RaceJoy offers a variety of communications options that offer real-time messaging with a highly engaged audience of participants, their supporting family and friends, and your race operations team.
From pre-loaded text formatted messages that reach the masses to individualized text-to-audio messages, you now have a communication system that provides powerful assistance in managing your race day experience.
Mass Communication News Alerts: Races can send important race news to everyone who has entered their race in RaceJoy – participants, spectators and race operations. These are issued as an in-app notifications and appear like a text message with a one-click action to a formatted multimedia message. Messages can be pre-loaded and scheduled ahead of time or issued on-the-fly as needed.
The format of the messages can include text, images, URL’s and links to websites, videos, etc. Race organizers manage these messages from their RaceJoy dashboard shown below.
2. Participant Only, Instant Text-to-Audio Messages: These are sent as needed on race day and can be sent to the following:
- Direct to individual participants
- Mass message to all participants in a particular course
Messages are typed in by the race organizer or timer in RaceJoy’s Race Day Monitoring System. The race organizer types in the desired message and it is played instantly in audio format through the RaceJoy app. The ability to communicate directly to a participant on race day is a major breakthrough for the industry and is extremely helpful in situations where an individual has gone off course, a personal emergency has occurred or there is a change in plans for the race like with impending weather.
3. Race Operations, Instant Text-To Audio Communication: There are two ways to use RaceJoy to communicate with the race operations team on race day:
- Team member to team member: race personnel can send instant audio messages to each other in the app while they are out on the course by using RaceJoy’s Text-to-Cheer feature.
- Race management to team member: The race manager or timer can send instant text-to-audio messages through RaceJoy’s Race Day Monitoring system.
The race operations team can also track one another by using the GPS tracking feature in RaceJoy. To use the communications tools and tracking tools, the team members need to click “I Want to Be Tracked” and login as a race participant. Most races will use the role they are performing (Lead, tail, Sag Wagon, Race Director, etc.) or a code name (Top Dog, Who’s the Boss, etc.) instead of their real name.
Messages can be reviewed or replayed at any time by going to the Buzz Section in the RaceJoy app.
Many races use RaceJoy as part of their formal emergency communications plan. For example, some will pre-load emergency contingency messages should they need to close the course due to weather conditions.
A few races have used RaceJoy to help communicate course closures due to poor weather conditions. In one instance, we were told by the race director that the participants and spectators at their race knew the course needed to close due to lightning before the police did because of RaceJoy’s messaging system.
Since RaceJoy involves high engagement and social sharing, it makes for a very effective platform for race day communications.
“I love the app. I think it is seriously an awesome feature and I’m happy we were able to collaborate with you on enhancing our offering to those involved in this event.” – Scranton Running Co.
If you have questions or want to learn more about all the race day communications and race organizer features available in RaceJoy, feel free to watch this How-To Tutorial on the Race Day Monitoring System or send us an email at info@racejoy.com.