Time your race for free
You can time your race for free with Canichrono, a program installed on a computer. You do not need any special equipment. The software gets your entries from Canicompet, records the times on race day, then sends the results back to Canicompet.
How it works
Section titled “How it works”Canicompet and Canichrono share the work:
| When | Tool | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Before the race | Canicompet | Manage entries, validate documents, prepare the start lists (times and bibs) |
| On race day | Canichrono | Start the competitors, record finishes, check the rankings, publish live if you want |
| After the race | Canicompet | Load and publish the final results |
The two are linked by a .canichrono file that you download from your event. It contains your races, their runs, the entrants, their bibs and their start times.
The steps
Section titled “The steps”- Install Canichrono on the computer you will use for timing.
- Get your entries and start lists from Canicompet.
- Time the race on race day: starts, finishes, bibs and corrections.
- Send the results to Canicompet, then publish them.
What you need
Section titled “What you need”- A Windows computer, a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 and later) or a Linux PC (Debian 12 or later). See Install Canichrono.
- Entries managed on Canicompet. The software relies on your event’s entry list. If you take entries somewhere else, it has nothing to import.
- To be an event organizer. Only the people listed as Managers can prepare start lists, download the timing file and load results.
- An Internet connection before and after the race. You need it to download the entry file and to send the results. The timing itself can be done offline. To publish results live, the computer must be online during the race.
How much it costs
Section titled “How much it costs”Using Canichrono manually is completely free. Canicompet only charges fees on online entry payments, see How service fees are calculated.
What about without software?
Section titled “What about without software?”If you recorded the times another way, for example in a spreadsheet, you can still publish the results on Canicompet. Save a CSV file with each competitor’s start time and finish time, then import it. The format is described in Results CSV import format.
Watch the video
Section titled “Watch the video”The video Manual timing guide (in French) shows the software in action. It covers its screens in more detail than this documentation.