When I started this, I pictured four people pedalling a crab. Then we sat down to plan race day minute by minute, and I realised something: one person can't run SOOK. Not even four.
She's a vehicle, a boat, a puppet and a stage show, all moving through a crowd of thousands at walking pace. Somebody has to steer. Somebody has to watch the clock. Somebody has to keep an eye on the pilots' hearts and water. Somebody has to decide right now is the moment for the claws to wave at the judges. And somebody has to keep the kids safely back when the crab spins.
So we gave every job its own screen.
One link, pick your job#
On race day, everyone opens the same link and taps their job. Each job gets one simple page, made for where that person will be standing.
Here's who's looking at what:
- 🚴 The pilots see a coach: how hard each of them is pedalling, the map, what's coming up, and when to take a sip. Big, simple, readable in the sun.
- 🎭 The puppeteer (that's me, riding in the back) has a tablet that runs the crab: claws, legs, lights, the spin. One tap per trick, and a STOP button that's always on screen.
- 🎬 The show director (our art lead) walks ahead with the cast and calls each act from her phone. The act only starts when I tap GO from the seat. Two people agree before every act starts.
- 🩺 The team medic sees all four pilots' heart rates and can ask any of them "you OK?" with one tap.
- 🔧 The pit crew has a checklist for every stop. When every box is ticked, they hit one button and every pilot's screen flashes READY TO GO.
- 🌊 The ramp and water crew watch the tide, the wind and the tow rope at the splashdown.
- 📋 The crew chief keeps track of the rules, the clock and where everyone is.
- 💬 And everyone shares one team chat with big quick-reply buttons, so nobody has to type with wet hands.
The crowd gets a page too: they scan a QR code on SOOK to see where she is and vote for her next trick. (The puppeteer still decides. Nobody in the crowd can make the crab move.)
Why it takes all of us#
Every one of those screens is a person. Four pilots, at least four pit crew (the rules say one per pilot), a show director, a medic, a ramp crew, a crew chief, someone on the livestream, a cast, and families cheering at the right corners.
That's the real lesson. The software doesn't replace anyone. It just makes sure the right person knows the right thing at the right moment. SOOK only works if a whole group of people show up and each do one job well.
So if you've been wondering whether there's room for you: there's a screen with your name on it. Well, your job on it.
The honest bit#
These are prototypes. They run on a pretend race in the computer, and I'm going to redesign them before May. The rules underneath them are real, though: big buttons, one tap per action, no tiny switches, a STOP that can't be hidden, and no flashing red and blue anywhere (race rule).
The first real test is when the crab's own computer is built and the puppeteer's tablet moves something that isn't on a screen.
Next episode: the people. Who's building her, and the party where we asked everyone to join.
Josh
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