What is a Computed Field?

Computed Fields are additional fields computed by RaceDay Scoring that are added to existing data sets to be used in Reports. They allow the handling of additional data beyond just Participant Information and any Chip Read Times for a Participant.


There are two types of Computed Fields - Automatic and Custom.


Automatic Fields are generated automatically based on a Race’s configuration. Examples of Automatic Fields are as follows:

  • Chip Times

  • Gun Times

  • Segment Times

  • Paces

  • Cumulative Segment Times and Paces


Custom Fields are user-defined fields that can be created as a way to write a custom Function to calculate some data to use for Reports.


Why Create a Computed Field?

Creating a Computed Field is a useful way to create Data Fields that can be filtered and sorted on in scoring and reporting - in this instance the Computed Field will be used to create a field that for the difference between the first and second half of a course, allowing for easy identification of anyone who ran a suspiciously fast second half of the course, or “negative split”.


Without a Computed Field for this process, there would be a fair amount of manual evaluation necessary, and using an “eye test” on results sets takes a fair amount of time and leaves room for error.


Why Create a Split Difference Report?

A Split Difference report is a way to see who sped up between two segments of the course - depending on the physical layout of the course, it is possible that participants may - intentionally or unintentionally - cut the course, drop down in distance, or otherwise not run the correct route; a Split Difference report will help identify these individuals. 


This particular setup will be used for a course with split halfway through it, meaning that this report is looking to evaluate runners who ran faster the second half than the first half. By using a Computed Field it’s possible to sort on who had the greatest improvement in time on the second half of the course rather than sorting by finish time or split time alone. This prevents slower participants from being left out of this evaluation and helps produce accurate results for each event and age group.


What is needed prior to creating this Computed Field?

To set up a Split Difference report, more than one split is necessary for comparison. Please refer to this guide on how to create an additional segment for help setting up segments if need be. For the example below, a single split on the course will be used to create two segments: 

  • One for the first half of the course (Start Occurrence 1 to Half Occurrence 1)

  • One for the 2nd half of the course (Half Occurrence 1 to Finish Occurrence 1)


Creating the Computed Field

Computed Fields can be found under Scoring -> Computed Fields.


From here, Automatic Fields can be viewed (though not edited) and Custom Fields can be created or edited using the Add/Edit Custom Fields button.


This Split Difference report example uses a subtraction operation, as the end goal is to create a field that shows the difference in time it took to run the second half of the course. 


When adding a Computed Field there is a prompt to name both the Computed Field and the Field Label. The Field Label is the name that will appear as the default column header for this field in reporting and searching for fields in filters and reports.

Add Display Version should be selected, as the resulting Computed Field would be in millisecond (necessary for sorting and computation), but that is not as useful for viewing as standard time formats are for most timers.



Because this is a fairly straightforward example, no transformations of the data are going to be used and only Existing Fields will be operated on. In this case, the subtraction operation is (Value1 - Value2), or (2nd Half Chip Time - 1st Half Chip Time). Keep in mind that this setup assumes a Chip Start, and that Chip Time should be used for this operation, as using a clock time would potentially skew the resulting computation. 



Once this is completed, there will be two Custom Fields created - one that is is milliseconds, and one that is standard time format.


Creating the Split Difference Report

The first step of building a Split Difference report is to create a new report using an Overall Section. More information on creating new reports can be found HERE.


The Split Difference Report is most useful if it shows the participant’s information, first half split, second half split, and the Split Diff computed field that was built earlier.


The report should then be sorted to show the participants with the greatest NEGATIVE difference between the second and first half of the course - those who ran FASTER on the second half of the course. This is done by sorting the computed field in millisecond (Split Diff (ms)) ascending. The “(ms)” version of the computed field must be used for this sort to work properly.


The resulting output will look like this:


Timers may then use this to assess whether or not a participant needs to be moved, disqualified, or if further assessment is necessary on a participant’s time.