Planning Meet Participation

THIS_HELP_ARTICLE_URL: https://raceapp.nethelp/planning-meet-participation

The Event Planner lets you plan event assignments for meets you’re attending – away meets, league meets, invitationals. Instead of paper grids and retyping, you assign events on your phone at practice and print or share when you’re done.

Creating a Planned Meet

From your team page, tap New Activity and choose Planned Meet (as opposed to a hosted meet). This is for meets someone else is hosting – you’re just planning your team’s entries.

Fill in: - Meet name and date - Events your team will compete in - Divisions (varsity, JV, etc.) - Max entries per event (from the host’s entry limits) - Max events per athlete (your own limit, if any)

This takes about 2 minutes. You can always edit later.

Assigning Events

Open the meet and you’ll see the planner grid: athletes down the left, events across the top.

On your phone at practice: 1. Find the athlete (search or scroll) 2. Tap event cells to assign or unassign 3. Counters at the top of each column show how many entries you’ve used vs. the max 4. A counter next to each athlete name shows how many events they’re in

The grid works on any phone, tablet, or computer. No app to install – it’s just the website.

Tips for the practice workflow: - Pull up the planner on your phone while talking to athletes - Work through the roster one athlete at a time - Use the attendance toggle first (Going / Not Going / Needs Ride) so you know who to assign - Check the counters before finalizing – they’ll warn you if you’re over the limit

Tracking Attendance & Transportation

Tap an athlete’s name to toggle their status: - Going – they’re attending the meet - Not Going – they’re out - Needs Ride – they need transportation - No Response – default, they haven’t confirmed

At the bottom of the planner, you’ll see a summary: - How many athletes are going - Who needs a ride (with names) - Who hasn’t responded

This replaces the “who’s coming Wednesday?” group text.

Sharing with Families (Optional)

If you want families to set their own availability:

  1. Go to your team settings and find the Family Invite section
  2. Copy the invite link or code
  3. Share it with families (text, email, team app – whatever you use)

Families sign in with Apple or Google. No account to create, no password to remember. They claim their athlete and can:

  • Set availability for each meet (going, not going, needs ride)
  • Set availability for the whole season at once
  • Request events they’d like their athlete to do
  • View the team schedule

Event requests show up in your planner grid as suggestions. You still make the final assignments.

This is completely optional. The planner works great without family participation. It’s most useful for middle school programs where parents are more involved in logistics.

Importing Your Roster

You don’t have to enter athletes manually. Import directly from: - Athletic.net – search for your team and import the full roster - MileSplit – same process

The import pulls athlete names and grade levels. Takes about 30 seconds.

Printing Assignments

When you’re ready for race day, tap Print to get a clean assignment sheet. It shows: - Each athlete and their assigned events - Attendance status - Transportation needs

I still want paper in my hands at the meet. The print view is designed for that.

Instead of (or in addition to) printing, you can share a live link to the meet assignments. Athletes and families can see: - What events they’re assigned to - The full team schedule - Attendance summary

The link stays up to date as you make changes, so last-minute swaps are automatically visible.

Tips

  • Set up all your season’s meets at once. It takes 10-15 minutes and saves time all season.
  • Use family participation for middle school. Parents at this level are usually more involved in logistics and appreciate being able to set availability without texting you.
  • For high school, work directly with athletes. You probably don’t need family participation – just assign events at practice.
  • Print the transportation summary separately if you need to hand it to a parent volunteer coordinating rides.
  • Check the “no response” list a few days before each meet and follow up with those families/athletes.