Waves and start times

How to add start waves to a race and how Breaktape uses wave start times to work out each runner's own time.

Big races often start in groups, called waves. Adding your waves to Breaktape means each runner is placed in the right wave, and when your timing file only has a gun time, Breaktape can still work out each runner's own time.

How waves work in Breaktape

Waves belong to a race. Positions still count across the whole race, not per wave.
Each wave has a name and, ideally, a start time.
Runners are placed in a wave when the wave column in your file matches the wave's name.
The race's start time is the first start. If the race has no start time, the earliest wave start is used instead.

Add a wave

Go to Events, open the event and select Race settings on the race.
Scroll to Start waves. If there are none yet, it says "No waves: everyone starts together."
Under Add a wave, enter the Wave name, like Wave A or Blue.
Enter the time it set off under Starts, using the 24-hour clock, like 09:20.
Select Add wave.

Repeat for each wave. They're listed in the order you add them.

Change a wave

Select Change next to the wave, edit its name or start time, then select Save wave. Select Cancel to leave it as it was.

Waves can't be removed once they're added, as runners may already be placed in them. If you added one by mistake, rename it to something you'll recognise and don't use it in your file.

Gun times and wave starts

Your timing company may give you a chip time (each runner's own time, from crossing the start mat) and a gun time (from the race's first start). Breaktape always prefers the chip time.

If a file has a gun time but no chip time, Breaktape takes off the time between the first start and the runner's wave start. For example, if the race started at 09:00 and Sam Okafor's wave set off at 09:20, a gun time of 4:05:00 becomes a time of 3:45:00 on his medal.

For this to work, the race needs its waves with start times, and the file needs a wave column. If Breaktape can't tell when a runner's wave started, the row gets a Gun time only warning: their time would include the wait before their wave set off. Add the wave start times to the race, or ask your timing company for chip times, then upload the file again.

Good to know

Use exactly the same wave names in Breaktape as in your file, such as "Wave A" in both. A name in the file that isn't set up for the race gets a Wave we can't match warning, and that runner imports without a wave.
Start times are read on the edition's time zone, on the edition's first day.
Set up waves before you import results. Changing a wave start afterwards doesn't change times already imported.
Only admins and editors can add or change waves.

Next in Events and racesAge policy and under-13s

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