F3KScore - program for managing F3K/F5J/ALES/TD contests

Version 8.22a is now available (July 2018). See below for changes in v8.22a.


F3KScore is a Java-based desktop program, originally developed for managing F3K (hand launch glider) contests. Now it also supports a few other types of soaring events: F5J, F3J, ALES, TD.

Originally developed by Peter Jubel in 2007-2009, re-written in 2010 by Oleg Golovidov.

Please consider supporting the program development by donating via Donate (PayPal) button above.


The program allows you to perform the following:
  • Enter and manage a list of registered contestants, their frequencies, and other related data.
  • Configure a list of tasks to be used for the contest rounds; the tasks are taken from the FAI/AMA rules for F3K/F5J/F3J/ALES/TD contests.
  • Generate a random flight matrix, accounting for frequency conflicts, and team protection if desired.
  • Optimize the flight matrix relative to the number of pilot-pilot matchups.
  • Generate a start (call-up) list of pilots for all rounds and groups.
  • Generate an audio playlist for all task announcements and window countdowns during the event.
  • Enter all flight times for each round during the contest, for on-field scoring.
  • View total scores of all pilots at any moment in time.
  • View team scores of all teams at any moment in time.
  • Print the flight matrix, the start list, the score cards/books for all pilots, the official timechecker cards for off-field time checking during high level F3K events, the bib numbers (tags) for pilots, the round scores, the total results, and the team results at any time.
NOTE! F3KScore v8.22a has a print preview now.
I still highly recommend that you install a PDF printer on your computer and from F3KScore select that printer as the destination - for posting scores on-line. One such PDF writer is CutePDF Writer (free download).

Downloads:
  • F3KScore v8.22a files in a ZIP archive (10Mb) (updated July-2018)

    Windows platforms - Download and unpack the ZIP archive. Use the "f3kscore.exe" file to run the F3KScore program. You can create an association for all files with "f3k" extension to be opened by the "f3kscore.exe" executatable file (right click on an "f3k"-extension data file, select "Open with", then browse to the "f3kscore.exe" file, and make sure to select the option "Always use this program"). Once you create the association, you will be able to double-click a competition data file ("f3k"-extension file) and it will be automatically opened in the F3KScore program.

    Non-Windows platforms - Download and unpack the ZIP archive. Simply use the JAR file to run the F3KScore program. You have to make sure that your machine is configured to launch Java when you double click a JAR file. Alternatively, you can run the command manually from a command prompt window ("java -jar F3KScore_v8.22a.jar").

  • Audio files for generating playlists from F3KScore in a ZIP archive (23Mb) (updated February-2016)

    These files were derived mostly from audio files created by Dave Register. They were converted into MP3 format, and then cut into pieces and edited by me. I also used bits from the Poker audio track created by Torrey Pines Gulls club.

    Download and unpack this ZIP archive in the same location where you installed F3KScore files or any other directory which you can easily browse to from the F3KScore playlist generator. The sound files are in MP3 format, mono.

    To include pilot name announcements in your playlist, create a directory with pilot name audio files; the file names can use the following substitution patterns: "STARTNUMBER", "FIRSTNAME", "LASTNAME", "FAI_AMA", "EMAIL", "INFO". For example, using this file naming format: "FIRSTNAME-LASTNAME.wav", if the pilot's name is Joe Shmoe, you need to call the corresponding audio file "Joe-Shmoe.wav". You will browse to this directory from the F3KScore playlist generator when creatign the playlist. You can change the file naming format to any combination of substitution patterns with other characters in between (e.g., "Shmoe,Joe.mp3", or "Joe_Shmoe.wav", etc.); you will then have to specify your file naming format and extension in the F3KScore playlist generator (i.e., "LASTNAME,FIRSTNAME.mp3", or "FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME.wav", etc.)
Changes in version 8.22a (July-2018):
  • Support for F3J event type.
  • Improved support for switching between event types.
  • Added Tag column to pilot information, for custom pilot numbers or alphanumeric tags.
  • Added "Break between rounds" to audio playlist generator.
  • Added Fly-offs capability. Fly-off can be scored as a separate contest (per FAI rules) or as a continuation of the main contest.
  • Added Print preview. Miscellaneous improvements to printed output.
  • Miscellaneous enhancements with exporting data to Excel.
  • Other improvements and bug fixes.
Changes in version 8.18a (March-2016):
  • New symbols added to the list of allowed separators when entering minutes and seconds for flight times. The full list of separator symbols now is: colon, dot, comma, semicolon, space.
  • Changed F3K normalized score calculation to use rounding, per the 2016 FAI rules.
  • Changed the letter designation of "Big Ladder" task to "K" per the 2016 FAI rules. Experimental (non-FAI) tasks "Deuce" and "Two flights only" remain in the program and are now assigned letters "L" and "M" correspondingly. The sound files are updated to reflect this.
  • The 7 minute ALES/TD task is removed and replaced by the 6 minute and the 8 minute tasks. The 10 minute and 15 minute ALES/TD tasks remained unchanged (except for the sound tracks).
  • Sound tracks and playlists for ALES tasks are changed now to not have any countdown during the "working" time (previously was similar to F3K and F5J tracks). Only the countdown to the launch window and the launch window itself are played by the playlist.
  • Miscellaneous enhancements with printing round scores, start list. The round scores are now always printed such that the pilots within each group are sorted by the round score in decreasing order, best pilots of the group on top. The Start List, when printed only for a single round, is sorted by the total results now, best pilots within each group on top. This is designed to be used mainly as the call-up list for man-on-man TD contests where best pilots are assigned to winches and launch first.
Changes in version 8.17 (May-2015):
  • Formalized support for ALES, TD, F5J competitions in addition to F3K.
    File->New menu now has choices for these event types. Creating a new ALES/TD/F5J event via this menu creates a list of appropriate default flight tasks and sets the number of dropped scores to an appropriate value for the event type (viewable from Edit->Options).
  • New type of printed output - "Score keeper entry sheet." This printout option is available on the main Print menu and on the right click menu on the Round Scores page. This printout is mostly useful at ALES/TD events where pilots are not using score cards and instead verbally report their scores to the score keeper.
  • Start List now can be printed for a selected round. This printout option is also now available on the right click menu on the Round Scores page. This is needed for "seeded Man-on-Man" events when the organizer needs to post the groups for every round after re-generating the groups.
  • Miscellaneous small fixes with printing round scores.
Changes in version 8.16 (May-2015):
  • New F3K tasks included (Task M "Big Ladder" and experimental non-FAI Task L "Two Flights Only"). No description sound files! I will generate and add description sound files for these soon.
  • Miscellaneous small fixes with printing round scores (column width).
Changes in version 8.15 (November-2014):
  • F5J tasks included (10 min window, 15 min window). No sound files! The tasks will use ALES sound files for now.
  • Miscellaneous small fixes with printing total scores (column width), formatting percent values, etc.
Changes in version 8.14 (October-2014):
  • New (experimental, non FAI) task included, Task K "Deuce - Lowest Flight of Two Flights", 7 or 10 min working time.
  • Score card prompts (printed cards) now follow the contest option "seconds only" for flight times. I.e. instead of "Max=2:00" the prompts will show "Max=120" when this option is selected.
Changes in version 8.13 (August-2014):
  • Seeded groups (introduced in v8.12, see below) can be sorted as "best at the top" or "best at the bottom"
  • Several bugs fixes: printing selected individual score cards, printing Start List after manually editing the matrix, calculating total scors for ALES tasks
Changes in version 8.12 (June-2014):
  • The flight matrix for each round can be re-generated using either random assignments or the sorted order based on the total scores (sorted/seeded groups). This option is accessed via the right-click menu on the Round Scores page.
Changes in version 8.11b (June-2014):
  • Number of dropped scores changed according to the new FAI rules (maximum 1 dropped round after 5 flown rounds).
  • Rounding-off eliminated when calculating the Total Score. Previously round scores were rounded and then summed up. Now round scores are kept to full precision and summation is done using exact round score values.
  • All scores are displayed and printed with 1 digit after the decimal symbol.
  • ALES tasks are now handled as required by the ALES rules. Flight times are normalized to 1000 points, then the landing score is added. Previously the landing score was added to the flight time, then the total was normalized to 1000 points.
Changes in version 8.9 (May-2012):
  • Audio files have been re-done. The 30 sec landing window is included in the main working time files for better accuracy, group names with digits can be now properly announced as digits ("Heat 1" instead of "Heat A"). There are fewer small files now, but the total size of the archive went up because of this.
  • iTunes compatible playlist files can be generated now. When saving a playlist file from F3KScore, make sure to select the file type as "iTunes (xml)", also make sure to have full file paths for all sound files in the playlist. The playlist must be generated and imported into iTunes and then onto your Apple device (iPod/iPhone) on the same computer since the import process depends on finding the sound files on your computer using the full paths.
  • Minor fixes related to using F3KScore on very small computer screens (640x480 or 800x600).
Changes in version 8.8 (March-2012):
  • True Excel compatibility for exporting and importing data. Previously only CSV files could be exported, now XLSX files.
  • Import/export pilot data from/to an Excel (XLSX) or CSV database file (via File and Export menu or right-click menu on Pilot List page).
  • Export of entire contest data as an Excel workbook with multiple pages.
  • Most tables now have right-click menu with various commands, some have more options than others (Copy, Paste, etc.)
  • Ability to create and process a Re-flight group in any round (via right-click menu on Round Scores page).
  • Ability to quickly move pilots to another (or a new) group (via right-click menu on Round Scores page).
  • Ability to print score cards for selected pilot(s), all rounds or just one selected round (via right-click menu and Print menu).
  • Two TD/F3J/F5J/ALES tasks were added to the list of tasks (10 min and 7 min duration with a landing).
  • Print menu now includes Pilot list, Task list. Printouts of Flight groups and Total scores now show abbreviated task names in column headers.
Changes in version 8.7 (Sept-2011):
  • A new menu called Data was added to the menu bar. Pilot list can be sorted by any column from the new Data menu. All flight times can be cleared from this menu. The latter is useful when creating a new competition file from an old one.
  • A new command was added to the Tools menu for adding another competition results to the current one. This is useful when combining results from Saturday and Sunday contests into one combined event before merging the scores into the F3K Tour results. This feature also can be used for contests where the preliminary results are carried over into fly-offs.
  • The feature of merging contest results into a tour/series table was enhanced to allow for variable number of best scores to be used.
  • Tasks page was enhanced with up/down arrows to allow tasks to be moved within the list.
  • Two new F3K tasks were added to the list of tasks.
  • Print menu was enhanced to allow printing score cards for a selected pilot only, and to print score cards without entering any pilot names to the contest. The latter can be useful when preparing for fly-offs when pilots are not known in advance.
Changes in version 8.6 (June-2011):
  • Flight matrix can now be optimized with respect to the number of pilot-pilot interactions in the contest. A text report showing statistics and detailed numbers is shown in a report dialog. The matrix can be optimized multiple times to reach a desired/possible level of "goodness" where as many pilots as possible meet approximately equal number of times.
  • Minor fixes to printing functions and changes in the Total Scores table displayed columns.
Changes in version 8.5 (April-2011):
  • Registration data now includes a column for FAI/AMA number.
  • Several configuration options and a special dialog where you can configure these competition options:
    • Pilot name format - "First Last" or "Last, First"
    • Group names - letters (A,B,C,...) or numbers (1,2,3,...)
    • Flight times format - Mins:Secs ("1:23") or seconds only ("123)
    • Number of dropped scores - by F3K rules, or limited by a custom value.
  • Several new substitution patterns in the playlist generator for creating pilot name audio files: STARTNUMBER, FIRSTNAME, LASTNAME, FAI_AMA, EMAIL, INFO. These may be essential for non-ASCII fonts within the pilot names. Some audio players do not handle non-ASCII file names, and the ability to use the start number or a special string instead of pilots' names for naming the audio files can be crucial.
  • New Team Scores page shows the team results, if teams were defined. The Print menu now includes a command to print the team scores.
  • Results merging tool for merging new competition results into an existing F3K Tour/Cup data file.
  • Round score cards are now printed with only the exact number of cells required for the task, and the cells are marked with the target times. This was done to simplify the scorekeeping effort at the field and minimize the confusion for the pilots. The downside is that the pilots cannot simply record ALL their flights on the card. The pilots will have to use scratch paper (back side of the card) for recording all flights, then transfer only the essential ones to the proper cells on the card.
Changes in version 8.4 (February-2011):
  • Playlist generation functionality (a new dialog window and a new Tools menu). Audio files for task announcements and window countdown tracks are included in a separate ZIP file (see above).
  • Small bug fixes in matrix generation code related to corner cases (one round contest).
Changes in version 8.3 (January-2011):
  • Registration (Pilot List) page now has separate columns for the first and last names of the pilots. This is done to standardize the result presentation and export, which will be essential when results from multiple contests are combined in a single results table.
  • Printing of pilot score books in various sizes: 2, 4, 6, and 8 cards per page.
  • Printing of official timechecker cards in various sizes: 2, 4, 6, and 8 cards per page.
  • Penalty is now entered on the Round Scores page, for each round where the penalty was incurred, and the Total Scores page will show the penalty values along with round numbers, as required by the F3K rules.
  • Export of CSV files will now use semi-colon as the value separator in locales where comma is the decimal separator.
Changes in version 8.2 (15-Sept-2010):
  • Printing of Total Scores and Flight Matrix for contests with a large number of rounds (over 15) is now done properly with multiple pages widthwise. Previously, the data was cut off if it did not fit on one page widthwise.
  • Round Scores table will now display a warning when the total score equals or exceeds the window time specified for the task. NOTE: this feature will only work when creating a new contest from scratch, not when modifying an existing contest file.
  • Pilot List (registration) table now is more user frendly, entering new pilot names manually is easier.
  • Score cards for Task "D" (Increasing times) will now have pre-printed target times in each cell for easier checking off all achieved times.
  • All score cards will now have a "Penalty" field for entering penalty values.
  • Task "F3B Speed" is now handled properly. All previous versions did not score it correctly.
  • Export menu added. This menu allows one to export data from any page of the program either as a tab separated text (.txt) file or as a comma separated values (.csv) file.
Changes in version 8.1 (16-Aug-2010):
  • Printing of individual round scores.
  • Changes to registration data ("Models", "Team", "E-mail" columns)
  • Group generation algorithm improved to have more randomness in the matrix.
  • Group generation process is terminated as soon as there are no improvements, takes less time.
  • Option to use team protection when generating groups.
  • Task list expanded to include all variations of F3K tasks in the rules.
  • Small UI improvements to tables and scroll bars.
Previous versions:

E-mail your questions, bug reports, enhancement requests to me at oleg.golovidov@gmail.com