Free Tools to help administer / development

[Leeston]

Hi All,
I run a large club and have found that there are some useful FREE tools out there to help. This is where I have to declare being a bit of a computer geek ! So here's a list of software which you might find really useful in planning / developing your clubs, ideas, etc :

FreeMind - mind mapping software - great for identifying ideas, etc.
Essential PIM - Contact database / Calendar
Open Office - A professional office suit & for free !
DOPDF5 - Allows you to print into a PDF file
NoteHolder - Ideal to record & organise your notes
KeyNote - Ideal to record & organise your notes
Yahoo / Google - Set up an online E-mail account in order to avoid downloading potential harmful E-mails directly on your computer.
Total Organizer - Project / Task manager
FileAmigo LE - Useful Database
Easy To-Do - Good task manager
OpenProj - Open source project management tool

Well - hope this is of some use. Worth considering anyway, especially when looking to enter the Clubmark program.

[DaveR]

Thanks Leeston and thats exactly what the sites all about, in actual fact im always looking at everything members throw in, as you and most people know these sites and clubs take a lot of running .............thanks again !

[Browning]

Leeston - I am with you on the mind mapping - so easy to get complex processes written down quickly. I also use Open Office for everything.

Is OpenProj any way near as good as MS project though? The free ones I have used have always caused me lot's of problems.

[Leeston]

Hi,
To be honest, I have both but I would say Yes. I think is it a great tool - takes a little time to get to grips but hey, its open source and free. Very competative compared to the commercial software which costs a packet !

No harm in downloading it to try - looks like the "real" thing.

I would be interested if anyone has found a free Membership database program - I have found 1 based in Access, but would love to hear about any more.

Also, in terms of website building, I would also be interested in hearing what "drag & drop" programs people are using. I've used Serif Webplus but now having issues with compatablilty with my new PC. Now looking at Web Easy as the alternative.......what are your thoughts ?

[Leeston]

Hi All,
Just thought I'd share with you some funding ideas with you ( See attached ) - where they are area specific, then your local council will have something on the same lines.

I have spent hours and hours trawling around the web, etc to create a databse of funding sources. This is just an extract as I'm limited on the size of file I can upload.

Hope this is of use to you.

[DaveR]

Hi Lee having looked at the document is it possible to send the document to myself, by email, i will pm my mail to you shortly.

I would like to see the whole thing please.

ps a free membership database program is something i havnt come accross as such but it maybe available, i have a friend that im contacting at the weekend in relation to the issue.

[Tinykin]

Every local league captain in the country should download the scorecard wizard located here:

http://stta.co.uk/fixtures.htm

[DaveR]

Thanks for the information Tinykin, ive never seen it before but will look at it. There are things that are available but forums like this can help othes who are less aware.

[ChrisH]

I was looking at the suggestions and was struck by the lack of available applications for table tennis.
Back in 2004 I developed a full web application (distinct from web site or computer program) for table tennis leagues. The idea was to alieviate most of the work from the league administrators in maintaining both league and web site in one go.
Currently most administrators have to transcribe the results sent in by post into whatever application they are using (some are still done by hand and most use a noddy VB4/Access program). Then they have to format the leagues, work out averages, send them to the web admin and a lot more besides. My web application allows each team captain (or admin) to enter the results into a scorecard directly on the web. The fixture is selected only from valid fixtures which your login privilege allows. After the scorecard is entered an email is sent to both team captains and the league administrator with a direct link to the fixture. They can click the link in the email to check the online score directly. The league table and personal averages are instantly updated and there for everyone to see. If a team doesn't have a member with a computer then they can just send the scorecard to the league admin as now, who can then enter the score himself with less effort than the program he's probably currently using. Note that this is very different from the Southampton scorecard wizard, which is just a convenient way to email results. (The league admin and web admin still have to do pretty much the same tasks as they would with a snail-mailed scorecard).
You can see all the scorecards for every game, you can look at clubs and players, check their latest results, look at handicaps and many other things. I don't believe there is anything remotely similar for any league, yet this has been available since 2004 when I offered it to my local league, who didn't seem interested. I got one comment of "Well nobody has the internet anyway"!! Maybe that's a penalty of living in Bournemouth.
Anyway, if anyone is interested in having a look at how it works I can set you up as a team administrator and you can have a go at entering results for "your" team, watch the tables and averages updated live and get the email back. Since I did a lot of work on it back then it seems a shame for it to go to waste.
The test website you can look at is: http://btta.num61.com.
Obviously formats, logos etc can be changed if necessary according to the scorecard you use for your league and allocation of points etc.


Chris Howarth
Bournemouth

[DaveR]

The Table Tennis admin world is sometimes retro to say the least with many (who do a good job) slightly wary if not mortified of change or anything that remotely includes a PC nevermind a nice web application which may if used well and correctly simplify a whole range of time taking tasks undertaken by the various league officials etc.

The quote "nobody has the internet anyway" is echoed by my own experience with many scared of the many positives it can bring, such as the promotion of the sport in your area and dare i say it forums like this one where people can interact with each giving feedback and postive ideas...................thats my rant !

Better stop shouting

ps will look at the test site as im interested

[Tinykin]

Chris, like in a lot of things, it's just to get over that barrier of trying what at first looks daunting.

[Spinmaster]

Things look daunting most time when new but progress is usually a good thing in my opinion. Leagues and older set ups are sometimes "comfortable" with their own eormat the way it stands. Things will move on time is the main factor and of course some patience.

[Martyn L]

Does anyone know where I can get a drawsheet for 64 names?

[DaveR]

I will look into it tommorow Martyn and have an answer ASAP

[Martyn L]

Hi Dave, Do I take it you've had no luck with this?

[DaveR]

Hi Martyn !

I have had no luck but will post an announcement on the site now !

[Browning]

ChrisH

Just had a look at your test site. Looks like a decent bit of kit to be honest. I would really like to have a play around in the admin part if you don't mind. My league has a very simple website - it takes days for updates to come, one guy has to do all the updating so it is intermittent, and there is no mention of players, actual results (i.e who beat who) or averages.

I think it is the normal case of the few people that are in charge do so because they love the game. They give up loads of time for free and so end up with little time to develop or push new things forward. I understand that they are looking for more people to get involved in the administration and there are 2 of us at my club who work in web businesses so we may be the right people to push this forward. I would like to see if they are interested.

[Leeston]

I am one of those lonley webmasters who spends what little free time I have waiting for any new information to be sent - your only as good as your source ! Lets not forget, a website is there to communicate either a simple or complicated message. Im not looking competing with any other website. If I was in IT, it would have bells on it ! But being a simple soul, I use a simple program Web Easy Professional which provides a drag and drop approach in building a website. It won't win any awards, but its does serve its basic purpose.

[DaveR]

Im with Leeston and Browning on this, many in the sport put hours upon hours into administration and /or other areas of the sport with little reward or interest from other players...............that said i am not criticizing anyone in any way as we all lead busier lives with more going on.

I do however believe many within the sport (i will be shot for this) wander around or simply play the game with little or no other input other than to crticice the few that try to further the development of the sport.

The sport of Table Tennis needs, and is getting more recognition year on year but will only continue to do so with players promoting the sport in any way they can.

The two posts above prove we have the capable brains and indeed willpower to achieve the dizzy heights the sport deserves, others as i have already seen will follow with ideas and aims which Table Tennis can only benefit from.

[ChrisH]

I am one of those lonley webmasters who spends what little free time I have waiting for any new information to be sent - your (sic) only as good as your source !
many in the sport put hours upon hours into administration and /or other areas of the sport with little reward or interest from other players
- it takes days for updates to come, one guy has to do all the updating so it is intermittent, and there is no mention of players, actual results (i.e who beat who) or averages

These are exactly the reasons I created the web application.

The work is shared; those team captains who can be bothered and are interested in their league positions, averages etc can enter the results themselves when they get home from the match, taking the burden off the results secretary.
There is nothing for the webmaster to do. The web site maintains itself. Apart from announcements pages (which you just type into the web site like MS Word) there is nothing to do.
Accuracy. If the results secretary can't read the scores off the score card under the current system it can be weeks before the mistake is picked up, possibly never. This web application automatically sends an email (with a match summary and link to the scorecard) to each team admin and the league admin when it is entered. The league admin can check the result against the scorecard when it arrives if necessary. Again workload sharing.Having an automatic site takes some of the burden off the shoulders of the results secretary and almost all the burden off the web admin, while maintaining up-to-the-minute league positions and averages. I could add doubles averages pretty simply for example, which I bet nobody has ever done before. All the results are in a proper database (as opposed to Access or files etc) and data can be mined for all sorts of reports if so desired at a later time. Also let's not forget the way that any player can go back to previous seasons and see how well they fared against that opponent or team last time they played. You can check out your opponents and easily click through to see their results in recent matches.
It may even generate some renewed interest in the sport. I have 3 teenage children and they use the net for everything and are attracted by sites with active content. On another site which I created, it has many Web 2.0 features (collaboration, RSS feeds, dynamic content, user skins etc) which I could put into the TT site. Todays audience (not just kids) is much more sophisticated, so if they can participate by entering their results, posting comments on matches, contributing to the site etc they will feel more included and are likely to become more active generally in the TT community.

Browning: If you want to send an email to me at chris@num61.com I will set you up with an id where you can play around the admin section.

Chris

[Leeston]

Hi Peeps,
I'm on the look out for some membership software which can assist in running a community club, such as a table tennis club. I'm building my own in Access, but was wondering if there's a better option out there in cyber space ?

Preferably, open source,etc. Anyone got any recommendations ?

Regards

Lee

[Jayteebee]

Martyn L (http://www.tabletennistalk.co.uk/forum/member.php?u=79) & DaveR,

Dave one of the sheets in the spreadsheet I sent you is capable of 64 draws.

May just need tweaking

regards JTB