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Welcome!
Here is where I'm storing the builds related to two FLL tools I developed.
The first tool is the one longest in existence, the FLL Scheduler Tool. It aids FLL tournament hosts in the sometimes daunting task of creating combined FLL Match and Judging schedules that respect the times the teams need to transit between different places.
Update 2021-11. I updated the software to allow for a single judging session 30 min long and made it compatible with the latest version of Excel (the menu bar is now integrated into the ribbon).
The second tool is a custom timer that countdowns from a user selected time to zero and plays sounds along the way at programmed times. It's meant to display the timer on top of the windows with a lot of customization features. Note I have not updated this one since 2016
You can find them in the Downloads page to the left.
Good luck to all your tournaments!
Bryan
FLL Scheduler at a Glance:
This tool is intended for usage by FLL Tournament Directors (or their delegates) to generate a comprehensive tournament schedule taking into account competition matches, practice matches, and judging sessions. The tool is quite flexible. It can be used for other purposes than the generation of FLL tournament schedules, however, the central purpose for which it is designed remains FLL tournament schedule creation.
If you have tried your hand at generating a schedule for a tournament and found
Either your volunteers or the attending teams complain they’re not able to understand where they are supposed to be next
Teams complain they are rushing from one place to the next
Teams complain they are playing the same team more than once
Your blood pressure increases when a team (or teams) drop immediately before the day of the tournament
You are reluctant to change the schedule because you spent the last two weeks coming up with what looks like a good schedule
No matter what you’ve tried, the schedule always seems to fall behind
The competition rounds are held up awaiting a team still being judged
Then this tool is for you.
Features:
Match Score Entry – A basic sheet capable of accepting scores on a match by match basis. The teams are automatically ranked as scores are entered.
Schedule By Match – A view of each table from a time perspective. i.e. One can look for a time and figure out what team is in what location.
Schedule For Judges – A view of each judging session room from a time perspective. i.e. One can look for a time and figure out what team is in what location.
Schedule By Team – A view sorted by team number as to where they need to be for their first, second, and third matches, each of their presentation interviews, and, if applicable, their practice matches.
Graphical Schedule – This view of the schedule shows time commitments for each team on a time chart where each commitment is a line whose length corresponds to the duration of each event.
Official Rounds Schedule for MC – This view is specifically for the Master of Ceremonies to proceed from match to match and be able to announce who is up at which table. Very helpful for queuers, referees, and scorekeepers.
Practice Rounds Schedule for MC – The same as the Official Rounds Schedule for the Master of Ceremonies, but for any practice rounds.
Graphical Schedule By Time(P) – This is a view of events for each room by time. This is a much more informative view than the Graphical Schedule in the blocks are filled with individual team numbers.
Normal FLL Tournament – This view is to assist in managing tournament finals conducted in a normal fashion where the teams with the highest scores advance to the next finals round. Teams can be inputted manually, but the data is being fed from the Match Score Entry worksheet.
Single Elimination – This view is to assist in managing tournament finals conducted in a single elimination method where the teams are bracketed and advance based upon winning the match in the bracket. Teams can be inputted manually, but the data is being fed from the Match Score Entry worksheet. Not a recommended tournament format.
Double Elimination – This view is to assist in managing tournament finals conducted in a double elimination method where the teams are bracketed and advance based upon winning their matches. A single loss places them in a losers bracket to advance in the same way. Teams can be inputted manually, but the data is being fed from the Match Score Entry worksheet. Not a recommended tournament format.
CSV Export – This sheet is used to export the output from the tool to another FLL tool used in tournaments for integral display of information to screens around a tournament. http://www.centraltexasfll.org/software/
Limitations:
Tool runs using Microsoft Excel and is dependent on Visual Basic for Applications. Excel 2008 for the Mac is specifically incompatible as a result. Support for VBA on Macs was reinstated with Office 2011 for the Mac. The tool still runs using Office 2004 for the Mac.
FLL Timer
The FLL Timer has a number of features
The countdown timer can be set to start at any time, say 2:35 so there is a 5 second lead-in to aid the Master of Ceremonies
The tool is programmed to play 4 sounds. Each of the sounds (except the Abort sound) can be set to play at any programmed time, individual volume control, and a delay control to shift the sound temporally to adjust for audio/video sync.
The timer foreground color can be changed
The timer background can either be transparent or colored (also user-selectable)
The timer can be preset to appear in any of the four corners of the screen or the center
The timer location can be manually adjusted
The size and font of the timer can be changed
Multiple monitor support - the timer can be displayed on another monitor while controlled by a different one
3 separate applications for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux
Limitations:
Potential issues with operating the Windows version from a network/shared drive. If there is a problem, copy to the local drive. Fixed in v2.1