Tweaks for online entries?

General slalom chatter...rant about the bad, rave about the good
InsertUsernameHere
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Re: Tweaks for online entries?

Post by InsertUsernameHere » Sun Mar 03, 2019 6:41 pm

Thanks Dee you are a star!

Dee
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Re: Tweaks for online entries?

Post by Dee » Fri Mar 29, 2019 11:05 am

A couple of organisers have mentioned selecting specific entries for card printing to cater for entries coming in after cards are printed.

Not quite done that, but you now have option of entering a date so that only entries after that date will be included.

Leaving date blank prints all as before.

As usual, any problems and I'm usually at the other end of the keyboard
Kit Washer, Entry Clerk, Chauffeur, Reluctant Organiser, Online Entry Advocate .....
Anything I post under this user is my personal opinion; I am not posting as a member of the Slalom Committee!

JimW
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Re: Tweaks for online entries?

Post by JimW » Mon Apr 01, 2019 12:50 pm

Thanks Dee, that should do the trick nicely!

Jim

JimW
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Re: Tweaks for online entries?

Post by JimW » Thu Jun 27, 2019 12:55 pm

I have never tried to enter div 4 myself, but one family at the weekend reported that they had failed to work out how to enter div 4 online because the first thing they needed to select was their ranking, which they don't have.

Any chance you could have a look at the route div 4's need to take through the entry system to make an entry and see if it could be made a little clearer or more obvious? Bear in mind they are likely to have little or no knowledge of slalom so may be confused by options that seem obvious to us!

Dee
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Re: Tweaks for online entries?

Post by Dee » Thu Jun 27, 2019 2:12 pm

JimW wrote:
Thu Jun 27, 2019 12:55 pm
I have never tried to enter div 4 myself, but one family at the weekend reported that they had failed to work out how to enter div 4 online because the first thing they needed to select was their ranking, which they don't have.

Any chance you could have a look at the route div 4's need to take through the entry system to make an entry and see if it could be made a little clearer or more obvious? Bear in mind they are likely to have little or no knowledge of slalom so may be confused by options that seem obvious to us!
Mmm! This is one of my reasons for being reluctant to add Div 4s in the first place! To be honest, I still suspect that most people entering online as Div 4s are those with siblings/parents who are ranked and so have an understanding of the system. Those entering their first ever race are much less likely to enter online and once they've done one do tend to twig that they are Div 4s.

The really tricky bit is to simplify for Div 4s without cluttering screen or confusing everyone else. (The level of IT literacy varies enormously even amongst those who are ranked)

There is a help option in the menu bar, but from this point of view I agree the text is fairly limited. I can add a bit for newbies - but it probably won't help much, as just who clicks 'help' in the menu anyway! :). I can add a "Help" button to the actual entry page - this would be more obvious than on the menu bar - and I could do something more explicit for newbies/div 4s. This might help a bit? I could display an annotated screen shot maybe. What do you think?

The problem is - how do I know to send Div 4s a different route if I don't know that they are non ranked? I'm clever, but not psychic!
The only think I can think to do, without compromising the system for other paddlers, is to change some of the text on the page:
  • The first thing they have to do is select a 'class' - K1W, K1M etc - this does present a challenge as some are not sure whether they should go with C1M or K1M (I've had one ask whether they should select K1W or K1M as they hadn't realised the races were split by women and men). But it is pretty much a necessity that I have to know! The screen says 'Ranking Class' - I think it used to just say 'Class', but this confused paddlers wanting to enter Officials as this is not done by class! Would 'Boat Class' help do you think?
  • The second is division - now this says 'Ranking Division'. If I change it then I can guarantee that a div 1 paddler will select Prem because they want to enter as a paddle up! We could change the menu on the drop down so that there is an option which says 'no division' or 'not known' or 'not ranked' or some such (a bit more complicated) but will this make any difference. I could even default to Div 4, but that will cause all sorts of issues with ranked paddlers not realising they can select alternative. I'm stuck!
  • I can change 'Bib Number' to read 'Paddler' - Div 4s don't have bib numbers. I don't think this will confuse ranked paddlers.
I could start the entry process with asking if paddler is ranked and then display accordingly, but this adds another step for everyone and will clutter the screen, and for those who are ranked in K1 but not in C1 it will create no end of confusion.

I could add a little :?: button alongside each of the labels which, for 'Ranking Division' could say "The division in which you are ranked. If you are not ranked, then select 'Div 4'" or similar.

Any thoughts/responses welcome!
Kit Washer, Entry Clerk, Chauffeur, Reluctant Organiser, Online Entry Advocate .....
Anything I post under this user is my personal opinion; I am not posting as a member of the Slalom Committee!

InsertUsernameHere
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Re: Tweaks for online entries?

Post by InsertUsernameHere » Thu Jun 27, 2019 2:45 pm

I wonder for the Div 4s whether it would be more helpful for those of us who use it, to come up with a step by step guide which we send out when we are advertising our competitions - rather than change the whole system? The online entries for Div 4s is fab and I wouldn’t want to loose it!!

Happy to spend sometime drawing something up later in the summer. The main confusion I’ve had is Div 4s entering as officials.

Dee
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Re: Tweaks for online entries?

Post by Dee » Thu Jun 27, 2019 3:01 pm

InsertUsernameHere wrote:
Thu Jun 27, 2019 2:45 pm
.. The main confusion I’ve had is Div 4s entering as officials.
Next year I plan to add the option in the division drop down box of 'Non-Ranked Official'. This is mainly so that paddlers from other disciplines can enter as officials in local competitions. However, this could mean that we drop 'Div 4s' from being able to enter as officials.

This would stop Div 4s from accidentally entering officials as well as/instead of the Div 4 ranking race, but would it cause problems where someone has previously learnt that they are div 4 and then wants to enter as an official? I go round in circles sometimes :roll: :roll: ?

Of course we should remember that, back in the day, new paddlers did not find the cards easy to fill in either so we are never going to make it easy for everyone all the time.
Kit Washer, Entry Clerk, Chauffeur, Reluctant Organiser, Online Entry Advocate .....
Anything I post under this user is my personal opinion; I am not posting as a member of the Slalom Committee!

Dee
Posts: 1444
Joined: Sun May 08, 2005 8:34 pm

Re: Tweaks for online entries?

Post by Dee » Wed Jul 03, 2019 9:28 pm

A few people have requested a copy facility when setting up the Start List, but I can not remember who they are :oops:

I’ve now added a button to allow you to copy the set up for one day to the other day(s) in the competition.
Kit Washer, Entry Clerk, Chauffeur, Reluctant Organiser, Online Entry Advocate .....
Anything I post under this user is my personal opinion; I am not posting as a member of the Slalom Committee!

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