Documentation
FAQ
On which operating systems runs SPORT?

SPORT runs on Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, XP, Vista and Windows 7/8/10 and 11 operating systems.




How can a newcomer start quickly ?

We recommend to read the overview page in the online help to understand the general steps towards a tournament. Furthermore, reading the faq (frequently asked questions) helps to overcome difficult situations.

And here, very short, the most important steps:

  1. Set the tournament data, like name of the tournament or number of courts available)
  2. Enter the events (Select Events in the left screen, the button with the sun = new)
  3. Enter the entries (Entries in the left screen and sun-button)
  4. Start the draw (button with red exclamation mark)
  5. Open the plan and enter match results ...




How do I port SPORT to a new computer?

You can port the SPORT software to a new PC in the following steps:

  1. Download the latest version of the SPORT software from the download area of this website.
  2. Install it on your new PC.
  3. Enter your sport, license name and license number the first time you open the software.




Downloading the Demo-software does not work

In most cases the connection to our server or the server itself has a temporary problem. Please retry later.

When the error remains, we can send you the software as eMail attachment. This file has a size of about 2 MB.




My new tournament cannot be saved?

The SPORT software tries to save newly created tournaments in the installation directory (usually C:/Programs/SPORT6XX). However, you may not have write access to this directory. Therefore you should select another directory with "File+Save as..." to which you have full access, e.g. the desktop or documents.




Does the software operate on a network ?

No, the SPORT software is designed for a central tournament manager.

 

But it is possible to import and export single events.

With this it is possible to enter a new event, while other events are still running. Later on, this event can be integrated into the running tournament.

And also, it is possible to export events from the main tournament, e.g. to organise them separately at a second location.




Which Sports are supported by SPORT ?

Actually Badminton, Bocce, Curling, Dart, Handball, Martial Arts (Boxing, Judo, Taekwondo, etc.), Pétanque/Boule, Soccer, Squash, Table soccer/kicker, Table tennis, Tennis and Volleyball are supported.




Is there a limit in tournament size ?

No, SPORT handles an arbitrary number of Events, Teams, Players or Referees.




Is there a manual available ?

Yes, the software is shipped with a manual file in various formats, to be printed by the user.

The whole documentation is also available in the online help, which can be called by <SPORT Help...>.

 




Problems with the online help

Under Windows Vista and Windows 7 problems can occur when calling the online help. This is due to the fact that Microsoft stopped to deliver the program "winhlp32.exe", which is necessary to show "*.hlp"-files. The solution is described in the Microsoft Knowledge Base KB917607.

At the following link you can get this program for free:

   Windows 8: Microsoft Download Page

   Windows 7: Microsoft Download Page

   Windows Vista: Microsoft Download Page

The Freeware Help Explorer Viewer allows to view the *.hlp files in all operating system variants.

Anyhow, you can view the manual as pdf document "manual.pdf", which is part of your installation directory. Additionally it can be downloaded from our website under Documentation in different languages and formats.




How can I repeat a draw ?

SPORT does not allow to repeat a draw. The draw has random components on various places. In this sense a draw is final and should not be "corrected" manually. With this manipulations should be prevented, which could be done when a draw could be repeated on fingertip.

In case of a severe problem there exists a work around by going back to the last backup file. On every save operation, the last version is kept in the file with the ending *.SP~.




How can I print out single referee forms ?

Select the match and press the print button (or alternatively <Cntr+P>).

Please notice that the software starts printing only when the page of the printer is full. How many forms there will be printed on one printer page must be specified in the <Options+Referee forms>. The actual number of stored referee forms is displayed in the forms button, just right beside the print-button. When you want to force printing when the page is not completely filled, just press this button.




Are ties possible ?

This is possible only in the sporting discipline, who allow this, like Soccer. In the other sports (like Badminton or table tennis) SPORT does not accept these invalid results.

In addition, the chosen tournament system must allow for drawn results. In KO systems and in the Poule system this is not possible, because every match must have a winner.

In addition, the SPORT software requires a winner in Super-Melee as well, to prevent manipulations due to colluded drawn game results. Each game must have a winner who gains places in the ranking and thus also a loser who slips in the ranking.




Can matches go over exactly 2 sets ?

This is not possible in SPORT because a match should have a unique winner. The exception are ties in sporting disciplines, where this is allowed, e.g. Soccer. In matches for exactly 2 sets, each of the opponents can win one set. And furthermore, both sets can have the same result e.g. 11:5 5:11. Would this be allowed, it could happen that resuts get manipulated by bilateral agreements between the players. To prevent this, SPORT is based on the philosophy that all parties have to fight in each match - either to win or for as much points as possible.

For tournaments, where all matches should have a nearly equal length and therefore no third decision-set should be played, we suggest to play only one set - but for a higher number of points. E.g. instead of running two sets for 10 points, one set for 20 points is nearly equivalent. The sides could be changed when the first team reaches 10 and the match continues without resetting the points. But at the end, one of the teams must be the winner! With the option to set the number of points of an event to 99 it is possible to define any individual scoring scheme.

 




How can I bring a running or finished match back to the status ready ?

Select the match and press the delete-button (that's the one with the cross) or alternatively <Cntr+D>. The selected match will be brought back to the class READY.




How can I change invalid match results ?

In the display of the whole draw for a disciplne, each result can be selected. Pressing the edit button (the one with the pencil) or the key combination <Ctrl+E> allows to enter the correct result. All other actions, like re-computation of the ranking, are done automatically by the software.




How to enter high results ?

In Basketball match results with more than 100 point can occur.

Also in Soccer a result can have more than 10 goals.

Because this case is very seldom, we implemented a simple interface to enter normal results to 99 resp. 9 points. When the exotic 100-point result occurs, an arbitrary result must be entered first, which has to be replaced in the correction mode. For this the (wrong) intermediate result has to be selected and the edit-button lets you enter an arbitrary result.

 




What must I do when a player drops out ?

First you have to finish the actual running match of the player with a correct result. Eventually you can add a comment to this match in the correction mode.

After that the function <Player + Delete> removes the player from all events. He will be kept in the rankings when he has finished at least one match.




How can I add late coming players to a running tournament ?

The function <Entry + New> adds an entry to an event, as it has been done before the event has been started.

But now this operation is not possible in any cases. For example in the elimination systems entries can be added only as long as there are byes in the tree. When the tree is completely filled, no more entries will be accepted.




Can Mêlée be played with mixed doubles ?

Yes, this is possible by seeding all men to the position 1. This ensures that they are not drawn to play with each other.




Byes in Melee should play a Single

Players with a bye should be allowed to fill the gap by playing a single (Tete-a-tete). But we think that this match result should not be part of the ranking. Thus, we suggest to make this match outside of the official scoring. SPORT rates all byes as a won match.




Why is it possible to assign a court twice ?

This is necessary because the result of a match often needs some time to get known at the tournament organization. When the court would be blocked, no new match could be started in the meantime.




Has SPORT a connection to a player database ?

Not directly, but players, clubs and referees can be imported and exported. The exchange format is the "Comma Separated Values" (CSV). These files can be processed by Excel, Word or other database tools.




In what programming language is SPORT written ?

We used Visual C++ with the Microsoft Foundation Classes (mfc) and Objective Grid from Stingray/RogueWaves.




What to do when an error occurs ?

Please save the actual file *.SPO immediately. Send this file together with an error description to Sport Software - Ottmar Kraemer-Fuhrmann.

We will try to fix your problem and send you - if necessary - a free program update.