End of Individual Results Database Backend?

[pakman044]

If you search for results using the USMS Meet Result tracking (http://www.usms.org/comp/resultstrack.php), the results page for this service after searching has a notice where the USMS logo used to be:

"By mutual agreement with USMS
This service will terminate on December 31, 2007"

(attached below)

While it's certainly a clunky results interface (depending on how you search using it, certain results will be present in certain searches, and not in others), I would think it would be better than nothing. Does anyone know if there is a replacement in the works?

Patrick King

[Rob Copeland]

First off, this was NOT “By mutual agreement with USMS”. The decision to terminate the arrangement was a unilateral decision by CRGWebServices. USMS was ready and willing to continue, until an in-house solution could be developed.

Yes, there will be a replacement build. I don’t think there is a timetable for the completion of the replacement.

[swimmieAvsFan]

...Yes, there will be a replacement build. I don’t think there is a timetable for the completion of the replacement.

when the replacement is built, will the currently available results be imported over, or will we lose everything that is in the database currently???

[meldyck]

when the replacement is built, will the currently available results be imported over, or will we lose everything that is in the database currently???

We will certainly lose some of the historical results. When I was the Current Top Times administrator early on (2002-2003) not all the meet results were archived and CRG Web Services destroys the original files shortly after merging them into the database. A lot of those will be gone but some could possibly be retrieved from local archives (meet directors, Top Ten Chairs, the better local web sites such as North Texas that preserve and post those files). However, this would be a pretty tedious process and may not have very high priority.

For more recent data (2003-2005) I was better prepared and did the archiving. I have passed along those more recent meet files to the current database administrator, Jeanne Seidler, and we should be in pretty good shape from that point onward.

[knelson]

Dang, that stinks. I check times in the database all the time. I sure hope an effort is made to backup the database so it can be resurrected when the in-house solution comes online.

[nkfrench]

Yeah, I had a similiar argument with Chris (CRG) with USAS results. I got shut down with no notice due to arguments between him and with the vendor we had worked through (vendor did not pay him). We worked for 6 months and never could get the vendor's replacement to work due to our massive size (the vendor's product was designed for a team with 200 athletes, not a state with 35,000 athletes). I put in a homebrew replacement and then we went through some arguments with the vendor for similar "look and feel" in our homebrew. While the lawyers were mentioned, happily it didn't go that far.

We eventually abandoned our homebrew to use the USA Swimming "SWIMS" database and I was removed from maintaining the website shortly afterwards; I agreed not to release the code to any other organizations. It was not geared to USMS performances that well anyhow. There is probably other stuff going on that I wasn't clued in on.

Mel, thanks for the tidbit. :)

[art_z]

archiving the data should be rather simple, just export it to a comma delimited text file and then load that to whatever tool is built next.

[matysekj]

when the replacement is built, will the currently available results be imported over, or will we lose everything that is in the database currently???

Thanks to CRG's assistance in our transition, I have a copy of all the data that is currently in the CRG database and yes, it will all be imported into the USMS database so we will not lose anything.

We will cut over to our new service once all the displays are available to replicate the current service at a minimum and we have imported all of the current year's results. We'll then continue to upload all the older data once the new service is "live". I figure it's best to get over to the new service ASAP, even if for a week or two you won't be able to see your swims that are more than a year old (they'll get there, don't worry...).

The new service will allow us to do more things with the data than we could before. As Nancy said, the old service wasn't particularly geared to USMS' needs. The most important change is that the new service is USMS member-aware. We will now have the ability to identify swimmers in the database by their registration numbers. As a result, we should be immune to the current problem of having individual swimmers show up as 2 or more different people in searches, just because they represented different teams in different meets or used a slightly different name in different meets (e.g. Jim vs. James). As long as we can identify the swimmer by their registration number, those differences won't cause the multiple listings any more. It will take some work to get through all the data and identify everyone by their USMS registration number however. We will also have the ability to identify foreign-registered swimmers and non-members whose results could be in the database due to uploading non-sanctioned state games or senior games meet results, and exclude those swims from the top times displays. I'm also working on including relay results with the individual results.

When? Well, we need it by December 31. Watch this spot::===> .

If you want it done faster, send chocolate. I like chocolate. :whiteflag:

[aquageek]

Please see what you can do to lose my results from the meet this past weekend as you do the transition.

[matysekj]

Please see what you can do to lose my results from the meet this past weekend as you do the transition.

Wow, I usually earn most of my extra fees by making people's times a little faster, but I'm willing to charge you half the usual fee for making yours disappear. Double the fees for making others times disappear.

[meldyck]

Thanks to CRG's assistance in our transition, I have a copy of all the data that is currently in the CRG database and yes, it will all be imported into the USMS database so we will not lose anything.


Um, yes, well I stand (or rather sit) misinformed...

You won't get any chocolate from me - I need all of it for recovery.

[CreamPuff]

Sweet. I mentioned months earlier that there were issues with the antiquated database. :soapbox: Glad that others agreed.

Screw the database. These emoticons are the bomb. Now this is why I swim masters. :weightlifter: