You are getting this email since you were imprudent enough to volunteer for data entry at our meets this season. Thank you so much!
If I have added you to this list in error, please respond right away so I can remove you from the list.
There are seven of you who are new to the program (or at least this job) and two wily veterans so I will explain how this works.
While the kids think that a track meet is all about running, jumping and throwing, you will soon find that a meet is really an exercise in moving paper around. Very briefly, kids sign up for their events by reporting to the clerk of the course area (for running events) or to a field event when they are called. Volunteers at those venues write down each kid's name and number (4 digits unique to them in our league) on a clipboard. For running events, the completed event sheet travels via a shepherd to the starter (bang!) and then to finish line recorders who write down times and places. The field event sheets stay at the field event until the event closes for a particular grade. After results are recorded, the sheets passed to data entry where you or one of your colleagues will enter the results.
Data entry is done in Excel by entering each athlete's number and time (or distance or height) for each event. You sit up in the press box (at DVC) or in a tent (at Ygnacio Valley or College Park) trying to keep the glare off the laptop screen. There will generally be two data entry volunteers working at once. Ideally one will be from our team and one from another team in the league.
Most of our meet jobs divide each meet into two shifts. With data entry, we'll use slightly later shifts since there's really nothing to do besides setting up the computers until results start coming in so there's little reason to get there early. However, data entry is not usually finished until a little while after the meet ends. Therefore our two shifts are 9-12 and 12-2:30. The second shift is shorter since it is always a little less popular.
As I said, there will be two data entry people working at a time and hopefully only one of them will be a CTK volunteer. Since it's a big problem NOT to have two people going at the same time, I always assign a "lead" and a "helper" for each shift. The "lead" person can expect to work their shift for sure, and the "helper" has about an even chance of working or not depending on the other parishes. At the end of the day, I expect each of you will be on the roster 3-4 times as either the "lead" or the "helper."
For right now, I have four action items for you:
- Let me know if you do NOT want to do data entry at our meets.
- If you had already signed up for other meet jobs and happen to have the dates, shifts, and jobs handy, please email them to me so I can remove you. We will try to find and remove you from these other jobs in any case, but you'll save us time if you tell us what you signed up for. If you didn't sign up for any other jobs, telling me that will save me time also!
- Watch out for another mail from me with an announcement of a data entry training class, probably to be held at CTK one weeknight evening around the beginning of March.
- Visit [Ask Carl] and indicate your availability for each shift of each meet. Please try to list as many times you are available as possible, even if you'd prefer all morning shifts in the first couple of meets! I will make the schedule as fair as I can once I hear from everyone.
Please ask away if you have any questions. Thanks again for signing up for this key job!
carl
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