Roster Athletics Check-in is a universal concept for many competitions (across all levels) used by organizers/organisers to verify entries before the event starts. As an organizer/organiser, you can decide if you want to enable check-in by the organizer/organiser or the ability for self-check-in by participants using the Roster Athletics app.


This guide is divided into the following sections below:



Enable check-in


To get started, first enable the athlete check-in feature for your competition by selecting MEETS/MEETINGS → Details → General → Check-in and selecting one of three following options:

  • Organizer/Organiser only - the organizer/organiser checks in athletes using Roster web admin.
  • Organizer/Organiser & participant - adds the ability for self-check-in by participants using the Roster Athletics app,
  • Organizer/Organiser & participant with verification - adds the ability for self-check-in by participants using the Roster app only through entering a numerical code or scanning a QR code.



Once enabled and saved, a new menu option called Check-in appears on the far left-hand side. In addition, a Check-in start and Check-in deadline columns will appear in the schedule.



Setting up check-in start and deadline times


To set check-in start and deadline times, go to the Schedule page. By default, the check-in start time is 4 hours and the deadline time is 1 hour prior to the event start time. This means that athletes shall check in no earlier than four hours and later than one hour before the event starts. In the Check-in start and Check-in deadline columns, you can change the default value by either (i) adjusting the applicable time by clicking on the plus and minus icons or (ii) typing the time in the Days, Hours and Minutes fields.




Check-in


Once the check-in starts and deadlines are set, and athletes are on the start lists, you are ready for check-in. Click on the Check-in menu for the view where you can manage the checking in of athletes.



You can change the view depending on whether you want to sort participants by their names (By participants) or by the event (By Events). 


If you select sorting by participants, you can filter the list by typing the athlete/relay name or BIB number and selecting club/school or team (if team competition is enabled) from the list.


If you select sorting by events, the sorted events will appear on the lower right hand side below the filtering options, from which you can then choose the specific event. You can additionally filter by event name and decide how to sort events (by name, by start time or by check-in deadline). Note that filtering by event title is not an option here.


For both views, you can also decide whether to sort participants by first name or last name.



To check in, click on the checkmark icon. If the athlete is not present, click on the second icon. An athlete will get SCR (scratched) status on the start list and be excluded from seeding.



You can change the status in groups depending on the selected view. If you have selected sorting by participants, clicking on the three dots icon will allow you to check in an athlete for a.) all events, b.) scratch the athlete from all events or c.) mark all events as pending. If you selected sorting by events, clicking on the three dots icon will allow you to check in or scratch all athletes on the list in bulk.



Please note: Participants that have results cannot be scratched.



Printing a QR code for app check-in


If you select Organizer/Organiser & participant with verification when enabling check-in in the competition details, you can print the code by pressing the Print code button.



Remember to print the code and put it in a visible place at the venue. Users of the Roster Athletics app must enter either the numerical and/or QR code to check in. For more information on how to check in using the mobile app, see the How to link athlete profiles for mobile check-in guide.


Please note: Users can edit their check-in status until the check-in deadline.



Additional information


By default, all scratched athletes are excluded from appearing on the FinishLynx timing system start lists. To change this, go to MEETS/MEETINGS → Details → Timing system integration, and in the Exported participants, select All. Please see the FinishLynx integration guide for more detail.


By default, all scratched athletes are visible in public materials such as PDF files, scoreboards and public results (consumer app and website). To change this, go to MEETS/MEETINGS → Details → Extra, and in the Scratched visibility, select Hidden.


For events with multiple stages, check-in always applies to the summary of the lowest stage.


A scratch in the first child event of a combined event also causes a scratch in the parent event. Scratch in other child events will change the parent's status to DNF.


You can toggle between Check-in, Start lists, and Results by clicking the two arrow icon and selecting a view from the list.



If the Check-in feature is enabled, you will see the athletes' check-in statuses directly on the start list (the statuses will only be visible in summary for the lowest stage of the event).


To see the history of check-in changes with information on who and when the status is changed, click the last icon in the athlete row.