Race-day tools for endurance water events
Capture the moment.
Resolve the details.
SplashLoops is a field-tested race-management prototype for paddling and endurance water events. Its capture-first workflow records the finish timestamp before asking an operator to resolve racer identity.
The Operating Principle
Capture now.
Assign later.
Learned from live competition at the 2026 Great Loxahatchee River Race.
Clustered finishes create a fundamental human-interface problem: when several paddlers sprint across the line together in bright sun glare with wet hands, an operator may capture the exact second or search for a bib number, but struggle to do both simultaneously.
SplashLoops separates those actions so the initial finish record is preserved first and the surrounding metadata is reviewed second through a controlled human workflow.
Record the finish timestamp the instant the bow crosses the line.
Keep recording subsequent finishes in rapid succession without stopping to search a roster.
Review racer identity, finish order, and manual corrections in a controlled human workflow.
Current System Foundation
Built for the whole race day.
Built on Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Functions, and Next.js. A working foundation connecting the four essential groups at an event.
Organizer Control
Race setup, rosters, wave intervals, divisions, vessel categories, and GPX course mapping.
Working PrototypeField Crew Mobile
High-contrast mobile timing, checkpoint splits, finish capture, undo, and unassigned queue.
Working PrototypeResults Center
Post-capture correction, attention flags, spacing tools, manual overrides, and awards views.
Working PrototypeSpectator Hub
Mobile live standings, wave clocks, split progress, and normalized event leaderboards.
Working PrototypeFuture Product Direction
Human-supervised assistance, not autonomous results.
SplashLoops is exploring how Google Gemini models could help an operator review fragmented race-day evidence (timing intervals, split history, vessel categories, and field notes) to suggest likely candidate matches for unassigned finishes.
The broader vision is an on-device race-director assistant that prompts organizers about pending checkpoint checks, approaching finishers, and schedule milestones, keeping advice helpful even in degraded connectivity.
Proposed Direction · ConceptInput Signals: Timestamp delta (+2.4s), Checkpoint 2 split pacing, Vessel class (14ft SUP), volunteer voice note.
* Strict Boundary: Gemini proposes candidates; human race directors approve every official change.
