Registrations must be imported so app users can find runners and track them. Typically the first import is done when the app is published, a second update is done the day before the event. Last minute changes can be uploaded 1-2 hours before the race (only update). It is really important to use a stable and unique ID. Preferably this is the Registration ID. If you change the ID for your second upload, all the participants you are already following will be deleted from your phone's followers list.
3) Update file before race day
5) Update file during the race
6) Troubleshooting import issues
1. Upload Registrations
Go to your Event Dashboard
Click Import data > Registration import
Choose Fresh import or Update
Other options:
- Import race - leave -autoselect- as default if races are defined in file
- Import group - if you have a 5-digit chipcode and you want to assign a group ID
- Choose file type - .csv or .xlsx
Upload your Registration file
2. Supported fields
There are two required fields: name and id. The id is required and should never change for a particular participant. The name can be imported as either one field (full name) or two separate fields (given name and family name).
There are plenty other fields available. Please refer to the import documentation on the import page for a full description of the fields and their supported values.
- Bibs and chipcodes - Before race-day you need to import the bib and chipcodes. The system need to know the exact 7-digit chipcode so that it can interpret the data from Timing & Scoring.
- Leaderboard - The gender column is required when leaderboard is enabled. More information about the leaderboard configuration can be found here.
- Birthdate - Birthdate will be used for the verification process of the bib claim functionality within the live tracking screen of the app. If no birthdate is know this field will be ignored.
- Expectedfinishtime - This field can be used to improve your estimated live tracking position. This field is extra important for races with big differences in speed between athletes, like: wheelchairs, cross country races, trail running, walking, elite athletes etc.
- Waves - Use the column 'wave' to configure wave starts. More information about the configuration of wave starts can be found here.
3. Update file before race day
You can choose between a fresh import (delete all current registrations and start fresh) or an update (merge the new file with the current registration data. Which option you want to use depends a bit on the moment (when?) and how many updates need to be done. Some guidelines:
- Complete update of the (current) database. That implies, make changes to previous uploaded file + new entries. Only use Fresh Import in case you have >500 changes, or if the changes in the file are 10% of your total registrations. In all other cases you can use Update (merge).
- New registrations only, just upload a file with the latest entries. Use update (merge) option to upload the new registrations.
- Less than <10 changes, you can also manually add or edit athletes in the CMS. Go to Race, click Registrations and search for a specific athlete, or add a new registration.
4. Update file on race day
Always use the update (merge) option on race day, as this is the savest way to import data. It is recommended to use the same format as you already used to upload your first Registration file.
- Complete update of the (current) database. That implies, make changes to previous uploaded file + new entries. Use update (merge) only!
- New registrations only, just upload a file with the latest entries. Use update (merge) option to upload the new registrations.
- Less than <10 changes, you can also manually add or edit athletes in the CMS. Go to Race, click Registrations and search for a specific athlete, or add a new registration.
5. Update file during the race
Never use the import function during race day! Instead of the mass data import you can make individual changes.
Click Races > Name of race
Click Registrations
Click Batch edit or edit or passings
- Batch edit - move a batch of chipcodes to another wave, race or change their status. If the race does not have a connected course (or has different timeline names) it will delete all the passings for the participants.
- Edit participant - edit information of a individual participant
- Passings - See all passings and add or delete passings. You can also assign a new chipcode
6. Troubleshooting import issues
When the import file does not conform with the supported formats you'll get a import error. There are a few things you can do to prevent these errors.
- Ensure all column names are spelled exactly as defined
- Ensure there are no 'strange characters' within the file. Sometimes Excel or other external software packages include weird characters that cause import files to corrupt. Saving the csv file and explicitly defining UTF-8 as encoding has often prevented this problem.