Webscorer Blog

HOW TO USE WEBSCORER FOR MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION

2026-02-15T17:05:00+00:00

Besides signing up for races, Webscorer online reg can be used to sign up for club memberships. The author of this article is a director for Seattle Nordic, a new cross-country ski club in the US Northwest - and we use Webscorer as the club registration system. Our club organizes weekly training sessions, ski clinics, group travel to events and a few club races each year.

Our club had the following objectives for the membership registration:

1. We wanted to offer 2 types of memberships
- Individual membership ($30 / year)
- Family membership ($50 / year)

2. For insurance purposes, we needed each member to sign their own waiver
- For family memberships, we needed both parents to sign
- Parents would need to sign for children under 18

3. Our objective was to be able to use Webscorer as the club email system
- We wanted each family member to enter their own email address
- And we needed to get everyone’s name, age, gender etc. for a complete club member database

4. To sign up online for club events, we wanted to be able to check for a valid membership
- We allow club members to organize events, with online reg via Webscorer
- To stay within our insurance coverage, we require all participants to be members

Here’s how we set up the registration:

Reg #1 for the membership payment: https://www.webscorer.com/register?pid=1&raceid=120643
Reg #2 for member details & waiver: https://www.webscorer.com/register?pid=1&raceid=120638
We then tied the two together via a series reg: https://www.webscorer.com/registerseries?pid=1&seriesid=131795

We set "Event visibility = Public" only for the series reg (the other 2 are set as "Private") so that everyone starts on the series reg page.

Here’s a club event that checks for membership: https://www.webscorer.com/register?pid=1&raceid=132499

Send a note to support@webscorer.com if you want to learn more details - we can copy the reg templates to your Webscorer account as a starting point.

Example of a family of 4 signing up for the club membership:

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1. Series reg page

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2. Membership reg page

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3. Member details reg page (shown 4 times - once for each family member):

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4. Membership payment page

GPS TRACKING OF RACERS

2026-01-13T09:46:00+00:00

Do you have a need to track racers during an event for safety purposes?
Do you want to enable your racers to check that they're staying on course while racing?
Do you want to provide spectators at race venue and at home a real-time view of the race-in-progress?
Do you want to enable support personnel to know when to expect their racer to arrive at finish?
Do you want to create a record for each racer's course for later analysis (e.g. to catch cheaters)?

These are some of the reasons to use the new Webscorer GPS tracking feature, introduced in September 2023.

In short, the racers carry their personal phones while racing and the Webscorer app automatically sends its GPS coordinates to the Webscorer website at an interval set by the organizer. The GPS location of each racer is viewable on a webpage map that's accessible using a browser from any device.

BEFORE RACE DAY

Organizer steps

- Organizer creates an online reg on Webscorer with "GPS tracking & timing = Yes"

- Organizer specifies the frequency at which the GPS coordinates are updated

- Organizer uploads a GPX file containing the course map
- Organizer defines (at minimum) the start line and finish line on the course map
- If you're not interested in the GPS timing data, set "GPS timing visibility = Organizer only"

Participant steps

- Participants register for the event at Webscorer website

- Participants install the (free) Webscorer app to their iPhone or Android phone

- Participants sign in to the app with the same Webscorer account created at registration

ON RACE DAY

Participant steps

- Participants must carry their phone during the race

- Participants start the Webscorer app and select “GPS self-tracking”
- Participants tap "My upcoming GPS races" and then tap the race name

- Participants tap “Start GPS tracking” at any time before the start of the race

- Participants can then turn the phone screen off and put the phone in their pocket

- The app keeps sending the location at the interval specified in reg setup (e.g. once per minute)
- Tracking starts when participant crosses the start line and ends after crossing the finish line

Organizer steps

- The GPS tracking page is accessible in multiple ways:
- Via reg admin page (for the organizer only)
- Via reg confirmation page
- Via GPS results page
- Via LIVE results page (if same reg is used for timing with Webscorer PRO app)
- Organizer can post the tracking page link before the event
Example: https://www.webscorer.com/racemap/viewracersel?raceid=371181
- There are 3 GPS tracking views:
VIEW #1: All participants are shown with their most recent location on the course map

VIEW #2: Selected participant's most recent location is shown, including all prior location updates

VIEW #3: Replay of the race for all participants, or for a selected participant(s)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q1: What is the cost of the GPS tracking feature?

The cost is USD 1 per participant, payable after the event. If you're already using Webscorer online registration and you're collecting entry fees, there's no extra cost for GPS tracking - it is included in the standard reg fee of USD $1 per participant. You can make the registration free for the participants, and pay the fee after the reg closes.

Q2. I have my online reg on another platform, can I still use GPS tracking on Webscorer?
Yes, but your participants will effectively have to register twice - once to pay the entry fee on the other reg platform, and then to register for the GPS tracking on Webscorer. This additional registration is required to uniquely connect each cell phone transmitting the GPS coordinates to the correct participant. Participants create a Webscorer account at registration, and enter their first name & last name. This account is then used to sign in on the app to connect the participant's phone with the event. The GPS-only registration can be short & simple - you'll need to ask only for first name & last name and the race distance (if it is a multi-distance race).

Q3: Is there a fee for testing this feature?
You can create the GPS online reg for free and test it with up to 5 participants before the fee payment is triggered (in other words, only events with 6 or more registrations require payment). There is no requirement to have a Webscorer PRO timing subscription - in fact no Webscorer app timing is required / assumed for this feature to work.

Q5. Can I block others from viewing the location tracking page - for privacy reasons?
In reg setup, you can select "Racers on map visibility = Organizer only" which then hides the tracking page menu button from the registration and results pages. The only way to access the GPS tracking page is from the reg admin page which is accessible only by the signed-in organizer account. If you want your participants to be able to access the page, but block anyone else searching for your event, use "Event visibility = Private" in reg setup which then requires knowing the URL to find your event and the GPS tracking page.

Q6: If someone does not want to carry their phone during the race, will this be a problem?
Not a problem, it simply means that that racer's name will not appear on the tracking page to be selected. The tracking page has a note that it is "Showing racers who use the Webscorer app for GPS tracking on their phone". In fact, one usage scenario is where only a small subset of racers want to be tracked to allow their support crew know when to expect them at the finish - whereas self-supported racers don't have the same need.

Q7: Why would I set the GPS update interval to once every 15 seconds vs. once every 10 minutes?
This is primarily used to save the battery on the racers' phones. While the amount of data transmitted by the phone is small, a higher frequency will consume more power. This is important especially in a longer race. It is also easier to view the racer's progress on the map with time stamps if they're not clustered too closely together (see Q19 for a counter-argument). Note that racers cannot alter this frequency themselves, it is set to be the same for all racers by the organizer. Once the race is underway, the frequency cannot be changed.

Q8: What are the requirements for app permissions on the racers' phones?
The racers must allow the Webscorer app to use the phone's precise location. There's no requirement to enable the Webscorer app to run in the background - but obviously the app must be left running (and not be "swiped up") after starting the tracking. The phone screen can be turned off / the phone placed in "standby", similar to when using other tracking apps such as Strava. See Q23-Q25 for notes about some Android phones that do not work reliably when the screen is turned off.

Q9: What happens if there's no cell coverage in some sections of the race course?
Obviously, there will be a gap in getting the GPS location from the app during this time. However, the app keeps recording the locations at the frequency specified, and will send all missed GPS updates when the cell coverage resumes. The racer does not need to do anything, these steps are fully automated. If the finish line has no cell coverage, the final GPS coordinates may not be sent to the website. The racer can resend the coordinates by navigating to GPS archive on the app - and tap "Post results" to upload the tracking data.

Q10: Can the GPS feature be used for self-timing?
Yes, if fact each GPS tracking race is automatically GPS-timed. See the separate BLOG article about GPS timing at https://www.webscorer.com/blog/post/GPS-TIMING-OF-RACE. If you want to use just GPS tracking and don't care about GPS timing, set "GPS timing visibility = Organizer only" in reg setup.

Q11: What if a racer forgets to tap "Stop GPS tracking" at the finish, and leaves the race site?
The GPS tracking on the app will stop automatically when the racer crosses the finish line. If someone decides to DNF and does not come through the finish line, then the tracking will continue until the racer taps "Stop tracking" the app. If the racer forgets to do this, then tracking will stop automatically when the time is past the "Event end time" defined in reg setup.

Q12: I only have a few who want GPS tracking, how can I prevent the $1 fee to apply to all?
If you're collecting entry fees already through Webscorer, the GPS tracking feature costs you nothing extra. If your Webscorer reqistration is free to the participants, and you turn on GPS tracking, then all participants who register will be subject to the $1 fee. If your main event reg is on another site, you can setup a separate GPS-only registration on Webscorer - and advise that only those who want the GPS tracking to register.

Q13: Will the GPS tracking data be visible / accessible after the race?
Yes, the GPS tracking page will stay visible unless you decide to hide it by selecting "GPS tracking visibility = Organizer only" in reg setup. This step can be done after the event is over. The "Latest location of all racers" view becomes automatically unavalable after the event end time has passed. You can replay the race with all participants, or select one or multiple participants using the "Replay tracking" tab.

Q14: If I am renting GPS devices for tracking my event already, why would I want to use this feature?
Satellite-specific trackers (such as Garmin InReach) have the advantage of working without any requirement for cell signals. But if you have a large race, the cost of renting and the logistics of handling the devices for all racers may be prohibitive. Depending on the circumstances, you may consider renting the satellite trackers for the elite racers only - and use the Webscorer GPS tracking as a low-cost alternative for the rest of the racers. The elite racers could carry both the satellite tracker and their cell phone, so you'd still get the full roster shown on the map when there's cell coverage on course.

Q15: Can relay teams use this feature to check when to expect a team member to arrive at exchange?
Yes, the organizer would setup a registration where each team member registers as an individual (Webscorer flexible relay registration works this way). Each team member would then sign into the app as if they were a solo racer and start the tracking as usual. Team members can then check the GPS location of their fellow racer while others are resting at the exchange area (and their location is shown to be there).

Q16: Is it practical to use personal phones for tracking in a long race - will the batteries last?
Modern phones consume remarkably little power when in standby mode while still having the location services and cell network active. According to various independent tests, the battery drain in standby mode is 1-2% per hour, suggesting that a fully charged phone would last 50-100 hours when just used for tracking purposes. To maximize the battery life in a long race, it's a good idea to close all other apps besides Webscorer - and set the location update frequency in reg setup to once every 5 or 10 minutes.

Q17: When is phone-based location tracking not recommended?
If your race course has no cell coverage anywhere, then the only tracking devices that work are pure GPS trackers that use GPS satellites to transmit the location updates. If there are gaps in cell coverage, the pure GPS trackers will have an advantage in updating the locations without interruptions, whereas phone-based tracking will catch up only after the racer's phone regains a cell signal.

Q18: Is it possible to embed the GPS registration and GPS tracking pages on my own website?
Yes, you can embed both in an iFrame on your own website without any Webscorer insignia. Instructions how to do this are included in another article on our BLOG. Results pages can also be embedded - although there is no requirement to embed results if you're only interested in the GPS tracking feature. You will also be able to get the real time GPS location data using the Webscorer JSON API which is documented in this article: https://www.webscorer.com/blog/post/how-to-access-race-data-via-json-api

Q19: Is it practical to follow who's leading the race with the map view "Latest location of all racers"?
Yes with some caveats. Each racer's app will then send its GPS coordinates to the website with the frequency specified in reg setup, e.g. once every 15 seconds. These location update times are synchronized - each device will send its update at 0, 15, 30 and 45 seconds past each minute. To get these coordinates to appear at the same time on the tracking page assumes that the device clocks are in sync. This is typically the case, but there may be a slight delay sending or receiving the update. The website map will auto-update the locations every 15 seconds (in this case) - so the racer locations will "jump" along accordingly.

Q20: Why don't the racers appear to move along the course smoothly in the map view?
The GPS coordinates are sent by the app at intervals set by the organizer. Most rentable GPS tracking devices send the coordinates once per minute, or less frequently to save in the messaging rates, save the device battery, and to not overload the server receiving the coordinates. If the racers on the map are moving along smoothly (vs. jumping ahead), such tracking sites are estimating the racer's current GPS position based on calculated speed and previous known location. The racer may have stopped, veered off course, or even turned around. Our objective is to present the actual location data vs. attempting to do a race simulation which is prone to errors.

Q21: Can I add GPS tracking to an existing reg if some racers have already registered?
Yes, if your existing reg was setup to require a Webscorer account when registering. If not, turning on the GPS tracking feature in reg setup will require anyone registering thereafter to sign in / create account - as that's how the tracking data sent by the app will be identified as coming from the signed in racer's phone. Anyone who registered without an account would need to re-register to gain access to the GPS tracking on the app.

Q22: Why did you combine GPS tracking & GPS timing - earlier they were separate functions to choose?
The main motivation was to automate when the tracking starts and when the tracking ends. Previously, the racer was responsible for tapping "Stop GPS tracking" and if you forgot to do so, the tracking page could potentially follow that participant all the way back home. Additionally, some organizers wanted the ability to define the start line, finish line and other check points (e.g. water & feed stations) on the course map - these can now be done with the GPS setup, even if the timings are not relevant or required.

Q23: We've had some Android phones that don't appear to work for GPS tracking - what can we do?
In the new version 7.7 of the app, there is a checkbox option just before the "Start GPS tracking" button to keep the screen on during the race. This will prevent the phone from going to sleep, similar to how Google Maps navigation works. To save battery, you can turn the screen brightness down (screen is the biggest consumer of phone battery). The setting to keep the screen on will automatically be stopped when you cross the finish line.

Q24: How can I identify which Android phones work while asleep, and which ones have issues?
The easiest way is as follows:
- Open the Webscorer app
- Tap "GPS self-tracking"
- Tap "Create GPX file for course"

- Tap "Start GPS tracking"
- Go traverse a course with the screen off that lasts at least 15 minutes
- Turn the screen back on
- Tap "Stop GPS tracking"
- Tap "My GPS archive"
- Tap the topmost item
- Select "Email as GPX" and send the file to yourself
- Open the GPX file using TextEdit (or equivalent app)
- The coordinates are recorded once every second

- Check if there are any gaps in the recorded coordinates
- We've seen some Android phone that record for 3 minutes, then stop
- Then the recorded starts again when the phone is awaken from sleep

Q25: What is the reason some Android phones work with screen on, and others do not?
Some Android phone makers appear to struggle with battery life - and have decided to allow only system apps to work in the background (e.g. Mail, Messages) while putting all other apps to permanent sleep until the screen is turned on again. Or the GPS chip functionality is slowed down or turned off. Unfortunately, this is no documented anywhere so you'll need to do the test in Q24 to determine whether a specific phone has this issue. If unsure, you can always use the checkbox option to keep the screen on while GPS tracking.

IMAGE 1: Organizer view of registration setup

IMAGES 2-4: Website view during the race

IMAGES 5-9: Steps by participant with the Webscorer app

GPS TIMING OF RACE

2026-01-13T09:17:00+00:00

Do you want to automate start & finish times based on GPS location data?
Do you want to provide split times during a long race from anywhere on race course?
Do you have a need for backup timing in case main timing system malfunctions?
Do you want to provide unattended timing for an unofficial race or a workout?
Do you want to self-time yourself & friends on a course which you may repeat daily / weekly?

These are some of the reasons to use the new Webscorer GPS timing feature, first introduced in January 2024.

In short, the racers carry their personal phones while racing and the Webscorer app automatically sends the time when the phone reaches the GPS coordinates for a timing point set by the organizer. The times are posted automatically from the app to a results page on the Webscorer website.

The GPS timing feature can be used alongside / in addition to the GPS tracking feature which provides a real-time position of racers on course: https://www.webscorer.com/blog/post/gps-tracking-of-racers

BEFORE RACE DAY

Organizer steps

- Organizer creates an online reg on Webscorer with "GPS tracking & timing = Yes"

- Organizer specifies the frequency at which the GPS coordinates are sent for GPS tracking

(GPS timing uses the phone's location service which updates coordinates once per second)

STEP 1: Organizer selects the type of race course

STEP 2: Start type, number of timing points and untimed transition selection

STEP 3: Naming of the timing points (these are visible on the results page)

STEP 5: Upload course map

STEP 6: Set timing points on map

Participant steps

- Participants register for the event at Webscorer website

- Participants install the (free) Webscorer app to their iPhone or Android phone

- Participants sign in to the app with the same Webscorer account created at registration

STEP 1: Tap "GPS self-tracking"

STEP 2: Tap "My upcoming GPS races"

STEP 3: Tap the name of the event

STEP 4: Tap "Start tracking" any time before the race start

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q1: What is the cost of the GPS tracking feature?

The cost for GPS tracking & GPS timing is USD 1 per participant. If you're already using Webscorer online registration and you're collecting entry fees, there's no extra cost for GPS timing - it is included in the standard reg fee of USD $1 per participant. If you're creating a registration for the GPS timing only, then the cost is USD $1 per participant. You can make the registration free for the participants, and pay the fee after the reg closes. The fee applies to anyone who registers, even if they choose to not start GPS tracking on race day.

Q2. I have my online reg on another platform, can I still use GPS timing on Webscorer?
Yes, but your participants will effectively have to register twice - once to pay the entry fee on the other reg platform, and then to register for the GPS timing on Webscorer. This additional registration is required to uniquely connect each cell phone transmitting the GPS coordinates to a racer. Racers create a Webscorer account at registration, and type in their first name & last name. This account is then used to sign in on the app to connect the racer's phone with the event. The GPS-only registration can be short & simple - you'll need to ask only for first name & last name and the race distance (if it is a multi-distance race).

Q3: Is there a fee for testing this feature?
You can create the online reg for free and test it with up to 5 participants before the fee payment is triggered (in other words, only events with 6 or more registrations require payment). There is no requirement to have a Webscorer PRO timing subscription - in fact no Webscorer timing is required / assumed for this feature to work.

Q4: How can I create a GPX file for the race course?
The Webscorer app has an option to "Create GPX file for course". You'd take your phone along, tap "Start GPS tracking" at the start line, traverse the course - and then tap "Stop GPS tracking" at the finish. If your event offers multiple distances, then a separate GPX file is required for each. Once recorded, you'd transfer the GPX file to your laptop via GPS archive and upload to your event by clicking on the "Course map" menu button in reg setup. If you already have a GPX file from Strava or similar mapping app, you can use that file instead.

Q5: What are the requirements for app permissions on the racers' phones?
The racers must allow the Webscorer app to use the phone's precise location. On iPhones, there's no requirement to enable the Webscorer app to run in the background - but obviously the app must be left running (and not be "swiped up") after starting the tracking. On Android phones, there's a popup when you first tap "Start tracking" that's asking the app to run in the background - this must be allowed. The phone screen can be turned off / the phone placed in "standby", similar to when using other tracking apps such as Strava. The phone's "Cellular data" setting must be left on.

Q6: What happens if there's no cell coverage in some sections of the race course?
Obviously, there will be a gap in getting the GPS timings from the app during this time. However, as long as the device's location service is providing accurate GPS coordinates to the app, the app keeps recording the coordinates and will send all missed GPS updates when the cell coverage resumes. The racer does not need to do anything, these steps are fully automated. If the finish line has no cell coverage and the racer stops tracking right away, the final GPS coordinates may not be sent to the website. The racer can resend the coordinates by navigating to GPS archive on the app - and repost the tracking data.

Q7: How does the app determine when the phone reaches the timing point?
The organizer specifies each timing point by dropping two pins on the race course map that form a timing line. The time is triggered when the participant's phone crosses the line. This is done by the app obtaining the GPS coordinates from the phone's location service once every second, and doing a trigonometric calculation when the line from the racer's previous position to the racer's last position has crossed the line that's formed by the two edges of the timing line.

Q8: How accurate is GPS timing?
The app receives GPS coordinates and the speed from the device's location service once per second. The app will record the time when the phone crossed the timing line and will then make an adjustment to subtract the amount of time it took for the phone since it crossed the timing line. By way of example, let's assume a cyclist is traveling at 10 meters per second (36 km/h). The app received a time of 10:22:44 from the location service for the first coordinate that was past the timing line. The app will then calculate the distance from this coordinate to the timing line. Let's assume the distance calculation returns 4.2 meters. Since the rider's speed is known, the app can calculate that the rider travels 4.2 meters in 0.42 seconds. The time when the rider crossed the timing line is hence adjusted by subtracting 0.420 seconds, which results in a time of 10:22:43.580.

Q9: How accurate are the GPS coordinates when compared from one phone to another?
While the racer can be placed very precisely on the finish line, the timing accuracy depends on how accurate the GPS coordinates received from the location service are. Here's ChatGBT's answer when asked "How accurate are the coordinates received from the phone's location service?"

The best way to test the accuracy for your own course is to go run / ride / paddle / drive the course with 2 phones in your pocket, record a GPX file on each and then compare the GPS coordinates recorded at the same second. Before your test, open a browser on each phone and navigate to https://www.time.gov/ which will tell you how close your phone's internal clock is in sycn with the official time. Make sure the device clocks are within a few hundredths of a second of each other.

Here's the data from one of our tests using this method. This test was done riding on a bike path with nothing blocking the sky. Two phones in the back pocket of the jersey - an older iPhone and a new low-end Android model. Cell service was turned off so the location data was obtained with GPS satellites only. The phone screens were off. For the purposes of the comparison, coordinates recorded at even minutes for a 24-minute stretch were selected.

We used https://boulter.com/gps/distance/ to calculate the distance between the coordinates.

The average difference was 1.5 meters between the two phones. For timing purposes, the average is effectively half this distance (0.75 meters) as the two coordinates are in random orientation from one another to the direction of travel. Worst case was 4 meters and if the two coordinates line up in the direction of travel, the same 4 meters is the worst case accuracy for this test.

How does this translate to timing accuracy? The short answer is that it depends on your sport. Sports where the speeds are faster will experience a much higher timing accuracy than slower sports. Here's a comparison using our test data for different sports at typical speeds.

Modern high-end phones support multi-band GPS which can double the accuracy of the single-band GPS chips. Starting with iPhone 14, the Pro and Pro Max models have included multi-band GPS. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Google Pixel 10 Pro are examples of Android phones with multi-band GPS support.

Q10: Does the racer need to stop the tracking after crossing the finish line?
The GPS tracking will automatically end when the racer crosses the finish line. The only manual step the racer must do is to tap "Start tracking" anytime before the start of the race. After that the phone's screen can be turned off, and the phone can be put in a pocket or back pack.

Q11: Once the race is underway, how can I find the results page?
The results page gets auto-created when the first racer passes through the first timing point. The results page can be found on Organizers / My results as well as your public Organizer page. The results are also searchable via the "Find results" page if your registration was set to "Visibility = Public".

Q12: When using GPS timing, will GPS tracking also work?
Yes, the GPS tracking feature is automatically enabled when GPS timing feature is in use. So you'll get a separate tracking page for the racer locations plus the GPS-timed results page with split times. Refer to the GPS tracking article https://www.webscorer.com/blog/post/gps-tracking-of-racers for details how to locate the GPS tracking page.

Q13: Is it practical to time a paddling race with GPS timing if the finish line is arbitrarily wide?
The updated GPS timing uses timing point lines which can be any length / width. Each timing point is defined with two coordinates - edge #1 and edge #2 of the line. Minimum width for a timing line is 25 meters - there is no maximum. The paddler can cross the finish line at any point and the crossing point is then used to calculate the finish time. See Q7 and Q8 for details.

Q14: If the timing data is missing some splits, how can I correct the results afterwards?
You can view all the timing data sent by the app by navigating to the results page, and click on the "Download taps recorded" menu button (you must be signed in as organizer to see this button). You can also view and download the GPS tracking data for each racer by navigating to the tracking page which includes the the time stamps sent by the racer's phone at each interval specified. Finally, you can request the racer to send you the GPX file which gets automatically recorded by the racer's phone - and can be located in "GPS self-tracking / My GPS arhive" on the Webscorer app. This includes the location data recorded every second, as received by the device's location services.

Q15. What race start types are supported with GPS timing?
You have 3 options: mass start, wave start by distance and individual start. For mass start you will define the start time in reg setup - and the race is started on the app based on this time. If the start is delayed, you can adjust the start time by navigating to the results page, select "Edit results / Edit race start time". Similarly for wave start, you'll define the start time for each distance - and the race starts automatically on the app based on the distance the participant has signed up for. Individual start is best suited for unattended races - where racers may choose their own time to go through the course. The start time is set by crossing the start line. Individual start can also be used effectively similarly to "chip start" races where racers are released together but each racer will get their own "GPS start time" after crossing the start line.

Q16: Can I time a race which has untimed transitions, e.g. a multi-stage enduro?
Yes, there's an option in reg setup for this - this example shows 3 timed stages.

Q17: Does GPS timing support a multi-distance race where not all timing points are the same for each?
Yes, there's an automatic option in reg setup which allows you to select which timing points are included in each distance.

Q18: Can racers do repeats / multiple attempts at best time on the same course?
Yes, here's an example of how the times from the multiple attempts get shown on the results page: https://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=413068&did=557895. Racers register just once, but can race the course multiple times during the time window (Event start date & time - Event end date & time) you define in reg setup. The GPS reg fee of USD 1 per participant covers any number of attempts during the event time period.

Q19: Does the app give the racer any feedback during the GPS timing / tracking?
The app will give an audible beep when the racer crosses the start line (in an individual start) and whenever the racer crosses a timing point line, including each lap and finish. The app screen itself does not show anything visible as it is assumed that the phone is in a pocket with the screen off during the race. If the audible beep is not heard, check the volume / silent mode settings on the phone. Note that this beep comes at a short delay after the timing point line - since the app receives a location update once per second, the beep may sound as much as a second after passing the start line / timing point line / finish line. The timing of the beep should hence not be confused by the accuracy of the timing - the beep is the time of the first coordinate received after crossing the timing point line, before the time adjustment explained in Q8 is made.

Q20: Do the clocks on each racer's phone need to be in sync?
Yes, this is required if you're using a mass start or wave start - as the start time gets set to be the the same for all on the server. However, if you're using individual start, then each racer's start time gets set by using the phone's own clock. And the time from start to each timing point is calculated relative to the start time local to the phone, so the clocks do not need to be in sync across all racers' phones. Modern cell phones sync their clocks with internet time servers frequently so this is not expected to be an issue with personal phones (which are in frequent use). See Q9 for an example how to check the time on your phone with https://www.time.gov.

HOW TO TIME AN EVERESTING RACE (TOTAL CLIMB = MOUNT EVEREST)

2025-12-21T17:01:00+00:00

Guest post by: Jason Heineman, Delta Endurance LLC
Climb 89 results: https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=415373

Climb 89 is an Everesting Run event, which involves repeating a 0.7 mile out and back hill climb segment up to 100 times within the allotted 32-hour time period. Completion of 100 laps will yield a total elevation gain of 8,900 meters, which just exceeds the elevation of Mount Everest.

There are five other ‘mountain milestones’ available for participants to reach if they are unable to complete the 100 laps. For example, 50 laps will achieve the elevation of Mount Rainier.

A timing system was needed to record laps for each participant with minimal effort on the race staff.  The first year of the event used a typical RFID chip timing system with a mat and side antennas, where it recorded participants upon completing a lap.

That system presented two main challenges:

1) Due to the event being in December, participants were adding and removing clothing layers routinely, which would result in the bib mounted chip getting covered and occasionally not read.

2) While the timing software had a time buffer to ignore a second scan when the participant turned and went back up the hill, if they rested for more than 5 minutes, the second scan would need to be manually removed by the timer, which require constant attention by the timing crew.

While improvements could have been made to reduce the issues described, an alternate method was pursued to remove the need for a dedicated person managing the timing system.

For the second year of the event, a new system was assembled where participants self-scan a barcode each time they completed a lap. Participants were provided with a number bib with a barcode and also a separate barcode on a lanyard to use as desired. Once testing and troubleshooting was completed, two additional systems were built in order to have three systems that could handle multiple participants at one time. Each system would talk to each other through webscorer.com, so any of the systems would always display the current lap count of each participant.

The hardware consisted of the following items:

3x Homebuilt enclosures holding an iPad and barcode scanner
3x iPads (Gen 9) running Webscorer PRO 7.6
3x USB Barcode scanners (link)
3x Camera card adapters (link)
3x USB-C lightning cables (link)
1x Multi-port USB charger (link)
1x 1,000 Wh Power station (link)
1x 100w Solar panel (link)
1x WiFi-to-Cellular Hotspot (link)
50x Code 128 Barcodes (sticker on the bib and a badge with lanyard)

One of the iPads was configured as the master device with live results activated, with the other two iPads were set as helper devices. The iPads were each set to display continuously and were protected behind the enclosure’s plexiglass front, which eliminated touch control of the iPad by participants.

The systems were strapped to a table outside and successfully endured 32 hours of continuous operation between 30 and 50 F with winds reaching 50+ mph. The power station kept the iPads and hotspot fully charged for a little over 24 hours at which time the solar panel was plugged in to recharge the power station.

The iPad used as the Master device was configured with the following settings during setup:

Load a start list with the participant data
Use "Start type = Mass"
Turn “Record lap times = On” and choose “Number of laps = Time-limited”
Turn on “QR code / Barcode scanner”, choose “External Bluetooth scanner”, and set “Ignore repeat scans = 1 minute"
Select “Timing precision = 1 sec”, “Lap distance = 0.7 miles”, and turn on “Overall results” and “Overall by gender”
Select “Live results = On” (Master only)
Select “Timing mode”, turn on “Use helper devices”, select “Master”, select “Sync data via Webscorer.com”, select “Sync data back to Helper”, and select “Accept data from Helper”
At the bottom of the screen, select “Post Start List” and then select “Post to Webscorer.com (public)” in order to update the start list with the established settings. The helper devices will then load this updated start list.

Each of the Helper iPads were then setup as follows:

Load the previously uploaded start list from webscorer.com
Select “Use helper devices”, select “Helper”, select “Helper used for timing”, select “Sync data via Webscorer.com”, select “Send data automatically”, the select the left arrow in the upper left

Prior to starting the race, the following steps were performed:

Setup each system (enclosure with iPad and scanner), connect them to the power station, and connect the WiFi of all iPads to the hotspot.
Open the Webscorer app on each iPad and have it open to the Race Start screen
On the iPad setup as the master device, select “Activate master”
On each helper device, select “Connect to master”
At the start of the race, select “Start race on all devices” on the master device

To view the software setup of your own device:

1. Navigate to the Webscorer app's home panel
2. Tap "Race with start list"
3. Tap "Download start list from Webscorer.com"
4. Tap "Search for results"
5. Tap the "Race ID" field, key in 415373 and tap Enter

PICTURES:

HOW TO ACCESS RACE DATA VIA JSON API

2025-10-30T13:33:00+00:00

Introduction

This enables you to easily create your own web page using race data from the Webscorer website.

You can obtain the following in JSON format:

- You get access to the results, start list and registration data posted to your Webscorer account

- You will also be able to access data for races posted by others by specifying the correct “raceid”

- The raceid is the set of digits at the end of the posted results URL

- If the raceid is 255350 and your JSON API Is 86255, here’s the JSON URL for a results page:

https://www.webscorer.com/json/race?raceid=255350&apiid=86255

Your JSON API ID

Each request to get JSON data requires your JSON API ID to be passed as a query parameter.

To find your JSON API ID:

- Navigate to Organizers / My organizer settings

- Find the item labelled "Unique organizer URL”

- Your ID is the digits at the end of the URL

- In this example, the JSON API ID is 86255

Using your JSON API ID

- Each request for JSON data uses a standard GET with a URL

- One of the supplied query parameters must be "apiid=n" where n is your JSON API ID

- For example, for results raceid=255350 and JSON API ID=86255, the JSON URL is:

https://www.webscorer.com/json/race?raceid=255350&apiid=86255

Getting the list of posted results

To get a list of your posted results use

https://www.webscorer.com/json/mypostedraces?apiid=n

Where n after apiid= is replaced with your API ID

This will return JSON data including:

- "OrganizerInfo"

- This includes "OrganizerPage" which is the URL of your public page on Webscorer

- "ResultList"

- This is an array of objects - one per result

- Each result object includes

- RaceId, Name, Date, Sport, DisplayURL

- the Display URL links to the page on Webscorer website.

Getting results data

To get results data for a specific race, use:

https://www.webscorer.com/json/race?raceid=r&apiid=n

To get the taps recorded data for a specific race, use:

https://www.webscorer.com/json/fasttaps?raceid=r&apiid=n

Where n after apiid= is replaced with your JSON API ID

Where r after raceid= is replaced with the raceId

This will return JSON data including:

RaceInfo

- This includes RaceId, Name, Date, Sport, DisplayURL

- Many other results properties similar to what is shown on the Webscorer results page

Results

- This is an array of objects

- The number of objects depends on whether the result uses distances, categories, or gender grouping

- Each object has "Grouping" and "Racers"

- The "Grouping" object includes information about the grouping of racers

- This may include "Distance", "Category", "Gender"

Notes:

- For races with multiple distances that have results for all categories

- "Overall": true may be included to indicate the grouping includes multiple categories

- For races with laps and multiple distances, the "LapCount" will also be included

- The "Racers" object is an array of racer objects - one per racer in this grouping

- Each racer object may include "Place", "Bib", "Name", "Time", "LapTimes"

- The exact set of properties per racer varies depending on the race settings
- It is a reflection of what is shown on the Webscorer results pages

Getting the list of start lists or registration lists

To get a list of your posted start lists and registrations use

https://www.webscorer.com/json/mystartlists?apiid=n

Where n after apiid= is replaced with your API ID

This will return JSON data including:
- "OrganizerInfo"
- This includes "OrganizerPage" which is the URL of your public page on Webscorer
- "StartLists"
- This is an array of objects - one per start list or registration
- Each start list object includes
- RaceId, Name, Date, Sport, DisplayURL, Public (true or false), Type (Start list or Registration)
- the Display URL links to the page on Webscorer website.

To filter the list to return only Start lists use

https://www.webscorer.com/json/mystartlists?apiid=n&filt=S

To filter the list to return only Registrations use

https://www.webscorer.com/json/mystartlists?apiid=n&filt=R

Getting start list or registration list data

To get the data for a specific start list or confirmation list for a registration use

https://www.webscorer.com/json/startlist?raceid=r&apiid=n

https://www.webscorer.com/json/registerlist?raceid=r&apiid=n

Where n after apiid= is replaced with your JSON API ID
Where r after raceid= is replaced with the raceId

This will return JSON data including:

RaceInfo

- This includes RaceId, Name, Date, Sport, DisplayURL
- Many other properties similar to what is shown on the Webscorer start list page

StartList

- This is an array of objects
- The number of objects depends on number of racers in the start list
- Each racer object may include "Bib", "Name", “Distance”, “Category”, etc
- The exact set of properties per racer varies depending on the start list or registration settings
- It is a reflection of what is shown on the Webscorer start list pages

Getting data from a results series

The JSON URL for a results series is as follows:

https://www.webscorer.com/json/seriesresult?seriesid=r&apiid=n

Where n after apiid= is replaced with your JSON API ID

Where r after seriesid= is replaced with the seriesid

This will return JSON data including:

SeriesInfo

- This includes SeriesId, Name, Date, Sport, DisplayURL

- Many other series results properties similar to what is shown on the Webscorer results page

Results

- This is an array of objects

- The number of objects depends on whether the series uses distances, categories, or gender grouping

- Each object has "Grouping" and "Racers"

- The "Grouping" object includes information about the grouping of racers

- This may include "Distance", "Category", "Gender"

- The "Racers" object is an array of racer objects - one per racer in this grouping

- Each racer object may include "Place", "Name", "RacesCounted", "TotalPoints", and "Races"

The "Races" property is an array of objects with one entry for each race that is included in the series for this racer

Getting data from an event with GPS tracking

The JSON URL for getting location data from a GPS tracking event is as follows:

https://www.webscorer.com/json/racerlocations?raceid=r&apiid=n

Where n after apiid= is replaced with your API ID

Where r after raceid= is replaced with the raceId of the registration / GPS tracking page

To get just the racer list with no location data, use "infoonly=1" query parameter:

https://www.webscorer.com/json/racerlocations?raceid=r&apiid=n&infoonly=1

To get information for racer with name "Bob Smith", use this link:

https://www.webscorer.com/json/racerlocations?raceid=r&apiid=n&racer=Bob%20Smith

This will return JSON data including:

RaceInfo

- This includes RaceId, Name, Date, Sport, DisplayURL for tracking page

- Several other results properties

Racers

- This is an array of objects

- There is one object per registered racer

- Each racer has basic properties depending on the registration
- Examples: Name, Distance, Category, Gender, Age, Team name

- Each racer also has a Locations property which is an array of recorded locations

- Each location in the Locations array has Lat, Lng, Ele, and Time

Access to data private to organizer only

Since anyone can download the public data shown on the website to everyone as XLSX, there's no need to provide a "private key" as part of the JSON API to programmatically access the same results, start list and reg confirmation list data.

There are however, several private fields that are included only in the downloads if the signed-in account is the organizer of the race. To get access to these private fields (chip ID, email & Info 1 - Info 5) via the JSON API, add &apipriv=n to the end as follows:

https://www.webscorer.com/json/race?raceid=r&apiid=n&apipriv=n

where n is an 8-character token that's unique to your account. You can find this token by navigating to Organizers / My organizer settings.

If you pass a JSON link to your results to someone else with the private token, after that person no longer needs access you can click "Reset token". Remember to click "Save changes" after the reset. Once the token has been changed, the earlier link (with the previous token) will no longer return the private data but will still return the non-private data.

Example JSON link which includes the private data for Race ID=397624, API ID=254571 and Token ID=6f9b171c:

https://www.webscorer.com/json/race?raceid=397624&apiid=254571&apipriv=6f9b171c

Errors

- If the request cannot return JSON for some reason, then an error JSON is returned instead

- This is a simple object with a property "Error" that contains a message with the reason for the error

- Example:

{ "Error": “PRO Results subscription required to use this API has expired" }

How to view JSON for any results page

To see the JSON that matches the results page posted on Webscorer:

- Use any browser to navigate to the results page, e.g. https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=255350

- Edit the page URL on the address bar as follows:

- Insert json/ after webscorer.com/

- Add &apiid=n at the end where n is your JSON API ID

- For example if your JSON API ID is 86255, you’d enter this URL to get the JSON

https://www.webscorer.com/json/race?raceid=255350&apiid=86255

Formatting notes

- The JSON returned is not formatted to be easily read

- There are online tools that will format JSON to make it easier to read

- For example: navigate to https://formatjson.com/ and copy the JSON to get proper formatting

Encoding notes

- If a URL contains the '&' character, it is encoded as \u0026

- If a race name contains a single quote, it is encoded as \u0027

- Note that this is not a complete list, just showing how the encoding is done

PRO subscription required

- To access the JSON data, the organizer's account must have a valid PRO Results subscription
- Note that this subscription is different / additional to the PRO timing subscription
- Link to subscription page: Purchase PRO Results subscription

Example JSON (on Webscorer.com & pasted to Formatjson.com):

HOW TO USE TIME-HANDICAPS

2025-08-20T17:16:00+00:00

Version 1.6.2 introduced a new handicap option – time-based handicaps. This is an easy way to produce two sets of results for your race:

1. Actual finish times

- Racer with the fastest time wins

2. Handicap-adjusted times

- Racer with the fastest handicap-adjusted time wins

Each racer is assigned a personal handicap time as part of the start list – e.g. 10:15.2 or 1:05:30.0. The handicap times can be positive or negative:

A positive handicap means that the handicap is added to the racer’s finish time to come up with the handicap-adjusted time

- Example: Finish time = 29:09.6

Handicap = 01:00.0

Adjusted time = 30:09.6

A negative handicap means that the handicap is subtracted from the racer’s finish time to come up with the handicap-adjusted time

- Example: Finish time = 29:09.6

Handicap = -02:30.0

Adjusted time = 26:39.1

Here are 2 examples to demonstrate that you can use either positive or negative time handicaps to accomplish the same end result:

Positive handicaps: http://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=15143

Negative handicaps: http://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=15136

These races use a pursuit start – slowest racers went out first, followed by racers in the handicap time gaps, with the objective of getting everyone to finish close together.

Note that while either method works, it is easier to setup the pursuit start list with positive handicaps – the start time is the same as the time handicap. The handicap-adjusted time is slower than the actual finish time (except for racers with a time handicap of 00:00).

With negative handicaps, Start time = | Biggest handicap | – | racer’s handicap |. The handicap-adjusted time is faster than the actual finish time (except for racers with a time handicap of 00:00).

To see the setup for each race, follow these steps with Webscorer PRO:

1. Tap “Time a race”

2. Tap “Download start list from Webscorer.com”
3. Tap “Search for results”

4. Tap “Race ID” field, key in “15136” (or “15143”) and tap “Enter”

5. This will download the race setup to your iPad

6. You can practice timing an “arm-chair” race

- For more realistic results, start the race with a race clock time adjustment

- If you post practice results, please do so with the “Private” posting option

7. You can download the .TXT start list for each race as follows:

- Click on the “Start list” menu button on the results page

- Click on the “Download .TXT start list” menu button from the start list page

Any questions? Send a note to support@webscorer.com.

HOW TO CONNECT TO AN RFID READER

2025-07-11T14:11:00+00:00

This article explains the two methods to connect to the RFID reader and how to configure the IP address for a successful connection from the Webscorer app.

Most RFID readers have an Ethernet port to transmit the chip detections to the timing computer. The Webscorer app communicates with the RFID reader using a protocol that flows over TCP/IP over Ethernet. While the RFID protocol can vary from one reader to another, the hardware setup and the IP addressing steps are the same across all readers.

Whereas most “scoring” software packages typically work in offline mode where the scoring software is supplied with a file containing the chip detections (time & chip ID) from time to time during the race, Webscorer receives the chip detections in real time which has the following benefits:

1. Provides an immediate verification that each chip was detected

2. Allows switching to manual timing if reader stops working in the middle of the race

3. Supports a mix of chip timing and manual timing to cover for occasional missed detections

4. Provides real-time LIVE results

Webscorer supports RFID readers from the following vendors for passive & active chip timing:

Alien Technology - http://www.alientechnology.com
Chainway - https://www.chainway.net
Emit - https://emit.no
Feibot - https://www.feibot.com
Impinj - http://www.impinj.com
Invelion - http://www.invelion.net/
Motorola / Zebra - http://www.zebra.com
Nordic ID - https://www.nordicid.com
MyLaps - https://www.mylaps.com
RaceResult - https://www.raceresult.com
RFID Timing Systems - https://rfidtiming.com
ThingMagic - http://www.thingmagic.com
Thinkify - https://thinkifyit.com

Of these, the Chainway model supported is the handheld C5 reader where the Webscorer app runs directly on the reader (which has an Android operating system). The Thinkify reader supports an USB connection from a Windows computer only.

HOW TO CONNECT TO ANY READER WITH THE WEBSORER APP

Install the Webscorer app on your Android, iOS, macOS or Windows device

Install links: https://www.webscorer.com/resources/getapp

Start the Webscorer app

Click on “Race with start list”

Click on “Create start list on the app”

Click on the top right navigation button until you get to the “Hardware Setup” panel

Select your chip timing system

Navigate to the “Chip Timing” panel

When using a direct Ethernet connection:

Click on “Specify” next to "RFID readers"

Enter IP address of reader

When using a router in between:

Click on “Scan for reader(s)”

Click on “Scan”

This steps through the router’s local IP addresses 1-255 until it finds an IP address with the RFID port open
(see below for the port numbers specific to various readers)

Return to the “Chip Timing” panel

Click on “Test connection” toolbar icon

You’ll get a popup saying “Connected” if the app can communicate with the reader

METHOD #1: Router in between the timing computer and the RFID reader

Connect the RFID reader to the router with an Ethernet cable

Connect the timing computer to the router via WiFi or with an Ethernet cable

The timing computer can be running Android, iOS, MacOS or Windows

The router must have at least one local Ethernet port for connecting the RFID reader

The router can be any Ethernet router, WiFi router, cellular hotspot, Starlink terminal or equivalent

The router does not need to have an internet connection unless you want live results

The router method is required if you want to connect multiple readers to the app

METHOD #2: Direct Ethernet connection from the timing computer to the RFID reader

No router required

Suppored only on Mac and Windows computers

If your computer does not have an Ethernet port, you can use an USB-to-Ethernet adapter such as:

- Mac: https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Ethernet-UE300C-Compatible-2017-2020/dp/B08HQBC678

- Windows: https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-1000-Gigabit-Ethernet-Adapter/dp/B00M77HMU0

CONFIGURING THE IP ADDRESS

Once all the cables have been connected, and all the devices have been powered up, the next step is to setup the IP address in the Webscorer app and then test that the connection works:

When using a router:

A. The router will assign an IP address to the RFID reader via DHCP

The router’s own IP address is (typically) 192.168.1.1

The router will assign an IP address to the RFID reader anywhere from 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.255

You can configure your router to always assign a specific IP address to the RFID reader

Or you can set the DHCP address range on the router to be early on so the scan will find the address more quickly

Open a browser tab and type is 169.254.1.1 to open the router’s config program

B. Next step is to tap the “Scan for reader” button on the Webscorer app

This will step through all the local IP addresses from 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.255 looking for the reader

The app is checking each address for a known open port (e.g. for RFID-LLRP readers the port is 5084)

Once the app finds the open port, it will stop at that IP address

You’d then tap “Done” to accept this IP address for the RFID reader

If you know the IP address, you can also enter it manually by tapping the “Specify” option

The app will remember your previous chip timing settings and will propose those for a new race

C. You can then tap the “Test connection” toolbar button

The app will open a session with the reader and then immediately close the session

Note that this goes beyond looking for the open TCP port on the reader

If the port is open but is in use by another device or application, then the “Test connection” will fail

When using a direct Ethernet connection:

A. The RFID reader will use a pre-configured / known IP address

For example, Impinj readers use 169.254.1.1 as the reader’s direct-connect IP address

Some readers allow you to configure the IP address on the reader itself (e.g. Race Result Ubidium)

B. You’d tap the “Specify” text next to “RFID readers” in the Webscorer app

The app has built-in options for adding the direct connect IP address for Impinj and Zebra readers

For all other readers, tap the [+] Add button to enter the IP address

You can specify just one IP address when connecting directly

Use the router option if you use multiple readers

C. You can then tap the “Test connection” toolbar button: this works the same way as when using a router

COMMON PROBLEMS & TROUBLESHOOTING

When using a router:

1. Check that the router uses the same IP subnet for Ethernet-connected devices and WiFi-connected devices

Devices on different IP subnets cannot communicate with one another

You will need to connect to the router’s config program to check this, or try testing with a different router

Another workaround is to connect your timing computer to the router also with an Ethernet cable (vs. WiFi)

Open a browser tab and type in 169.254.1.1 as the web address to gain access to the router config

Check your router’s manual (or backside of router) for the admin userid and password

2. Ensure that there are no other devices or applications connected to the RFID reader at the same time

The port on the RFID reader can be used by only one application at a time

For example, if you have an Impinj reader, make sure you close the Impinj ItemTest application

You may have to reboot your timing computer to free up the port on the RFID reader

Only one timing computer can be connected to the RFID reader at a time

If you’re running timing software on another computer, disconnect that device

3. Other Ethernet issues

Make sure the Ethernet cable from the RFID reader is connected to one of the local ports on the router

In other words, do not use the Ethernet port labeled as WAN or Internet

Check the Ethernet cable: a loose connector or a kinked cable may cause connection problems

Note that the Ethernet cables must be connected before powering the reader

You must use a router, not an Ethernet switch as they cannot assign IP addresses to connected devices

When using a direct Ethernet connection:

1. Make sure that both the timing computer and the RFID reader are on the same IP subnet

Both Mac and Windows computers default to using 169.254.1.xxx as their own IP address

This means the IP address of the reader must also be of the form 169.254.xxx.xxx

2. Impinj readers are the simplest to use for a direct Ethernet connection

If not connected to a router, the Impinj reader will default to using IP address 169.254.1.1

You can select this IP address on the app by tapping “Specify / Direct ethernet connection to Impinj reader”

This works both on Windows and Mac computers

The reader will automatically switch back to the router method if connected to a router after powered on

3. Zebra / Motorola readers require both an Ethernet cable and a USB cable at the same time

The USB cable is required for the initial IP address setup
Once connected, the USB cable can be removed

The direct Ethernet connection is supported only on Windows (not on a Mac)
Zebra readers use a built-in IP address of 169.254.10.1

4. Invelion readers require that you use their NetModuleConfig.exe tool to configure the direct IP connection

You must first connect to the Invelion reader using the router method

This is because the reader is configured to get its IP address using DHCP by default

Once connected, you can then use the NetModuleConfig program to configure the reader for direct connection

Make sure to also configure the IP address of the reader to be on the same subnet as your Windows computer

An IP address starting with 169.254.1.xxx should work

Be sure to write down the IP address somewhere safe as it’s then the only way to connect to the reader

To switch back to connecting via a router, you must first connect to the reader with the direct connect IP address

Possible issues that apply both methods:

1.. Check that the TCP port number on the reader has not been changed

Webscorer assumes that the reader is configured to use the following port numbers which are the default ports but some of the readers allow you to configure the port number using the reader’s own configuration tool or on-board reader menus.

Any reader that supports LLRP: port 5084

Feibot A400 and A800: port 3333

Invelion YR3300, YR8700 & YR8900: port 4001

MyLaps Active: 5403

RaceResult Decoder 5000: port 3601

RaceResult Ubidium: port 443

RFID Timing Systems Ultra, Joey & Echo: port 23

2. Check that the reader is not loaded with resident software

This can be an issue if you purchased the reader used

Most readers allow you to side-load your own module directly on the reader, replacing the reader interface

The fix is to reset the reader to its factory settings (see reader manual how to do this)

3. Check your Network settings "service order" on Mac computers when using direct Ethernet

If your Mac is connected to WiFi for internet and you want to use a direct Ethernet connection to an RFID reader (such as an Impinj R420), you will need to do the following to allow both networks to operate at the same time:

Click on macOS Settings app
Click on Network
Click on the "..." icon on the bottom right
Select "Set Service Order"
Drag & drop the Ethernet network adapter to the top of the list
In the attached screenshot, the device AX88179A is the name of the Ethernet adapter for the Mac

EXAMPLE HARDWARE SETUPS

Impinj R220 reader with one antenna attached

Power provided to reader using POE switch

Blue Ethernet cables

UGREEN Ethernet-to-USB C adapter

Netgear Nighthawk WiFi router

MacBook Air running the Webscorer app

METHOD #1 - Using a router in between

METHOD #2 - Direct Ethernet connection

PARTICIPANT CREDITS VS. DISCOUNT CODES

2025-04-12T10:46:00+00:00

We just introduced a new “Participant credits” feature that allows the organizer to assign monetary discounts to participants that can be used when registering for future events.

How participant credits work:

The organizer assigns monetary credits to the participant’s Webscorer account using an admin tool

The participant can use the credits on any future event that has participant credits turned on in reg setup

On the event reg page, the participant is automatically offered to use the credits for an enabled event

After applying the credit for a discount, any balance remaining is retained and can be used for another event

Participant credits fix these limitations in discount codes:

1. Discount codes are not secure, anyone who knows the code can use it

2. Using $50-OFF discount code for an event whose entry fee is $40, there’s no way to retain the $10 left

3. There is no way to combine two discount codes for the same event

4. Participant credits makes it easier to sell gift certificates for future events

Steps by the organizer:

1. Navigate to the reg admin page

- Click on “Registration setup”

- Check that “Require Webscorer account = Yes"

- Navigate to the “Discount codes” section

- Set “Enable use of participant credits = Yes”

- Click “Save event setup"

2. Navigate to Organizers / My registrations

3. Click on “Manage participant credits” menu button

4. Click on “Add an account” button

- Enter the email address for the participant’s Webscorer account

- Enter the monetary amount of the credit (in your local currency)

- Enter an optional reason for the credit (e.g. Credit for volunteering at Sun Mountain race)

Steps by the participant:

1. Sign in to your Webscorer account

2. Navigate to the event reg page

3. Fill out the reg form

4. You will automatically get an option to apply your credit balance towards the entry fee

5. Any amount remaining can be used for another event

6. You can check your own credit balance via Profiles / My racer profile

PICTURE #1 - Registration setup

PICTURE #2 - Manage participant credits tool

PICTURE #3 - Manage participant credits tool

PICTURE #4 - Applying participant credit on the event reg page

PICTURE #5 - Racer profile page to "View participant credits"

ACTIVE CHIP TIMING WITH FEIBOT READER

2025-03-06T10:30:00+00:00

We have been testing an active chip timing system from Feibot with a local cross-country ski club here in Washington state:

Gunnar Hagen 7.5k & 30k classic: https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=377136
Ozbaldy 10k & 50k freestyle: https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=382254

You can view the software setup from each race on your own Webscorer app as follows:
- Navigate to the app's home panel
- Tap "Race with start list"
- Tap "Download start list from Webscorer.com"
- Tap "Search for results"
- Tap the Race ID field, key in e.g. 377136 and tap Enter
- Navigate forward to the "Chip Timing" panel

All active chip timing systems work as follows:
- Racers wear the active chip (with a battery) on an ankle
- Chip is attached to the ankle facing the receiver antennas using a velcro strap
- Chip gets activated when it crosses the antenna loop on the ground / in snow
- Chip then transmits its chip ID to the receiver antennas
- This activation / transmission happens quickly so that timing accuracy is typically 0.01 secs

Activation antenna loop setup:
- We used two loop antennas (2nd loop for backup)
- Both loops were attached to the same A400 reader
- Length of each loop: 20 m (10 meter lap / finish width)
- Depth of loop: 10 cm below snow
- Width of loop: 45 cm between each wire

Receiver antenna setup:
- We used two external antennas
- Each antenna was attached to the A400 reader via 2 m cables
- The antennas were attached to wooden sticks with electrical tape
- One antenna was at 30 cm above snow, the other at 60 cm above snow
- One antenna was at 60 cm after the finish line, the other 60 cm after the first antenna

Reader & timing device setup:
- The A400 reader was inside the timing hut, with cables routed outside via a window
- The A400 has its own battery than can last 12 hours
- We had the A400 attached to USB-C charging during the race
- The Webscorer PRO app was running on an iPad
- The timing iPad was connected via WiFi to the reader's WiFi hotspot
- We used a 2nd iPad connected to the timing iPad via Bluetooth in Master / Helper timing mode
- The role of the Helper iPad was to post live results & act as a results monitoring device

Race notes (from March 2 race):
- Total of 388 detections were recorded
- Chip detection rate was 100% when the chip was worn correctly on the right ankle
- One skier forgot to his chip at the start, another wore the chip on his shoulder
- A few skiers had attached the chip to the left ankle, facing away from the receiver antennas
- The misses were noticed in real time during the race, and covered with a manual tap on the timing iPad
- Lesson learned: check each skier's chip for correct attachment before the start

Feibot A400 advantages:
- The chips cost just $25 each (comparable RaceResult chips cost $72.50)
- There is also a chip with replaceable battery for $35 each
- The A400 system comes with two external receiver antennas
- You can also attach two loop antennas to the same reader
- The reader has a built-in WiFi hotspot, making it easy to use a mobile device for timing
- You can also use a direct Ethernet connection from Windows or Mac laptop to the A400

Availability
The Feibot active timing system has been FCC certified and is now available for rent or purchase for North American customers by Pegasus Timing Serviecs at https://www.pegasustiming.com/. Pegsus is based in the Sammamish, WA which is close to Webscorer headquarters based in Woodinville, WA. We have partnered with Pegasus to provide joint support services, Webscorer support can handle also the hardware integration issues.

PICTURE 1 - Activation antenna setup (before covering the wires with snow)

PICTURE 2 - Receiver antenna setup

PICTURE 3 - Reader & timing device setup

PICTURE 4 - How not to wear an active timing chip in a race

PICTURE 5 - Another example how not to wear the chip (skier with "chip on his shoulder")

REGISTRATION FOR EVENTS WHERE SAME RACER CAN SIGN UP FOR MULTIPLE RACES

2025-02-04T10:48:00+00:00

Are you hosting an event that spans two days where participants may race multiple times?
Do you allow a participant to race twice in the same event, e.g. in two different categories?

The recommended method is to create a separate registration for each race, and then tie to regs together using a series registration. Example:

Participants can select one or multiple races by clicking on the check box on the left, and proceed to fill out the reg page for each. Fields that are identical (e.g. name, email address etc.) will be auto-copied for 2nd and subsequent regs. Participant will make one payment that covers all events selected.

CREATE A REG FOR EACH SEPARATE RACE

Navigate to Organizers / My registrations
Click on the "Add an event registration"
Create a separate registration for each individual race
- If multiple categories are racing together, then these should be under the same reg
- Create separate regs for SUP Sprint in the morning and SUP 10km in the afternoon
Create the reg for the first event, then click “Use as template” to copy the setup to others

CREATE A SERIES REG

Navigate to Organizers / My registrations
Click on the “Add a series registration”
Add the separate registrations to the series
Use this option to allow participants to register for one or multiple races

For each separate registrations, set “Event visibility = Private”
For the series registration, set “Event visibility = Public"
Publish the series reg link as the (only) way to register for the event.

The benefit is that you’ll get an automatic start list for each race which can be downloaded directly to the app. No file downloads or uploads required. The series reg also allows to to offer discounts for signing up for multiple races, e.g. 10% off if you sign up for 2 or more.

The alternative is to setup a single reg where the categories are selected from a custom question dropdown. Once the reg has closed, you’d download the reg data as XLS, and create the separate start lists for each race in Excel, and post as start lists to Webscorer via file upload.