Lesson 2: Tournament Manager and events.vex.com

Two Places, One Event

Your event lives in two places. The listing on events.vex.com is what teams see: the details, the registration, the awards, and later the results. The tournament file in Tournament Manager is where the event actually runs. The two exchange information twice:

• Before the event, your listing sends your team list and awards list to the tournament file.
• After the event, the tournament file sends your results back to your listing.

Both exchanges run through the same link, and both need internet access at that moment.

Before the Event: Setting Up the File

Every event listing has an Event Code and a Tournament Manager Code. You will find both on your event's details page in the Admin dashboard on events.vex.com. As the Event Partner, your job is to make sure your event software operator has the correct codes for your event in a timely manner.

When your event software operator creates the tournament file, they enter the two codes in the setup wizard. That connects the file to your listing, and the connection stays in place for sending results back after the event. With the computer online, the codes pull your registered team list and your awards list from events.vex.com into the tournament file.

This means the file starts from whatever your listing says at that moment. Before your operator builds the file, check two things on your listing:

• The awards. The awards you plan to offer should be selected in the Awards section of your listing. Understanding the Event Dashboard walks through each section.
• The registered teams. The team list comes from your registrations, so the Registered Teams section is what your file will show.

If the download does not work, your event software operator can import the team list from a file instead. The Team Setup section of the VEX Tournament Manager Software User Guide covers both options.

After the Event: Uploading and Finalizing

After the last match, your event software operator can upload your results from Tournament Manager to events.vex.com. If your venue has internet access, upload before you leave.

Your results stay tied to your listing through the tournament file, so keeping that file safe is what matters most after the last match:

• The codes travel with the file. Both codes are saved inside the tournament file, so it can be uploaded from any computer.
• Save a backup before you leave. Have your event software operator save a copy of the tournament file to a USB drive.
• If your venue has no internet access, open the file on any computer with internet access and upload from there.

Once results are uploaded, check your event page to confirm they look right: the rankings, the Robot Skills scores, and the award winners.

Finalizing is the last step. It is separate from uploading, and it makes your results official. When you finalize:

• Award winners appear on your event page.
• Tournament Manager can no longer upload to the event.
• Teams that earned a qualifying spot can receive their invitations.

Results are due within 48 hours of your event's completion. Teams watch for them closely, since results and qualifications help them start planning for the events ahead. Chapter 5, Lesson 3, places this upload in your post-event timeline.

When to Call the Program Support Team

Your Program Support Team is your partner for results, the same way they were when you posted your event. Some results problems reach past your event to teams waiting on invitations, and those are the ones to bring to them right away. Call your Program Support Team when:

• Results were finalized by mistake. Finalized results lead to team invitations, so a correction affects teams beyond your event.
• Results were posted incorrectly. If your event page does not match what happened at your event, the Program Support Team can help sort out what changed and where.
• The 48-hour deadline is at risk. If an upload will not go through or you cannot upload in time, call before the deadline passes.

In each case, calling early gives the Program Support Team the most options for fixing the situation, and keeps teams from acting on inaccurate results.

The connection between Tournament Manager and your listing works the same way at every event you run. In the next chapter, you will see it stretch across several sessions, when a league uses one tournament file from its first session through its last.