Biathlon-In-A-Box

Biathlon-in-a-Box is a computer software application that is designed to let you set up and administer a Biathlon event, from its conception through the creation and printing of the results.   It assists you throughout the event, providing guidance for the sequence of work necessary to have smooth-running competitions.   The application is available for both the Windows and the Macintosh operating systems.

Biathlon-in-a-Box can be directly interfaced with a number of different electronic timing and identification systems to accept an electronic transfer of timing and identification data, or by entering the timing data manually.

Biathlon-in-a-Box (BIAB for short) will allow you to conduct Biathlon events in summer, winter or any time of year. It is extremely flexible in defining the exact nature of any Competition. It will allow you to match the Biathlon Canada and IBU rule books, or let you create variations upon the standard competitions, to suit your particular needs. For instance, in Ottawa there is no room for a penalty loop on the competition course. As a result, when they conduct a Sprint competition in Ottawa, time penalties are awarded for each target missed, since there is no loop to ski. The flexibility of BIAB allows a 27 second penalty for each target not hit to be added to the competitor's ski time, while still respecting the other unique aspects of a Sprint Competition, and producing results in the appropriate format.

BIAB has been programmed to work with the following electronic timing devices:

ALGE Timy and the ALGE TdC8001 http://www.alge-timing.com/alge/timy-01-e.htm

Chronomix CC737

TAG Heuer CP 520 and the CP 705 http://www.tagheuer-timing.com/products/timing-devices/chronoprinter-cp-520/index.lbl?lang=en

TimeTech Sprint 8   http://www.timetechusa.com/

Summit Systems SRT 500 and SRT 1000 http://www.summit-systems-timers.com/ timers and, when used in conjunction with a network of Summit Timers, it will take data from:

AMB ChipX Decoders (and Transponders);

Kurvinen Electronic System Biathlon Targets; and

HoRa 2000E Electronic Biathlon Targets

Upon request, BIAB can probably be made to work with any electronic timer that has a built-in RS232 interface capability.

BIAB will support you in:

1. defining and documenting the sequence of trails for the competition, and the physical attributes of each trail
2. defining all the attributes of each competition, including the order of trails to be followed, the time gap between competitors, time gaps between different classes of competitors, different penalties for standing or prone targets, the sequence of prone or standing in a competition, etc, etc
3. supporting all types of competitions: Individual, Sprint (with single or group start), Mass Start, Relay, Pursuit, Military Patrol and Super-Sprint competitions
4. registering and entering competitors in multiple competitions in single or multi-day events
5. registering non-competing team members
6. registering "unofficial teams" in team competitions (Relay and Military Patrol competitions), and while showing them in the results, not giving them official placing amongst the "official teams"
7. printing pre-formatted blank forms to be used to record competition data. Some examples of these forms are range recording sheets, penalty loop recording sheets and course controller recording sheets
8. allowing you to redefine the Classes of Competitors, to have the Classes that you want to use
9. defining and publishing the activity schedule for each day of an event
10. listing and publishing the names of Officials for the Event and the names of the members of the Competition Jury
11. creating confirmatory registration lists for verification of registration and entry information
12. publicly conducting, and displaying in real time, computerized double-random draws for competitions, for both individual and team competitions. The draw function supports grouping, bibs missing from the set of bibs, and multiple simultaneous starts
13. creating and printing Start Lists, formatted specifically for the type of competition being conducted
14. creating bib shorting sheets which make the process of sorting and handing out bibs much easier
15. recording timings and shooting results for each competitor (from keyboard entry or as an electronic transfer from a number of popular electronic timing systems) with accuracy to the nearest one-tenth of a second
16. accepting manual data entry through up to three computers, and then combining the files to create results on a single computer. This feature allows BIAB to be used for large competitions, so that trying to enter all the data through a single keyboard doesn't become a prohibitive bottleneck
17. accepting data from timing systems with different capabilities. BIAB will accept stopwatch data for Start Times, Intermediate Times and Finish Times as well as shooting results and penalty laps. While all data can be entered through a computer keyboard, there is provision within BIAB to interface directly with electronic timing systems.
18. creating printed reports for use in verifying that data has been accurately entered, to help minimize the number of errors in results
19. creating and printing results, formatted as Provisional or as Final Results, for each competition. Appropriate formatting of the Results is applied for each different type of competition
20. automatically calculating the performance percentages for all competitors, and showing them on the results
21. automatically assigning World Cup points, or an equivalent, to the finishers, and including them on the results (the operator can easily choose one of three different and editable point allocation systems)
22. offering several options for the creation of Pursuit competitions with adjusted Start Times, for Club-Level and IBU events. These options help make the Pursuit a more interesting and competitive format at that level of competition.
23. offering the option of simultaneous or wave starts for Relay Competitions
24. printing Summary Results which show, in a single document, the results of a number of competitions which were conducted together
25. producing results for Concurrent Events, that is an Event within another Event, such as an Alberta Cup which is part of a North American Cup. BIAB will produce separate summary results for each Event, only showing those competitors who were eligible for the particular event, and recalculating behind times, performance percentages, and points allocations according the the results of the concurrent events.
26. creating and printing cover pages for Final Results, which incorporate weather information and list Officials and Competition Jury members, as required in the rule books
27. placing event sponsors’ logos on nearly every type of printed report
28. performing a random draw for and assignment of zeroing lanes for competitions and optionally showing the clubs/teams or the individuals to whom the lanes are assigned.
29. allows the association of independent athlete with a particular club or team to accommodate the zeroing assistance needs of independent athletes
30. creating a Start Grid Listing showing the lane placement of competitors in Relay and Mass Start competitions
31. creating a Starting Lane Assignment Listing, showing the placement of competitors in the Starting Lanes, as well as their individual Start Times, for Pursuit Competitions
32. and a host of other activities!

BIAB is a stand-alone multi-platform database application.

You don’t need any other software for BIAB to run. Versions are available which run on both the Windows and the Macintosh Operating Systems. BIAB has been verified as running on Windows Vista, XP, 2000, and 95 and will also run natively under Mac OS X on computers equipped with either a Power PC or an Intel processor. While the latest version of BIAB requires Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista, or Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later, earlier versions of BIAB that will run on older operating system version can be made available upon request.

BIAB will run on moderately capable hardware.

The software is structured to help guide you through its use, with instructions given on-screen as you use it.

BIAB uses relational database structures. This means that you only have to enter data once, even though it is used in many places in the application. If you edit data, any changes are instantly made wherever that data is viewed or where it appears in subsequent reports. BIAB is not a spreadsheet environment, in which formulas can become damaged or otherwise corrupted.

BIAB meets IBU competition timing standards. BIAB allows you to enter competitors' times and compute the results to the nearest one-tenth of a second. However, timing to the nearest second is quite acceptable for local events. The software can be easily configured to use times to the nearest second, producing good looking results with that level of accuracy, and with less data entry effort.

Biathlon-in-a-Box works with Electronic Timing Systems.

BIAB can accept electronic timing data from a number of popular timing systems that have RS-232 Serial Port interface capability.  On modern computers that are not equipped with a Serial Port, this can easily be achieved with an inexpensive Serial-to-USB adapter. The timing data, finishing bib numbers, shooting results and penalty loop activity, can be electronically transferred into BIAB in near-real-time during the competition, or as a batch transfer after the competition.  Keyboard entry of all data is a viable alternative, and BIAB will support the use of multiple computers to make manual data entry more efficient. If you have either a Kurvinen Electronic Target System (KES) or a HoRa 2000e electronic target system, BIAB is capable of taking data directly from that target system, provided that it is used with a network of Summit Timers.

BIAB is Dependable.

Now having been used in over 9 competition seasons, Biathlon-in-a-Box has been used successfully as the primary results system in a numerous events. These events have been both club-level local events and in larger competitions, including the Ontario Biathlon Championships, the Alberta Biathlon Championships, the Canadian Forces Championships, the Ontario Winter Games, the Arctic Winter Games, the Canada Winter Games, the Canadian National Biathlon Championships and the North American Biathlon Championships.

BIAB continues to mature and to acquire new capabilities to meet the needs of its users. BIAB was created for Biathlon Ontario, to fill the needs of its clubs for local races, and for all events sanctioned by Biathlon Ontario.  Over the years a number of new features and improvements have been incorporated, often at the request of its users.  See the Version History of BIAB to get a picture of its constant development.

BIAB is endorsed by Biathlon Canada. It is available to anyone on a licensing basis. There are both individual and cost-saving multi-user licenses.

For more information on BIAB, or for details on licensing, contact the author, Graham Lindsay.