Introduction
Creating an Event Series in Athlinks is a simple way to offer Series type results to athletes looking to pit their skills against the best of the best. A Series in Athlinks will allow you to give Results for individual Events and total Results for all events within the Series.
You will need to be logged into your Athlinks Company to complete the below process. If you do not yet have access to a Company in Athlinks, please contact esupport@chronotrack.com (US) or eusupport@chronotrack.eu (EU) with the name of your company and what region/area/state you time in to get an account set up.
Creating a Series
Navigate to start.athlinks.com and log in. Click your company name and select Add Race Series. The Series creation process consists of three sections.
Series Details
- On the next page, set the Series Name and Description for the series rules.
- Next, specify the Maximum number of races that earn an athlete points in the Series. Points are a system within Athlinks that gives athletes a new plane of competition to operate on within Athlinks that goes beyond single Events or Series. An Athlete's accumulated Points are displayed on their Athlinks profile as a badge of honor. They are a measure of a seasoned runner.
Points may also be used to determine Race and Series winners in Athlinks events. - If you would like to enforce a Minimum number of races an athlete must compete in for the series, enter the number. This should not be higher than the total number of Races within the Series. Athletes who do not complete the specified number of races will not be given a Series ranking.
- Now, select how you define age groups for the series. Since the bracket scheme for each race in a series may differ slightly, Series follow their own bracket scheme to avoid calculation errors. Options currently include: 5-Year Age Groups, 10-Year Age Groups, 1-29 and 30+ Age Groups, and 1-39 and 40+ Age Groups.
There are currently no mechanics in place to eliminate double-dipping. If you are using the Series standings to give awards and want to eliminate double-dipping, you should carefully note double dippers manually. - Select a Participation Mode. The options are None, Rolling Registration, and Users must opt into series.
None - doesn't place any requirements on athletes for them to receive a Series ranking
Rolling Registration - Athletes must register for the Series before points can begin counting toward the Series. If the athlete participated in an event in the series prior to opting into the series, any points they may have earned will not count toward the Series.
Users must opt into Series - athletes must opt into the Series by contacting the Series director. - How would you like to score this event? provides four options: Highest Score Wins, Lowest Score Wins, Cumulative Time, and Best Time.
How to Calculate Points
This section allows you to fine-tune your points at every step of the way including using different points rules for Overall, Gender, and Age Group finishes. Use any combination of the options on the three tabs to determine how Athlinks assigns points.
Each of the available tabs offers three options:
- Points are assigned evenly based on finish place - if you select this option, set the number of Points that will be awarded to the first place finisher, then enter the number of Points to subtract from/add to each successive place.
- Points are calculated based on a % of best finish time - if you select this option, enter the number of Points to be awarded to the first place finisher. The number of Points awarded to each successive finisher is determined on the percentage of the time difference from the top finisher.
- Award Specific Points To Top X Finishers - If you selected this option, enter the number of Finishers who should receive Points. The top finisher will get Points equal to this number, and each successive Finisher will get that number, minus 1.
Step 3 - How many divisions or groups will there be in your series?
Divisions are used primarily for Teams in the Series. Add the number of Divisions or Groups you will need using the Add Another link, and title them appropriately.
When you are finished with all of the above configurations, click Save Race Series.
You will be directed to the Race Series Dashboard. Now that you have a Series created, you can Add Events to the Series.