Dart Tournament Program Help

Introduction

To Minimize or Maximize the program view click on the Program Listing located in the Task Bar on the bottom of your monitor screen.

This program accommodates a maximum of 64 teams.  This would be a maximum of 64 players for a Singles Tournament, 128 players for a 2/Man Tournament, 192 players for a 3/Man Tournament or 256 players for a 4/Man Tournament.

It can be run as a Single or Double Elimination without any changes.  In fact it always runs as a Double Elimination Tournament and automatically moves the losing team to the Losing Side but you can ignore the Losing Side feature if you're just running a Single Elimination Tournament.  If you're running a Double Elimination Tournament the Tournament style should be set to "Double Elimination" so that the playoff between the Winning Side and the Losing Side will print properly if you print the Tournament.  You can alternate between Single Elimination and Double Elimination styles by clicking in the Tournament Styles box located at the upper right hand corner of the Winning Side view.

It automatically seeds the Tournament according to the quantity of teams and places them in the correct starting positions in the brackets. It does a Fixed Seeding or a Random Seeding.

It builds a Name/Address Database of Players.

It can build a 2/man, 3/man or 4/man Hi/Lo Tournament by matching Hi/Lo teams according to the 01 Averages of the players that are entered into the main Names/Addresses Database.

It can build a 2/man, 3/man or 4/man Luck of the Draw Tournament by randomly matching up players.

The simple 1/2/3 entry steps let you (1) Enter Player Names, (2) Pick the Teams and (3) Seed the Tournament in either Single or Double Elimination format.

The program shows the estimated time it will take to play the Tournament (either Single or Double Elimination) according to how may teams are entered and what game formats you use.

When you start a match between 2 teams you click on the "Details" label next to the match that you are starting to enter the Number of the Dartboard the match will play on and enter the Starting Time of that match.  The program monitors the Dartboards in use and advises you of boards that are free to use.

It monitors the starting times of each match and by using the "Check Matches" button advises you after 10 minutes to make sure the match has actually started.

It monitors the expected finishing times of each match in play and advises you after that time that the match is running over if a winner has not been assigned.

It prints out an entry slip for each match showing the Teams, the Board # they are assigned to play on and the Assigned Time.  This slip is returned to the Tournament Coordinator at the end of each match showing the winners of the match so the Coordinator can enter the Game (Leg) Wins for each team. This shows the Coordinator that the match has ended and frees up the Board for another match and moves the teams forward in the brackets.

At the end of the Tournament it prints out the brackets for the Tournament showing the advancement of the teams to the win. (If you intend to print a Double Elimination format the Tournament should be set to the Double Elimination style so that it prints the Final Rounds between the Winning Side and the Losing Side) (You can change the style by simply clicking on the Single/Double Elimination label in the upper right hand corner of the Winning Side view)

It calculates the winnings in Luck of the Draw Tournaments and allows you to add money to the pot.

It randomly picks a Mystery Out between 2 and 60.

It allows you to run 2 separate Tournaments with the 2nd one beginning before the 1st has finished.  It keeps track of the players in both Tournaments and advises which teams in the 2nd Tournament don't have members still playing in the 1st Tournament and are eligible to play.

Name/Address Database

Open the Name/Address window and enter the names and address data.  (If the name you are entering is for a company, place the company's name in the Last Name text box so that it will be sorted correctly.)

As you add names into this database each person's file number becomes his "Number" that is used in entering his name into the Tournament program.  When you enter names into the Tournament program using the Player Number method the program searches for his number and adds the name & 01 Average into the Tournament.  This method of entry eliminates misspelling of names at the time the Tournament is being formed.

If you are going to enter the Player Average here you should know that average for a Low Ability player is around 30 and the average for a High Ability player is around 70.  The formula for determining a players 01 average is:
In an 01 game, if the beginning balance of a players turn is 140 or more the turn counts toward the player's 01 average. If the beginning balance of a players turn is 139 or less the turn does not count toward the player's 01 average because with the beginning balance of 170 or less for a players turn, each player who takes a turn should be trying for the OUT SHOT to end the game and not trying for a high score (Refer to your Out Chart).  The "Nightly" Average is equal to the total number of points scored during the match divided by the number of turns in the match as outlined above.  As the season progresses each night's points and turns are added to the previous points and turns and figured with the total points divided by the total turns to give a "To Date" average.

Click on the Save menu item and Save the name.

You can search for a name by entering the name in the text boxes when you first access the Names/Addresses window press the Enter button on your computer.  You can alternatively search for different parameters by using the Search menu item.  These Search functions are case sensitive and must be entered with the proper capital letters.

If you wish to change any Name/Address information for a person simply bring up the person's Name/Address file and type in your changes into the correct text box then click on the Save menu item.

When you click on the "Convert" menu item the Database is saved as Text Files to be loaded into a Word Processor, formatted to your desire then printed.  Each letter of the alphabet is saved into it's own Text File and can be printed on an 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet.  You should make a notebook with all your names and addresses listed for future reference.  This is very handy when entering names into a Tournament using the Database method (Preferred Method).

Build a Tournament by making a list of players

1-Enter Names

Click on "1-Enter Names".  Select whether to start a new Players Name List or add to an existing Players Name List.

Enter the names either by using the number of the player as listed in the Main Players Name/Address Database or by typing in the name of the entry.

It is preferable to enter the names by using the Player number from the Database because there will be no typing errors when entering the names into the Tournament and the Player Averages are assigned properly.

Note: If player names are added into the Tournament after the teams have been picked and seeded the Tournament will be restarted.  If someone wants to pull out after the Tournament has started the teams can be modified manually. (Edit/Change Player Name within a Team)

As you enter names into the Player's list, the List Total along with the number of 2/Man, 3/Man and 4/Man teams that can play is shown in the upper left hand portion of the screen.

2-Build Teams

When you are finished entering names into the list you click on "2-Build Teams" and select the style of teams that will be playing in this Tournament.

Luck of the Draw
After you have made up your list of players either by entering their Database numbers or by typing their name into the list, you build your teams by selecting either the 2/Man, 3/Man or 4/Man Luck of the Draw teams.  The names are picked from the list randomly and the teams are built randomly. 

Hi/Lo Tournament Names
You should preferably use the Database Player's number method of entering names into a Hi/Lo Tournament because the player's average is saved into this Database and loaded into the Tournament when you enter the Player's Database number.  If you enter the names manually you'll have to determine what the player's 01 average is while entering his name. When the Teams are picked the program does a Sort of the loaded Averages and matches them accordingly.

3-Seed Tournament

1. Next you seed the Tournament by clicking on "3-Seed Tournament".  This Seeding places the teams into their correct starting positions in the Tournament (either Fixed or Random Seeding).

2. Enter the number of eligible Dartboards available for this Tournament.  The Dartboards should be numbered so that when the program shows the available Dartboards you'll know which Dartboard to assign to the new match.

3. Enter the Match Format that this Tournament will be using by pressing 1, 2, or 3. (For Example -  1 = Best 2 out of 3 games/legs)

4. Enter the Game Format that this Tournament will be using by pressing the appropriate number.  Note: For a Best 2 out of 3 Tournament you can use any Game Format but for a Best 3 out of 5 or a Best 4 out of 7 Tournament use a Single Game Format such as 501 or Cricket throughout the Tournament to keep it simple.

5. Save the Tournament to Disk by giving it a unique name.  Periodically, as the Tournament progresses and you are entering your data the program re-saves the Tournament data into the file you have assigned.

Build a Tournament by manually making up the teams

Click on 2-Build Teams then click on Assemble 2 or 4 man teams Manually.  If you are interested in the proper seeding in this manually assembled Tournament you should enter the teams into the tournament with the order of the Highest Ability teams first working your way down to the Lowest Ability teams.  Then if you do a Fixed Seeding the abilities will be spread out over the Tournament separating the Highest Ability teams from the Lowest Ability teams.  It doesn't matter which order you enter the teams if you intend to do a Random Seeding.

Save your Tournament File to Disk as soon as you've assembled the Tournament

After you have built your Tournament Save it using the File/Save menu item.  Give it a name that you will recognize.  Periodically as you use the "Check Matches" button or enter data the program will re-save your Tournament file so that is is kept up to date should you have a power failure or some other catastrophic failure.

Check Match Details

Starting a match between 2 teams

Each match in the Tournament has a "Details" box next to it.  When you click on this box a window opens that shows the details of that match.

When the match between 2 teams is about to begin the information in this window can be printed and given to the teams to use to show the Players' Names of both teams, the time the match was Assigned and lists the correct board to play on.  After the match finishes, the players turn the slip back in to the Tournament Coordinator so that he can properly enter the game (leg) wins into the program and free up the Dartboard for another match.  The size of the paper necessary to print this slip is 5 1/2 x  8 1/2 inches.  You can easily make these slips by cutting an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet in half.

The Dartboards that are free to use are listed on the right side of the window.  Enter the Dartboard Number that you want this match to play on in the Board Number Textbox of this "Details" window.  This Dartboard number will be removed from the "Free Boards" list until this match has finished and the wins for the teams are entered in the Game Wins boxes.

Click the "Set Match Start Time" button to set the time when the match was assigned.  This time is used by the Program to monitor whether the match has actually started and whether the match is lasting longer than it should.

After you have entered the Board Number and set the Match Assigned Time then click on the Print Button to print a slip to give to the teams for them to use and return to you when the match has finished.

Exit this window.  The details for this match are now listed next to the match for you to view.  The number in the yellow box next to each match is the screen location of that match and is used for quickly finding the match when the "Check Matches" button is clicked and a match has either not started yet or is running over.

Look to see that the match has actually started then click on the "Details" button to return to the details window and put a check in the box in this window that shows that this match has actually started. This will tell the program to bypass this match when it looks for matches that have not started within 10 minutes after they have been Assigned. If there is no check in the "Actually Started" box the match will be looked at and listed as "not having started" after a period of 10 minutes from being Assigned.

Every few minutes click on the "Check Matches" button in the upper left hand corner of the Winning Side View screen so that the program can check for matches that have not started within 10 minutes of being Assigned or check for matches that are lasting longer than they are supposed to.

After the match between 2 teams has finished

After the match has finished and the teams have returned their slip to you showing the game (leg) wins for each team, come back to this "Details" window and enter the game (leg) wins for each team in the appropriate boxes.  This will advance the Winning Team on the winning side of the Tournament and move the Losing Team to the losing side of the Tournament.

Entering the games (legs) won will also free up the Dartboard that was being used for this match so that it can be used in another match.  It will once again be listed in the "Free Boards" list.

Check Matches Button

Every few minutes during the Tournament you should click on the "Check Matches" button.  This forces the program to do a search of each match that is playing to see whether there are any matches that haven't started within the 10 minutes since their Assigned time and to see whether any matches are running long.  This operation is also performed automatically when you enter various types of data into the Tournament.

When you click on the "Set Match Start Time" button in the Match Details window as you assign the teams the Assigned time is recorded for that match.

When you click on the "Check Matches" button, if any match has not started within 10 minutes from the Assigned time a window will open showing the Match, the Board the match should be playing on and the Screen Location of the Match.

 After you determine that the match has actually started re-open the "Details" window for that match and check the box that shows that the match has actually started.  This will make the Program skip that match when it is looking for matches that have not started on time.

If there are any matches that have not had game (leg) wins assigned to them in the Details window within a predetermined time (Depending on the Match Format and Games being Played) from the Assigned time for any match then that match will have a window open showing the Match, the Board the match should be playing on and the Screen Location of the Match.  This is an aid to the Tournament Coordinator in determining whether teams have completed a match and neglected to return their Play Slip to have their game (leg) wins recorded.

Periodically as you use the "Check Matches" button feature the program will re-save your Tournament file so that is is kept up to date should you have a power failure or some other catastrophic failure.  The time of the Last Save and the expected time of the Next Save is shown at the very lower left hand corner of the Winning Side view.  If there have been no data changes since the Last Save the Next Save will show "No Changes".

Remaining Players Section

This feature allows you to start a 2nd Tournament before the 1st Tournament has ended.  It keeps tract of players still playing in the 1st Tournament and does not allow the teams in the 2nd Tournament to be started that still have members playing in the 1st Tournament.  If you are going to use this feature it is important to enter player names into the Tournaments by using the Names/Addresses Database method of Name Entry because the spelling of the Players Names must be exact in each Tournament in order for the names to be found and acted upon.

Start 2 separate Tournament Programs running at the same time.

Build the earlier (1st) Tournament then after it has been completely set up, go to the Remaining Players section and perform item #1 to set the Tournament to monitor.

Sometime after the 1st Tournament has begun and you are receiving entries to play in the 2nd Tournament open the 2nd Tournament Program and build the later (2nd) Tournament.

From the 2nd Tournament, after it has been completely set up and is ready to start, go to the Remaining Players Section and do item #1 then do item #5 to save this 2nd Tournament to be loaded into the 1st Tournament Remaining Players Section

Go back to the 1st Tournament and do item #6 to see which 2nd Tournament teams do not have players still playing in the 1st Tournament.

Stay with this 1st Tournament to monitor the 2nd Tournament available teams.

As teams lose in this 1st Tournament perform item #2 to remove these players from the 1st Tournament. Perform item #6 and view the teams whose players are now free to play in the 2nd Tournament.

Comments

Click on the "Comments" menu item to enter, change or remove Comments.  These comments are shown in the window on the right upper corner of the Winning Side view.