CourseControl is here. Developed by the Cyclry team, it’s an always-free real-time race coordination tool designed to make it simple and fast to verify that your race marshals are where they’re supposed to be.
No radios, no logins, no apps, just safer racing.
It’s as simple as naming your race, dropping pins where you want your marshals to be during race day, then sharing your public link.
On event day, marshals tap ‘check-in’ when they’re at their assigned location and you instantly see that they’re in the right place.
How to Use CourseControl
CourseControl.cc works on mobile web or your PC/Mac’s web browser. It’s simple: make your event, share the link, watch as volunteers check in on race day.
To show you just how simple it really is, here’s the entire tutorial:
Creating an Event – Race Director View
To create your event, start at CourseControl.cc
- Tap Start New Race
- Enter the race name and tap Initialize Map (Event name will be visible to your volunteers)
- Previously created events are accessible below the Start New Race button
Adding Your Locations – Map View
Hitting Start New Race takes you to the Director Control map view, where you add pins for all the locations that will have volunteers on event day.
- Tap the location where you’ll have a marshal on event day
- Name the location in the pop-up (make sure each marshal knows the name of their assigned location)
- Once all locations are in place, tap Invite Volunteers to get a public shareable link for volunteers
- Long press or right click on a pin to delete it
- Hit the Delete Race button in the top right to permanently delete the event
- Pins will instantly turn from yellow to blue when a volunteer checks in, showing at a glance that all marshals are in place
Volunteer Portal – Check-in View
A volunteer opens the unique race link you send them. (They can also enter the code on coursecontrol.cc/join but the direct link is quicker.)
- Volunteer taps Check In on their assigned marshal point, GPS confirms their location
- If the volunteer is in same location as the sector they tapped, their check-in is verified and the sector turns blue on the Check-in screen and the Map screen
- If they are too far from the location, they won’t be able to check in, preventing marshals from standing in the wrong spot
CourseControl.cc FAQ
Will it be free forever?
Yes, guaranteed. We developed it specifically knowing there wouldn’t be a revenue stream and that it would be our gift to anybody in cycling who found it useful.
A subscription is silly for something you’ll use a couple of times a year, a one-time payment is annoying, and ads are wretched. The point where it becomes too expensive for us to run is the point where the user numbers reach ‘holy shit’ levels. Maybe Garmin will acquire us if we have that many users.
Can I login and save my races?
We’re keen on the idea of not giving you another fucking site to log in to, but if there’s appetite for this functionality then it could be ready in the next couple of updates.
Currently, you can see historic races you’ve created on the CourseControl front page, below the Start Race button. That’s only on the device you created them on.
Can I send feature requests?
Yes, we’d love to hear them. We’d love to act upon them too, but the success of that depends on the nature of the requested feature and our ability to turn our thoughts into code.
Use the Cyclry contact form to share your thoughts, or our email address if you know it.
Is my data secure?
The pins you drop on the map, you mean? That you then text and email to your race marshals as a public link? Exactly how secure do you need them? Just don’t name your pins after the numbers on your credit card.
Sorry if that’s a glib answer. We’re not saving anything but your pin coordinates, race name, and unique race code to the SQL database. GPS is temporarily requested for marshal check-in and to make the map open to where you are when you’re in director view – it’s not ever saved.
Can I donate to the project?
Send the money to the Rayner Foundation or similar. It’s a better cause.
Are these really “frequently asked questions”? Nobody knew about the app until this article.
No, we’re making the questions up. But the answers are true. Damn, why are we giving ourselves a hard time about this?
