Getting started
Track Official runs a track meet's officiating from one meet program: clerking calls and check-in, start-line staging, combined events, shoe check, umpire reports, chief umpire review, referee decisions and timing results. Every official uses the same app on their own phone, tablet or computer, and a shared meet keeps all of them in step live.
The header
- App name and version (top left). The version number goes up with every update. If two devices show different numbers, the one with the lower number should reload the page.
- Meet name (center). Below it, the active day and whether the meet is shared (live across devices) or on this device only.
- Day picker. When the meet has more than one competition day, choose which day you're working.
- Role chip. Shows your role. Tap it to change role.
- Sound and voice buttons. Turn the call chime and spoken calls on or off on this device.
- Clock (top right). The meet runs on this clock.
Below the header is a row of tabs. Which tabs you see depends on your role. Help is always the last tab.
Choosing your role
The first time you open the app it asks What is your job at this meet? The roles are grouped:
- Meet: Meet Director, Timing, Shoe Check, Combined Events.
- Clerking: Head Clerk, Clerk, Line Clerk.
- Umpiring: Referee, Chief Umpire, Chief's Assistant (when used), Umpire, Lap Counter.
Officials who open the app from an access code land on their role automatically. To switch later, tap the role chip in the header and pick another role. Your role only changes this device.
Which tabs each role sees
| Role | Tabs |
|---|
| Meet Director | Athlete Status, Schedule, All Calls, Lap Counting, Maps, Clerking Notes, Setup, Access, Meets |
| Head Clerk | Live Calls, Check-in, Start Line, Athlete Status, Schedule, Maps, Clerking Notes, Setup, Access, Meets |
| Clerk | Live Calls, Check-in, Athlete Status, Maps, Clerking Notes, Meets |
| Line Clerk | Start Line, Live Calls, Athlete Status, Maps, Meets |
| Umpire | Heats, My Calls, Athlete Status, Meets |
| Chief Umpire | Review, Heats, All Calls, Lap Counting, Shoe Checks, Athlete Status, Setup, Access, Meets |
| Chief's Assistant | Review, Heats, All Calls, Lap Counting, Shoe Checks, Athlete Status, Meets |
| Referee | Decisions, All Calls, Heats, Lap Counting, Shoe Checks, Athlete Status, Setup, Access, Meets |
| Timing | Results, All Calls, Lap Counting, Athlete Status, Meets |
| Lap Counter | Lap Counting, Meets |
| Shoe Check | Shoe Check, Meets |
| Combined Events | Combined Events, Athlete Status, Meets |
When a meet turns clerking off, Live Calls, Check-in and Clerking Notes are hidden, and only the Line Clerk keeps the Start Line.
Meets
The Meets tab lists the meets on this device and is where you create, open, share, back up and archive them.
Creating a meet
- Tap Create a new meet, enter its name, and save. Or use New from meet program to create the meet and import its schedule in one step (see Importing a meet program).
- Go to Setup to add competition days, dates and officials.
- Tap Share live so officials can open the meet on their own devices.
Actions on each meet
- Open: make it the active meet on this device.
- Share live / Stop sharing: turn live syncing across devices on or off. Officials can only use access codes for a shared meet.
- Export: save a backup file (.json) of the meet. Import backup brings one back, including onto another device or into the hosted copy of the app.
- Archive / Restore: archived meets move to the bottom of the list and become read-only.
- Delete: removes the meet from this device for good. Export it first if you might need it.
Your shared meets not on this device lists shared meets your account owns that aren't on this device yet. Tap Open on this device to bring one down.
Your account card at the top of Meets shows who you're signed in as, with Edit name, Contact Support, Sign out (hosted site) and, for admins, Admin. A message from an admin also appears here until you dismiss it.
Contact Support
Tap Contact Support, choose a topic and describe the problem. Open email opens your email app with a message to trackofficialapp@gmail.com, with your account email and device details already added so support can reply. If no email app opens, tap Copy message instead and paste it into any email.
Practice meets
Every account gets two practice meets on its Meets tab: Practice Meet – Indoor 200m and Practice Meet – Outdoor 400m. Use them to try every role without building a meet.
- Each has two days of standard running events and relays for women and men, with two heats of each filled with athletes, and relay teams' legs entered. Field events come only in the combined events (one for each gender), which the combined events coordinators run, since clerking doesn't handle field events.
- Every official is filled in with a test name: head clerks, clerks, line clerks, shoe check, referee, chief umpire, timing, six umpires with posts, and four lap counters already assigned to the distance races. The rulebook is set to USATF.
- Officials that are off by default are named too. Turning on Use a Chief's Assistant (chief umpire Setup) or Combined Events Coordinators (Setup → Meet) brings in their test official straight away.
- Every test official has an access code on the Access tab, so you can open the meet on a second phone as that official.
Restart practice
Restart practice on the Meets tab starts a practice meet over: day 1 becomes today with the first event 30 minutes from now, and every check-in, call, umpire report, decision, shoe check and lap count is cleared. The events, athletes and test officials stay.
Archiving and deleting
You can archive a practice meet and restore it later. Only an admin can delete one, from Admin → the account → its meets. An admin can also use Recreate practice meets on the account's Support card to give it a fresh pair.
Setting up a meet
Setup is on the Meet Director, Head Clerk, Referee and Chief Umpire tabs, and each role sees only its own sections, in full-width rows:
- Meet Director: Meet, Data, Rulebook, plus line clerks and shoe check when clerking is off.
- Head Clerk: Meet, Data, Alerts, Call schemes, Officials.
- Referee: Meet, Data, Rulebook.
- Chief Umpire: Rulebook, then Umpiring officials & posts.
Meet
- Name of the meet.
- Competition days: add a day for each day of competition, give it a name and date, and reorder or delete days. The date keeps countdowns and the status board lined up.
- Use clerking in this meet: turn this off when the meet uses another clerking method. See When clerking is turned off.
- Combined Events Coordinators: turn on up to two coordinators and set each to Men, Women or Both. See Combined events.
- Reset call status for active day: clears every call mark on the day so calls can run again (for a rehearsal, say).
Shoe photos: set how many days shoe check photos are kept before they're deleted automatically.
Data
- Import meet program…: add or replace events from the meet program file (see the next section).
- Backup: export the whole meet to a file, or import a backup.
Alerts
How calls get your attention: the pop-up when a call is due, the chime, spoken calls, and Allow system notifications so calls show even when the app is in the background. Show a test pop-up checks it all on this device. Test clock lets you run the meet at a different time to rehearse; turn it off before competition.
Call schemes
A call scheme is the set of calls for an event and how many minutes before its start each one goes out. Two come built in:
- 60 / 45 / 15 / 5 min: 1st Call, 2nd Call, Report Time, Leave Clerking.
- 30 / 20 / 15 / 5 min: First Call, Second Call, Report Time, Leave Clerking.
Add your own with New scheme, rename calls, change the minutes, and choose which scheme each event uses.
Officials
Name the head clerks, clerks, line clerks and shoe check officials. Each named official gets their own access code on the Access tab, and clerks can be assigned to events on the Schedule.
Umpiring setup
Rulebook
The referee (or meet director) chooses WA, USATF or NFHS. Every report then cites the rule number for the infraction. Rule numbers can be adjusted and saved with Save rule numbers.
Umpiring officials & posts
The chief umpire names the referee, the chief umpire, the chief's assistant (optional), and each numbered umpire, then assigns each umpire a post for every track layout used (sprints, hurdles, distance, relays and so on). Save umpiring officials stores it. Each umpire's reports then fill in where they stood automatically. Umpires can also choose their number on their own device with Set my number.
Relay exchange zones
The relay layout includes the exchange zones used on each track size:
- Indoor 200m: one exchange zone.
- Outdoor 400m: up to three zones (back straight, 200m mark, home straight), depending on the relay.
Each common relay for the track size lists which zones it uses, so posts can be assigned to the exchanges that matter for that race.
Importing a meet program
- Choose Import meet program… in Setup → Data (or New from meet program on Meets).
- Paste the meet program text, or choose the file, and preview it. The preview lists each day's events with their heats or flights and athletes.
- Choose whether to add the events to the day or replace all events on that day, then import.
Replacing a day clears its check-ins and start-line staging. The app lists exactly what will be cleared and asks you to confirm with Replace and clear. Athletes who already competed in a contested heat aren't affected by a reseed.
Field events use flights; running events use heats. Give prelims and finals of the same event different event numbers in the program file, or their heats will be merged into one event.
Access codes
The Access tab gives every official a QR code and link that opens the meet on their device in their role. The meet must be shared live first.
- The top row has the Meet Director and Timing. Next come the Lead officials: Referee, Chief Umpire, and the Chief's Assistant when used. Below are clerking officials, umpires, shoe check and combined events coordinators.
- Tap Show large to display a code full-screen for scanning, or Copy link to send it by text or email.
- An official who scans a code is signed in to that meet only. They can't see or change your other meets.
Schedule
The Schedule lists the active day's events in start-time order, with their heats or flights, athletes, call scheme and assigned clerk.
- Edit an event: tap it to change its name, start time, call scheme, assigned clerk or line clerk, or delete it.
- Add an event for anything not in the meet program.
- Shift times…: move every event after a point earlier or later when the meet runs ahead or behind. Calls and countdowns follow.
- Sort by start time after manual changes.
Entering athletes (finals, semis and manual events)
Events with no athletes yet still appear on the Schedule. Open one and tap Enter athletes:
- Add a heat or flight, then use Find an athlete to pick athletes already in the meet program (by name, bib or team) and set their lanes or order.
- Remove heat / Remove flight deletes one you don't need.
- Save. Clerks, the line clerk and umpires see the athletes straight away.
Relay legs
For a relay team, enter the runners for each leg in running order. Umpires see the legs in order and pick the runner by leg when they report a foul on that team.
Live Calls
Clerking handles running events only. Field event athletes check in with the officials at their event, so field events get no calls, don't appear in Check-in or on the Start Line, and show as At the event on the status board. A combined events coordinator checks in every event they run, field events included.
Live Calls shows every call due on the active day, in order, with a countdown to each. When a call is due, a pop-up appears with the chime and, if voice is on, the call is read aloud.
- By call time or By event changes how the list is grouped. Jump to now scrolls to the current calls.
- Tap a call to mark it made. Undo reverses it.
- Snooze 1 min delays a pop-up. Skip marks a call as not needed.
- Clerks assigned to events see only those events; a head clerk sees all events.
Pause, resume and end the day
Pause the meet holds every countdown (for weather, say), and Resume the meet shifts the remaining times by the length of the pause. End the day when competition is done; Reopen day brings it back.
Check-in
Check-in lists each running event's athletes by heat. Tap an athlete to check them in. Other options:
- Scratch: the athlete won't compete.
- DNS: did not start.
- Late check-in: checked in after Report Time. The time and the clerk are recorded.
Search by name, bib or team, or switch between By event and All events. Counts at the top show checked in, scratched and still to come. Every change shows on the Start Line, the status board and umpire heat sheets.
Start Line
The line clerk stages each heat at the start. The next one is shown with each athlete's lane and check-in status.
- Stage this heat (or flight) when the athletes are at the line. Next heat › moves on.
- Skip this heat… if it isn't running. You can mark the athletes as skipped.
- Mark Scratch or DNS for athletes who don't come to the line. Umpires and timing see it on their sheets.
When clerking is turned off, the Start Line is still available to line clerks for marking Scratch and DNS.
Clerking notes and maps
Clerking Notes is a shared notepad for the clerking team: add sections for procedures, problems or reminders. The Day log records what happened on the day.
Maps holds facility maps (where clerking, the call room and each start are). Add a map image, rename it, replace the image or delete it. Everyone on the meet can view them.
Athlete Status
The status board follows every athlete from check-in to result: checked in, scratched or DNS, staged at the line, competed, any umpire call and its decision, and shoe check. Open field events show At the event, because their officials check athletes in there. Search by name, bib or team, or filter by event. The Meet Director and every umpiring role can see it.
Combined events
When combined events coordinators are turned on, every combined event in the meet program (heptathlon, decathlon, pentathlon and so on, including their field events) is run by the coordinators instead of clerking. Each coordinator is set to Men, Women or Both and sees those events.
- Events are listed in order of competition with their heats or flights from the meet program.
- Check in and Scratch athletes just like clerks do.
- Change an event's start time when needed. The new time shows on umpire sheets.
- Start now and Finish now record the actual start and finish times. Clear times resets them.
- Once the next event's start time is set, it shows a live countdown.
Shoe check
- Find the athlete by name, bib or team.
- Take or choose a photo of the shoe.
- For each of the athlete's events, mark the shoe Pass, Fail or N/A. An athlete with several events can pass for some and fail for others.
- Save photo.
Shot put, discus, hammer, weight throw and super weight throw don't need checking and are left out.
WA shoe checker: the World Athletics certification checker opens beside Shoe Check (the right half on tablets and computers; a toggle on phones) so you can look a shoe up while you record it. If it doesn't load inside the app, use its Open in new tab button.
Photos are deleted automatically after the retention period set in Setup. Remove this photo deletes one sooner.
The chief umpire, assistant and referee see every check on the Shoe Checks tab.
Umpire
- On Heats, choose the event and heat. The lanes show each athlete with bib and team, check-in status and any L already on record.
- To report an infraction, tap Report (the flag) on the athlete's lane.
- Choose the rule (for example lane infringement on the bend, obstruction, false start), where it happened, and add notes. For a relay, pick the runner by leg.
- For one-step lane infringements under WA or USATF, say whether it was 1 step — L or 2 or more steps — DQ (see The one-step L rule).
- Submit. The call goes to the chief umpire right away.
- When the heat is done, tap Done – next heat ›. If you saw nothing, that logs an "umpire OK" for the heat.
My Calls shows your reports and what happened to each. Withdraw my call takes one back before it's decided.
Chief umpire and assistant
The Review tab lists calls awaiting review. Open a call to see the umpire, post, rule, location, notes and history, then:
- Send to referee for a decision.
- No further action to close it.
- Record L – no DQ when it's a first one-step lane infringement.
The chief's assistant shares the same review queue, so two people can work through calls at busy times.
Referee
The Decisions tab has Needs a decision and Open protests.
- Open a call and choose Disqualify or No disqualification. For one-step calls the buttons read Record L – no DQ or Disqualify (2+ steps).
- Place under protest records a protest against a decision. Rule on the protest to uphold it (the decision changes) or Deny – decision stands.
Timing
The Results tab shows each event with its decisions: disqualifications, no-DQ outcomes, protests, umpire OKs, scratches and DNS from the start line, and Lane marks (any L in the event, including one carried in from an earlier round).
- Mark event final once every decision is in. If something changes afterwards, the event is flagged and can be Re-finalized.
- Reopen event takes it out of final.
All Calls
Every call in the meet with its status: reported, with the referee, closed, withdrawn, DQ or no DQ. Filter by event or status and open any call to see its full history.
The one-step L rule
Under WA rules 17.3.3 and 17.3.4 and USATF rule 163.5 (break lines excluded), a single step on or over the lane line or curb is marked L. The L follows the athlete into later rounds of the same event. Two or more steps in one round, or across all rounds combined, is a disqualification.
- The 1 step / 2 or more steps choice appears only when the rulebook is WA or USATF and the rule is a lane infringement on the bend, on the straight, or the curb.
- The athlete is matched by bib (or name and team), and relays by team. Rounds of the same event are matched by event name and gender, even with different event numbers.
- An L shows as a badge next to the athlete on umpire lane sheets, on call cards ("L · 1 step", or "2nd step → DQ"), in the call's history with links to every instance, and on timing's Lane marks.
- When an umpire reports a step for an athlete who already has an L, a banner warns them first.
- Calls closed with No further action, withdrawn calls, and DQs reversed on protest don't count toward the total.
Lap counting
Lap counters count the laps of individual athletes in races of 1500m and longer. Each counter works on their own phone, starts their own clock on the gun, and taps an athlete's next box every time that athlete crosses the finish line.
Setting up (meet director, referee or chief umpire)
- Open Lap Counting. Set the track size once for the meet: 200m, 300m, 400m or another lap distance.
- Under Lap counters, tap + Add a lap counter for each person available and enter their name. Each one gets an access code on the Access tab.
- Every race of 1500m and longer on the day is listed automatically (1500, 1600, mile, 3000, 3200, 2 mile, 5000, 10,000, steeplechase), with one card per heat. Shorter races can be added with Count another race, and any race can be turned off with Count laps in this race.
- For each race, set how many counters it needs and tap Auto-assign athletes to share the field across them, keeping lanes together. Or use + Add a counter to this race and tick each counter's athletes yourself. Pick who each counter is from the list. Two to five athletes per counter is usual.
- Check the warnings: athletes no counter is counting, an athlete given to two counters, or a counter with more than five athletes.
Number of crossings
The app works out how many times each athlete crosses the finish line from the race distance and the track size. On a 400m track: 1500m and mile 4, 3000m and 3200m 8, 5000m 13, 10,000m 25. On a 200m track: 1500m and mile 8, 3000m 15, 5000m 25. A start just behind the line, such as the mile's extra 9m, doesn't count as a lap. Change Crossings on a race card for a steeplechase or an unusual start; Use … (automatic) puts it back.
Counting (lap counter)
- Open the app from your access code (or choose Lap Counter and your name). Lap Counting lists your races for the day. Open the race before it starts.
- Each of your athletes has a column: bib or lane, name and team at the top, and below it a box for every crossing, counting down the laps to go, then 1 · Bell, then Finish.
- Tap Start on the gun. Your clock starts.
- Each time an athlete crosses the finish line, tap the highlighted box in their column. It records the time in the race and that lap's time, and the next box lights up. Only the next box responds, so a stray tap can't skip a lap. The phone vibrates briefly with each tap.
- Tapped the wrong athlete? Tap Undo at the top of their column. DNF stops counting an athlete who drops out.
- Tap Stop when all of your athletes have finished. If some haven't, the app asks first. Resume counting reopens it if you stopped too soon.
Your taps are saved on your phone as you go and sent to the meet as soon as there's a connection, so a dropped signal doesn't lose a lap. The note at the top right says Saved, Saving… or Offline – saved on this device. The screen stays awake while you count.
Lap charts (referee, chief umpire, timing)
On a counted race, Lap chart shows every athlete's time at each crossing and each lap's time, with who counted them. It flags an athlete stopped short of the full number of crossings, an athlete marked DNF, and any lap much faster than that athlete's others (a possible missed lap) or much slower (a possible extra tap). Export CSV saves the chart as a spreadsheet file. Times are measured from each counter's own Start.
When clerking is turned off
Turn off Use clerking in this meet (Setup → Meet) when another clerking method is used. Then:
- Clerk roles and the Live Calls, Check-in and Clerking Notes tabs are hidden.
- Line clerks keep the Start Line to mark Scratch and DNS for umpires and timing.
- Shoe check stays available.
- The meet director still adds athletes to finals and relay legs from the Schedule.
Accounts and signing in (hosted site)
- Meet staff create an account with email and password, or sign in with an email link. The first account ever created becomes the admin.
- Officials who scan an access code are signed in as a guest for that meet. They don't need an account.
- A suspended account can still sign in and look, but can't change anything until an admin lifts the suspension.
- New meets belong to the account that created them and appear on any device you sign in on.
Admin
Admins see an Admin button on their account card. The Admin screen lists every account (search, Export CSV). For each account you can:
- View meets: the meets it owns. Archive or Restore them, or Change owner.
- Suspend / Lift suspension, and Make admin / Remove admin.
- Read its Access log: suspensions, admin changes, support sessions, messages, owner changes, app errors and refused changes.
Helping an account
The account's Support card shows its email and sign-in method, meets, when it was last seen, the device and app version it last used, and any app errors. Tools:
- Open in support mode: opens their meet on your device with every role and tab, so you can see what they see and fix setup. An orange bar shows whose meet you're in. Setup check lists what's missing; End session removes their meet from your device and reopens yours. Viewing another account also ends the session.
- Send password reset email (hosted site).
- Send a message: appears on their Meets tab until they dismiss it.
- Assign a meet to this account.
- Recreate practice meets: adds a fresh pair of practice meets the next time they open the app. Practice meets also get a Delete button in the account's meet list.
Live sharing and working offline
- A shared meet syncs live: check-ins, staging, calls, decisions and schedule changes appear on every device within seconds.
- Every device keeps a full copy. If the connection drops, keep working; changes queue and go out when it returns.
- A meet that isn't shared stays on one device only.
- After an update, reload the page (or close and reopen the home-screen app) so the version number matches everyone else's.
Troubleshooting
- An official's access code doesn't open the meet.
- Make sure the meet is shared live (Meets → Share live), then send the code again from Access.
- Changes aren't showing on other devices.
- Check the header says shared. Check the device is online. Compare version numbers and reload any device that's behind.
- Calls aren't popping up or making sound.
- Turn on the sound and voice buttons in the header, then use Setup → Alerts → Show a test pop-up. Phones may mute sound in silent mode. Check that the Test clock is off.
- Events show at the wrong time.
- Check the day's date in Setup → Meet, and use Schedule → Shift times… if the meet is running ahead or behind.
- An event has no athletes.
- That's normal for finals and semis. Use Enter athletes on the Schedule.
- Reports don't show rule numbers.
- The referee hasn't chosen a rulebook yet (Setup → Rulebook).
- Still stuck?
- Tap Contact Support on the Meets tab.
Track Officialv1.2.2