need assistance setting up races for noob

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oblachubs
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need assistance setting up races for noob

Post by oblachubs »

Team, I could use some help getting the Grand Prix v 10 software setup correctly for our race in December. I could use help with adding users, prepping and running the race. Here are my requirements:

Cub scouts pinewood derby races include (each run separately)
Tigers
Wolves
Bears
Weeblos I
Weeblos II
Whole Pack (everyone races again regardless of how they placed in first 5 races)
Siblings of cubs
Parents and Adults
Mall Race (we are holding our race at the mall)

I followed the tutorial but I was quite confused by it. Thanks for the help in advance.

OB
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gpraceman
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Re: need assistance setting up races for noob

Post by gpraceman »

Each should be setup as their own race group, if you want them to run separately.

It is a bit unusual to run all of the scouts all over again against each other. Usually, just the top racers are advanced from each rank to run in the Grand Finals. You could advance everyone to the Grand Finals, if you wish, by just entering a number of finalists to advance from each rank that is greater than your largest rank. Please note that results from the rank races do not carry over to the Grand Finals round. Everyone will start with a clean slate.
oblachubs wrote:I followed the tutorial but I was quite confused by it.
If you have specific questions, please post them.
Randy Lisano
Romans 5:8

Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
oblachubs
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Re: need assistance setting up races for noob

Post by oblachubs »

ok I'll give it a go and see how it works. I'll setup a mock race and try it. I do have one question. We have a roster in excel. Do I setup each class separately with their own roster and have to make a master roster of all kids for the final race? I wasn't sure if I could use one master roster for the entire pack and separate rosters for each den. I plan on having everyone entered already so the qualifiers goes faster this year. Thanks!
Last edited by oblachubs on Wed Nov 16, 2011 11:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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gpraceman
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Re: need assistance setting up races for noob

Post by gpraceman »

oblachubs wrote:ok I'll give it a go and see how it works. I'll setup a mock race and try it. I do have one question. We have a roster in excel. Do I setup each class separately with their own roster and have to make a master roster of all kids for the final race? I wasn't sure if I could use one master roster and pick tigers for race 1, bears for race 2, etc. Thanks!
You can have your rosters in the one Excel spreadsheet. You need a column to specify the race group for each of your racers. At a minimum, you need columns for the last name, first name and race group. There is a RosterData.xls file that you can use to make it easier for getting the data imported. It has a worksheet to enter the data and a worksheet of instructions. Look for it in the My Documents\Lisano Enterprises\GrandPrix Race Manager\Data folder.

If you import from a spreadsheet, you can skip over the step of setting up your race groups. As the file is imported, the software will create the race groups for you.

Creating rosters and creating schedules are different steps. Once you have your racers entered and you have indicated which have passed inspection, then you can go and create the race schedules for each group. Only racers that are checked off as having passed inspection will be added to the schedule.

In terms of mock racing, I recommend that you create a separate data file to do all your testing. That way you do not have to worry about deleting out your test data, just open up your race data file. Once you import your data, you can use the File Save As feature to create a duplicate file, just name it something like Test.
Randy Lisano
Romans 5:8

Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
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Re: need assistance setting up races for noob

Post by gpraceman »

Also, do not create a race group for your "Whole Pack" race. Once you are done with your rank races, you would start a Grand Finals round.
Randy Lisano
Romans 5:8

Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
oblachubs
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Re: need assistance setting up races for noob

Post by oblachubs »

OK that makes sense. For Grand Finals you were saying enter a rank greater than the entire pack so everyone races again? Where is that added? Thanks.
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Re: need assistance setting up races for noob

Post by gpraceman »

oblachubs wrote:OK that makes sense. For Grand Finals you were saying enter a rank greater than the entire pack so everyone races again? Where is that added? Thanks.
When you start a Grand Finals race, the software will ask you how many top finishers you wish to advance (from each race group or from the overall). If you specify from each race group, then you need to enter in a number that will match or exceed your largest group. If you specify from overall, then you need to enter a number that meets or exceeds the total number of scouts.
Randy Lisano
Romans 5:8

Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
oblachubs
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Re: need assistance setting up races for noob

Post by oblachubs »

OK all looks pretty straight forward to me. The roster imported like a charm. Looks like in order to keep the siblings, adults and mall races separate I have ot create a whole new data file for each so the results don't get mudded up with the dens and pack grand final race correct? Thanks again raceman!
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gpraceman
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Re: need assistance setting up races for noob

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oblachubs wrote:OK all looks pretty straight forward to me. The roster imported like a charm. Looks like in order to keep the siblings, adults and mall races separate I have ot create a whole new data file for each so the results don't get mudded up with the dens and pack grand final race correct? Thanks again raceman!
You can do everything with one data file. When you start the Grand Finals round you will be able to exclude the sibs, adults, and any other group that you don't want involved.
Randy Lisano
Romans 5:8

Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
oblachubs
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Re: need assistance setting up races for noob

Post by oblachubs »

oh that's great. I'll add those groups to the roster then. Thanks again. This version is much easier than the last one we used before it (v 5).
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