BO Fixture list

[EddieH]

I appreciate that it is up to clubs to put correct info on the fixtures lists, but the formalist nature of the new system is leading to ridiculous entries which can have no effect other than to mislead.

It was looking at the Scottish relays that I am planning that made me look closer - apparently EOD only which is utter nonsense, and the almost universal "no dogs allowed" whilst I can see no reason why this would be so.

I am particularly interested that Scott Fraser is going to organise the rest day in the Scottish 6 Days where of course no dogs are allowed

[DJM]

Eddie,

The default position is that no dogs are allowed (Rule 1.6.10 for those more interested) so, unless the organiser indicates otherwise, "no dogs allowed" is what will appear in the fixtures list.

So, either the organiser has had to agree to a dog ban for some reason or they have omitted to indicate that dogs are welcome ...

[EddieH]

I am fully aware of that David. The point is that the registration system is clearly too rigid as it insists on entering details for a multitude of things that the registerer, at the time of registering is either not yet interested in, or quite probably doesn't even know. Dogs is one example as it is quite obvious that dogs are allowed in many of these events.

Similarly look at the number of events with "Punch Type: None" again clearly nonsense.

You may say that the registerer should know and enter all the details but that wil not always be so. The fixture list should not assume any default position - far better to ignore parts that are not completed.

The Scottish relays is a clear example of this - presumably it was registered before a date had been decided upon, but the list appears to insert "entry on the day" for every event. Result is that some people may think they can leave it all to the weekend.

[frog]

I've had the EOD problem, seeing EOD when casually looking at an event on BOF fixtures and then realising I've missed the closing date when I read the website for more details and having to do begging phone calls/emails to the organiser. Better to have a "see website" or blank default for important things. I'm happy to leave no dogs at most of my events though, although it's usually relevent as there are livestock.

[mharky]

Why not email BOF with your suggestions

[Paul Frost]

I'm a bit torn with the new list.
It's great that you can now find more info about events from the fixture list but...
It now means that you have to maintain and keep in sync 2 sets of the same data.

The recent EckO 3-in-2 weekend had 3 events and as time went by I would gradually fill in the details as they became available. I view the EckO website as the prime source of information about EckO events and so kept it updated with every minor detail. Then I would suddenly remember that I had this duplicate set of data that needed to be updated as well, so there were periods when it didn't match. Maintaining 2 sets of data is a pain, time consuming and prone to errors.

So if the club website is basic and not easy for individuals (other than the webmaster) to update then the new fixture list is great.

But for the good club websites that allow multiple people to maintain and have more advanced features, then the new fixture list contains too much detail, and creates twice as much work with updates.
Also this might make people think they don't need to visit the club website and then they miss out on the extra info that might be available. On the EckO website you could have had a look at the maps, viewed a RouteGadget of previous events on the area and found out more about the club.

So I was tempted not to fill in any details on the fixture list and just link to the club website, but that would not allow people to search the fixture list for events matching their criteria and then they would not be aware of your event and you loose them. So as I said at the beginning, I'm torn.

[Angry Haggis]

I'm a bit torn with the new list.
It's great that you can now find more info about events from the fixture list but...
It now means that you have to maintain and keep in sync 2 sets of the same data.

I suppose the idealised solution would be for clubs, that wanted to have their own websites as the primary source of their fixtures information, publish a feed (RSS?) of their fixtures in an agreed format, which BOF would be able to automatically pick up and synchronise with their own database on a regular basis. (Assuming the fixture is already submitted to BOF and so has a BOF event ID.)

[Clive Coles]

I agree some default values are not helpful ~ they are on the things to correct list that was prepared by the Regional Fixtures secretaries. When this will happen is anyone's guess.

We are in a state of flux at the moment as the original software development company has ceased trading ! BOF have however secured a new contract with a company who has retained some of the developers who worked for our old providers so... we need to be patient.

The detailed Fixture list was rather rushed in at the eleventh hour prior to the BOF AGM. You will also probably notice there are some key bits missing. No mention of the family/group fees. No mention even of the courses on offer ! So what with the missing information, the defaulted values and the TBC items, the list in its current format is somewhat disappointing.

Club fixture secretaries now have a significant task to set up lots of data fields to make the fixture list display meaningful information. We are though entering the holiday season so I don't expect much of an improvement in the quality of data before the autumn. We all have lives outside orienteering and the need to sort out the data is the last thing these folk need at this stage.

I would reinforce the comment to "let BOF know what you think". If no one feeds back any comment, BOF will think their new fixture list is great. So do keep the pressure up for BOF to make the facilities more user friendly.

Clive