Meeting: The term “Meeting” has been used within RaceMaster98 to describe an athletic competition of any type. This will enable the developers of RaceMaster98 to expand the use of this software in thefuture to encompass Road Race Series, Relays, Track & Field, Cycling, Triathlons and many more. So, a “Meeting” may be one single Road Race or a number of Races. It is best thought of as an “umbrella” under which athletic competitions can be defined. Every new “Meeting” will start off with the user creating a “New Meeting File”.
Event: This term can be equated to a single race within the current use of RaceMaster98. Multiple “Events” (or races) can also be described. Future developments of RaceMaster98 may also include T & F “events” such as High Jump or Hammer Throw. Therefore, there can be one or many “Events” described in any one “Meeting”.
Competitor: A competitor is any person whose details have ever been entered into on of the user’s meetings and therefore stored in their Competitor File. These Competitors Files will grow over time and so clubs who organise a number of meetings using RaceMaster98 will benefit significantly as they will not need to re-enter athletes details who have competed in previous meetings.
Entrant: An entrant is a competitor who has been entered into the current meeting an given an entrant number. This number is generally worn on the chest and identifies the entrant in all events in the meeting.
Data File: shows you the name and path of the current (or new) meeting file that you are working with.
Created by: displays the name of the organisation who RaceMaster98 is registered to or “Unregistered”
Name (of the meeting): This is where you enter a full description of the name of your meeting. This text will appear on the top of every report that you produce. For example “The HR Davies Insurance Testing Ten”
Date: The date field is fully millennium compliant and works in conjunction with the international date format setting within the Windows Operating System. In the UK, dates should be entered in the format DDMMYY so, for example, 130399 will automatically appear as Saturday 13 March 1999.
Time: The Time you enter refers to the time at which the first race in the meeting starts. The format for entering time is HHMM so, for example, 1330 will automatically appear as 1:30 PM.
Qualification Date: This field is used to calculate the age of each competitor in order to allocate a Race category. The date you entered in the Date field above will automatically appear as the default date in this field based on the fact that in the UK, race categories are calculated using the age of the competitor on the “day of the race”. However, in Continental Europe, it is traditional to use the date of the 1st January each year to calculate the competitors race category. Therefore, if this latter example is to apply, simply delete the old date and enter 010199 and Friday 1 January 1999 will appear.
Type: In the foundation version of RaceMaster98 you have the option to select from one of two pre-defined Meeting Types; Single Event Meeting” or “Multiple Event Meeting”. If your meeting only has one race (i.e. “The Testing Ten Mile Road Race” then select “Single Event Meeting”. However, if you are promoting a meeting with, say, four cross-country races then select “Multiple Event Meeting”.
New Entry: Again, you are presented with multi-choice options. The purpose of these options is to allow you to allocate competitors into event(s) / race(s) as appropriate. For example, if you have selected the meeting type “Multiple Event Meeting” (described above) you can use any of the three options. Firstly, if your multi-race meeting has a marathon and a half marathon and you have charged more money for entry to one than the other, you will want to restrict entrants to the specific race that they have entered, therefore you will use the “Allowed in one event only” option. If you are organising a meeting with say, four cross country races which also have a “Fun Run” included, you may wish to allocate competitors to the Fun Run and one of the other races (i.e. Ladies Race). So therefore, a mother could run with her children in the Fun Run and compete in her own specific race. Lastly, if you organise a meeting with two races, say 5 & 10 Miles races which both start at the same time and you allow competitors to finish either at the 5 Mile finish or the 10 Mile finish, you would use the “Automatically entered in all events” choice.
Report Bottom Line Text: This field is completely free format and whatever is entered will appear on the bottom of each report that you produce. It is usually used to advertise the next meeting that a club or organisation is promoting. Alternatively, it can also be used to thank a sponsor. Or give a sponsor some publicity.
Options: The use of this function is very powerful. It gives the user a great deal of flexibility to introduce new features or to manage effectively some of the more difficult aspects of organising a meeting. Each option that you define is displayed on the “Entries” screen and is used to allocate various “Options” to competitors. For example, you may have options such as “County Championship”, “Local Runner” or “Send Club Membership Details”. In the case of “County Championship”, if you select this option when entering competitor details, that competitor will also be entered into the County Championship race as well as the main race.
Name: Allows you to enter a name for a category. But firstly, the purpose of this function is to enable a Race Director to allocate Race Categories however they want. For example if you are going to award prizes to Senior Men, Vet Men (40-49) and Vet Men (50+) you can set these categories up accordingly. It can also be used to allocate other types of “category” such as County Championship (Men).
Age - Minimum: This is a numeric field and allows you to do exactly as it says – enter a minimum age for a competitor to be eligible for this category.
Age - Maximum: As with Age – Minimum but applies to maximum age.
Gender - Male: Signifies that only male competitors can be allocated in this category.
Gender - Female: Signifies that only female competitors can be allocated in this category.
Gender – Don’t care: Signifies that either male or female competitors can be allocated in this category.
Included Options: Select the options that must be selected on the entrants entry screen in order for them to be included in this category.
Require - Any: In order to be included in this category the entrant needs to have one of the options selected in the included options window selected on their entry screen.
Require - All: In order to be included in this category the entrant needs to have all of the options selected in the included options window selected on their entry screen.
Size of prize list: This is a numeric field that allows the Race Director to define the number of prizes in each category. When the “Prizes” Report is selected (described later), the “Race Directors Prize Presentation List” is produced using this information for each category thus shortening the time taken to start the prize presentation ceremony.
Qualification date: The qualification date as described in the Meeting Options above is very similar to this field. However, whereas the use of it above is the default for every category in a meeting, this field is used to specify a different qualification date for an individual category. In the UK, some young athletes’ categories are calculated on a date in September each year for the coming Cross Country season. Therefore this field can be used to obtain a correct calculation of an athletes’ age on a specific date and to automatically allocate him/her into their correct race category
Name (of Event): As described earlier, an “Event” equates to a “Race” in the current version of RaceMaster98. The “Event name” entered here will appear near the top of each report, under the Meeting name. This name should therefore describe the precise race. For example, “10 Mile Road Race”.
Time: The Time you enter refers to the time at which the first race in the meeting starts. The format for entering time is HHMM so, for example, 1330 will automatically appear as 1:30 pm.
Type: This field is currently set to “Running”. However, future developments are intended for other sports.
Event: Using the “drop-down” list to select either a standard distance or select the first item if your event is a “Non-standard distance”. This is used in the calculation of Age Graded Results that are optionally available with the results.
Units used to display distance: This field is used to ensure that there is no ambiguity in defining the actual race distance.
Result Confirmed: When the results for any event have been completed and agreed by the meeting referee / official (or Race Director) then this box can be checked. Until this is done, ALL result reports are prefixed with the word “Provisional”. This subtle feature can significantly reduce any dispute that may occur.
Name: RaceMaster98 has pre-defined “Team Competitions” for men and ladies. However, you may wish to add another “Team Competition” such as a County Championship or for a corporate team.
Team Size: This field allows you to define the number of athletes in each team to score.
Based on: Both the two recognised methods of calculating team competition results are catered for. Select either Position or Time.
Size of prize list: Again, this field is used in the production of the “Race Directors’ Prize Presentation List”.
Restrict to these categories: Any categories that are in the Categories table (see above) are available for the “Team Competition” to be applied to. In the example above, the County Championship (Men) has been restricted to the category “All Men”.
Finish: This button is used to take the user to the Finish screen where race positions and times can be added.
Results: This button is used to take the user to the screen that enables results reports to be viewed and/or printed.
Stats: This button is used to produce a Race Statistics Report where the user is encouraged to send a copy to an athletics statistician.
Entries: This button is used to access the screen whereby competitor entries (details) can be entered and race numbers allocated.
Quit: Use this button when you wish to leave RaceMaster98
The first time you use RaceMaster98, you will have to enter all competitor details, but once you have used this system you will see its true value as you will not have to re-enter the same competitor details again. RaceMaster98 accumulates them in the competitor file and then makes them available for you to select the next time they enter any of your races.
Surname: If this is your first time use of RaceMaster98, you will need to enter each competitor but clicking on the “New” button. However, to select a previously entered competitor, just start to type the surname in the surname field. Immediately you type the first letter of RaceMaster98 will select all competitors whose name begins with that letter “b” as in the example above. If you then type the second letter (i.e. “a”) only competitors whose surname begins with “ba” will be selected……and so on. You can also use the up & down arrow keys to select from the list. The Club, Post Code & Reg. No. fields all work in the same way. To ensure you have highlighted the correct athlete for selection, check their club, town, post code and/or Reg. No. on the right of the Entries box. If you’re sure you’ve identified the correct athlete then press the enter key or click the “add” button. This function will only work if the AutoFind: box is checked. If the Retain Filter: box is checked, then RaceMaster98 will retain the alphabetic sequence you’re currently using. This is useful for example if you’re entering athletes from a bulk entry form supplied by a club secretary.
Most of the field inputs are self-explanatory. However, some need further embellishment.
Date of Birth: The standard method for entering dates is DDMMYY (without any / dividers) but many other date formats will be accepted. The dates are displayed in UK format i.e. DMY but if the entry is invalid in this format it will be interpreted as US format. If you enter a two digit year then numbers less than 30 will be interpreted as being in the next century.
Regardless of how the date is entered if the resulting date is interpreted as being in the future then you will be prompted to decide whether to use the date as entered or to subtract 100 years from it.
If you do not have a competitor’s date of birth but you know their age, then just type it in, any two digit numeric input will be interpreted as the competitor’s age. This age information will only be used for the current meeting and will not be stored in the competitor file so if the competitor is entered into subsequent meetings no date of birth will be shown. If no entry is made then ‘NDB’ will appear in the results and the competitor will not appear in any category that uses age criteria.
Examples:
Club & Team: At first glance, it may seam strange having both the athletes club and the team he/she is competing for. When the club is entered, it will automatically appear in the team field as well. This is because the vast majority of athletes who run for a bone fide club will also be eligible to compete for that club in the team competition. However, there is sometimes the situation where an athlete is serving a ban because he/she has changed clubs an cannot compete for his/her new club (in team competitions) for a period of time. In this position, the club name that has been automatically transferred to the team field can be deleted. Therefore, the athlete can compete as an individual under the club name but will not be part of any team competition. Another use of this Club / Team facility is to enable club athletes to compete in “Corporate” races. They can compete under their club name and also be eligible for their corporate team. Finally, the “Club” file accumulates (like the competitor file) and therefore should only contain bone fide “Athletic Clubs”. A competitor who is not a member of a valid athletic club but who wishes to compete as a member of a team (i.e. The Newbury Old Boys’ Cricket Club) can be entered in the “Team” field only. Therefore, the “Club” file will retain only bone fide athletic clubs.
Video Buttons: (see above) are used to locate a competitors entry by his/her race number. Either type the desired race number into the box in the middle and press enter or use the buttons to locate the entry. The far right and left buttons enable you to go to the first or last number entered. The middle right and left buttons enable you to go one number up or down the sequence at a time. This is particularly useful if you have a Race Commentator who wishes to gain fast access to athlete’s details.
Events Entered: If your Meeting has multiple events (races) and you have elected to specify which particular race an athlete is entered into, then you must click on the selected event.
Options: Similar to “Events Entered”, you may wish to select one, several or all of the options that you have defined. The usual use for this feature is to have a “County Championship” race within the main race.
Expected Time: This field may be useful to identify quality athletes when used in conjunction with the meeting report which lists athletes in “Expected Time” order.
Race Number: The Athletes unique number is entered here. If a previously entered Race Number is entered an error message will appear.
Save: This button will complete the entry for any one athletes details into the Meeting / Event. Alternatively, press the enter key twice to achieve the same task.
Events & categories: Select the desired event or categories that you wish to view.
Order by: This feature allows you to specify whether you want the report in “Surname” or “Race Number” order. The “Expected Time” option will give you a list of all athletes who have supplied an expected time in time sequence (fastest first).
Group by: Should you wish to produce your report also in “Team” or “Category” sequence you can do so.
Preview: Allows you to view the resultant report on screen before printing it out.
Print: Allows you to send the report to the printer.
Export: This function enables you to “Output” your report in various formats (see below). This is particularly useful if you’re publishing a programme in booklet for or publishing on a Web site.
Navigation: “Standard” navigation mode is used when you are entering competitor details that have been sent to you before a meeting and therefore you have the luxury of time to enter all their details including address, phone, e-mail and notes. However, if you entering competitor details on the day of the race (late entries) you will wish to use the “Fast” navigation mode which will only ask you for essential information.
Find, Delete, Edit: These buttons are used for exactly what they say. To find an athlete by name, click this button. To “Edit” an athletes details once they are found, click “Edit” or to delete an athlete, use the “Delete” button.
Close: Finally, this button will take you back to the “Meeting Details” screen.
Place: This is the position in which an athlete finished in the race.
Number: This is the race number allocated to each athlete.
Time: This is the time in which the athlete finishes.
Status: This is information pertinent to the place. It can be, as in the example above, information about a duplicate number “Dup” which, when resolved, will automatically disappear. It can also be used as a “Chk” (enter “C”) that means that the race number and time correspond with the position. Finally, if a race number is entered that has not been registered, an “NR” (Not Registered) status is displayed.
Video Buttons: The video buttons are designed to enable you to position yourself wherever you want. Use the top and bottom (double arrow with underline) buttons to go to the first or the last entry. Use the inside (double arrow) buttons to go to the top or bottom of the positions displayed. Finally, use the inner (single arrow) buttons to move one position at a time.
Insert (Number / Time / Both): These buttons are used to enable you to “insert” a number or a time or both in a particular position. Firstly, highlight the position you wish to change then click on the “Insert” button and select one of the options (number / time / both). Any numbers and/or times below the position selected will be moved down one place, ready for you to insert a new number and/or time.
Delete (Number / Time / Both): These buttons work in the same way as “Insert” above except they delete a position / time and/or both and move up all details entered below.
View (Result / Entry / Note / Meeting): or “View, Result” see below. The View: entry button will enable you to see the competitor details for the race number entered in the position you selected. Similarly, View: Note, will enable you to look at any note made about the finisher and View: meeting, will enable you to look at the meeting details.
Options: The Time entry options allow you to either enter finishing times in HH:MM:SS format ( used if you’re event is long distance, say 20 Miles or if your using a stop-watch with a printed tally-role printout) or in MMM:SS format for shorter race. If the latter is used, the displayed time will automatically convert to HH:MM:SS. The Navigation mode enables you to enter positions / times either separately (down mode) or one after the other (Across mode).
Results: These can be viewed from a number of places within RaceMaster98.
Categories: By clicking on any of the category boxes, you can view any of the discrete categories (in the example above, either any of the age categories, or the County Championship category).
Reports (Indiv. / Team / Prizes): Any of these buttons will enable you to view the results in a number of ways.
For the Individual results, select any category and then select your options. You can either include pace min/ml, min/km, Age Grading or none of these. Additionally, if you select Age Grading you can then select “Use Age Grading order”. You can also select “Group by Team”. Finally, when you are sure that you have a complete and accurate set of results, you can click the “Result Confirmed” box. Until this is done, each result report will be prefixed with the word “Provisional”.
Preview: Will enable you to view your selected report (with options) on screen.
Print: Will enable you to print out your selected report (with options) on paper.
Export: Will enable you to output the report in a number of formats.
Team Results can be selected. Both the Men’s and Ladies team results are provided as standard. In the example above, the county championship team results for Men and Ladies were defined when you set up Event Details (Team Competitions) see above. Firstly, you can override the “Team Size” number if you desire. Also, you can choose to have the results computed on either race position or by time. Again the usual array of reporting options exist (as discussed above).
Reports (Prizes): This option allows the production of the very useful “Race Directors Prize Presentation List”.
Again, you can choose to Preview, Print or Export the report. This report is derived from the “Size of Prize List” which you entered against each category that you defined (see above). The “categories…” button allows you to enter and modify each category if you so desire. This report is essential in getting the correct information to the Race Director in an accurate and concise manner as possible and as rapidly as possible to support the presentation of prizes before athletes leave the venue.