From Excel to online: participants and start lists without double work
Many clubs start with a spreadsheet. It works, until it does not. One tab for the registrations, one for the classes, a chat group for the changes and a printed version for at the track. Before you know it, nobody knows which list is the right one. Below you read where it goes wrong and how it can be calmer.
Where spreadsheets get stuck
A spreadsheet is fine for noting something down, but tricky when several people work in it at once. The problems we hear most often:
- Double retyping. A registration comes in by email and is entered into the list by hand. Every time a chance of a typo.
- Versions that drift apart. Someone works in an old copy, and suddenly the start numbers no longer match.
- No live standing. On event day the result is on paper, and the audience has no idea what the interim standing is.
One source of truth
The solution is not complicated: make sure there is one place where everything comes together. When participants register online, their sign-up is in the system straight away. Start numbers are assigned automatically and you build the start lists per class in a few clicks. Nobody retypes anything and there is always just one current list.
The event day gets calmer
You really notice the difference on the day itself. The jury enters the distance and the ranking on the big screen updates immediately. The audience follows the standing on their own phone. You no longer move back and forth between paper and laptop, because the standing you see is the standing everyone sees.
Starting small is fine
You do not have to change everything at once. Start with the registrations for your next event and see how much time that already saves. You build the start lists, the ranking and possibly the tickets around it at your own pace.
Want to try it yourself? Create a free account and set up your first event. Without payments it is free, and you will quickly notice whether it suits your club.