Web content may be submitted to
any
SMS officer for publishing
consideration.
- Content of particular interest includes:
Other content will be considered.
Meet Results
Meet Organizers: Feel free to send these instructions to anyone
responsible for generating meet results reports.
Official USMS requirements for meet results are stated in the
USMS Rule Book.
Send meet results directly to the
SMS
Web
Master in a digital format. HTML or Plain Text (ASCII) is the
preferred file format. Other formats (such as a spreadsheet) will
be accepted,
but may not be viewable by all SMS Web visitors. See the notes
below for more information.
If the meet is run using
Meet
Manager (by
Hy-Tek for
Swimming) then the following
note should apply (but it can apply to other meet software as well),
and can be sent to the Meet Director:
At the close of the upcoming SMS 20__ ___ (SCY, LCM, or SCM) meet
please submit the following three reports as detailed here.
NOTE: All reports should be exported
using the 'Flat HTML'
option. If
this option is not listed, or you are uncertain, please start with the
first HTML option shown (as this is usually the simplest one).
The USMS Rule Book states the formats required for meet results.
Following is the requested format for SMS, which includes the USMS
requirement.
Reports requested are:
#1 - Combined (W+M) Team Scores
Include a report showing the final rankings of all teams represented at
the meet. (As a whole team, not men and women separate.)
#2 - Individual Scores by Age Group
Include a report showing the total score for each individual swimmer,
separated by Gender, and Age Group.
#3 - Final Timed Results Report
Turn on the option to include splits for relays and 2+ lap individual
events.
Show both cumulative (running), and subtracted splits.
Sort Results by gender, with the youngest age group first on each list.
Include Scoring.
If #3 is the only report you can generate (using any set of parameters for output), then that is fine, but it
would be greatly appreciated if you could include the other two reports
as well.
Note: In Hy-Tek Meet Manager this report (#3) is typically produced
using the "Publication Order" option, on the "Splits / Sort Order /
Selected Teams" tab in the Results window. See the Hy-Tek MM User
Guide for more information.
The above three reports may be e-mailed directly to the SMS web master:
<web masters e-addy>
Thanks in advance for your hard work and assistance.
|
Here is an
excellent example of the three
combined reports explained above. Feel free to send a
link/copy of this example to the meet director.
It is OK if the exact parameters
requested cannot be met for all the above reports (such as getting the
individual
scores separated by gender and age group). The important thing is
to try and
get
all three reports (as
opposed to
only the timed results).
If only one report can be generated, then #3 (Final Timed Results) is
the one to get.
If all meet results are submitted using the above guidelines then SMS
will have a lot more consistency in the published results. If you
feel a different set of parameters should be used for meet report
output, then let the SMS Web Master know.
Additional assistance may be obtained from
Hy-Tek on-line support,
including the
Meet
Manager 2.0 User Guide, which explains how to setup and generate
these reports.
If other swim meet
manager software is used then please try to apply the above
requests
and the following notes to the output generated.
- General Rules for generating digital meet results:
- Results output should be in HTML or Plain Text (ASCII) file
format. Other formats (such as a spreadsheet) will be accepted,
but may not be viewable by all SMS Web visitors.
- All output should be in a "space delimited" (plain) format.
- If result output files are in HTML or ASCII format it is
fairly easy for the web master to combine these three reports (team and
individual scores, and complete timed results) into one handy HTML file
that can be pointed to, downloaded, e-mailed, etc. (See the
example link above.)
A Few Notes About Images
Size matters when submitting images for web publication. Please
consider the following before you send your photos or images:
- There are two parts to Digital Image Size
- File Size (the number of bytes)
- Display Size (the number of pixels)
- This also applies to screen resolution.
It is highly unlikely that an image over 1 Mega Pixels (Mpx) will ever
be used on the web. This is partly because the file size is too
big, taking too long to load and wasting valuable bandwidth and disk
space. Another reason is that the image is simply too large to
display within the most common screen resolution settings. For
example: A
1Mpx image is typically 1152x864 pixels (WxH), while a very popular
screen setting is 1024x768 (or 0.8Mpx). (You simply multiply the
pixel WxH to get the total size.) Additionally, an original
1Mpx image weighs in at about 300KB, while a properly resized 0.8Mpx
image can take as little as 80KB and look just as good (on screen, when
viewed at a 100% zoom factor).
- Settings Tips for
Resizing Images for Optimal Web Display
- Select a final pixel output size (WxH) of 1024x768px or less
- Cropping the
image can cut out parts of the image you don't need, which can greatly
reduce image file size.
- Simply cropping and saving the image may not save much
on the file size unless you also adjust the settings outlined
below. Experiment with a few images and compare your results
before sending them off.
- Set the pixels/inch option (if accessible) to 72dpi (dots per inch)
- The reason for this is that the eye is easier to fool
on-screen. This setting for printing will make the image look
grainy, but for any type of on-screen display (either from the Web or
off a disk in your local PC) the image will look very clear and be a
MUCH smaller file size.
- Compression and Smoothing values can be used for
further file size reduction without drastically compromising the
on-screen viewing quality of the image.
- These values may only be seen at the point where you
save the image.
- A value of 5%
is typically enough to significantly reduce the file size, but higher
values (say 20%) can be used. Try experimenting. Most
digital image editing software will allow you to preview the results
before you commit to a save.
- File Types on the Web
- .JPG is typical
for photo images
- .GIF is typical
for graphics images (like team logos)
- Other file types are allowed, but these two are fairly
bulletproof on the Web and should always be your first choice.
- Remember: Reducing
image file size, along with
using the proper file types for the application, will greatly speed up
page loads (for a web visitor) and image transfers (either on the Web
or through e-mail). File size reduction on the Web will also
greatly save on server disk space, as well as conserve web site
bandwidth usage (which both cost money).
The software that came with your camera should be able to to the resize
job for you. These software packages frequently contain "
batch" editing tools that allow you
to resize many images at once, which can be a great time saver.
(You tend to loose some individual control using batch modes, but it
will still save vast amounts of time for Internet transfer of
images.) There is also image editing software available on the
Web (both in download form and for on-line usage). A recent
(Summer '07) download of
Adobe
Acrobat Reader (which is free) also included an optional digital
photo management software package, so there are some good free editing
tools out there. Most computer operating systems (OS's, like
WinXP) include photo viewing and editing tools as well. It is
suggested that you pick one software package that you know you will
always have access to so you will not have to relearn a new procedure
each time. The basics are all the same from one software package
to the next, but they can be presented very differently, so always
using the same software tool will guarantee better results and save you
time.
Printing digital images is an entirely different situation. For
printing you do want lots of pixels, but these images are far too large
for practical transfer over the Internet (especially in
quantity). If you wish to (or must) submit images that are "print
quality", then please
contact the web master
for instructions on how to send them (it may be requested that you burn
them onto a CD and mail them).
