PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Copyright (c) 2000  by Lab Software Associates

How to Find Out if the Touchpad Time is Valid

• 1. Compare the touch-pad time with the back-up button time to find the difference.
  Most automatic timing system printouts can be set to show a star ( * ) if the difference in these times is .30 seconds or more ( >.30 seconds.)
  See below if two buttons are used.
  The touch-pad time is the official time if this difference is less than 0.30 seconds ( <.30 seconds. )

• 2. If the difference in (1.) is >.30 seconds, compare the touch-pad time to the intermediate (middle) watch time, or average watch time if less than three watches.
  
  If this difference is <.30 seconds the touch-pad time is the official time.

• 3. If the difference in (2.) is >.30 seconds then compare the button time with the intermediate watch time. If this difference is <.30 seconds, calculate, for each of the other lanes, the difference between the button time and touch-pad time.
  
  Use the average of these differences to adjust the back-up button time to obtain the official time for the lane in question, as described in the USA Swimming Rules and NCAA Rules.

The SwimMeet program will do it for you if you highlight the pad time that needs correcting and choose the Correct Time button.

• 4. If the touch-pad is missed on a turn during the race, the last "split" time shown by the automatic timing system may be the final touch-pad time and can be confirmed by comparison with the Secondary (button) or Tertiary (intermediate manual watch) times.
  
  This can happen if the system operator did not notice and adjust for a missed turn touch. In this case, the final pad time shown is often as the swimmer climbs out the pool.

• 5. The biggest problem arises when all comparisons of times give a difference >.30 seconds. Check whether the three manual watch times are close, in which case use the intermediate watch times as the back-up time and calculate the official time as described in (3.)

In the SwimMeet program, you can type the intermediate watch time in each lane in the backup time column, highlight the incorrect pad time and choose the Correct Time button as before.

Note:

1. If you have more than one lane to correct, correct those you can from the backup buttons, then correct those where you have to type in the watch times as backups.
   
2. If the watch times vary, ask the lane timers for any additional information they may have. Then it will be necessary to speak directly to the Referee to determine the method to be used in this specific case to find the official time.
   
3. Do not "mix'n'match" times. Don't use a backup button time or an intermediate watch time to replace an incorrect pad time, without correcting per the USS rules. If too many times in an event need correcting, the Referee can choose to use the intermediate watch time without correction for all the times in the entire event.
   
4. Remember you are trying to allow for a missed pad and therefore you should not be trying to adjust a pad time that is faster than the button or watch times unless you believe that the timing system operator missed seeing a double touch, for example, when a relay swimmer exits the pool, or the timing system was started late.
   

   PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS cont'd (2)

5. If you notice that the button times or the watch times are consistently slower than the pad times, you should ask the Referee to check that the timing system cable is plugged in the correct socket in the starting system.

The Referee has the final say in any timing system correction and you should review how you will handle it with him/her before the races start.

Suggestion :
   Take the USA Swimming Timing Judge test for a better understanding!
   Take-home, open-book test you can obtain from the Officials Chairman

Example: When the Differences are Not All Positive

• To compute the average difference:
• sum the differences that are <.30 seconds taking into account the signs:
           +0.15 - 0.06 + 0.16 + 0.22 + 0.16 = +0.63;
• compute the average:     +0.63 divided by 5  = +0.126;
  (5 is the number of "good" lanes in the sum of the differences)
• and drop the digits after 100ths to give +0.12 as the average difference.
• Thus, the official time for lane 3 is      +0.12 + 31.74 = 31.86.

* note that, although in this lane the two watch times are 0.60 different, the average confirms both the pad and button time.
One of the watch times confirms the pad time, while the other watch time confirms the button time.

If two buttons are used

The method described above for a single backup button, can be adapted as follows if two buttons are used for backup purposes.
1. The Colorado 4000/5000 systems will show the average of the two buttons as the backup.

2. If only one button value is obtained, the backup is not calculated by the Colorado system. You can compare the single button time to the pad time in the same way as if only one was used by typing that single backup button time in the backup column. If they are consistent the pad time is the official time.
Go back to the beginning of this explanation to proceed.

3. If the average backup time does not confirm the pad time, you can compare the two backup buttons to one another. If the two buttons are consistent and agree with the watch times, the average backup button is confirmed and the pad is in error. Use the timing system correction in Meet 5.7 to calculate the official time from the average button backup.

4. If the two backup times are not consistent but one is consistent with the pad time, the pad time is OK

5. If the two button times are not consistent with one another, nor with the pad time, but one button is consistent with the watch times, type that button time in the backup column to use as the backup time and make the timing system correction.

PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS cont'd (3)

When the timing system fails by starting late

1. When the timing system starts late and so all the times are wrong (too fast) but show the consistent order of finish, you calculate the official times by finding the average difference between the pad times and the backup watch times over all lanes in that heat. Add that average difference to each pad time to find the official times.

A computer program exists to calculate these times.  It is called HeatMalfunc.exe 
This program is located among the files in the c:\swim4\Help folder.
In Explorer, doubleclick the HeatMalfunc.exe program's file name to operate it..
It does not currently print the the times nor transfer them to the Results screen.

Type the pad times and both watch times in the appropriate columns for each lane.
If you use a single watch use just the one watch in a single column.
If you have three watch times type only the the middle watch time in a single column.

Our thanks to the Dettloff's of Raleigh Swimming Association of NC.

2. If any pad time is not confirmed by the backup button time(s) but is confirmed by the watch time then you can use the pad time from that lane  in the average difference calculation.

3. If any pad time is not confirmed by the backup button time(s), nor by the watch time(s), then you cannot use the pad time from that lane in the average difference calculation.

4. To calculate the time for the lane in 3. obtain and type in the   official times in the other lanes using the calculation according to 1. above. Then use the Meet5.7 program's timing system adjustment correction with the watch times typed in the backup column to obtain the official time in that lane by use of the Correct Time button.

When the Timing System Does Not Start at All

If the timing system does not start at all, you will have no pad times nor any back-up buttons. You will only have back-up watch times. These times should not be integrated with the pad times from other heats in the same event until they have been adjusted.

You can calculate an average adjustment by looking at the heat immediately before and after the missing heat, in the same event, and calculation the average adjustment for those heats from the pad and watch times in each lane.

However if you find that those two heats do not have consistent adjustment factors, you should also consider the two heats immediately before and after the missing heat to see if you can establish a consistent adjustment factor.

Be prepared to explain how you decided on the timing system adjustment.
If you cannot decide or find it difficult to explain, ask other experienced officials at the meet for input.

Once you have found the adjustment, you should add it to the "middle" watch times in all lanes of the heat with missing Colorado times to find the Official Times for each lane.

PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS cont'd (4)

"Go to the Watch Times?"

If you find that you are getting a lot of "missed pads" as often happens in a Backstroke event with very young age groups, you should consider whether or not to ignore the Pad and Button times for the whole event and to calculate the Official Times  using the "middle" watch time.

Remember if you do this and the meet is fast, some of those times will not then be eligible for certain records.

Also if you do use only watch times to obtain the Official times, you should still look at the order of finish for any "good" pad times to make sure you are consistent with that order.

Note: If the operator writes on a Colorado Timing Sheet "Use Watch Times", don't take his/her word for it!
Investigate!

The Referee may have indicated that you should adjust the times using the watch times as backup times if the heat was started late but don't assume that.

Do not "mix'n'match" heats of watch times with heats of pad times for Official Times within a single event.