2Timer
← Back to 2Timer

2Timer Help

Practical guides for humans, with structure that is easy for AI systems to parse.

Hand Timing with the Stopwatch

Purpose

Time a race with no chip system or photo-finish camera, then turn the captured times and the bib order from the chute into official, scored results. This is the normal path for small cross country and road meets timed by coaches and volunteers.

Prerequisites

  • Events exist for each race.
  • Athletes have bib numbers. Entries in the race are helpful but not required; the workflow below creates them when needed.
  • One device at the finish line with 2Timer open. A second device or a paper chute sheet records bibs in finish order.

The Three Steps

  1. Stopwatch captures a time for every finisher, in order.
  2. Apply Times writes those times onto the race as placed results.
  3. Apply Bib Numbers overlays the bib order from the chute onto those results so each time gets its runner.

Times and bibs are two separate lists. Either can be entered first, and either can be corrected later without disturbing the other.

Step 1: Time the Race

  1. Open Stopwatch in the meet navigation, or choose Tools → Stopwatch… on Entries with the race selected.
  2. Pick the race, name the session if you like, and set Start the clock at only if you are joining a clock already running, for example a meet clock reading 15:00.
  3. Press Start the Watch at the gun. If the race’s gun was already recorded with the Gun control, press Start the Watch from the gun instead: the watch picks up at the race’s elapsed time and keeps that gun.
  4. Each time a runner crosses, press Space or Capture a Time. Typing a bib number before the capture tags that line for your own reference; tags are stripped before the times are applied.
  5. Backspace removes the last capture if you pressed early.
  6. Press Enter or Stop the Watch when the last runner is in.

The watch is saved the moment it starts. You can leave the screen to do other work and pick the same running watch back up from Stopwatch Sessions. Several watches can run at once when races overlap, and the header shows how many are running.

If the starter recalls the field, stop the watch and choose to start again. If you stopped too early and a runner is still on the course, use Reopen the Watch on the Done step; it continues from the same gun.

Step 2: Apply the Times

  1. On the stopwatch Done step, choose Apply These Times. You can also start from Entries → Tools → Apply Times… and pick the session, paste times, or load a TXT, CSV, or TSV file.
  2. Review the preview. Each time is paired with a finish place. Where the race already has placed entries without times, the time fills that place; otherwise 2Timer creates an unidentified result at that place.
  3. When the times come from a stopwatch session, the review also offers to record the race start from the watch, since the watch was started at the gun. It is preselected when the race has no start yet and left unchecked when one is already recorded, with both times shown.
  4. Confirm. Places and the results status update immediately.

Step 3: Apply the Bib Order

  1. From the Apply Times Done step choose Next: Apply Bib Numbers, or use Entries → Tools → Apply Bib Numbers….
  2. Type or paste the bibs in finish order, one per line or separated by spaces, or load a file from the chute recorder.
  3. Review. Each bib appears beside its time and the athlete it resolves to. The review warns about a bib that resolves to an athlete of the other gender in a single-gender race, and blocks a bib that appears twice.
  4. If the bib list is shorter than the times, choose whether the remaining times keep their current identity or are cleared. Roster entries that already existed for these athletes are merged into their timed results; when 2Timer must ask what to do with rows it displaced, the recommended choice removes them.
  5. Confirm. Times and places stay put; identity is written onto each result.

Correcting a Mistake

  • A bib was missed or two were swapped: reopen Apply Bib Numbers, fix the complete list, and apply again. Times and places do not move.
  • A time was missed or an extra press slipped in: reopen Apply Times, insert or remove the line in its proper position, and apply the complete list again. Bibs and athletes stay attached to their places.

Verification Checklist

  • The Entries page for the race shows every finisher with a place, bib, name, and time.
  • The results status reads Unofficial and moves to Official after your quiet period, or when you set it.
  • XC Team Finisher List shows the expected scorers and displacers for each team; incomplete teams are listed with their finisher count.
  • Stopwatch Sessions shows the session as stopped, not running.

Metadata

  • Last Updated: 2026-09-05
  • Product Release: V1
  • Status: Active