decision so it applies to all relevant participants.