Written by Giles Bennett
As a company we are finding ourselves more frequently involved in more technical programming projects - the recent Partsman project for Sinister Powersports is one such example, and on occasion we take on projects for the challenge, rather than rewards.
One such recent project was a revamp of the handicap competition for a local running club in which our Founder is involved. The previous handicap system was a complicated and convoluted one which required integration with third party websites to retrieve results, and with the rapid growth of running generally, and the club more specifically, had become difficult to manage.
The new system, built around a brand new Laravel-powered website, simplifies things considerably, and with the current ban on in-person gatherings, was designed to enable runners to log and upload their own entries to the website. This enables the handicap administrator to simply setup the opening and closing dates of each of the runs, then sit back as the results come in and tell the system when it's time to calculate the scores for the race, which it then does, whilst also compiling the league table and overall performance results.
The platform calculates runners' baseline times, allows for staggered starts and the handicapping of beginner and winning athletes, all wrapped up in an elegant site with a powerful administration panel. We are looking at providing the platform to other running clubs for free whilst the Covid 19 restrictions prevent in-person gatherings, to maintain a sense of club community during these trying times, so if it's of interest, feel free to get in touch.
