Create a Race

Here you’ll find step by step instructions on how to create a race and learn the basics of how to navigate Zone4 Timing.

How to Create a Race

Login to your Zone4 “Club Administrator Account” (accessed via the Zone4.ca homepage) and select the Time a New Race option as shown below.

If you have permissions on more then one Club Account you will then be prompted to select which organization the race should be created under. 

Once you have clicked Time a New Race you are now in Zone4 Timing. Zone4 Timing is the part of the Zone4 website where you can create and time races (ie the timing software).

You are now on the Create a new Race page. Here select the sport of your race from the list. This will change some of the default settings in Zone4  Timing and ensure that your race displays the correct icon on Zone4.ca.

Next fill the Race Information window with the relevant information for your race.

• Race Name: This will be the the name displayed on Zone4.ca when users are searching for the results from your race.
  Tip:

  If you’re timing an annual event try to be consistent in the formatting of the events name. This will make it easier for users to find results using the search-bar. 

• Organization: This is the name of the group running the event. The organization’s administrators with permission to access races will be able to modify and time your race.

• Location: This is where your event is taking place. This will also be displayed publicly on Zone4.ca.

• Race Date: This is the date your race will be taking place.

• Race Format: This is only an option for some sports such as Cross-Country Skiing and Cycling. Be sure to select the correct format as this will affect some of the default settings in Zone4 Timing.

Importing Racers

Once your basic race settings have been filled in you will need to import racers using one of the following methods:

• Get racers from Zone4 registration: This is the most common and easiest method of importing racers. Once selected a drop down menu will appear with all the registration forms associated with your organization. Select the relevant form.

• Get racers from another race: This is used when two races are using the same registration data (such as a race weekend). It can be useful for the second day of racing because unlike “Get racers from registration form” it will import any changes that have been made to racer data in Zone4 Timing. Once selected use the drop down menu to select the relevant race to upload racers from.

• Upload Racers from CSV File: This is used when the registration has been done outside of  Zone4 Systems. This method can be finicky and time consuming. As such, it is not generally recommended. For more information click here.

• Do not Import any Racers: This is used for small races or for when there is no pre-race registration. It can also be used for those learning how to use Zone4 Timing and who want to run a test race. If this is selected all racer will have to be added manually (to learn how to add racers manually click here). This will be time consuming.

Finally review the information you have entered in the Create a new Race page and click the Create Race button. This will upload all racers. It may take a few minutes if your event has many participants.

Once your race has been created you can edit many of these settings in the “Settings” page in Zone4 Timing. 

Navigating Zone4 Timing

Overview

Once you have created the race you will be brought to the Overview page of Zone4 Timing. This serves as your home page in Zone4 Timing and gives you a good overview of all the sections of Zone4 Timing. As you continue configuring your race settings more information will be displayed in this page.

The navigation of Zone4 Timing is similar to that of your club account and Zone4 Registration. Various navigation tools are numbered and pictured below.

1. The bar near the top of the page has quick links to all the main pages within Zone4 Timing. This will be your primary navigation tool. Click on any of the boxes (ie Settings, Racers, etc.) to go to that page.
2. Navigation Breadcrumbs along the top of the window show you where you are and provide an easy way to back track. Click on any of the page names to go to that page.
3. The Back to Overview button is a good way to get back to the Overview page if you ever get lost.

Overview of Zone4 Timing Pages

Here is a quick overview of the primary pages in Zone4 Timing as well as links to relevant documentation about them.

1. Settings: This is where you will access the general settings of your race. Here you can edit information such as: Race Name, Race Date, Sport and Location.
2. Racers: This is where you can import and manually add new racers. You can also find the Edit Racer window for any individual racer here.
3. Start List: This is where you will create your Start List and create and edit Start Groups. You can also publish and print your start list here.
4. Courses: This is where you will assign timing devices to various points on your race course (Start, Finish, Laps, On Course Timing Points) as well as create and edit your Course Groups.
5. Results: This is where you will edit and create result sets and divide racers into various result groups. This is also where you will view, publish and print your race results.
6. Timing: This will be used primarily during your race. It is for tracking racers on course and resolving potential issues with individual racer times.
7. Overview: This is your home page within Zone4 Timing. It gives you general information and a good overview of all the settings of your event.

Settings

To get to the Settings page, click the Settings button near the top of the page.

This page is where you can edit general settings for your event. Many of these settings were selected when you created your race (Race Name, Sport, Date and location). However, there are important settings unique to this page that are covered below.

Race Time Window

When you create a race it will automatically be given a race window between 6:00 and 18:00 on race day. Times recorded outside this race window will not be assigned to racers. If your race will be taking place outside this window you will need to adjust the Start Assigning Times to Racers and Stop Assigning Times to Racers fields accordingly.

You can type times directly into the time box, just make sure all times are in 24 hour clock format.

To change the date either type it into the date box directly, or select it from the calendar.

As a guide your race window should start before you start setting up your timing equipment on race morning. The race window should end a safe amount of time after you expect to get the last finisher.

Event Page

An Event Page is a public homepage for your event where you can post:

• Registration Form
• Public Result Sets
• Start Lists
• Public Reports (Confirmation Lists)
• Links to social media platforms and your organization’s website.

An Event Page can be especially useful if your event is taking place over multiple days.

To generate an event page for your race, scroll down to the Display an Event Page for this Race option and click the button on the right. This will open up a new window where you can Create a new Event Page or Add to an Existing Event.

To find out more about Event Pages click here.

Racers 

To get to the Racers page, click the Racers button near the top of the page.

This is where you can quickly find racers and edit their information. You can also add new racers here.

Important settings in this window are highlighted below.

1. Racer Search-Bar: This is a fast and easy way to find racers if you need to edit any of their registration data. To find a racer, type their name or number into the search-bar and select their name from the list that appears.
2. Create a New Racer: This is where you can add a new racer who was not imported when your race was created. This often used for last minute registrations. Find out more about adding a new racer here.
3. All Racers List: This a list of all the racers who are in your event. In this window you can search for racers using the search-bar and add new racers. You will also be able to sort racers using various criteria by clicking any of the options below the search bar.
   

   

Edit Racer

The Edit Racer window is where you can edit any of the data related to a racer. All of this will be covered in greater detail in the Timing a Race section of the user guide.

To get to the Edit Racer window, either search for the racer using the Racer Search-Bar or find the racer in the All Racers List. Then click on their name.

You will also notice that the Edit Racer window is divided into 3 tabs: Racer Info, Timing and Results.

• Racer Info: This is where you can edit the general information about the racer, for example: name, bib number, chip number, age.
• Timing: This is where you can view and edit any of the individual times for a racer. More information is provided in the Timing a Race documentation.
• Results: This is where you can see the individual results for that racer.

Adding and Editing Racer Fields:

You may need to add a racer data field in your race file if some important data was not collected from racers on the registration form. It is strongly suggested that you collect all racer data on your registration form, because it is time consuming to manually type in individual data for every racer.

If you are uploading your racers from a CSV you may also need to edit some of the racer fields. For example, if you have a distance data field you should change it’s data type from Text to Option.

To edit or add data fields select the Manage Data Fields option near the bottom of the page.

This will bring up the Racer Fields window. Here you can click the Edit button to edit any of your racer fields or click the Create a New Field button to add a racer field.

In this new window, you can change the name of the field by typing the new name into the Display Name text box.

You can choose the Data Type of your field by selecting an option from the data type drop down menu. If you select option as your data type, you will be able to add, rename and delete options for that field.

Calculating Racer Ages

If you only collected a racer’s date of birth on your registration form, you can use the Calculate Ages tool to determine their ages. To learn more about calculating ages click here.

Review

Once you have a good understanding of how to navigate Zone4 Timing, as well as the Settings and Racers pages, you will want to move on to creating your Start List. Creating a Start List documentation can be found here.