Buffalo Triathlon Club

Buffalo Triathlon Club, Inc.

Next Meeting: 8/7/08
7:15pm @ brick site

August newsletter

About Us
Welcome
Officers & Volunteers
Newsletter Archive
Join us! (benefits)
Our Library
Pictures
BTC gives back!
Yahoo group
(members only)
Yahoo Instructions

Club Workouts
Thursday Bricks
Brick Point Standings
Lake Erie Swimming
Lake Ontario Swimming

Events
BTC Meetings
Score-This Race Series
Tri WNY race series
Other Events
Results Search Tool

BTC Merchandise
2008 Apparel Pre-order
Flags
Summer Hats
Leftovers

Sponsors & Friends
Sponsors & Discounts
Other Local Sport Clubs

Search Tool Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: The tool doesn't seem to be working correctly. Is there a way that I can test it, or someone that I can notify to fix it?

A: First, use the button at the bottom of the tool, to "clear all fields" of the form. Then, under the "Enter Athlete's Names" section, select the option to "Enter names into the window below". Copy-and-paste the example names into the window (highlight the example text using your mouse, and then right-click to copy/paste). Under the "Enter Race Results" section, copy-and-paste the example race results into the window. Then click the button to "Search". You should be presented with the following results:

Possible matches for "Adams" are listed below.
You are searching for: Robert 
    3 Bob Adams           N. Tonawanda    NY   2/ 81:M25-29 M#   3   15:54  5:07

Possible matches for "Smith" are listed below.
You are searching for: Jennifer, Allen, & Samantha 
    2 Bill Smith          Amherst         NY   1/ 81:M25-29 M#   2   15:38  5:02
    6 Jenny Smith         Elma            NY   1/ 21:F15-19 F#   1   16:02  5:09

If that test is successful, please double-check the data that you are using for your search. If that test is unsuccessful, or if you are still having problems, please send a detailed problem report to the webmaster. Please include the data that you entered, as well as the output that was produced by the tool.

Q: Why does the tool output results that clearly don't match the first name of any of the athletes that I asked it to search for?

A: The purpose of the tool is to drastically narrow down the size of the results that someone needs to look through in order to identify specific individuals. The tool only searches based on last name, in order to minimize the risk of missing individuals. Race results sometimes use nicknames, abbreviations, or even initials, in place of first names. It would be bad if the tool missed the results for "Robert Adams", because he was listed as "Bob Adams" in the results. Better to have errors of inclusion, which can be easily filtered out manually, than to have errors of exclusion, which would go unnoticed.

Q: Where can I obtain the race results?

A: There are various web sites that post race results online, depending on which company does the timing for the event. Some of the most popular sites are http://www.run-time.com, http://www.buffalorunners.com, and http://www.score-this.com.

Q: Once I've found the race results online, how do I paste them into this tool?

A: In most cases, the online results will be in a "plain text" format. Depending on the web broswer that you are using, you should be able to simply right-click within the results, and choose "select all", in order to highlight all of the results. Alternatively, you'll need to "highlight" all of the results by holding down your left mouse button while rolling the mouse down the page. Once you have them all highlighted, release the left mouse button. Now that they are all highlighted, position the mouse over the highlighted section, click the right mouse button, and select "copy". Then go to the search tool, left-click within the input window, then right-click and select "paste".

Q: I've found the race results online, but they are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. How do I paste them into this tool?

A: Once you have the results displayed on your screen, using Adobe Acrobat Reader, select the "text tool". The "text tool" should be available as an icon at the top of you screen. The icon is a "T" with a dotted box next to it. After selecting the "text tool", your mouse pointer will change from a hand, into a vertical line. At this point, simply right-click within the pdf document, and choose "select all". Then "copy" and "paste" the results into the search tool window, as described in the previous question/answer.

Q: Where can I obtain the list of all athletes in my club?

A: From time to time, I will update the BTC roster that is built into the search tool. However, for privacy reasons, there is no way for you to obtain the roster via this web site. If you wish to obtain the current BTC roster, you can submit your request to the treasurer. If you wish to obtain the roster from some other club, you'll need to contact the officers of that club.

Q: I have a club membership roster in a Microsoft Excel document. How can I easily get that roster into the [lastname],[firstname(s)] format required for this tool?

A: It all depends upon the format of the Excel spreadsheet, however the basic approach is as follows. Make a copy of the Excel file, so that you don't have to worry about corrupting the original. Using your copy, highlight all of the columns that contain information other than the names of the athletes. Then right-click, and select "clear contents". You should be left with a spreadsheet that contains only names. Hopefully the last names and first names are in separate columns. Now go to the menu bar and choose "File" -> "Save As...". Then select "CSV (comma delimited)" in the "Save as type:" field. Choose a name a destination for your file, and click the "Save" button. You can now open your new xxx.csv file with wordpad, notepad, or any other text editor, and make any touch-ups or edits that are needed.