| LaneMaster Manual | Qualify Mode |
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When you select the "Qualify" button or the
menu item Mode, Qualify, you will be prompted to create or modify a Class.
Most of the time, you will be creating a new Class. To create a new Class, type its name
in the input box. If an existing Class is shown in the input box, just start typing...
your newly created Class name will not interfere with existing Classes! Press
"Enter" when you have finished typing in the name.
You will then be asked which Qualifying method you want to
use. You may choose to have 1 round or 2, with fixed round times (as set in Edit, Timing),
or you may select USRA style: Two total minutes: The first round is the whatever time the
Entrant uses before he calls for a 'bye'; the second round is the remaining time after the
first round, minus 30 seconds for the bye. In other words, if the Entrant turns laps for
15 seconds, and then calls for the bye, he will have 75 seconds left for the second round
(120 seconds - 15 used - 30 for the bye = 75). Note that if you select USRA style, it will
ignore the Qualifying Time set in Edit, Timing and will always start with 2
minutes.
To continue adding qualifiers to an existing class (if you
haven't created the Event file yet), just select that class name by using the arrow keys
and pressing "Enter" or double-clicking with your mouse on the desired class
name. Classes that have already gone through the 'Create Event' process (see below for
details) are no longer available to modify. However, if you exited qualifying earlier without
creating an Event file for a class, you can continue to add qualifiers to that existing
class.
Once you have created or selected the name for the class, and
selected the qualifying method of your choice, you will be presented with the Entrant
screen. Input the names for all entrants in that class for easiest management of
Qualifying. As each name is entered, it is placed at the top of the list; so the
first name entered will be the last name suggested to qualify and vice versa. (Note
that you do not have to qualify the suggested racer; you are free to choose any
remaining entrant in the list to qualify at any time in the first round by clicking on
them.) If you prefer, you can also enter each entrant's name and qualify them immediately,
rather than inputting the entire list all at once. The names of all entrants who race on
your track are automatically saved by LaneMaster. Any entrants that have raced with you in
the past will have been saved in the Previous Entrants list. (Note that they are displayed
in alphabetical order by first name rather than last name.) If they are also
entering into today's Event, just select their names from the Previous Entrants list using
the arrows and "Enter" key or by double-clicking on their name. To print the
"Today's Entrants" list in the order that they will qualify, click "Print
Schedule".
To delete an entrant name from either the Previous Entrants
list or the Today's Entrants list, select (highlight) the name (in the list you want to
remove them from) and then either click on "Delete Name" or press
"Alt." and the letter "D". Note that removing a name from Today's
Entrants list only removes them from that list, while removing them from Previous Entrants
removes them from both lists!
When all the entrant's names are in the Today's Entrants
list, you can print a report of the order in which the entrants are scheduled to Qualify,
by clicking on "Print Schedule". Posting a couple of copies of the schedule in
your area can sure save answering a lot of the same questions over and over again!
Once all entrants' names are in the Today's Entrants list,
you can either proceed to manually qualify each of them, or you can completely skip
qualifying by selecting "AutoQualifyAll", which qualifies them automatically in
random order. To manually qualify the top entrant in the list, just click on "Qualify
Now". To qualify a different entrant, you can click on their name, then click on
"Qualify Now". This will display the Qualifying screen, confirming the
Qualifier's name, and allowing you to begin Qualifying for that entrant. If you cancel,
you will return to the Entrant screen, and you can restart qualifying for this entrant
later.
'Byes' are entrants who sit out qualifying, but will still
race. They are created by using the "AutoQualifyAll" button. If you want to
enter all Entrant Names before qualifying anyone, you must first qualify all racers who
will actually be qualifying, then, when only the Byes are left in the list, select
"AutoQualifyAll". Byes are always placed BELOW the rest of the Qualifying field.
If you are entering each entrant one-at-a-time, you may select "AutoQualifyAll"
when a qualifier taking a bye is the only one in the Today's Entrants list. Don't select
"AutoQualifyAll" if any Entrants presently in the Today's Entrants list are
actually going to Qualify!
To view those entrants (if any) that have already qualified
(and their results) you may click on the View Qualifiers button. To return from the
"Qualified List" to the Entrants screen, select "View/Add Entrants".
Entrants can qualify on any lane. When you select "Begin
Qualifying" (on the Qualifying Screen), the screen will display a 3-second countdown
before displaying the Output view screen, turning on track power, and starting the timer.
Unless you selected Qualifying methods 2 or 3, the qualifying period lasts for as long as
you have selected in Edit, Timing. To pause or end qualifying early for an
entrant, press any key. In the first round, you will always have the option of continuing,
canceling or restarting qualifying for this entrant. If an entrant has completed at least
one lap, they have the option of accepting their current results as final. You may move on
to the next qualifier by selecting "End Qualifying for this entrant- Save
Results". If you select "Cancel", the current results are cleared and the
entrant's name is returned to the bottom of Today's Entrants list to try again
later. You can then select another entrant to Qualify using the methods described above.
"Cancel" and "Restart" are not available in the 2nd round of
Qualifying.
When the Qualifying Period ends normally or if you have
selected "Save Results", the updated list of qualifying results is displayed. If
you selected a 2-round Qualifying method, "Begin 2nd Round" will be displayed.
If there are no more entrants in Today's Entrants list, the "Create Event" and
"Begin 2nd Round" buttons will be enabled, and you can create the Event file or
start Round 2. If there are more entrants to qualify, select "View/Add Entrants"
to return to the Entrants Screen and continue. If you wish to save the current qualifying
results without creating an Event file (i.e., you have more entrants to qualify in
this class but they are not ready yet, and you want to begin qualifying for another class,
or you want to return to Data View to check your time settings), select "Exit
Qualifying". Select 'yes' to save the current qualifying results for the class. This
will allow you to add more entrants to this class later (see Class Name, p. 11).
As mentioned above, the "Create Event" button will
only be available if all entrants in Today's Entrants list have finished qualifying and if
you have more qualifiers than you have lanes. Remember you must use manual mode for
racing if you have less qualifiers than lanes! As long as all entrants were entered into
Today's Entrants, you should be ready to create the Event file. If you do have more
entrants to qualify for this class, do not select "Create Event" yet!
First, select "View/Add Entrants" and finish entering and qualifying, then
"Create Event" when you really are finished!
As discussed in Section 2, "Terms and Definitions",
the Event file is used to run a full set of races for a qualifying class, or one Round
Robin race.
When you select "Create Event", you will be
presented with all of the Event setup options (i.e., Elimination Ladder, Round Robin,
etc.) available to this class. Available options are determined by the number of
Qualifiers in the class and the number of lanes on the track. For instance, Round Robin
mode will only be available if the number of Qualifiers is more than 1 times the number of
lanes and less than 2 times the number of lanes. Likewise, if the number of Qualifiers is
less than 1 times the number of lanes or equal to an exact multiple of the number of
lanes, "Top Qualifiers Sit Out" will not be available. Selecting certain options
will prevent you from selecting certain others, and deselecting them will make the other
options available again.
The top box in the Ladder Setup window is used to select how
many racers (not races!) will participate in each round of this class. All racers
(i.e. "All, 32, 8") race in the first round (unless "Sit Outs"
is selected.... see "Sit Outs" below). Those that survive elimination in each
round move up to the next round and race again. The numbers in the ladder description
(i.e. "All, 16, 8") show how many racers will race in the second
round and beyond. Top finishers continue to move up until they reach the Main Event, which
will consist of one racer on each lane on your track. For example, if there are 33 racers
on a six lane track, you could select "All, 18, 6". This would mean 6 races in
the first round ("All" 33 racers must race), 3 races in the second round
(18 racers = 6 lanes * 3 races), and 1 Main Event Race (6 lanes, 6 racers).
You cannot select a ladder setup that requires more
qualifiers than you have!!
Select "Guaranteed Move Ups" as desired. If
"none" is selected, all MoveUps are determined by comparing each racer's total
number of laps. For example, on a six lane track, if the next round will consist of two
races, the top twelve racers from this round will move up to the next round, based
only on lap totals and without regard to finishing position. If "First only"
is selected, the winners of races in this round will definitely move up to the next round without
regard to their total laps, even if they have less laps than someone in another race
who may not have finished first in their race. If "First and Second" or
"First, Second, Third" is selected, those places in each race will move up,
again, without regard to their total laps. Please note that some third place
finishers might not move up if there are not enough slots available in the next round, or
if "Top Qualifiers sit out first round" is selected.
If "Top Qualifiers sit out first round" is
selected, the number of racers above an even multiple of the number of lanes will not be
included in the first round. They will automatically move up and be seeded in the top
positions of the second round. In other words, if you have 22 qualifiers on a 6 lane
track, the first round will consist of 3 races (18 racers) and the top 4 qualifiers will
not race until the second round.
| This page was last edited on: 09/23/18 |