Category configuration

Categories are the mutually exclusive groups into which the participants of each event of a race are divided. Every participant must have a category assigned, and no participant can have more than one category assigned at the same level (primary category and secondary category).

You can create categories based on gender and year of birth or age of the participant, or categories without an age range (for example, Elite), which are assigned manually.

1. Creating categories

1. Expand the event for which you want to configure categories.
2. Expand the Categories section.
3. To create categories one by one, click the + button below the categories: the Advanced editor panel opens on the right. From the section menu you can also create them in bulk (Create, see Creating categories in bulk), import them from another race you have in Copernico (Import), empty the list (Clear) or move them to another event of the same race with the edit buttons: Cut, Copy and Paste. More information in Quick actions menu.

   

4. Complete the category information in the Advanced editor panel:
   • Category name (required).
   • Gender: choose whether the category includes men (Male), women (Female) or both (Mixed). If you select several, one category is created per gender, with the gender added to the name (for example, “Senior Male” and “Senior Female”).
   • From: in the drop-down, choose “Year” (of birth) or “Age”, depending on how you want to configure the category. Enter a year or age value in the field below.
   • To: follow the same steps as for the From field.

   Below, the panel shows the birth dates covered by the category (Birthdate from … To). If the From value is greater than the To value, the Range incorrect message appears.

5. Click “Save” in the panel. The category is added to the list and the panel is ready for the next one. When you finish, save the race configuration (Save).

Ages are calculated with the event date. If you need another date (for example, 31 December of the season), clear the Use event date for age categories check box in the event configuration and enter in the Date field the date to be used to calculate the age categories of the participants.

Categories are grouped by gender and, within each group, sorted by their age or year range. With the View data selector you can see them by age (default option), by year (By Year) or as a table (As table).

To modify or delete a category, click it: the Advanced editor panel opens with its data and the delete button.

2. Creating categories in bulk

If you need to create several categories with the same year range, you can create them in bulk and then modify what you need:

1. In the menu of the Categories section, click Create (magic wand icon).
2. Enter the Year range of each category, the Minimum age and Maximum age (70 by default), and the genders for which you want these categories to be created (Gender: Male and Female are selected by default; you can also select Mixed). All fields are required. Click Create.

   

3. Reviewing categories

After creating the categories, you can review them with the icons shown next to them and with the Legend, which appears when any category has a range:

1. Chain (Consecutive datas). It indicates that between the categories there is no overlap and no age or year range outside every category.
2. Orange warning triangle (Non-consecutive dates). It indicates that there is an age or year range that falls outside every category.
3. Red warning triangle (Overlapping dates). It indicates that there is an overlap of age or years between two categories.

Consecutive categories of the same gender are compared.

4. Assigning categories to participants

Once the categories are created, you have two options to assign them to the participants:

• Include the date of birth and the gender of each participant in the import document. The category is then assigned automatically, provided the categories have their “From” and “To” values completed, either with the year or with the age.
• Include the category to which each participant belongs in the import document.

In the participant record, the Automatic category assignment check box assigns the category from the date of birth and the gender; clear it to choose the category manually.

5. Video transcript

Let's set up categories. Categories are the different groups, usually age-dependent and mutually exclusive, into which the participants of an event are divided. You can create categories based on criteria of gender or year of birth, but there can also be categories configured for other criteria, such as Elite. If you want categories to be assigned by age automatically, it's recommended to create them before importing the athletes.

To create categories, click on “Add” [today, the + button] and you would add the categories one by one, but you can also create them in bulk from this menu: “Create”. You enter the range, minimum age, maximum age and the gender, and they'll be created automatically.

From the advanced editor you can add the rest of the criteria: you have the category name, the gender, and then the age from and to. This is really important, because you have to decide if you want the age to be the age on the day of the race [the From race date / To race date check boxes], because if not, Copernico will automatically take into account what age that person will be on December 31st of that year. So, for example, if you don't click this box, someone who is turning 40 on the 30th of December will already be in the Master 40 category for a race in January.

The categories will appear in chronological order based on how you configured them, from the lowest “From” values to the highest “To” values, and they'll be successively situated based on age [today, they are also grouped by gender].

Let's talk about these signals at the bottom. If a chain appears, it's because there is an overlap between the categories and there is no age or year range outside [the chain actually indicates that there is no overlap and no gap]. An amber warning [today, an orange warning triangle] indicates that there is an age or year overlap outside the category [it actually indicates a range not covered by any category], and a red warning indicates that there is [an overlap] between two different categories.

Once the categories have been created, you have two options to assign them to the runners. Indicate the date of birth and gender of each participant in the file you will be importing: Copernico will automatically assign the category as long as you have filled it in correctly. Indicate the category to which each participant belongs by adding a column in the import file: in this case, it will prevail over the category that corresponds to the participant's age.

Next, let's talk about attributes. An attribute is any specific value that can be attributed to any participant to be integrated into a special classification. It's very important to understand this concept, because it will help you generate special rankings, such as local participants or federated athletes. You should only use attributes if you need them to generate a ranking; if you do not need them, it's better not to set them up, such as T-shirt size.

Copernico allows an infinite number of values per attribute. For example, you can configure “Profession” with a series of values such as “Doctor”, “Lawyer”, “Police officer”. Copernico will calculate different rankings for each value, for example “Lawyer”, for each split.

To set one up, just press the “Add” button; you cannot create these in bulk. Next, you enter a distinct name as well as the ranked values that you will need [Ranked values]. So, for example, the name of this attribute is “Local” and the ranked values are “Male” and “Female”. Only create the values that you need: in this instance, you wouldn't need to put “No”. Let's see another example: you could add “Profession” and then add “Doctor”.

In order to import these attributes, all you would need to do is include a column in the import file. For the athletes that have the attribute, you would put “Male” or “Female” in the “Local” column, and for those who are not local you leave it blank. Same with profession: under the “Profession” attribute you can put “Doctor”, and for those who do not meet that attribute you leave it blank.