> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.time2.bike/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Running a dual slalom event > The whole day, USAC and collegiate style — qualifying several categories together, seeding brackets, and publishing. This is the full day, in the order it happens. It follows the USAC dual slalom format used at collegiate conference races: mixed-category qualifying, a bracket per category, head-to-head with lane swaps and a maximum differential. If you just need the buttons, see [Dual slalom](/timing/formats/dual-slalom) for the operator screen and [Brackets](/timing/formats/brackets) for the bracket panel. ## How the day is shaped Nothing to time. Riders session both lanes. Every rider takes a timed run — **one run, down one lane**. All categories go through the chute together, first come first served. The lane is the same for everyone in a category, which is what makes the times comparable. Fastest qualifier is the top seed in their category. You decide how many advance — 8, 16, whatever the field and the daylight support. Two riders, red and blue. Two runs with the lanes swapped so both ride both courses. Lowest combined time wins the match, capped by the maximum differential. Winner advances. Semifinal losers usually ride off for third, so the sheet places 1 to 4. Finalize, publish, print. ## Before the day **Make one race per category** — Men's A, Men's B, Women's A, and so on — and set each one's format to **dual slalom bracket** on the [Races](/organizers/races/races-list) page. That's what gives them the two-lane screen and their own bracket. Assign bib numbers as usual. Everything else is set up on the day. > !!-IMAGE-NEEDED-!! — The Races page with four dual slalom categories created. ## Qualifying several categories at once This is the part that would be painful if you had to do it per category, so it isn't. Turn on **seeding mode** on the timing screen and you can time riders from *any* dual slalom race in the event through both lanes at once — a men's A rider in red, a women's B rider in blue — in whatever order they present at the gate. **Each rider's time records against their own category**, so the brackets can seed from it afterwards. You never sort riders into categories at the gate. > !!-IMAGE-NEEDED-!! — Seeding mode with two riders from different categories staged in red and blue. ### One lane per category A category qualifies down **one** lane. The screen works out which lane a category is using from the first rider down it, then flags anyone who runs the other one — because a time set on the other course isn't comparable, and silently ranking it against everybody else's is how you seed a bracket wrong. The qualifying board shows the lane each category is on and names anyone who went down the wrong side. **Both lanes is a nationals thing.** At nationals riders qualify down both lanes and the seed time is red + blue combined, which cancels out any difference between the courses. Bracket setup offers that as an option, but for a conference race one run each is all qualifying needs. ### If somebody needs a re-run Just run them again. The best time in a lane is what counts, so a second run only helps them. ## Setting up each category's bracket Once a category's field is timed, switch to that race and open **Setup bracket**. **Single + 3rd place** is the collegiate default — a straight knockout plus a ride-off between the semifinal losers, so the sheet places 1 through 4. The others are single elimination (1st and 2nd only), single + consolation (places every first-round loser, 5th–8th in a field of eight — more runs), and double elimination. **Combined time** is the standard: both runs added, lowest total wins. Best of 2 scores by runs won. Single run is one and done, for when you're losing the light. This is your real decision — *31 qualified, 16 advance*. The bracket itself is the next power of two above that, and the top seeds take byes for the difference. Choose **From quali times** and the order fills in fastest-first. You can still drag riders around, or seed manually or at random. The dialog tells you how many riders have a qualifying time, so you can see at a glance whether anybody is missing before you build. Defaults to **1.5 seconds**, per USAC 5E2(c). Adjust it if your course warrants. > !!-IMAGE-NEEDED-!! — Bracket setup with "From quali times" chosen and the seed order filled in. Repeat per category. Each one gets its own bracket, its own seeds, and its own podium. ### What the maximum differential does If a rider wins the first run by more than the maximum, only the maximum is carried into the second run. A blown corner costs you the run, not the match — so a rider who goes down on run one can still ride back into it. The same cap applies when someone doesn't finish a run at all: they're charged the maximum rather than an infinite gap. The match panel shows each rider's carried time, and marks it when it has hit the cap. ## Running the rounds Riders swap lanes between the two runs, and the screen tracks which lane each one is in — the starter stages, the finishers press their own lane's button. Full mechanics: [Dual slalom](/timing/formats/dual-slalom). Byes advance automatically when you **Resolve byes** — worth pressing after setup and after any substitution. Put one person on each lane's finish and one at the gate, and nobody has more than one button. It's the difference between a smooth bracket and a protest. ### When it goes wrong Slalom generates more corrections than any other format. All of these are available from the match panel: | Problem | Fix | | ---------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Wrong rider in a match | **Edit match** → substitute by plate or name | | Riders on the wrong sides | **Edit match** → swap A and B | | A leg time is wrong | Fix it inline, or **Edit all times** for a table of every leg | | A rider can't take their run | **Forfeit / DNF** — the opponent advances | | Seeding was wrong | **Edit seeds**, available until a match is decided | | The bracket looks broken | **Resolve byes** first; then **Edit all times** to see what's missing | → [Brackets](/timing/formats/brackets) ## Finishing and publishing Including the third-place ride-off, if you're running one. A disputed match is much easier to settle with both riders in front of you than by email on Tuesday. Locks the results. It won't let you through while any device still has times waiting to upload, which is exactly the check you want here. Results go live on the event page, land on each rider's profile, and finishers get an email. → [Finalize & publish](/timing/results/finalize-and-publish) **Results PDF**, or the combined event PDF for every category on one sheet. → [Exports](/timing/results/exports) Published results show the bracket diagram alongside the finishing order, so riders can see the path each rider took rather than a bare list of placings. ## Conference points and team results Time2Bike publishes the individual placings per category. Conference and team scoring is applied by whoever runs your league from those placings — see the [league](/teams/overview) tools, or export the results and score them your own way. → [Exports](/timing/results/exports) ## Worth knowing before your first one Slalom margins are routinely under a second, and whole seconds will show you ties that aren't. **Timer setup → How I am timing → Show times to → 0.01s**. Every time is stored to the millisecond regardless, so you can tighten it afterwards if two riders still tie. A course hold shouldn't count against anyone. **Timer setup → How I am timing → What pause means**. It locks once the first time is recorded, so do it before qualifying. A dual slalom race always keeps its two-lane screen. If your event has other races as well, they can still use a shared chute — the two coexist. → [Combined finish](/timing/formats/combined-finish) While a run is in flight, a read for a plate that started in red records a red-lane finish. The **Listening for plates** panel shows which two bibs the watcher is waiting for. Watch for a pad near the start line firing on warm-up runs. → [RFID](/timing/hardware/rfid) Two riders separated by hundredths is exactly where human reaction time at the button stops being good enough. → [Laser timing](/timing/hardware/laser) ## Next Lanes, staging, and the one-button finish. Setup, byes, and every way to repair one.