Announcing a training session
In training, VOICE talks mainly to the athletes: their lap time, quickly, briefly, in their language, and a reminder when they step outside the coach's target.
Example: the Tuesday training session of the Sunset Glide Speedskating (SGS) club in Starford. FINISH is in Training activity; athletes join the session at their first passing (Free training in the FINISH help). The free training races are created with Speech synthesis: nothing to check.
1. Short announcements
A skater in training does not need their position or name on every lap. In FINISH, Athletes tab, select the athletes of the group, Speech synthesis (ChronoFEED-VOICE) view, Custom options:
| Setting in FINISH | Choice | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Name, Lap time | checked; Position, To go, Final time unchecked | “Justine, 31.4” |
| Spoken name | First name | Shorter; two athletes with the same first name? First and last name. |
| Time reading | Last second: "2 4" | The athlete knows the tens: “2 4” for 32.4 s. |
In VOICE, Settings: Do not repeat the name before 20 s (an athlete alone on the track only hears their first name now and then); if needed, a slightly faster rate.
2. The coach's target: too fast, too slow
- The limits, in FINISH
Athletes tab, for each athlete: minimum and maximum lap time (for example 31.0 and 32.5 s for pace work).
- The Target option
In the Speech synthesis view: Target. And, if you only want to hear the time when it is good: Only within min / max.
| Lap | Said (Lap time + Target) | With “Only within min / max” |
|---|---|---|
| 30.6 s | “30.6, Too fast!” | “Too fast!” |
| 31.8 s | “31.8” | “31.8” |
| 33.1 s | “33.1, Too slow!” | “Too slow!” |
In the athlete's language: “Trop vite!”, “Te langzaam!”, “Zu schnell!”…
3. A computer for the coach
A second VOICE computer (a laptop with a headset or a speaker at the side of the track), linked to the same FINISH: name it “COACH” (Name of this workstation), uncheck the other groups' races in Races received from FINISH, uncheck Ring the bell if the public address system handles it. The athletes' options (what is said) are the same on both computers: they come from FINISH.
4. What is not linked yet
The To go list in the FINISH options offers Manual lap counter and Manual countdown, to have an athlete hear the laps of their set rather than those of the race. Today, FINISH has nowhere to enter this lap count, and VOICE says nothing for “Manual countdown”: with either of these choices, the “to go” part is simply left out. Keep Depending on the race.