The Paragliding World Cup has, this year, changed the way that we run the whole competition. Several new systems have been put in place to improve scoring, safety, retrieve organisation and overall improvement.
For scoring we are now using CompCheck (by Ulric Jessop). CompCheck is a comprehensive scoring system written specifically for the paragliding competition environment. It handles all aspects of scoring from the initial download of GPS tracks at the end of the task to the production of final results at the end of the evening.
Having all these abilities in a single program removes many of the complications encountered in past competitions and allows the whole process to proceed in an efficient (and therefore much faster) manner. CompCheck is capable of downloading up to 16 GPSs at the same time (which cuts down the queues a lot) and can process all of the tracks in real time meaning that the competitor sees the result of his download instantly - thus, if a second GPS is required, maybe due to a damaged track, it can be called upon straight away. For the production of the results, CompCheck is programmed with all of the required scoring formulae, including task dropping rules etc, and can produce scores according to any criteria the organisation wishes to use. For example, at the moment we produce scores for Open, Women, Teams and Nations but, if required, this can also be expanded to include a score by sponsor, manufacturer, wing colour or any other number / combination of parameters.
For tracking of competitors during the retrieve and report back phase we are now using the FastRetrieve system (by Chris Trow). FastRetrieve was devloped to reduce the workload on the retrieve team and, at the same time, to provide a way of ensuring that the whereabouts of all competitors is known at all times. FastRetrieve captures the initial SMS from a landing pilot and plots the pilot on a digital map back at the HQ. This information is then used by the retrieve organiser to arrange the route of vehicles in the field to ensure an efficient collection of pilots. Status of each pilot from landing through transport to final check in back at HQ is constantly displayed on a colour coded screen in the HQ allowing an 'at a glance' appraisal of numbers still to be accounted for. The system holds all details of each pilot and can instantly provide telephone numbers, wing details, competition accommodation and (in the unfortunate event that we need them) emergency contact details for any given pilot.
The colour coding on the main screens allows pilots to see instantly whether they have completed their requirements for reporting in at HQ and allows them to check on friends etc at the same time. For the retrieve co-ordinator, a separate screen shows them a list of pilots awaiting vehicles along with their last known co-ordinates and telephone details - this is updated constantly throughout the retrieve process.
Both CompCheck and FastRetrieve are accompanied at all Paragliding World Cup events by their developers (Ulric and Chris respectively) which means that any new requirements, new ideas or problems encountered can be acted upon instantly, in most cases providing an updated version of the software in minutes. This introduces major flexibility to the whole event and ensures that, at no time, are the organisers constrained by the limitations of the software in use (for example, in Korea we encountered a very local problem with handling SMS messages - a solution was developed during the first task and was then in place for the rest of the competition).
The ongoing development of both these systems continues to be driven by requests from pilots and organisation staff ensuring that the software is meeting the needs of the competition and not, as in many cases, causing the organisation to change its operation to fit the requirements of the software.
