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A GOOD TIMER PERSON IS
Many of us don’t realize how big a roll the timer plays in a contest pilot’s flight.  The pilots who have flown in competition know just how important the timer’s job is.  Let’s have a look at some specific qualities found in a good contest timer person.  As you read through this, think of your fellow club members, you will chuckle to yourself as you remember which timers are good or bad at the following: 
The beginning of the contest round
During the flight
Readying for landing
After the flight
Note: Most of these examples are centered on the Duration-style contest piloting.  However, many of these same issues are applicable to your average day of sport flying, or even a fun day on the slope.     
    WHAT MAKES A GOOD TIMER?
When the contest’s round starts, a good timer should make sure that his or her pilot has the frequency pin for his or her radio.  During a large contest where a radio impound is used, the frequency pins can become mixed up.  Your pilot will be worried about his or her upcoming flight, so you must check to make certain that the needed frequency is clear before your pilot turns on his or her radio. 
Before your pilot launches the model, get the timer watch set, take a look at the sky over the launch zone to make certain it is clear, and look around.  Also, plan your pilot’s exit from the launch area.  Make sure that you see your pilot do a control check on the model.  Make sure his or her radio’s transmitter antenna is up.  After your pilot’s model has come off the towline, you should only be worrying about one thing: getting your pilot out of the immediate launching area.  In a regional-level contest, the launch zone might be full of pilots and timer waiting to launch.  Additionally, the launch area will likely be clattered with generators, extra winch batteries, tools, wires, retriever line, etc.  Your pilot will be very unhappy if he or she should trip or fall over and obstacle trying to get to a clear patch of ground.  So, guide your pilot to a safe spot, out of the launch area, where he or she has an unobstructed view of the entire  field.  You can then gently guide your pilot by clinging to the back of his or her shirt or belt loops, or by holding inside the upper left or right arm.  Whatever method you use, make sure your pilot is expecting it.  Importantly, the timers’ eyes should be focused on the terrain, so make sure to watch for holes, wires, or other tripping hazards. 
    DURING THE FLIGHT:
During the main portion of the flight, your job, as the timer, is to do the following:
*    Be an extra set of eyes
*    Have an awareness
*    Help make decisions
*    Reduce your pilot’s LOAD

As a timer person, don’t just stare at your pilot’s model as it glides around the sky.  You are your pilot’s extra set of eyes.  Scan the sky for signs of rising air. Lift.  Look for other models or birds that may be flying in a thermal, and keep an eye on the ground signs, too.  Your eyes can cover the air that the pilot’s eyes cannot.  Speak with a calm voice: don’t sound panicked or worried.  Then, provide your pilot with clear, concise communication of what the lift conditions are.  Don’t give your pilot useless information.  As an example, if your pilot’s sailplane is way downwind and totally committed to the only thermal in the area, telling him/her about the huge thermal sucking the complection into the clouds ½ mile upwind is useless!  In fact, it hurts the pilot more that it helps.  If, however, you should see a promising chunk of air within reach of your pilot’s airplane, position yourself in front of the pilot and use your arm to point at the area where the lift lives.  Use your arm to draw a line in the sky, one that the pilot can see with only peripheral vision.  While steering the pilot into lift with instructions, say things like “airplane right, keep coming right, okay roll out, fly that heading.” Remember that there will likely be sinking air in the path that the sailplane must fly on the way to the lift, so don’t lit you pilot fly his or her sailplane away from the lift.  Tell the pilot, “Push your airplane through the sink.”  Also, the pilot will occasionally find that his or her model’s flight has flown into trouble.  For example, the model might have gotten very low to the ground 2 minutes into a 10 minute flight.  Then, if you pilot should find a small patch of lift, he or she mist stay committed to the new thermal the model is now flying in.  This is a time when, as a timer, you may watch only the pilot’s model.  Let the pilot concentrate.  Do not overload him or her with too much information.  It is helpful, however, to occasionally say things like, “That looks good, keep flying smooth,” or “Stay with the thermal’s drift.  If you know for certain where the thermal has moved you might want to tell the pilot where it is in relation to his/ her sailplane.  Again, use an easy voice, and don’t give too much information.  Keep the pilot calm and focused.  Sometimes, all you need to do is confirm what your pilot is seeing his or her model do, or how he or she feels about the situation.  The pilot might say something like, “Hmm...what do you think of that turn, is my model climbing?” or “Are those  models above me still going up?”  Sometimes, just hearing the timer confirm what the pilot thinks is happening is worth a lot to the pilot’s confidence. 
   
    Landings:

Landing a model sailplane on a tiny target, at a precise moment in time, is the single most difficult task a pilot must perform during a contest’s flight.  This is especially true in U.S. Thermal Duration (TD) contests, but is just as important in other types of timed duration flight tasks. 
As a timer, your job is very important during this phase of the flight.  Some of the timers’s tasks during the pilot’s landing phase should have already been taken care of before the flight.  You and the pilot should agree on the count down (or count up) that he or she wishes to hear.  Next, as you approach the landing zone, walk your pilot into position so that he or she can see the landing target as the model will turn onto its final approach.  Now, with the pilot in position, make sure you are standing behind the pilot so that you won’t block his or her view when he or she turns to follow the sailplane through its approach.  Next, read the stopwatch carefully.  Do not look at the model all the time during the last minute of its flight.  Make sure you are calling out the seconds remaining in the flight accurately to the pilot, not the crowd.  Ensure that you make your pilot aware of the strange conditions in the landing zone- for example, has a big thermal just blown through the area, which may cause a momentary downwind for the sailplane during its final approach?  Or, has another model just landed short in front of your pilot’s landing zone?  Also, make sure the landing area is clear.  Finally, as the model turns onto final approach, raise the watch and look over the pilot’s shoulder, while keeping the watch, in the landing zone, and the model all in the same field of view.  Use this technique to ensure that you stop the watch at the proper time when the flight ends.  Also, this method will help you to be aware of an errant over flight of the landing zone by your pilot’s aircraft.
                After the flight
A good timer will review the flight with his or her pilot.  As a timer, you should ask how your pilot felt about the flight: was there something you could have done better?  How can you better help the pilot during the next round? 
Note, too, that you should never clear the stopwatch until after the flight scores are turned in, just in case there is a question.  Typically, the timer will help the pilot by turning the radio and score card back into the impound area.  At this point, be certain that the radio is off before giving it to he impound person.  It is worth mentioning that there have been many airplanes lost due to radios being left on when they were turned into the impound.

    Timers are Important
The timer person is very important member of a small competing team.  This team’s goal is to complete the competition’s task. The timer cannot function as a brain dead idiot who just reads a watch. Rather, the timer has a very important job to do. He or she can make the difference between winning or losing the contest, having the pilot’s airplane suffer an off-field crash, or alternately taking the model up to “speck” altitude. 
The final flight decisions made during any flight rest solely with the pilot.  However, a skilled timer can and will significantly reduce the pilot’s workload, thus helping to ensure competition success.