Electronic Timing Official Training

Clinic

Agenda

IntroductionsRole of ET OfficialCertification ProcessEquipment SetupOperating the ConsolePaperwork – Determining the official timeWorked ExamplesQuestions

OSI Officiating Philosophy

Fair and equitable conditions of competition are maintained and uniformity in the sport is promoted so that no swimmer has an unfair advantage over another

What does that mean?Success of every meet depends on the official’s

integrity, knowledge, concern and regard for the competitive interest of the swimmer

One set of rules applies to all swimmersSwimmers get the benefit of the doubtDemonstrate impartiality and professionalism on

deck

Professionalism on DeckWear standard uniform

Typically white polo over blue shortsLong pants/skirts for championship finalsSometimes khaki instead of blueNo team logos or advertising

Wear credentials and name tagBe in position on time. Do not vacate position until

replacement in place

The ET OfficialWhy?

No swimmer shall be required to re-swim a race due to equipment failure which results in unrecorded or inaccurate time or place. (USA Swimming Rule 102.16.4D)

What?Part of a larger officiating crewOperate electronic timing equipmentDetermine official timeInstruct timers in proper timing procedures

Certification ProcessRegister through Oregon Swimming as non-athlete

member of USA SwimmingMust pass a background check through USA SwimmingMust attend USA Swimming online Athlete Protection

TrainingAttend ET Clinic before working on deckBegin volunteering at meetsAfter minimum 20 hours of training & 5 sessions,

obtain 2 positive recommendations from certified ET’sForward training record and recommendations to ET chair

Await confirmation to take online test.Take and pass on-line open-book test

Minimum Training RequirementsAttend ET Clinic At least 2 of the first 6 hours must be with a designated

ET Trainer10 observed hours on timing console10 observed hours on time verificationComplete a Deck Tour with RefereeWork a minimum of 5 ET sessions

Work two sessions at sanctioned 12 & under meetWork at least one session at a non-home meet

Work one session with the Hy-Tek operatorBe familiar with both Colorado and Daktronics and their setupSuccessfully complete a heat and lane malfunction calculation

(by hand)Receive two consecutive positive recommendations from

two different trainers

Proper Timing ProceduresInstructions for Head Timers & Timers

Timer operates one watch and one button. No timer can operate both watches or both buttons

Start watch at strobe flash rather than sound if possible

Raise hand if you fail to start watch – head timer should have a backup

Stop watch and button when touch is seenRecord times legibly on supplied event sheet to 100ths

of a secondHead timer will collect event sheetsRing bell on long events

Set Up Timing EquipmentBe familiar with Colorado and Daktronics systemsKnow how to set up and operate the equipmentAllow time before the meet to set up and diagnose

problemsHome crew will often set up equipment, but you still

need to check it overEnsure starting unit connectedEnsure buttons and pads in place and connected

using harness or deck platesPerform test start and then reset for first race

Typical ET Setup

Scoreboard

TimingConsole

ResultsComputer

StartingConsole

Pads

Buttons

Operate Timing EquipmentEnsure ET console set for correct event and heatET Console should start timing when starting unit soundsIf ET console fails to start, start it manually &

write “manual start” on ET heat sheetCheck for No Shows/Lanes turned on/offMark No Shows on ET heat sheet with NS and strike throughWrite race number on ET heat sheetWhen ET unit on deck avoid making console beep just prior to

the startCheck for intermediate pad touches. Add/Delete touches as

requiredFinish arm lane(s) if necessaryStore-Print; Reset; Advance to Next Heat or Next Event

FOCUS ON DRIVING THE CONSOLE WHEN TASKED TO DO SO

ET TIP:Delay manual start for

10 sec so all know there was a timing

problem

Determining the Official TimeAutomatic / Semi-Automatic / ManualPrimary / Secondary / Tertiary timesWhat is the official time?

Types of Timing SystemsRule 102.24.2Automatic

Automatic start. Finish on touch padsSemi-Automatic

Automatic start. Finish on buttonsManual

Watches

Timing System DesignationRule 102.24.3Primary

The most accurate system availableCould be automatic, semi-automatic, or manualNormally automatic PADS

SecondaryBackup to primary system. Typically BUTTONS

TertiaryAt least one watch should be used as a back up for a

automatic or semi-automatic system

Determination of Official TimeTiming resolution in 100ths, not 1000ths of seconds.

Thousandths are dropped with no rounding (102.24.1B)

The time from the correctly operating primary system is the official time (102.24.4)Automatic: Pad timeSemi-Automatic or Manual

Middle time of 3 buttons/watchesAverage of 2 buttons/watchesTime of single button/watch (not a good idea)

Primary Timing System Malfunction102.24.4CA malfunction may have occurred if:

The difference between the time obtained by the primary system and the back-up system(s) is approximately 0.30 second or greater, or

The place judge(s) reports a different order of finish, orIt is reported the swimmer missed the touchpad or had

a soft touch.

Adjustment for Timing System Difference102.24.4D

Back-up times need to be adjusted for timing differences.

The adjustment for timing system difference is determined by calculating the consistent average difference between the valid primary and valid backup systems used at that meet.

A primary and backup time is considered “valid” if they are within approximately 0.30 seconds of each other.

Adjustment for Lane Malfunction102.24.4E

Back-up times shall be adjusted by calculating the average difference between valid primary and valid back-up times of the other lanes in that heat, or if necessary, using times from heats immediately preceding and/or following the heat.

This shall be done by adding, or subtracting when appropriate, that average difference to the valid back-up time of the lane where the malfunction occurred.

Automatic/Semi-Automatic/ManualButtons & Watches have different

adjustments due to human reaction time

Start

Human Delay

Button

Pad

Watch

Finish

Colorado Timing Console automatically

deducts 0.15

Human Delay

Time Verification (Pad, Button & Watches)

At least one button confirms pad time

Y

Use pad time

Watches confirm one button time and faster

than pad

Y

Collect order of finish and coach’s time. Compare with pad/watch/button times. Use best judgment.

Watches confirm each other and faster than

pad

Y Calculate pad-watch average difference and use adjusted watch

average

N

At least one watch confirms pad time

Y

N

N

N

Buttons confirm each other and faster than

pad

Y

N

Calculate pad-button average difference and adjust the

button average

ET TIP:Calculate the adjusted

button average, when the pad is not

confirmed & 2 buttons agree, before watch

times arrive to speed the process!

Calculate pad-button average difference and adjust the

one button

Time Verification (3 Watches)

Two watches the same Use watch time

Collect order of finish and coach’s time. Use best judgment. If no valid time, use the middle watch time.

One time not validated is not ideal, benefit of doubt to swimmer

N

Only two valid watch times available

(both within 0.30 seconds)

Take the average of the two watches

N

Middle watch within 0.30 seconds of the

other two

N

Use middle watch time

One of the 3 watches more than ±0.30 seconds from

either of the other twovalid watches

(both within 0.30 seconds)

Discard the outlier and take the average of the two watches

N

valid watch or button; def. having another time within approximately 0.30 seconds of that time

Y

Y

Y

Y

Lane Timing AdjustmentButton times and watch times need to be adjusted

by “timing system difference”Check that there are 3 valid lanes for comparisonCalculate average difference between pad and valid

button (or watch) times in that heatFor further confirmation, optionally check the

Order Of Finish (OOF) to see that the adjusted time fits the place order

Further investigation is needed when:Buttons slower than pad confirm each otherTimes validated “just barely” by approximately 0.30

seconds

Order of FinishStarter will provide the OOF, listing the lanes in order

that they arrived at the finishExample: OOF of 4-3-2-5-6-1 would be:

OOF Lane Place

1st Lane 4 1 6

2nd Lane 3 2 3

3rd Lane 2 shown as: 3 2

4th Lane 5 4 1

5th Lane 6 5 4

6th Lane 1 6 5

Do not confuse OOF with finish place

Other notation suggests unsureor too close to call for lanes 2,5,6:43 - - - 1

43 256 1

43 256 1

432561

Order of FinishOOF can be used to determine that a timing

malfunction may have occurredOOF is an aid when no clear validation between

pads, buttons, and watches is clearOOF also useful in validating times when 3 watches

are used as the primary timing systemOOF is valuable, but is the least reliable piece of

information available to the ET OfficialReliability is subjective

Finding consistent averageIf less than 3 valid lanes, look at previous and next

heats of same strokeProgressively look at previous and next heats until a

good average is found (3 or more valid lanes)Consider the opposite gender event of same age,

distance, and strokeOnly consider a different event if you have

exhausted all valid heats in the current event.

Common Timing ConsolesColorado Data Systems 6Colorado Data Systems 5Daktronics Omni-sport 2000 or 6000

Colorado 6Automatically calculates the lane timing adjustment

on the buttons.Button times already have built-in subtraction of

0.15 secondsColorado 6 correctly looks at individual button-pad

differences and includes lanes where one button is valid.

Observe the +/- sign for the Colorado 6 “backup delta” adjustmentnegative (-) adjust adds time to the average buttonpositive (+) adjust subtracts time to the average button

Colorado 5A commonly used flow for the older Colorado-5 is to

use the built-in 0.15 adjustment as the “consistent average”.

Although widely used in the past, this is no longer recommended, however is considered “acceptable” by OSI for non-championship meets.

It is recommended that lane timing adjustments are performed (using Hy-Tek Meet Manager) on all lanes with primary system malfunctions.

DaktronicsDoes not do any button adjustmentBeware that button averages on the Daktronics

printout may be rounded up instead of down(depending upon version)

Lane timing adjustments are performed (using Hy-Tek Meet Manager) on all lanes with primary system malfunctions

When using optional PC interface, keeps a running race log with all touches and buttons that can be retrieved.

Hy-Tek Meet ManagerSoftware on the Results Computer

Set up meetsManage entriesSeed races with swimmersPrints heat sheets & psych sheetsCaptures the times from the timing consoleAssimilates the resultsScores the meetPrints awards labels

Hy-Tek can print out lane timing adjustment worksheet for buttons (aka “calc sheet”)

Hy-Tek Meet ManagerRun Menu highlights timing anomalies in color

Hy-Tek “Calc menu”Calculates the pad-button lane timing adjustment

and applies it to the average button timeUse for calculating lane timing adjustments with

Daktronics and Colorado 5Print the Calc

worksheet to attach to timeprintouts

Hy-Tek Lane Timing PrintShows how the adjustment was arrivedExample: Used lanes 3,4,6,7,8,10 to find the

difference and applied the average difference to Lane 5 where the button was faster than the pad

Would use this time if at least one watch validated (within approximately 0.30) Lane 5, Button 1.

Hy-Tek Calc Known ProblemsMay not use all the valid pad/buttonsExample: Lane 9 Primary and Button 2 could have

been used in determining adjustment average because both were ‘valid’

May or may not affect the final adjustment average

Hy-Tek Calc Known ProblemsMay incorrectly use invalid buttons if the average of

the buttons is validExample: One obviously invalid button

(Ln8 Btn 2), was used in the calculation of the adjustment average

Lane 5’s official time was dropped by 0.05 seconds because of one invalid button!

Hy-Tek MM IssueHy-Tek incorrectly uses the button average and not

the individual button timesThe lane should be included in the calculation if one

button is valid, and only valid buttons should be used in the calculation.

Solve this by removing the invalid button times and re-run the calc again

Heat Malfunction AdjustmentIf automatic system subject to early or late start

(manual start is pushed), need to adjust ALL timesFor each valid lane (pad validated by button),

calculate average WATCH - PAD difference Discard any watch outliers that are more than 0.30

from the normAdjust all automatic and semi-automatic times by

average WATCH - PAD difference

Documenting Official TimeObtain heat printout from consoleCheck correct race#, event#, heat#Check that times available for all lanes which had

swimmersDocument any no-showsDocument any DQ’s (see next slide)Calculate official time. (may need to wait for watch times)Clearly identify official time with check mark and strike out

invalid timesAttach timing adjustment sheet if usedInitial paperworkPass paperwork to Hy-Tek when appropriateHy-Tek may send paperwork back if discrepancies

Handling DQ SlipsCheck DQ slip for correctness with ET heat sheet

Swimmer/Team Name Event/Heat/Lane Signed by referee

If any discrepancies, send DQ back to refereeStrike out times for swimmerDenote DQ alongside strikeoutWrite the lane(s) and name(s) of those DQedAttach DQ slip to back of printout, facing backwards –

enables easy review later if requiredConsole operator can advise of potential DQs so that

paperwork can be held back until DQ’s arriveOften DQ’s arrive after paperwork passed on and has to

be recalled

ET TIP:DQ notations written in red

are not overlooked!

Working with Hy-TekBefore the meet starts:

Meet info is downloaded from Hy-Tek to consoleMost current heat sheet is printed for ET

Hy-Tek gets meet results from consoleCheck for DQs before passing on paperwork,

although DQs may arrive later anywayOften best to pass verified event paperwork over in

one batch to Hy-Tek operator Keep console turned on until Hy-Tek operator

confirms that ALL meet info has been transferred

ET TIP:ET heat sheet printed

1 event per page is useful

Working with the Referee, Starter, Timers, & CoachesConsole operator needs to get console ready for

next heat in a timely mannerRequest order of finish from starter if doubt over

time validation (wait for starter to acknowledge you)Obtain watch times from lane timersObtain watch times from coachesIf timing issues are consistently from one lane then

observe timers in that lane and talk to them if necessary

Get referee to sign off on any unusual timing circumstances

Problem SolvingOften something will go wrong and the problem

needs to be fixed quicklyPad not working

Know where a backup pad is to swapButton not working

Know where backup buttons are to swapPrinter not working

Extra paper? ink/toner? printer?Console not working

Do you have three stop watches per lane?

ET TIP:To swap pads &

buttons, ask Ref to pause the meet

between heats, even if unused lane

Worked Examples

SummaryRole of ET OfficialCertification ProcessEquipment SetupOperating the ConsolePaperwork – Determining the official timeWorked ExamplesQuestions

Questions ?