Re: Competitions calendar

Hi all,

Followup on calendars:  I may or may not be able to join the call, and
if I do it will be voice-only.  However we had a good look at several
real-world competition directories,  including British Masters, USATF
and Atletiek.nu.

Below is a suggested field structure for a very concrete database
table (or two), rather than a general standard.  I need to restructure
ours anyway so would like to align it with whatever lets us accept
data this summer.  Feedback is welcome...

What would we provide (eventually!)
===========================
Free crowdsourced database, open data
   - database table(s)
   - API for querying (open to all) so you can embed listings in your web site
   - API for add/edit/delete, for trusted parties
   - Easy "competition setup wizard" to add a competition
   - Nice web page for querying
   - notifications ?
   - regular nightly exports to Excel, CSV, JSON
   - able to export content into more flexible, self-describing JSON-LD


Why would people use it?
===================
1. Some countries have no central calendar, so can adopt a tool
easily.  Ready-made backend
2. It may help organisers of open competitions to attract more people.
3. Help planners and statisticians to know what's coming and hunt for results

Information goals
=============
It must be EASY TO SEARCH

By: date, location, events, levels, open/closed, event name

Therefore, we need yes/no fields and discrete categories.

Database fields
============

id:  we assign a UUID
slug: user may supply a short URL component which is mnemonic
url:  https://data.opentrack.run/x/<year>/<country></slug>

start_date
end_date   (if more than one day)

entries_open_date:
entries_close_date
# OR entries_status = [NOT_OPEN_YET|OPEN|CLOSED]   ?

names:   we think we need 4 fields:
   1. long_name, 2. short_name in each of:
         A. english
         B. local language (may be latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Japanese...)

description_text:  (english + local language)

address    # geocodable string
city   # can be derived by geocoding APIs
country   # can be derived by geocoding APIs
longitude     # can be derived by geocoding APIs
latitude    # can be derived by geocoding APIs
altitude      # can be derived by geocoding APIs

performance_level:   yes/no for each that is expected.  Some meetings
go all the way up/down
    - world class   (age grade 90% +)
    - national class   (age grade 80% +)
    - club class   (age grade 70% +)
    - active  (60%)
    - couch potato (50%)

geographical_scope:
# I will let the W3C figure out the taxonomy here
     global
     international (European, African etc)
     national
     regional
     county/state
     local


series:   Olympic, World Champs, National League etc.
    # does it belong to some group of competitions over time, or at
    # the same level ?


disciplines:  which of TF (outdoor), TF (indoor), Road, XC, Mountain,
Walks  (boolean field each?)
   # you must supply at least one! you ought to know...

events:   list of athlib event_codes offered.  May not be known
    # could be add two levels:
    # high level:  each event offered, comma-separated results
    # detailed:  events in each category, more detailed structure.
    #    could only be provided through some human effort or by
    #     entry systems.

electronic_timing:    sprinters like to know!

age_groups:  subset of U12, U14, U16, U18, U20, U23, SEN, Masters
   # we suggest to use the IAAF ones as an approximation, even though
   # many countries have their own systems.
   # adult looking for races can then 'filter out' kids meetings
   #  possibly accent parseable ranges e.g. "U14,U16" or "U16+" or "M35-M60"

organiser: Name or reference to host club/association

certified:  any certification/recognition from national or
international bodies, free text

eligibility_text:   who it's for e.g. "British Universities", "anyone"
prizes_text:    Money for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, whatever (road races)

is_open_meeting
is_match   # inter-something
is_league   # match is part of a league
is_cup    # part of a knockout/national cup
is_paid   # do I have to pay to participate?

rules:  UKA, IAAF, whatever

# Various yes/no fields - check all which apply
open_entries:  anyone can enter
match:  there's an inter-club/school/whatever match happening
league:  match is part of a league
championship:  aims to find a single winner per event, may have heats
or timed finals

# practical:
website
contact_email


=================



Can anyone think of anything else, or criticize the above?

Received on Tuesday, 13 March 2018 17:43:05 UTC