2025 British Masters Indoors: Championship Management with OpenTrack
OpenTrack's Competition Management System can take major championships to the next level
No matter the time of year, we’re always hard at work delivering improvements to OpenTrack’s Competition Management System (CMS), and we’re always thrilled when organisers using it are able to deliver a top-tier experience for their competitors.
Last weekend’s British Masters Indoor Championships was no exception, with 650 athletes taking to the track at Lee Valley Athletics Centre to contest national titles.
In this update:
Competition Management, Simplified
Best of the Action
Giving Officials the Easy Life
As one of the best examples of the ease of managing a competition end-to-end on OpenTrack, having used our CMS for entries and results since 2018, we’re thrilled to highlight the competition’s success.
Below we’ll highlight some of the best bits, and hear quotes directly from British Masters Athletics Federation Chairman, Peter Kennedy, on how OpenTrack made life easy at one of their major championships.
Competition Management, Simplified
Collecting entries from nearly 700 athletes, communicating with them, and managing their competition experience from first check-in to final finisher can involve a vast amount of admin, but this doesn’t have to be the case.
At the BMAF Indoor Championships, almost all of OpenTrack’s CMS features were in use, making life easier for organisers, competitors, and spectators alike.
Entries
With all entries taken through OpenTrack, there was no need to worry about athletes being placed in the wrong events, or miscalculating their own age group.
“Competition entry is simple and quick for those of any age, from 35 to 90+, including payment by credit card, either by themselves or with the help of family or friends. We get many last-minute entries as a result.
“Automated checks on UKA registration ensure the Home Country Athletics Federations do not miss out on their entitlement, and automated checks on masters club membership means easy access to members’ discounts.
Competition Support
With so much to do in advance of a major competition, we’re on hand to provide expert support throughout, taking the stress out of getting ready for the big day.
After entries closed, OpenTrack’s detailed competition downloads gave a clear picture of entries, competitors, and events, and allowed final planning to take place.
“Entries close 12 days before the competition, and the provisional timetable has to be fine-tuned into a final version which allows the track to be in constant use, and field officials scheduled to match the entries in each event/age category, with as few clashes of events for the athletes as possible.
“OpenTrack then only has a few days to translate the final timetable into more than a hundred events covering one or more age categories, with all the athletes assigned to the new events. OpenTrack provides the tools to make this feasible with no errors.”
Online check-ins, seeding, and results
Just a few days before the competition, event check-ins were turned on, and OpenTrack’s built-in mailing features allowed competitors to check in online, reducing admin on the day.
During the competition itself, officials benefitted from live seeding based on competition check ins, and full photofinish integration with TimeTronics delivering results live to the devices of spectators in the stadium and much further afield.
“Online check-in, similar to taking a flight, makes the excuses that ‘I was delayed in traffic’ or ‘I missed the bus’ almost a thing of the past, and athletes can still get to the call room in time for their event.
“At the beginning of the first day, we had a short queue of athletes waiting to register, a few of whom still needed to check-in. This was handled by three people initially, dropping down to just one for the rest of the weekend, leaving the second person free to enter field results, with track results handled automatically by photofinish, and the third person deployed elsewhere.
“OpenTrack allows track events to be optimised to take account of the numbers checked in, heats/finals scheduled and lane draws assigned automatically according to the expected performance of each athlete.
“Paperwork was minimised, medals presented promptly after each event, and anyone with access to the internet was able to track the progress of the competition almost as quickly as the announcer and the athletes themselves.”
Best of the Action
As for the actual competition itself, in the most competitive of age groups, the M60s, 18 men contested the 1500 metres across a pair of A/B finals, and Robert McHarg, fresh from breaking the world 800 metre record in the age group the weekend prior, came top of the pile.
Carving more than six seconds from an existing world record of 4:26.62 held since 2014 by Brian Lynch, the Scottish Veteran Harrier ran 4:20.32 for the win, just ahead of rival and fellow record breaker Andrew Ridley.
The women’s W50+ 1500 metres contained equally impressive performances, though this time not from regular record-breaker Clare Elms.
Placing fifth in the W60 and up race, Sarah Roberts is in stellar form in her first indoor season as a W75, and her sub-6 minute clocking saw her take nearly 50 seconds off the previous world record of 5:58.15 at the distance.
Giving Officials the Easy Life
We’re delighted that the championships went so well, and there’s always more to come, as we continue to develop our CMS.
Whilst athletes’ competition experience is key, just as important is keeping officials happy and stress-free, and so we’ll leave the final word to the organisers on just that.
“Not only did the athletes enjoy their weekend, but the officials had a rewarding two days in keeping everything running smoothly and the meeting manager could smile and breathe a sigh of relief that everything had gone according to plan, finishing on time.
“This gives us a strong loyalty from our officials, whether they are the most experienced or still learning how events should be managed.”
Peter Kennedy
Chairman, British Masters Athletics Federation
We’re thrilled that the British Masters Athletics Federation continue to trust us with helping deliver their championship programme, and we know that OpenTrack could help you bring the best of competition management to athletes at your next meeting — just let us know if you want to take the first steps.
As always, if you have any feedback, requests, or want help bringing your athletics into the 21st century, feel free to get in touch at info@opentrack.run.