SUBURBAN AQUATIC LEAGUE, Inc.
Meet Manager Software Help and Protocols

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Meet Manager Basics

NEW (Added 11-12-09) Converting Meters to yards in Meet Manager (PDF Download)

Meet Manager is a computer program used to run swimming meets.  It can be used in conjunction with a touch pad system to completely automate the collection of times and scoring of the meet.  It will produce paper and electronic copies of the meet results.  The latter are provided to the SAL league registrars (most efficiently, as email attachments) to collate the results from all of meets across the league.  Meet entries (produced by coaches using the companion Team Manager II software) are imported into Meet Manager, and the meet results are provided to coaches after the meet to be imported into each team's Team Manager II database.

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Beginning the Season with Meet Manager

The Information Below should be used in conjunction with the SAL MM Set-up Sheet

The first thing to do at the beginning of the season is to download the (free) latest update of the MM software from the HyTek website, and install the update to be sure that your installation of the software has the latest features and the fewest programming bugs.   It is a good idea to do this several times during the season.

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SAL Meet Templates

The SAL MM Templates are backup files containing the Meet Preferences, Scoring Set-up, Events, League Records, and Age-up Date (10/31) for SAL Meets.  

CAUTION: Using these templates will ERASE any entries, teams, results, etc that are in the current meet database.  So do this only by starting a NEW MM database BEFORE you have added any teams, entries, etc.

To use the template:

1.  Create a new MM database (From FILE on MM main menu, choose OPEN/NEW)

2. Go through the process of creating a database for a new meet: You will be asked for Meet Name, Date, and Course (Yards) on the "Meet Set-Up" screen, and then for the Age-Up date (which is Oct 31 for all SAL meets)

3. Download the Zip File containing a MM database back-up of the template containing events and scoring preferences for the appropriate meet type (you should only need to download each template file once at the beginning of the season; however, it is a good idea to check here during the season to see if there have been any corrections or improvements in the templates since the beginning of the season).

Click on file name to download MM Template
Use MM "Restore" with NEW MM database to apply template

Dual Meets (Girls)
Swmm5BkupSALdualgirls
Tri-Meets (Girls)
SAL Tri-Meet MM Template Girls

Dual Meets (Boys)
Swmm5BkupSALdualboys
Tri-Meets (Boys)
SAL Tri-Meet MM Template Boys

"Double Dual" Meets (Girls and Boys)
Swmm5BkupSALDoubleDual
Odd event numbers 1-83 for girls, even event numbers 2-84 for boys
Be sure that your visiting team is using this numbering system

Champs (Girls)
Swmm5BkupSALgirlschamps

Champs (Boys)
Swmm5BkupSALboyschamps

Girls League Records (Update Pending) Boys League Records (Update Pending)

4. From the MM main menu, choose FILE, then RESTORE.  Follow MM instructions to "Restore" your database with the downloaded template, which will add the SAL dual-meet events, scoring set-up, League Records (as of beginning of the season), etc.

5. You will now need to go to meet set-up screen (from MM main menu, choose Set-Up, then choose Meet Set-up).  You will see that the meet Name, Date, etc. have been changed as shown in the Meet Set-Up Screen shown below.  Change the Meet Name and Dates back to the correct ones you chose in Step 2.  You will also need to go to Set-Up, then Timing Console to choose the timing console you are using (manual timing is the default in the SAL Templates).  You can also import your own team and pool record files if you keep them in MM format (This is suggested - MM will check for new records, and print a Flag on the Event Results Report and Meet Results Report if a record is broken. You can also update your Records files after the meet so that any new records are included in the file for the next meet)  

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Note: The differences between the templates for championship meets and dual/tri meets are:
1.  Events - Heat Order: championship meets run heats from slowest to fastest.   Other meets run heats from fastest to slowest
2.  Scoring and Awards: Champs meets not team scored, but are set to print award labels for ribbons

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TEAM ROSTERS

Team rosters may come in handy during the meet if an athlete needs to be added who was not in the electronic line-up.  Each team should include a roster file on the diskette that they bring to the meet, along with their entries.   These roster files can then be imported into the MM database to allow you to add athletes to the meet who are not included in the entry files.

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IMPORTING ENTRIES

For dual, Tri-, and double-dual meets, coaches (or other leaders) from each team should provide you with a zip file containing their entries, including specification of Heat & Lane, which is possible with the new TMII product (unlike in the original TM used last season).  When you go thru the Import Entries procedure, you will have a choice between importing the *.cl2 file and the *.hy3 file.  ONLY THE *.HY3 FILE INCLUDES THE HEAT & LANE ASSIGNMENTS specified in TMII.

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RUNNING THE MEET

The person running Meet Manager serves as head scorekeeper for the meet.  After the entries for both teams have been successfully imported into the database, a Meet Program should be printed out and provided to the visiting team scorekeeper.  Following each event, the results for the event should be printed out and provided (along with the print-out from the timing system, timing slips, & judges' slips) to the visiting team scorekeeper so that s/he can independently confirm the score of the meet.  You should also have an assistant to help you enter times not provided electronically by automatic timing systems, check for new records, etc).   Meet Manager will inform you if there is a discrepancy between the time provided by a touchpad and the time provided by the corresponding backup button, and will allow you to correct the times according to the USA Swimming rules used in the SAL (see SAL Constitution for details).  Watch times (together with the observations of the Timing System Operator) should be used to determine whether the discrepancy is due to the touchpad (therefore requiring the correction) or due to an inaccurate backup button time (no correction called for).  Coaches should provide you with a 3X5 card (or other agreed-upon system) with any changes clearly indicated (the SAL Constitution requires that any Event Changes be presented to the head scorekeeper at least two full events before the event being changed).  Changes should be passed along to the visiting team scorekeeper promptly.

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AFTER THE MEET

Email Addresses for Sending Results to SAL Registrars
(these must be zipped *.cl2 files sent as email attachments)

girlsregistrar@suburbanaquatic.org

boysregistrar@suburbanaquatic.org

divingregistrar@suburbanaquatic.org 

Email Address for Sending Results to SAL Webmaster for Posting on League Web Site (these must be in html or Word format files sent as email attachments)

webmaster@suburbanaquatic.org

Exporting Results from MM to TM for teams and SAL Registrar

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If you send results to Registrar as an email attachment, it is advisable to choose the "zip file" option:

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Send flat html Results Report to the SAL webmaster for posting on the web site:

 

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Hints and Advice from S.A.L. MM Users


As a wise, old teacher once said,
"I have three pieces of advice for you when it comes to using computers:
1. Always backup your work.
2. ALWAYS BACKUP YOUR WORK.
3. ALWAYS BACKUP YOUR WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
In the case of MM, it is suggested that you make a backup of your database every 5-10 events during a meet and immediately following the meet.

TMII and MM both have a "Repair Database" feature that has been found to be useful in fixing some problems that can occur when using the software. From the Main Menu, File ----> Repair Database.  If you run into problems during the running of a meet, you may want to try this.

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GOOD LUCK!!