Official 1999 BOF Rankings Format

One major benefit of the new experimental 1999 BOF ranking system should be that the use of BOF numbers as unique identification will avoid confusion which has occurred previously.

The format described below is based on that used for the world rankings and as such contains some redundant fields etc.. The description below has been modified to apply specifically to the current BOF usage although some of the redundant information is still described.

Unfortunately the IOF have reviewed the use of the format and decided that something more sophisticated is needed to cope with multi-day results, relays etc. and is in the process of defining new formats for the future. Thus the format described here may have a limited lifetime. It is hoped that easy translation to the new formats can be achieved to ease any future transition.

Note : this format can already be produced by recent versions of Terry Smith's 'Badge' program. Contact Terry if in doubt.

The format of the file

The system is based on a regular ASCII-file with lines containing comma-separated fields. Each line starts with a code indicating the type of the line. The file format includes the following five line-types:

The file should always start with a RaceHeader. After the RaceHeader there will be a number of classheaders, each followed by the CompetitorInfo of each competitor in this class. If Split times is used a SplitTime-record should follow directly after the CompetitorInfo-record.

Example:

RaceHeader
ClassHeader
CompetitorInfo
CompetitorInfo
CompetitorInfo
.
.
.
ClassHeader
CompetitorInfo
CompetitorInfo
CompetitorInfo
.
(more classes)
.
Endrecord

The Data Content

The new ranking system will use L,S and A,B course results for M18 and above. However, it is requested that results are sent for all juniors as well. In addition, although it might seem redundant for ranking purposes to include competitors without BOF numbers, those who retired or disqualified etc., BOF would like to have complete sets of major event results on record in a defined format. This will be particularly useful when analysing issues such as the inclusion of Short courses in rankings. It could also, if clubs agree, form the basis of an automated submission on-line results service in the future.

It is probable that, in the early stages, that there will be competitors who should be ranked but for whom a BOF number is not available. If this occurs, it should be indicated by inserting GBR0 for the RankingNr. If the competitor is not eligible for ranking or the status is not known then the field should be left blank.

The lines in the file

Please take note that the preferred (!) date format uses the US convention of MM-DD-YYYY (i.e. the month first!).

RaceHeader

Name

Optional

Explanation

Example

R

No

Shows that this is a RaceHeader

R

File
Version

No

A version number for the file, the first version
should be 1

1

Racename

No

Name of the race enclosed by "".

"Twin Peaks Day 1"

Organizing
'Club'

No

Organizing club or association etc. enclosed by ""

"MDOC" or 
"NWOA"

Date

No

Date of race (MM-DD-YYYY)

06-24-1998

Country

No

Country of race. IOF Country codes (USA, CAN, IRE, NOR)

GBR

SplitTimes

Yes

Show if this race has split times (Y for Yes or N for No) Default is No if omitted

Y

System
Number

Yes

Gives the official number of the racesystem, given to the developers by IOF. Normally omit

43

System
Version

Yes

Gives the version of the racesystem enclosed by "". Normally omit

"2.30"

Race Type

Yes

Identifies the type of race: (Normally omit)

I - Individual race (Default)
M - Mass start
C - Chase start 

I

ClassHeader

Name

Optional

Explanation

Example

C

No

Shows that this is a ClassHeader

C

Classname

No

Name of the class enclosed with "".

"M21L"
"W16A"

Length

No

Length of race in km.

10.3

RankingClass

Yes

Class in which rankings will count - usually above class minus the length/standard (can usually omit)

"M21"
"W16"

NumOfControls

Yes

Number of controls in class

18

Climb

No

Climb in race in meters.

145

CompetitorInfo

Name

Optional

Explanation

Example

I

No

Shows that this is CompetitorInfo

I

Place

Yes

Competitors place in race (Normally omit only if DNF, DQ etc.)

12

FirstName

No

Competitors first name

"Ian"

LastName

No

Competitors last name

"Watson"

Club

No

Competitors Club enclosed in ""

"MDOC"

TotalTime

No

Total time of the competitor. Using the format hh:mm:ss or mmm:ss

1:15:05 or
75:05

Status

Yes

C - Completed (Default)
DNF - Did not Finnish
DQ - Disqualified
DNS - Did Not Start

C

Country

Yes

Country of competitor. IOF Country codes (USA, CAN, IRE, NOR)

GBR

RankingNr

Yes

Normally GBR followed by BOF number. Although this is optional, the result will not count for ranking purposes if it is omitted.

GBR222671

BirthYear

Yes

Birth year of competitor (YYYY)

1947

BirthDate

Yes

Birth date of competitor (MM-DD-YYYY)

05-19-1947

StartTime

Yes

Start time of competitor. Using the format hh:mm:ss or mmm:ss.

13:34:00 or
154:00

SplitTimes (Not normally included for current GBR rankings)

Name

Optional

Explanation

Example

S

No

Shows that this is a SplitTime

S

ControlNumber

Yes

Number of control

1

PassingTime

Yes

Split time on control from start. On the format hh:mm:ss or mmm:ss

1:04

ControlNumber

Yes

Number of control

2

PassingTime

Yes

Split time on control from start. On the format hh:mm:ss or mmm:ss

4:23

ControlNumber

Yes

Number of control

3

PassingTime

Yes

Split time on control from start. On the format hh:mm:ss or mmm:ss

6:59

?..(etc.)

EndRecord

Name

Optional

Explanation

Example

E

No

Shows that this is an EndRecord

E

 

File Example

The following is an example of the use of the format:

R,1,"November Classic97","SOC",06-08-1998,GBR,N,3,"5.0g",I
C,"W10A",2.6,,11,35
I,1,"JESSICA","STIRRUPS","NGOC",00:49:27,C,GBR,,,,11:15:00
C,"W10B",2.0,,11,30
I,1,"Elizabeth","Fowler","BADO",00:38:50,C,GBR,GBR389354,,,11:01:00
I,2,"ALICE","GRAHAM","SOC",00:40:40,C,GBR,,,,12:29:00
I,3,"Jennifer","Truby","SN",00:49:00,C,GBR,GBR345873,,,12:25:00
I,4,"Rachel","COOPER","SOC",00:55:06,C,GBR,,,,10:45:00
C,"W12A",3.5,,12,50
I,1,"Ruth","Holmes","QO",00:34:08,C,GBR,GBR115944,,,10:51:00
I,2,"Joanna","Fowler","BADO",00:38:27,C,GBR,GBR389353,,,11:01:00
I,3,"Lucy","Jepson","SO",00:39:45,C,GBR,GBR220213,,,11:44:00
I,4,"Alice","Dickson","BAOC",00:40:49,C,GBR,GBR256654,,,10:16:00
I,5,"Melanie","Richardson","TVOC",00:42:26,C,GBR,GBR360484,,,11:32:00
I,6,"Joanna","Ludford","BADO",00:42:47,C,GBR,GBR145343,,,11:41:00
I,7,"Fern","Horsey","WSX",00:43:51,C,GBR,GBR212183,,,12:28:00
I,8,"Charlotte","Turner","SLOW",00:45:59,C,GBR,GBR139374,,,10:50:00
I,9,"Elizabeth","Bridge","SO",00:46:59,C,GBR,GBR374333,,,10:49:00
I,10,"Hayley","Lockton","WSX",00:51:07,C,GBR,GBR364065,,,11:39:00
I,11,"Anna","Peirce","SARUM",00:52:36,C,GBR,GBR380673,,,12:04:00
I,12,"Megan","Greenall","OD",00:53:26,C,GBR,GBR211806,,,10:35:00
I,13,"Joanne","West","SOS",00:59:25,C,GBR,GBR362265,,,11:07:00
.
.
E

Some of the above is redundant and the lines could be shortened as follows:

R,1,"November Classic97","SOC",06-08-1998,GBR,,,,
C,"W10A",2.6,,,35
I,1,"JESSICA","STIRRUPS","NGOC",00:49:27,,,,,, (cannot be ranked)
.
I,3,"Jennifer","Truby","SN",00:49:00,,,GBR345873,,,