SwimTopia Mobile displays a Live Bar that keeps you up-to-date on what’s happening in real time. The Live Bar is invaluable if you can’t see clearly from your volunteer position, or you’re home with the siblings and trying to time your arrival. You’ll never miss an event again!
Covered in this Article:
- Locating the Event/Heat Updater in SwimTopia Mobile
- What is required to use the SwimTopia Live feature?
- How to Enable SwimTopia Live
- Multi-Session or Virtual Meets
Locating the Event/Heat Updater in SwimTopia Mobile
The Event/Heat Updater is found under the key icon in the mobile app on the Heat/Event Updates screen.
>>Note: The key icon will only be visible to members with full admin privileges (denoted by a crown symbol in SwimTopia) or partial permissions to “Manage” Event Heat Updates (details below).
What is required to use the SwimTopia Live feature?
If your team performs a few simple steps to enable SwimTopia Live before and day of a meet, the SwimTopia mobile app displays the Live Event/Heat bar for your team’s parents who have downloaded the app.
The home team admins assign a volunteer to update the mobile app with the current event and heat throughout the meet (or create a job for parents to sign up during registration or for each meet).
>>Note: Updates occur automatically when using CTS Dolphin timing system v5+.
The visiting team can view the Live Event/Heat Bar by logging into their SwimTopia account on the app (if a SwimTopia customer), or using the free Guest Mode Access (as long as the meet is configured to be accessible in the Public Meet Search by a team admin from the "home" team that merged the meet).
>>Note: The Home team admin may need to provide a subscriber code found on their Event/Heat Updater screen for the visitor admin to add to their screen if the meets are not already linked. (details below)
How to Enable SwimTopia Live
➧ Before The Meet
Step ①: Spread the Word
Be sure to tell your team members and the visiting team's admin about SwimTopia’s free mobile app, available for iOS in the App Store and for Android in the Google Play Store. ➞ See our Tools to Inform Parents about SwimTopia’s Mobile App article.
Step ②: Assign a Volunteer (if needed)
➧ If your team uses CTS Dolphin v5+ timing system:
You won't need a volunteer since Dolphin v5+ will integrate with Meet Maestro to automatically update the Live Event Heat Bar. Skip to Step 3.
➧ If your team does not use CTS Dolphin v5+ timing system:
You’ll need a volunteer to update the events and heats.>>Tip: You could create a job for “Event/Heat Updater” in each swim meet and let team members sign up for one of the easiest jobs at the meet.
Ensure the volunteer assigned has the necessary admin privileges.
To access the Event/Heat Update area of the mobile app a team member must have either full admin privileges (denoted by a crown symbol in SwimTopia) or partial permissions to “Manage” Event Heat Updates.
To assign a team member partial permissions:
- Add a “New Role” called “Event/Heat Updater” or similar.
- Define the Role’s permissions by checking “Some administrative permissions”, then check “Manage” next to “Event Heat Updates.” Click Create to save the Role.
- Assign the Role to the volunteer signed up for the job by “Adding” them to the Role.
➧ Day Of The Meet
Step ③: Get the SwimTopia Visiting Team On Board
Locate the scenario below that aligns with your meet:
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➧ Scenario 1: All teams ARE SwimTopia customers AND the meet schedule was created via a league schedule import
If your meet schedule was imported by SwimTopia, you and the visiting team(s) should already be linked and no further action is needed.
Each team admin or event/heat updater volunteer can confirm this by logging into their account on the app, clicking on the meet, clicking the key icon at the top, selecting Event/Heat Updates, and seeing if the Linking Status says Visitor or Publisher. ➞ See the Linking Meets steps if "Not Linked" displays.
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➧ Scenario 2: All teams ARE SwimTopia customers AND the meet schedule was NOT imported
Question: Is Meet Maestro being used to run the meet?
If so, the meets should already be linked. Each team admin or event/heat updater volunteer can confirm this by logging into their account on the app, clicking on the meet, clicking the key icon at the top, selecting Event/Heat Updates, and seeing if the Linking Status says Visitor or Publisher. ➞ See the Linking Meets steps if "Not Linked" displays.
If not, linking is required. The home team will share a subscriber code with the visiting team to activate the Live Bar for their team’s parents. ➞ See the Linking Meets steps below.
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➧ Scenario 3: The Visiting team IS NOT a SwimTopia customer
Question: Is Meet Maestro being used to run the meet?
If so, the visiting team members will access the meet as a Guest (Continue as Guest button on app).
If not, the visiting team will not have access to the Live bar. ➞ learn how Meet Maestro can enhance your meet day experience!
>>Note: For a meet to show up in the Public Meet Search, the meet MUST be using SwimTopia's Meet Maestro meet management software AND the “Public Meet Search” option must be explicitly enabled by a team admin under the Mobile App settings in Meet Maestro (disabled by default). ➞ See Meet Maestro Settings - Mobile App for more details.
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➧ Scenario 4: The Home team IS NOT a SwimTopia customer
The Live Event/Heat bar is not available in this scenario since our app has no knowledge of this meet. ➞ learn how Meet Maestro can enhance your meet day experience!
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➧ Scenario 5: Your team is only using SwimTopia's Meet Maestro meet management solution (not SwimTopia's team management product)
The home and visiting team members will access the meet as a Guest (Continue as Guest button on app). ➞ See Scenario 3 above.
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➧ LINKING MEETS
If your meets have not yet been linked: Connect with an admin from the visiting team and give them the “Subscriber Code” to enter in their mobile app. This is found on the Meet Setup > Linking page of the meet, or on the Heat/Event Updates screen under the key icon in the mobile app as described in the steps below:
Both admins will log in to the SwimTopia app:
- Tap on the day’s swim meet
- Tap on the key symbol on the upper right of the screen
- Tap on Event /Heat Updates
- Tap on Linking Status
- The admin of the home team will copy or note the Subscriber Code to share with the visiting team
- The admin of the visiting team will enter the Subscriber Code under "Visitor Code," then tap Link Meet
- Tap Done
➧ UNLINKING MEETS
As stated below, unlinking a meet must occur from within the Meet Setup > Linking page within the meet on your SwimTopia team management system. This is a failsafe to ensure meets are not accidentally unlinked from the app.
Step ④: Tap to Update the Current Event and Heat
➧ If your team is using Dolphin v5+ timing system:
As a reminder, the Dolphin system will automatically update the Live Bar, based on the starter system, and a volunteer is not needed to update the live event/heat bar.
➧ If your team does not use Dolphin v5+ timing system:
To begin updating the current event and heat, your volunteer will log in to their SwimTopia app. Once in the app, the volunteer will:
- Tap on the day’s swim meet
- Tap on the key symbol on the upper right of the screen
- Tap on Event /Heat Updates
- Tap on the Session
- When ready, tap on Broadcast Status to switch it to “Live”
➧ If your team is using Meet Maestro, and our system knows how your meet is seeded:
Select AUTO mode -- The updater will autofill the correct event numbers and the correct number of heats per event. With the tap of an arrow, the updater automatically advances to the next heat (and after the final heat of an event, it will automatically advance to the the first heat of the next event).
- Use the right arrow key to advance to the next heat
- Tap “Update” as the heat begins, which will save and publish the current event and heat to the mobile app
- Repeat for each heat
- When the meet or session is over, switch on Session Completed and confirm your session has finished
➧ If your team is not using Meet Maestro, the event numbers and number of heats is unknown:
Select MANUAL mode -- volunteer will be able to select the event and heat numbers.
- Use the plus and minus keys to move through each event and heat
- Tap “Update” as the heat begins, which will save and publish the current event and heat to the mobile app
- Repeat for each heat
- When the meet or session is over, switch on Session Completed and confirm your session has finished
Multi-Session or Virtual Meets
If a meet has multiple sessions (like a boys pool and a girls pool, or virtual meets), the volunteer can select a session (or team/pool for virtual) to manage. As long as both pools have a volunteer manning the live bar, then parents from either team can pull up the live bar that corresponds to their "session" and see the live event/heat updates. ➞ See the example below:
If your team is using Meet Maestro™ to run your swim meets your team will also have live results updates and more. See other mobile app features available to Meet Maestro teams.
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Comments
2 comments
It was helpful for the "Live" updates when running swim meets via Maestro, but as a team admin I'm looking for the following:
We're looking to send emergency messages or last minute updates. On the new Mobile App, as the coach I may want to pay the $1.99/month to take advantage of all the features Swimtopia offers; however, do team members need to pay the $1.99/month to receive messages I send out, or will they get them if they only have the free version of the app?
Or for that matter, do I need to pay the monthly fee to send messages, or can I do that via our team's regular subscription through the website in a similar way I post "News" on the website? Basically, how can I more easily send messages to the whole team through Swimtopia beyond just email? What's the cost? Who has to pay?
Hi Dennis,
Our new alerts feature is free for all SwimTopia users. Families should download our free mobile app, but they won't need to upgrade to the Pro subscription in order to receive alerts. And if they haven't downloaded the app, they'll receive the alert as an email instead.
Admins can send the alerts from the Communications module of SwimTopia -- there is now a toggle between Email and Alert.
Whether sending email or alerts, the Communications module works as it always has: admins can send to all members, to a particular age group, to members of a role, or even to individuals. And just as emails can be sent from within a report (say, all meet participants or all volunteers at a meet), the alert feature works from within reports as well.
We're glad you've been enjoying the Live Bar!
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