Procedures for starting up with the CARDS Ratings system
Installation on your computer
Outline
To establish your club in the
CARDS ratings system there are a few basic steps
that must be followed.
From then on your club and its
members are in the CARDS system.
The recommended database software is the open source (free) version which is available from FireBird. See http://www.firebirdsql.org/ for
more details. Firebird install kit is available from this site at
Firebird-1.5.3.4870-0-Win32.exe
(2.7 Mb).
Make sure you install both CLIENT AND SERVER.
The alternative is Interbase from Borland. See Borland
for a discussion on the technical aspects of Interbase. If you wish to order Interbase from Borland go to the Borland
site
Using the Firebird product is simple and cheap and as far as the CARDS
program
is concerned is all you really need.
Once the database software is installed you will no longer need to worry
about its installation in any later updates.
Install the CARDS latest release. Download from
here.
Run the program and follow the prompts and using the default values when in
doubt.
The first time you start up CARDS, you will
be asked to set the first time options.
Set the path to the masterfile folder. This is the path to the folder (directory)
where you will place your club members database.
Where you have been using the
ASE Scorer version 7 simply export the members’
details from that masterfile to a text file which
can be imported into CARDS.
In ASE7 use the option [Names]
[File] [Save] to produce a text file. Save this file
in some convenient folder (e.g. c:\ase7\text).
Define a new masterfile in
CARDS. Use the option [System] [Club Members] or
press F9.
Select the option [File] [New
club DB]. Name your file appropriately. Press
[Save].
If the screen “ABF clubs”
appears then choose your club name or press
[Cancel]. Fill in your club details as required.
At this point the next step may
be performed as well. In the “Ratings club name”
enter the name you prefer as the CARDS club name.
For example the “Cairns bridge club” might choose
“cairns” as the name. Choose a single word that best
describes your club.
Press [OK] and the masterfile
is then established. You may be asked if you want to
import your members into the file. Say yes. From the
list of import sources choose the one that suits
you. If you wish to import the file saved above from
ASE7 choose the “ASE version 7” option from the
list. If you do not have a current list of members
choose the “ABF names” option. Press [Import] and in
the case of ASE7 you will need locate the file and
press [Open].
If you have an empty masterfile
you can import the names by selecting the option
[Imports] [Members from file] and the same import
dialogue mentioned above will be shown.
If you did not define the CARDS
ratings club name when you set up your club
masterfile then follow these simple steps.
This name is used as the
default file name during export and import options
used each month. It is also the name used by the
CARDS system to identify the club during the update
procedure.
From your main screen select
[System] [Club details]. Alternatively from the
members masterfile screen (F9) select [Options]
[Club details].
Click in the last field “name”
within the group “Ratings club name”. Enter the name
you prefer as the CARDS club name. For example the
“Cairns bridge club” might choose “cairns” as the
name. Choose a single word that best describes your
club.
Click [OK].
Once players are in the CARDS
rating scheme they are identified by one “bridge
name” in all the clubs they participate. This is
used in preference to a “number” like the ABF number
as it only means another number to remember.
Even so the CARDS system will
use the national ABF number to identify players if
no other information is available about the player.
Therefore there is no need to worry about
identifying players who have an ABF number and play
at other clubs where they are already participating
in the CARDS system.
On the other hand there is an
issue where you have players who do NOT have
an ABF number AND are already participating in the
CARDS system. In that case you will need to find out
what their “bridge name” is from the other club or
from CARDS at
support@asecomputing.com.
Once you have that “bridge
name” go to that member’s details in the masterfile
and enter their “bridge name” before the next step.
Go to the members masterfile
screen (F9) and select the option [File] [Export
players for ratings] and save the file as a text
file (e.g. cairns.txt). Email this file to
support@asecomputing.com. Making a zip file of
the text file before sending via email would make it
smaller and also eliminated problems caused by some
email software that interferes with text files.
Once this file is processed by
the CARDS system your club will be part of the
ratings system. You will be emailed (or choose to
download from the Internet) your club’s CARDS file
(e.g. cairns.cds). This should happen within 24
hours of sending the initial ratings export file.
Once this file is loaded into your members’
masterfile your club is fully participating in the
scheme (see below for details on this procedure).
NOTE the members’ masterfile
used to produce the ratings export file will always
be the CARDS members’ masterfile. You should take
care in managing this file with regular backup
copies made. This file contains all your ratings
information and the event history.
This procedure can be done
manually or automatically. When CARDS is
started it automatically checks to see if there is a
recent CARDS file on the Internet. The computer
needs to be connected to the Internet for this to
succeed.
Whether you get the CARDS file
via email or Internet download the procedure is the
same. From your masterfile screen use the option
[Imports] [Player ratings] (this appears
automatically if you have chosen to get the latest
download from the Internet). The screen will give
you the option of download (you placing the file in
a convenient folder). Once you have the latest file
select the [Update] option, selecting the latest
.cds file (e.g. cairns.cds) in the [Open] dialogue.
You also have the choice of
update type. The update can be “Start of month” or
“mid month”. The first time you load the CARDS data
use the “Start of month” option, and the first time
in any month. If there is ever a second update
available during the month use the “mid month”
option.
Once the initial load of the
CARDS file has taken place your club will be
participating. You must realise that the rating
information does not work for about three months as
we need about 13 results from a player before they
are rated. So it will be happening in the background
for a while. Every time an event is scored the
ratings impacts for players are recorded in the
event.
Processing dates of events and session
An event is only included in
CARDS month-end processing once it has been
finalized. The session date is used during the
ratings’ update (but see below for further details
on this point).
When you run the export option
at the end of month all the events in the date range
selected will be displayed in the list. NOTE this is
the event date, not the date of the
sessions within the event. The session dates
within those events are used during the update
process and are used to identify the uniqueness of
the sessions of play.
Therefore events with many
sessions need to be handled carefully, particularly
where it spans the end of month. This can be handled
in one of two ways.
(1) Always process an event in the current
month.
The event is finalized at the
end of the month and exported with all other events
for the month. When the next session of the event
occurs, open the event and re-set finalization when
asked. Proceed with the event as usual. Date the
sessions correctly during the next month. It is
also possible to change the event date to the start
of the new month so that it will appear in the list
of finalized events for that month (this is purely
for your convenience and is not necessary).
At the end of the second month
finalize the event as usual and export this event
again. The sessions from the previous month will be
ignored during the next update (as they have already
been done last month).
Do not change the name of
the event as it will be considered a new and
different event.
Do not change the dates
of sessions previously finalized as they will be
considered new and different sessions in the next
run.
(2) Only process the event once it has finished.
The event is finalized only
when finished. The sessions for the previous month(s)
will not appear in the previous month’s reporting.
This only occrs when the event is finalized. The
impact on the player ratings will remain as
calculated during the previous month. The players
will not see that impact until next month or the
month when the event is ultimately finalized.
In the update, the
sessions from the previous months will be processed
as if they were from this month. It is of no
consequence to your reporting or management of your
events at the club.
Meeting the monthly deadline
It is important that the
rating’s impacts are supplied at the end of month so
the next month will use the latest player ratings as
the starting point. We have made a decision to
process on the first day of the next month
irrespective of whether the impacts of all clubs are
available or not.
It is important to realize that
you do not need the events from all the days of the
month in any month’s run. It is better for you to
process the month-end a day or two early than to
miss the month-end run. Therefore if you think you
will be unable to do it on the last day of the month
then do it a day or two early, at your convenience.
Consequences of missing a month-end update
Sometimes for various reasons a
club misses the month-end run. When this occurs the
month-end update will proceed as usual on the first
of the next month. Any clubs that are not in the run
will still receive the latest CARDS file for new
month and so will have a new starting position for
all the players in the events for that month.
Note the players will
usually have a slightly different rating from the
previous month despite not having an impacts from
your club applied to their previous rating. This can
be due to the players having impacts applied from
other clubs. It also can be due to an across the
board adjustment made during month-end processing.
This part of the calculation is used to maintain the
relative positions of the players in the system.
All the events from the
previous month should be included in the next
month’s run. Leave the event dates as they are and
include the events for the past two months. The
impacts that the players receive in all the events
will be applied in the next monthly update.
Handling player’s membership
Any new players to the club
are handled automatically. Just add the player to
your club file as needed and they will be included
in the next monthly run.
Care is needed in the paid up
membership. A player is deemed to be paid up in the
CARDS system when their paid-to-date is not less
than the processing date. A player in more than one
club is paid up when they are paid up in at least
one of the clubs they are attending.
When a player is not paid up
their ratings impacts do not occur. Their rating
remains as it was and may be effected by all other
player’s rating changes in each month. The unpaid
players tend to have their rating reduced over time,
though it may increase, but their relative position
in the list of participants tends to remain where it
was or at a lower point. Eventually their rating
will disappear because of non-participation and they
will need to re-establish their position.
The player’s “bridge name”
should not be changed in the scorer. The player
becomes a different person in the CARDS system if
this is changed. The ratings data on file will not
be correct for the new person even if the new
“bridge name” is correct. To change the person in
the system you must delete the wrong player
from the scorer and add a new player with their
correct “bridge name”. Their rating information will
not be updated until the end of month run.
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