Disparity correction for location-aware distributed sporting events

1. A method for facilitating a distributed sporting event, the method comprising:

in a first client device having a corresponding player,

aggregating a plurality of individual sporting activities into a distributed sporting event comprising a plurality of players that are each performing one of the individual sporting activities, that are each competing against one another by racing over non-uniform courses that are remotely located from one another, and that each have a corresponding client device, by:

determining, for each of the players, a location on an anchor course that corresponds to a current location of the player;

presenting on the first client device indications of positions of at least some of the other players with respect to the corresponding player, the indicated positions based on the locations on the anchor course of the at least some of the plurality of players; and

asserting a course by displaying on the first client device specific instructions to the corresponding player to travel over a specified path.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining a location on an anchor course includes, for each of the players, receiving from a remote computing system information about the current location of the player, mapping the current location of the player to the location of the anchor course based on a correspondence between locations on the anchor course and locations on a current course traveled by the player.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the remote computing system is configured to generate the correspondence between locations by:

as a first reference athlete travels over the anchor course, recording, for each of multiple locations on the anchor course, a corresponding elapsed time from the beginning of the anchor course to the location;

recording, as a second reference athlete travels over a derivative course, a corresponding distance measured at each elapsed time recorded with respect to the anchor course; and

creating, based on the recorded times and distances, a mapping between locations on the derivative course and locations on the anchor course, so that each of the multiple locations on the anchor course has a corresponding location on the derivative course.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the multiple locations on the anchor course are distributed along the anchor course a uniform distance from one another.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the uniform distance is in a range between 0.05 km and 0.1 km.

6. The method of claim 3 , wherein the derivative course is the current course traveled by the player.

7. The method of claim 3 , wherein the remote computing system is further configured to:

average elapsed times recorded with respect to multiple reference athletes traveling over the anchor course; and

record the corresponding distances for the second reference athlete with respect to the average elapsed times.

8. The method of claim 3 , wherein presenting indications of positions of at least some of the other players includes:

for a first player, translating the current location of the first player to a corresponding location on the anchor course;

for a second player, translating the current location of the second player to a corresponding location on the anchor course; and

displaying a representation of the anchor course along with indications of the corresponding locations of the first and second players on the anchor course.

9. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

translating each of the corresponding distances on the derivative course into a latitude/longitude coordinate representing a location on the derivative course.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

receiving from each of the plurality of client devices information about a current location of the corresponding player by receiving an indication that the player has traveled by one of the locations on the derivative course represented by one of the latitude/longitude coordinates.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein receiving from each of the plurality of client devices information about a current location of the corresponding player includes receiving an offset from one of the locations on the derivative course represented by one of the latitude/longitude coordinates, the offset representing a time, distance, and/or angle between the player and the location on the derivative course.

12. The method of claim 3 , wherein the multiple locations on the anchor course are distributed along the anchor course a non-uniform distance from one another, wherein the distance between the multiple locations is dynamically selected based on the speed of the first reference athlete traveling over the anchor course, such that the distance between locations is shorter when the first reference athlete is slower.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the players are each engaging in a same sport that is one of: bicycling, running, cross country skiing, motor racing, or boating.

14. A computing system for facilitating a distributed sporting event, comprising:

a first client computing device having a corresponding player, the first client device including:

a memory;

a processor; and

a module that is stored on the memory and that is configured to, aggregate a plurality of individual sporting activities into a distributed sporting event comprising a plurality of players that are each performing one of the individual sporting activities, that are each competing against one another by traveling over non-uniform courses that are remotely located from one another, and that each have a corresponding client device, by:

determining a location on a course depicted on one of the client devices, the determined location corresponding to a current location of the player by mapping the current location of the player to the location of the depicted course based on a correspondence between locations on the depicted course and locations on a current course traveled by the player;

presenting on the first client device the depicted course along with indications of positions of at least some of the other players with respect to the corresponding player, the indicated positions based on the locations on the depicted course of the at least some of the plurality of players; and

asserting a course by displaying on the first client device specific instructions to the corresponding player to travel over a specified path.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the depicted course is the current course traveled by the corresponding player.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the computing system includes an event controller in communication with the client devices.

17. The system of claim 14 , wherein the first client device is a smart phone.

18. A computer-readable medium storing non-transitory contents that are configured to cause a computing system to facilitate a distributed sporting event by performing a method comprising:

in a first client computing device having a corresponding player,

aggregating a plurality of individual sporting activities into a distributed sporting event comprising a plurality of players that are each performing one of the individual sporting activities, that are each competing against one another by traveling over non-uniform courses that are remotely located from one another, and that each have a corresponding client device, by:

determining a location on a course depicted on the first client device, the determined location corresponding to the current location of the player by mapping a current location of the player to the location on the depicted course based on a correspondence between locations on the depicted course and locations on a current course traveled by the player;

presenting the depicted course along with indications of positions of at least some of the other players with respect to the corresponding player, the indicated positions based on the locations on the depicted course of the at least some of the plurality of players; and

asserting a course by displaying on the first client device specific instructions to the corresponding player to travel over a specified path,

wherein the non-uniform courses differ from each other in course length and/or elevation profile.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the method further comprises:

receiving location information from each of the client devices, wherein location information is passed amongst the client devices without first passing through a centralized competition manager system.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein asserting the course includes:

determining, based on the current location of the player, whether the player is within boundaries of the asserted course; and

issuing at least one of a warning, penalty, or disqualification to the player when the player is not within boundaries of the asserted course.