Course to TEACH OTHERS Meet Manager

Last updated on August 12th, 2020 at 04:55 pm

Sam Scott, of Pacific Northwest Swimming, has developed an incredible course to teach others how to set-up and run basic swim meets using Meet Manager 6.0. The course materials are below. Sam recommends a person experienced with Meet Manager use them to teach others how to set up and run a basic swim meet.

Below are details on the methods Sam used to teach the 2-hour class. Each student brought a laptop with Meet Manager installed.

• Note to those who do not have a personal laptop with Meet Manager installed:  The meet host will need one to run the meet, try asking if it can be borrowed.
• Another option for those who do not have access to Meet Manager software:  A demo version is available on the Hy-tek website.  Anyone can get the Meet Manager demo software to practice on their own. You can use it to learn the software. However, it will not import entries or restore backup files.  All entries must be manually entered.  It also does not include the ability to connect to a timing console and actually run a meet. That version is available for purchase.

Thank you Sam for sharing these informative course materials!

Update: Click to find out about the new features in Meet Manager 7.0 or new features in Meet Manager 8.0. Because this course covers the basics, most of what it teaches still applies to newer versions of the software.

Set-up and Run a Basic Swim Meet in Meet Manager Course Overview

This course explains how to:

• Set up a Timed Finals Swim Meet Using Meet Manager 6.0
  • Create the Meet
  • Process Entries
• Generate Reports for Pre-Meet:
  • Troubleshooting
  • Organizing
  • Administration
• Run the Meet
  • Timing Console Interface and Connection
  • Operator Tasks
  • Meet Manager Operator Tasks

Course Materials

Zipped file with ALL course materials listed below (Click to download)

1. PowerPoint Presentation of Course: Meet Manager 6 ver2 (Click to download)
   •  PDF version of the PowerPoint Presentation: Meet Manager 6 ver2 (Click to view or print PDF file)
2. Zipped Folder Containing All 5 Back-up Files: Training (Click to download)
   • 2a: Zipped Backup 1:  Swmm6BkupTraining01-events-setup (Click to download)
   • 2b: Zipped Backup 2: Swmm6BkupTraining02-sessions (Click to download)
   • 2c: Zipped Backup 3: Swmm6BkupTraining03-entries (Click to download)
   • 2d: Zipped Backup 4: Swmm6BkupTraining04-seeded (Click to download)
   • 2e: Zipped Backup 5: Swmm6BkupTraining05-Race-Times-errors (Click to download)
3. Excel File with Simplified Meet Information: MM Training Data (Click to download)
4. Zipped Entry File: ASC-PN-Entries001 (Click to download)
5. Initial Psych Sheet: Psychsheet Initial Entries with errors (Click to view or print PDF file)
6. 2^nd Psych Sheet: Psychsheet entries after backup3 new errors (Click to view or print PDF file)
7. Timer Sheets: MM6 Training Meet Lane Timer Sheets (Click to view or print PDF file)
8. Order of Finish Sheet (OOF): MM6 Training Meet Starter OOF (Click to view or print PDF file)

Original Teaching Method

• Sam used two laptops each connected to its own projector so he could show and use both the PowerPoint (Course Materials #1) and Meet Manager at the same time.
  • NOTE: The PowerPoint slides contain screenshots of the Meet Manager screens that each student will actually see on their own computer.
• Sam brought a couple of USB drives containing the 5 backup files (Course Materials #2). Before class started, he had the students copy the files to the swmeets6 folder on their laptop “C” drive.
  • The back-up files quickly give students the same meet database to work with at different points of the meet
• As part of the class, the students create and “run” a meet in Meet Manager 6.0 by following the step-by-step directions given in the PowerPoint slides (Course Materials #1) and using the meet information (Course Materials #3), timer sheets (Course Materials #7), order of finish sheets (OOF) (Course Materials #8) and other resources above.
• Sam also brought a Colorado Timing Systems 6 console to show how to connect the Meet Manager computer with the timing system console. (Slides 44-47 in the PowerPoint)

Integrating Course Materials into the PowerPoint

• Set-up Section

  • Slide 6-10: Use information in simplified meet information (Course Materials #3), file to set-up the meet.
  • After students created several events, they stopped and restored Backup 1: events-setup. (Course Materials #2a) This gave everyone an identical and consistent meet
    • To restore (i.e. use) a backup file go to the “File” tab (upper left corner) in Meet Manager. Click Backup>Restore and follow prompts to restore the desired backup file.
  • Slide 11 – 13: Students created sessions and put events into sessions.
    • Note: This should not take too much time
  • Restore Backup 2: Sessions (Course Materials #2b)
  • Slide 20: Import (Open) the entry file (Course Materials #4) from above (instead of the one shown on the slide)
  • Slides 21-26: Explored various Meet Manager options and functionality related to entries and preparing the database to create reports
  • Slide 21: Review Initial Psych Sheet (Course Materials #5)
    • Note: 2 times seem questionable: Event 1, Lane 1 & Event 3, Lane 1
  • Slide 21: Restore Backup 3: Entries (Course Materials #2) (Completes entry process and corrects incorrect entry times)
  • Slide 21: Review 2^nd Psych Sheet (Course Materials #6)
    • Note: Events 4 and 8 are missing. Correct in the “Sessions” area under the “Events” tab
  • Slide 26: Restore Backup 4: Seeding (Course Materials #2d)

• Reports Section

  • Slides 27-41: Explored various Meet Manager options and functionality related to reports (Used only PowerPoint)

• Run Section

  • Slides 48-53: Explored getting race results and resolving timing issues
    • Students shared printed Timer Sheets (Course Materials #7) and the Order of Finish (OOF) sheet (Course Materials #8)
  • After slide 47: Restore Backup 5: Race-Time Errors (Course Materials #2e)

Preparing for a swim meet? Check out The Ultimate Swim Meet To-Do List. Then, get a bird’s eye view of Who does What at Swim Meets. Both include easy-to-follow links to related information. Doing a smaller, simpler meet? Host a High School or Developmental Swim Meet will help.

Need more help? See 20+ Ways to Get Swim Meet Timers and Officials: 20+ Ways to Get them for Swim Meets. 

Also, discover a few things you can do to Increase Safety at Swim Meets. Find ideas to implement before your meet as well as last-minute quick and easy tips!