Adding in the competitor data is the most difficult part of RRS.org for most people, and yet the data enables the most important features.  I’m currently adding a registration component so it will obviously capture this data if used.  But even then, the scorer will have to import the competitor list into their app.  I suspect this might be easier however as the scorer is generally better prepared for such data manipulation.

All the components of RRS.org and mobile app work without a list of competitors.  The judges and competitors can manually enter the information on submission of the forms.  But the server relies on the competitor info to send notifications.  So the mobile app will work, and you will get general notifications relatiing the event on the mobile (e.g.; protest time limit), but without competitor data, no notification will be sent for protests or scoring inquires (only email and/or text message will be sent if the competitor includes their email and/or mobile phone number when they submit the form).

So I think the mobile app will make a big difference in how competitors will communicate even if you don't uploaded the competitor data.  Many are already using the web app on their mobile, but the mobile app provides a bit more intuitive interface and includes mobile notifications, which will allow us to move away from email and text messages.

But the reason you may want to start using RRS.org on your weekend events is specially for the decision writing tools.  The suggested wording, hearing checklist and hearing notes section improve the quality of the hearings and help train new judges in best practices.  Just set up the event in advance and you can then create decisions when protests are received (or they will be created when a competitors submits a protest electronically).  This is really valuable even if you don't use the automated communications with competitors.

This seems very good and I look forward to trying it, we operate as dinosaurs at the moment.

An entry system would be good, scorers are used to getting data from a spreadsheet into the scoring program, we normally use Sailwave.

I think Juryboard gives competitor information to all via a twitter account, not personal, but a warning something is happening.

Thanks. Mike

Competitors, especially for our weekend events, generally enter on the day before the regatta, which has put me off RRS.org because uploading or entering the competitor data is difficult,

Michael, to help us think of ways to make the experience better, can you be more specific about your point above?

1. what aspects of uploading/entering the competitor data is difficult? .. using Excel .. direct entry .. both?
2. are you aware that all fields are not required? .. i.e.   one could just enter the sail # and mobile number for instance ...
3. what system are you and your volulteers using to enter the competitors when not using RRoS? 

A couple ideas off the top of my head  .. what do you think if .. ?????

1. Maybe there is a way that we can design a process/template/app that will extract that info and format it properly for input in a single step.  Would that make it better?
2. Maybe there is a way to design the mobile app to allow competitors to fill-in info beyond the min basics .. (class, sail number, competitor name, mobile number)?
3. If you could wave a wand and make it so, what would make it easier for you?

With the new mobile app, the system will  work as I see it, without notifications, but will provide protest forms, scoring inquiry forms etc to the competitors.

Paul, isn't the min info to enter a competitor the sail #? .. and the app lets you choose to receive notifications for a selected sail number .. so could a barebones implementation be to enter sail #'s only?  Add to that the ability for competitors to fill the blanks for themselves from the mobile app .. that might be interesting?

Ang

Either entry is in Excel, or it is directly in sailwave.

The entry team do it whilst you are in briefings and then the race committee to whom they are responsible go on the water and hope all is ok.

If in excel the team ashore work on getting the data into sailwave and you hope all is done before you get ashore, or the file is sent to the scorer who may be in a remote location.   To ask them to export somewhere else unsupervised would be a difficult ask. You work with different volunteers each time and have no training input.

Often you have someone with basic sailwave knowledge, they get the program populated from the template prepared. These volunteers are not used to exporting data so would not be able to do it.

This reduced the perceived ability to use the program, but with the app, we can use a lot for the short events, after informing the competitors to load the app and select the event.

For longer events (longer than a weekend) you should have time for the data export.

We in Europe are worried about data export for our laws. I have in the past discussed this with Paul and in fact, all seems to be fine, but clubs have to be reassured.

Mike

We in Europe are worried about data export for our laws.

Yea .. well .. apearantly here in the US, exporting our data seems to be all the rage  .. 

This reduced the perceived ability to use the program, but with the app, we can use a lot for the short events, after informing the competitors to load the app and select the event.

So, what I was suggesting is an intermediate implementation with the app, which is a step less than fully uploading/entering the competitor data.

If you only uploaded the sail #'s, a boat could still choose to receive notifications from the app by choosing the sail # from the list.  They wouldn't get the texts, etc as if they were fully entered, but the app would receive notifications and if the boat was protested, notices speficially for that boat.

Since the sail #'s don't include any personal info, I'd think that'd pass muster as well with the EU privacy issues.

Ang

The only requirment for the competitor import is that the spreadsheet contain all the required columns with at least one column populated.  So, yes, sail number would be sufficient.

I had thought I could just use the app for protest time limits easily

It may not be a big issue but it looks as though I do have to through the import process to get the fleets into the system so I can do the respective time limits. Not huge but not mentioned in the documentation as needed.

You can enter the protest time limits without importing competitors.  The time limit will show on the displays.  But without a list of competitors, with email and/or phone numbers, the application will send time limit notifications only to the mobile apps (obviously not to email or text message).  But if you do include a competitor list, you can send the protest time limit to just certain classes and/or divisions.  That is so events with several protest time limits can limit the number of notifications sent to any one competitor.

Yes, but to enter the time limits for classes I had to import the class/fleet data.

You could not seem to enter time limit information without some import of information. This populated the box from which you could choose to enter a time limit.

The Description field is the only field displayed to competitors.  You can list the classes for that particular time limit in the Description field and ignore the competitor pick list below it.  You don't need to import the competitor list in order to generate protest time limits.

Tried and works - I did not realise you did not need to populate the boxes below.