SUBURBAN
AQUATIC LEAGUE, Inc.
Meet Manager Software Help and Protocols
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.
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.
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 |
|
Dual Meets (Girls) |
Dual Meets (Boys) |
"Double Dual"
Meets (Girls and Boys) |
|
Champs (Girls) |
Champs (Boys) |
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)
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
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.
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.
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.
AFTER THE MEET
Provide a printed Meet Results Report and Scores Report to EACH COACH OR TEAM REP.
Print out a Third Meet Results Report and Scores Report to be ARCHIVED AND BROUGHT TO THE LEAGUE SEED MEETING. This OFFICIAL copy of the results should have attached to it a copy of the Meet Results Cover Sheet (See the Forms Library on the SAL Web Site for a copy of this form), and this Cover Sheet Must include the Score of the Meet AND BE SIGNED BY THE MEET STARTER/REF.
Export Meet Results (see screen save below for procedure) to each of the two (or three for Tri-Meets) diskettes brought to the meet by coaches or team reps (the teams will use these to import results into their TMII database). Then export a meet results file to provide to the League Registrar (one for each Registrar in the case of a double-dual meet). You (or your team rep) are responsible to send the electronic copy of the Meet Results and the TEAM SCORE for the meet to the league registrar (TM DOES NOT include the team scores in the results exported electronically, so you need to get these to the registrar separately). The most efficient means of submitting the results to the registrar is by sending the exported meet results file as an email attachment and including the team score in the body of the email message. IF YOUR REP SENDS THE RESULTS ON DISKETTE BY U.S. MAIL, the PACKAGE MUST BE POSTMARKED BY THE MONDAY FOLLOWING THE MEET. IF THE RESULTS ARE SENT BY EMAIL, THE EMAIL MUST BE SENT BY THE MONDAY FOLLOWING THE MEET. SENDING RESULTS TO THE LEAGUE REGISTRAR IN THIS WAY IS REQUIRED IN ORDER FOR THE TIMES FROM THE MEET TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRY PURPOSES [Note: Meet results exported for use by the league registrars and other teams' Team Manager II database must be in Commlink II (*.cl2) or zipped cl2 (*.zip) format]
If your club distributes its meet results by providing a Meet Results Report to the SAL Webmaster, then you will need to create an electronic copy of the Meet Results Report in "flat html" format and save it as a file to be sent as an email attachment. THE WEBMASTER REQUIRES THAT YOU NAME THIS FILE USING THE FOLLOWING SYNTAX - dategendervisitingteamhometeam.htm (e.g., "1103GIRLSSACRAC.htm" for a November 3rd girls' meet between SAC and RAC, with RAC as host). To fulfill your team's obligation to provide meet results for distribution to other teams (which is your team rep's responsibility as described in the League Rep's Handbook elsewhere on this website), the file must be sent as an email attachment to the league webmaster by the Monday following the meet.
Email Addresses for
Sending Results to SAL Registrars |
|
boysregistrar@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) |
|
If all went well, your meet should be included on the "Lists of Meets Included" in the next update of the Top 40 List on the SAL website (the Top 40 list is updated 3-4 times during the season). Meet Results Reports sent to the league webmaster by Tuesday should appear on the league web site the next day. Each team is responsible to check to determine that results from their home meets made it into the registrars' database by checking these lists, and informing the registrar if there is a problem.
Exporting Results from MM to TM for teams and SAL Registrar
If you send results to Registrar as an email attachment, it is advisable to choose the "zip file" option:
Send flat html Results Report to the SAL webmaster for posting on the web site:
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.
GOOD LUCK!!