Best practices for initiating, receiving and completing transfers

Event organizers using the Race Roster platform to process registrations have access to transfer tools. These tools help them manage the movement between, or swapping of, participant sub-event spots. If you are a participant looking to initiate a transfer, or a user looking to receive a transfer from a participant, the best practices, definitions and background information outlined below can help you feel safe and confident that you are following steps correctly, as intended by the event organizer.

Best practices

As the popularity and complexity of an event increases year over year, the event organizer may implement policies and procedures regarding transfers. For example, they may set fees, facilitate a "bib marketplace" through social media platforms or apps, agree or disagree to handle reimbursements to original participants, and so on. At the same time, bad actors may seek opportunities to attempt scams, posing as participants wanting to sell or buy registrations, or as the event organizer offering hidden entries, without actually having affiliation to the event.

Below, we outline what to look for when taking part in a transfer process, to better keep you informed and safe.

1. Read the event's FAQ and transfer information pages

Whether on Race Roster or the event's home website, an event organizer often provides a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section or page for their audiences to browse. Sometimes, a dedicated transfer information section or page may be available. These are excellent resources for those interested in starting or receiving a transfer, to learn about the procedures, applicable fees and deadlines. We advise everyone to locate and read FAQ pages before taking part in a transfer process.

2. Look for an authorized social media page, group or app

To facilitate communication with and among participants, the event organizer may create or endorse apps and social media pages (e.g., Facebook groups). Furthermore, they may oversee waitlists or a bib marketplace to help participants find one another when looking to transfer. It's important to ensure that these resources are acknowledged or authorized by the event organizer. A good way to tell is if the links to use them appear on the event's home website, Race Roster page, or email communications. If you are unsure whether an app or page is official, contact the event organizer directly.

3. Check for these Race Roster event page clues

How can you tell that a Race Roster event page or link represents the legitimate event?

• the domain is raceroster.com
• the event ID (5 or 6 digit number in the URL) is consistent throughout the various pages
• (from a desktop browser, using your laptop or home/office computer) the Race Roster event page looks complete, with thorough and consistent information, branding and images
• the event's home website and/or official social media channels link to the same Race Roster pages or forms that you are viewing or have been sent

If someone is offering to transfer their registration to you:

• search their email address on the confirmation list, to verify that they are a participant in the sub-event you wish to register for

The screenshot below visually outlines some of these clues.

4. Recognize the sender, subject line and body of a transfer initiation email

When a participant transfer is initiated, two emails are sent from therunner@raceroster.com:

• If you are the person transferring to someone else, the email will look as follows:

• If someone else is transferring to you, the email will look like this:

When you receive an email prompting you to complete a transfer on Race Roster, make sure that all the details align, including the email subject line and URLs of any links or buttons (trick: hover over a hyperlink for a preview of the URL, or copy and paste it into a new browser tab to view it before actually visiting the page).

5. Know where funds, if any, should be sent and/or received

For both sub-event and participant transfers, Race Roster provides event organizers with the tools they need to handle all financial transactions within our platform. Here are some examples:

Whether some or all of these settings are enabled is entirely up to the event organizer's discretion—there may be cases where all funds are handled through Race Roster, and other cases where funds are partially handled by any of Race Roster, the event organizer and between participants (e.g., e-transfer, PayPal, Venmo, etc). As stated earlier in point 1, please make sure that you are aware of all publicly-posted policies and procedures before taking part in a transfer process. When in doubt, contact the event organizer directly.

Definitions and background information

At Race Roster, we use the term "transfer" to refer to one of two procedures:

• Sub-event transfer: Commonly referred to as "changing", "moving" or "downgrading/upgrading" distances, a sub-event transfer takes place when a registered participant moves from one sub-event to another. This type of transfer must be initiated by the event organizer or the participant, and then completed by the participant.

For example, Jennifer is currently registered in the Half Marathon but now wants to be registered in the 10K Walk/Run. She must complete a sub-event transfer.

• Participant transfer (P2P): Commonly referred to as "bib swapping" or "selling/buying a bib", a participant transfer takes place when a registered participant gives their spot in a sub-event to someone else. This type of transfer must be initiated by the event organizer or original participant, and then completed by the new participant.

For example, Jennifer is currently registered in the Half Marathon but needs to drop out. She found Sven to take her spot. After Jennifer (the original participant) takes action to ensure the process is initiated, Sven (the new participant) must complete the participant transfer.

Transfers can be manual or automated:

• Manual: When the event organizer (or Race Roster, on their behalf) has to initiate the transfer from the event dashboard, we call the transfer "manual". The participant who wants to change distances, or give their registration to a new user, must contact the event organizer for permission. Once the event organizer takes action, an email is sent to indicate that a transfer has been initiated and must be completed.
• Automated: When the event organizer establishes settings and makes public-facing "transfer" buttons and links available on the event page or participant dashboard, we call the transfer "automated". The participant who wants to move distances, or give their registration away, is self-sufficient using the visible links and buttons, from initiation to completion.

Sometimes, a transfer intended to be automated may need manual intervention. For example, a problem may be encountered in the transfer form, and the participant ends up having to contact the event organizer. Race Roster is always happy to offer troubleshooting assistance.

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For instructions on initiating a transfer, read our article How do I transfer my registration?