When Mother Nature threw a curveball in the form of a massive winter storm across much of the country, we weren’t sure what to expect for the 2026 Timer Education Summit in Tampa this last week. Flight cancellations, road closures, and travel chaos forced some timers to make the difficult decision to stay home. But true to the resilient spirit of the timing community, close to 100 dedicated professionals made their way to Tampa for two days of education, innovation, and connection.
Timers came from across the country, ranging from seasoned veterans to brand-new timers ready to launch their businesses. The travel challenges added to the sense of community—timers who had never met were sharing war stories from their travels and troubleshooting each other’s race day challenges before the first session even began.
Kicking Off with Innovation and Industry Insights
The 2026 Timer Education Summit opened with our General Session: RunSignup and Industry Update, where we dove into the role of AI in transforming race timing and registration. Our team shared exciting product roadmap updates and key findings from the recent Race Trends and Timer Industry reports, giving timers a clear picture of where the industry is heading and ways to position themselves for success.
Throughout the two days, attendees chose from two distinct learning tracks:
The Introductory Track provided comprehensive timer certification courses in RaceDay Scoring, RaceJoy, RaceDay CheckIn, and the RunSignup platform. New timers gained the foundational knowledge and official certifications needed to confidently serve their clients and build competitive businesses.
The Advanced Track challenged experienced timers with deep dives into complex configurations, advanced features, and emerging technologies. Sessions on RaceDay Mobile Timing app’s photo capturing and announcer screens, RaceJoy’s predictive pace and chip timing integration, Web Builder V2, and fundraising strategies gave seasoned pros new tools to elevate their services.
In addition, we offered a Workshop Track where we covered specialized topics like AI tools, troubleshooting techniques, Race Result integration, and technology networking—practical skills that timers could immediately apply to their operations.
Technology in Action
One of the summit’s highlights was the optional Morning 5K Run and Live RaceDay Tech Demo. Timers joined us for a 5K along the river or simply observed RaceDay Real-Time technology in action. Seeing the timing related systems work seamlessly in a live race environment—then debriefing the technology immediately afterward—provided invaluable hands-on learning.
The RaceDay Tech Demo area provided a demonstration of RaceDay CheckIn, dynamic bib assignment, RaceDay Scoring, RaceJoy, and the Ticket Signup app. Roger Bradshaw’s dedicated time helping timers transition from The Race Director to RaceDay Scoring was particularly popular, with many timers grateful for the one-on-one guidance.
2026 Timer Education Summit: Celebrating Excellence
One of the key highlights of this year’s Timer Summit was recognizing the outstanding professionals in the timing community. We honored the 37 dedicated attending timers who completed all four RunSignup timer certification courses. We also announced Matthew Smeltzer with Competitive Timing as the 2026 Alan Jones Timer of the Year award winner. The room erupted in applause for these individuals who exemplify excellence, innovation, and commitment to the race timing profession.
Growing Timer Revenue Opportunities
One of the most valued sessions, Growing Timer Revenue Opportunities, provided guidance on diversifying services and increasing profitability. Timers left with concrete strategies for expanding beyond traditional race timing into ticketing, fundraising, membership programs, and other complementary services. The advanced sessions on ticketing strategies and fundraising features gave timers the tools to position themselves as full-service event technology partners, not just timing providers.
Learning from Each Other: The Value of Peer Connection
One of the Timer Education Summit’s core strengths was the emphasis on timers learning from each other. Three panel discussions—New Timer Panel, Advanced Timer Panel, and Timer Best Practices and Typical Fires—gave attendees direct access to experienced professionals for open dialogue about real challenges. The Timer Breakout Session took this collaborative approach further, with timers dividing into smaller groups to discuss pressing topics before reconvening to share insights with the entire room. These peer-to-peer learning opportunities reflected what many timers value: the chance to connect with colleagues, learn from others’ experiences to tackle industry challenges and grow their timing business.
Thank You!
Special thanks to our presenters, panelists, and the entire RunSignup team who made the 2026 Timer Education Summit possible—and to the incredible timing professionals who prove that neither snow, nor ice, nor cancelled flights can stop the tenacity of a timer.