Using Trial Observer Scoresheet in Bad Weather
Cold Weather
When the weather turns chilly you really need a good pair of gloves when observing, but thick gloves make it very difficult to grip a pencil and write legibly on a traditional scoresheet. The Trial Observer app makes it much easier. Wear the gloves of your choice and use a stylus to tap out the scores on-screen. They can be bought on eBay for just a couple of pounds, or many freebie pens have one on the end (as seen in the photo).
Rainy Weather
When the rain comes down, your phone needs to be protected. Phone failure due to wetness would be even worse than a torn and soggy paper scoresheet. We have successfully tested two solutions to protect your phone and make it easy to register scores.
There are all sorts of protective pouches and cases available, ranging in price from not-very-much to an-awful-lot. Generally they are tested to IPX8 (immersion to 1m depth for 30 minutes) so they are all more than ample for trial purposes. The one we chose to test was a Yosh Phone Pouch that cost £4.24 from Amazon. Water simply ran off the surface and the touchscreen worked perfectly. It just needed a slightly more positive touch. As an added bonus, the pouch came with a lanyard so the phone could be hung round the observer's neck and can't be dropped.
Our second solution cost nothing at all; we used a ziplok bag that we had lying around. It functioned just as well as the Yosh Pouch but needed to be folded behind the phone because it was much bigger than the phone. It would be an ideal solution in an emergency but we preferred the proper pouch. Sandwich bags would do the job fine too and they only cost about £1 for 25 from a supermarket.
