Unfortunately for USMS Top Ten Recorders, the way that the Club Assistant software is coded causes issues if anything other than the swimmer's first name (the one they've registered for USMS with) is in the preferred name field (i.e. that field supersedes the first name field when the meet file is being created). Which means, for every person who puts a true nickname or shorter version of their first name given at that year's registration, they're causes additional time in processing every meet. Thankfully, our IT crew at the national office has developed a suite of tools that makes it much easier to correct, but it's still a hassle to go through and fix the swimmers who use the preferred nickname field, every meet.
The long and the short of it is- if you've registered with your full, given first name, and you'd rather be called by a shorter nickname in heat/psych sheets and results, please, please, please register for 2015 with your nickname- that's totally allowed!
I'm 99% sure the "preferred" name is the only field that passes through. The nickname indeed could get printed in the heat sheet and results, but the actual first name is all that gets sent through to USMS.
Technically the heat sheets are supposed to only display the actual first name, so Mollie is still right that you shouldn't have your nickname printed there. And if the meet director doesn't notice or know to change to the actual first name it is true that Club Assistant will pass on the nickname to Hytek. But even if it slips through to Hytek and is never changed, it won't be sent to USMS for Top Ten.
Jeff
Unfortunately for USMS Top Ten Recorders, the way that the Club Assistant software is coded causes issues if anything other than the swimmer's first name (the one they've registered for USMS with) is in the preferred name field (i.e. that field supersedes the first name field when the meet file is being created). Which means, for every person who puts a true nickname or shorter version of their first name given at that year's registration, they're causes additional time in processing every meet. Thankfully, our IT crew at the national office has developed a suite of tools that makes it much easier to correct, but it's still a hassle to go through and fix the swimmers who use the preferred nickname field, every meet.
The long and the short of it is- if you've registered with your full, given first name, and you'd rather be called by a shorter nickname in heat/psych sheets and results, please, please, please register for 2015 with your nickname- that's totally allowed!
I'm 99% sure the "preferred" name is the only field that passes through. The nickname indeed could get printed in the heat sheet and results, but the actual first name is all that gets sent through to USMS.
Technically the heat sheets are supposed to only display the actual first name, so Mollie is still right that you shouldn't have your nickname printed there. And if the meet director doesn't notice or know to change to the actual first name it is true that Club Assistant will pass on the nickname to Hytek. But even if it slips through to Hytek and is never changed, it won't be sent to USMS for Top Ten.
Jeff
