Entering results from multiple timers per race

Some teams have two timers timing the same race and average the numbers from the two to get more accurate results. This feature is being supported now.

To enable this feature, please contact TSTM so we can enable it for you.

Once enabled, on the meet result entry page, you will see the following layout.

Note there is a drop down box circled in red. It has 3 items, Final, Timer 1 and Timer 2.  If your team uses two timers per race, you should NOT select Final because TSTM will calculate the averages from Timer 1 and Timer 2 and fill in the result into the Final view automatically.  If only Timer 1 or Timer 2 has data, the Final view will take the available value.  For teams only uses one timer per race, you should not see this new drop down box and everything should work like before. 

Only manual data entry is supported for the two timer feature and the batch result import is disabled.

TSTM Emergency kit

The set of files in this emergency kit makes team vital data available to admins no matter what happens to the server.  Although a lot of efforts have been made to keep the server online, there are situations that are out of our control to make the server available, such as power outages or network interruptions. With this kit, admins should have the most important team data at hand. The data may not be the most up to date, but it is better than empty handed right before a meet.

The zip file can be generated on the Season Setup page. At the upper right corner, click on the red cross icon to create the the emergency package. Then you can download the file to your local machine. You are recommended to recreate this file weekly or when your team data has significant changes.

TSTM backup server

To improve server availability, TSTM will have a backup server hosted in Virginia. This should reduce potential server down time during the busy months (May though July).

You can access the backup server using either of the following URLs. They point to the same web site.

TSTM Backup Site URL1: http://ww2.tsaswimteam.com

or

TSTM Backup Site URL2: http://backup.tsaswimteam.com

Due to the dynamic nature of the TSTM web site, the backup server will not have the most update to date data. The data will be replicated from the main site periodically. Please only use the backup site when the main site is confirmed down and doesn't appear to recover in a few hours. Of course, if you only need to look up some team data, the backup can be used at any time. Don't make changes on the backup site unless the main site is confirmed down for extended period of time, or you may lose your changes on the backup server when the main site becomes available and the downtime is brief.

Preparing lineup for the trial meet

TSTM does lineup based on past personal best times. For the very first meet in a season, in order to make the lineup meaningful, we will need the results from the past season. If your team has the premium features enabled, on the Meet Setup page, at the lower right corner, there should be two arrows. The left arrow will activate meets from last year and right arrow will deactivate them.

Here are the steps to prepare a lineup for a trial meet:

Activate the past season meets.

Go to menu Meets->Line up

In the popup window, you should see personal best times calculated from past season meets.

Click on the link Lineup at the upper left corner.

Select the trial meet in the drop down box (probably already selected for you)

Select max 4 events per swimmer.

Select 0 relay teams.

Select "All" for lane type.

Click on the Line up button.

When the lineup shows up, click on the blue ribbon icon at the upper right corner.

In the new window, select "all heats" checkbox at the upper right corner.

Click on Create Event Sheets button.

Download "TSA Boy Main Event File" (for printing on blue sheets).

Download "TSA Girl Main Event File" (for printing on pink sheets).

Download the Heat Sheet CSV File (view it in Excel).

Go back to the Meet Setup page and deactivate (right arrow) the past season meets!

That is all!

Seasonal checklist

At the very beginning of a season:

Before closing the past season, backup your team data (TSTM Emergency zip file).  To do so, go to the Season Setup page and click on the red cross icon (upper right corner) and wait for the green download icon to appear.  Click on the download icon to save the zip file on your local computer.

On the same page, now you can close the season by setting the Status to Close and click the Submit button. This will clear and archive all past season data. Then change the Status to Open and click the Submit button.

Go to Team Setup and Season Setup pages to review all settings. Make necessary changes for the new season.  You can lock the team site from non super admin users to access on the Team Setup page while you are preparing for the new season.

Go to the Other->Manage roles page and update roles for the new season.

Let me know of your admin changes (if any) so I can update the mailing list.


After all swimmers are registered:

If any families in the View families page is grayed out, please resolve them. This means that these families never verified their registration by clicking on the link sent to them in the registration email. Admins can help them to verify their accounts on this page by selecting the checkbox of the corresponding families and scroll to the bottom of the page, selection action "Lock / unlock (verify)" and then submit.

Generate the TSA required swimmer roster file. Go to Swimmers->View by criteria. Then click on Export "Roster" (upper right corner) and then download the file: TSA Swimmer Roster CSV File.

Download the TSTM Emergency file for the current season (Season Setup page).  It can be very useful should the web site become temporarily unavailable.

For teams using Hy-Tek, it is very important to synchronize the swimmer roster between TSTM and Hy-Tek. Please use directions here:
http://tsaswimteam.blogspot.com/2012/09/synchronizing-swimmer-roster-in-tstm.html


Freeze volunteer assignment/selection:

Two weeks before the first dual meet, you may want to freeze up the volunteer assignment/selection. Go to the Season Setup page and change the Status to Freeze to prevent members from deselecting their assignment or selections. They can request switching jobs afterwards.

For teams using volunteer preference selection method (instead of first come first serve), there is an automatic volunteer assignment feature. Please take a look here. You need to freeze the season for families to see their assignment.
http://tsaswimteam.blogspot.com/2012/02/automatic-volunteer-assignment-based-on.html

Before each dual meet:

Majority teams used TSTM's automatic lineup. If your team has new coaches or admins using the auto lineup and needing help, please use these instructions. They can email me directly if they have questions.
http://tsaswimteam.blogspot.com/2013/04/automatic-line-up-seeding-function.html
http://tsaswimteam.blogspot.com/2012/02/new-feature-to-allow-manual-tweak-auto.html

Print heat sheets and personal best time labels:
http://tsaswimteam.blogspot.com/2012/02/printing-features-for-tsa-swim-team.html


Invoice date:

6/20 is the invoice date and your team due will be finalized at 3AM. Please make sure you don't have duplicated swimmer registration before that time.  Invoice can be viewed in the Team Setup page (upper right corner). You can send in payment by check or Paypal (non-credit card payment). Payment is expected to be received on or before 7/20.

Late fees: Due to a growing number of teams paying late in recent years, we reluctantly introduced late fees to encourage teams paying on time. Your payment check will not be cashed before 7/20 no matter when it is received. If a payment is not received by 7/20, there will be a 5% late fee. Each additional month past due will have an increment of 1% late fees.

Admin guide:
http://tsaswimteam.blogspot.com/2013/05/tsa-swim-team-manager-user-guide.html

TSTM meet result notification service sponsor program

TSTM (TSA Swim Team Manager) is the largest online swim team software system serving 15 TSA (Tarheel Swimming Association) swim teams in the 2014 season. We will start offering an email advertising service for our sponsor businesses in 2015. If you want to reach out to thousands of swimmer families and send your contact information through us, this is a great opportunity for you.

Here is how the advertising system works:

When swim meet results are entered into TSTM, emails are sent to the registered parents of the swimmers. At the top of the email message, it has the most up to date swimmer meet results. 3 pieces of your business information (business name, telephone number and web site or email address) are listed at the bottom of the message. The entire message is short enough to fit most email readers. Although such meet result notification emails are optional, 98% of the families remained subscribing to the service in the 2014 trial run. This provides a great channel to promote your business information to the majority of the swim team families. Your business information is estimated to be delivered to families (spread out in Wake county) for at least 2000 times which statistically covers every family subscribing to the meet result email service. These emails are typically sent in June and July months after swim meets so please signup early so we can set everything up for your business.

Your business information is expected to go to these teams (teams marked with a star, subject to change each year).

http://www.tsaswimteam.com/selectTeam.do

After signing up as a sponsor, we will create an account for you at http://www.tsaswimteam.com/sponsor.html. Using this account, you can monitor the number of times your business information has been sent to families.  You can also update your business information to be delivered to families.

Please contact us at tsaswimteam@gmail.com if you are interested in sponsoring TSTM.

Thank you!

Messaging in TSTM

Sending messages has always been a weak link in TSTM services, mostly because we depend on external services to deliver the messages. Sometimes, thousands of mails are sent without issues but some other times, it just stops sending for no apparent reasons. Sending messages in time is very important for teams, especially during inclement weather. If you found TSTM is not sending messages, there is a feature to assist you to send the message from your own mail client. TSTM provides you with a list of addresses that you can plug into your email software. Here is how to do it.

Go to admin menu Other->Send messages.
Select your recipient criteria and click the "Show recipients" button.
On the new page, at the upper right corner (above the Subject field), there is a link called "Email address list". Right mouse click on the link and copy the addresses.
Go to your own email software and in the To, CC or BCC field (your choice), paste the address list.
Type your message there and send it!

This works for both email and text messages.

Although this is not as convenient as directly typing messages and sending within TSTM, it should be a good workaround. One other advantage to send messages this way is that your recipients can reply to your inbox directly.