Virtual Volunteer

parkrun Global

About this app

Virtual Volunteer is the official parkrun timer and scanner application and it is free to download for volunteers to use at a parkrun event.

It is easy to use with a very simple interface.

Scanner and timer data can be submitted directly to parkrun using a QR code supplied by the Run Director on the day.

Ratings and reviews

App is good but it has some problems that need to be resolved before it can really be deployed. Firstly when scanning it drains the battery. It cannot last the full 45 minutes or so that it needs to for scanning purposes. Secondly the time keeping is good but in the wet it is a problem, alleviated by using the volume buttons for splits, but still a little water on the screen either makes the screen unusable or adds extra splits.

It would appear with the Android version, that the scan area isn't zoomed/adjusted to the part of the screen that is being used, and the whole camera view is instead showing. This is what I believe is causing all the complaints. The scanner part itself isn't functioning correctly on Android - it's not about the individual cameras on each brand and model. Fix the scanner part of the app itself. ALSO, include some token support area. The ability to edit a field to add the position number if that doesn't want to scan, or manually add the A number and a position. For that matter, include incident reporting as well, it can be submitted to the webFMS the same way as the results.

Works fine. For scanning, the red line is only for Apple versions. In Android phones only there is no red line and in fact you can scan both the barcode and finish token at the same time! If you can see an image or the system takes a while to focus and record the number, then it may be that your phone's hardware or software is too old. Top tip: Practice at home before the event. You can download some test sheets for scanning.

What's new

Improvements to scanning with more accurate barcode detection