New P2P Charge Rates

On July 1st we started using a slightly different system of P2P Charge Rates for our submission files so that we can cope with licensed events and differentiate between some of the zero-rated events. Don't worry — for the majority of club sessions this will make no difference at all. The old '1' rate is now renamed '10', but if you do submit a '1' we'll convert it for you.

The difference will be when you submit a zero-rated session. Instead of a blanket '0' rate, we now need to know why the session is free. For example, if it's your annual free session (for a summer party, say) then it would have rate '03'. If it's a teaching session with up to 16 boards then it would have rate '04'.

We've published full details of all the charge rates on our website:

• Abridged list, for club users
• Full list, for counties and licensed event operators

The major scoring systems should now support these new charge rates, though you may have to update them to the latest version. You can also select the charge rate when you submit the file — you'll see a drop-down menu like this:



Just choose the rate that matches the session and it will be accounted for correctly.

Clubs which have been submitting licensed novice sessions at half-rate can now just use code '22' and we'll add it to their next P2P statement correctly.

New Club Members Area

Today we're updating the members area for club users, tidying up the layout a bit and streamlining a few of the functions. The first thing you'll notice is that the list of members has moved from the right panel to its own tab. Instead, you'll see a summary of recent activity on the right.

The sessions list has been updated and is now split into years, so you don't have to wade through your 2010 sessions to get to the latest ones. It will also sort with the most recent sessions at the top, or you can click on the column headers to sort it as you like. As before, clicking on the session will open up some more information about it.



The membership management features are relatively unchanged, although they look a bit tidier in some areas. You can now sort by EBU number as well as by name and it's a little easier to copy-and-paste the membership list into a spreadsheet or other document.

The major changes, though, are to the submission of pay-to-play files. When you submit one you'll see a screen a little like this:



Instead of showing the full ranking list, we're showing only the important bits — the people who mismatch and need to be resolved. This puts them all in one place and for large clubs with several visitors it should save a lot of scrolling. If you want to see the whole list you can click on 'Show all participants' and it will offer you the usual view.

As before, you click on the red cross to sort out any problems, although there is now an added 'Guest' button to quickly choose that option (the green question mark next to the red cross). The red cross takes you to a page like this:



This gives you the same options as before but all on one page so if your choice doesn't work out you don't have to go back to the beginning again. In the middle (3) you can select them as a guest or create a new record for them. At the top you can search by name (1) or EBU number (2). Search results will appear at the bottom (4) and you simply click the 'Select' button by the correct record. To save you a bit of time, the system will automatically search your membership list for anyone with the same surname and present them to you as an option.

We've tried to listen to the many helpful suggestions we've had over the past year and we hope these changes are positive ones. If you do find anything not working as it should or you have any further suggestions then please send us an email or leave a comment. And if things are really broken for you then you can still go back to our old members area for the time being.

Updated Master Point Information

Since the introduction of Pay To Play it's become apparent that we needed an overhaul of the Check Points Online web page which has been used for several years. It couldn't cope with the new information and was in need of a cosmetic make-over. So today we're launching an update which you should find the next time you log on to your personal members area.

A new tab is now available called 'Master Points'. If you select it you'll find a list of all the master points that have been credited to your account. Rather than one long list stretching back years, it breaks down into Master Point Year. On the default page you'll see all the 2010 points and to select other years you just click on the year in the menu above.

To see the date when an entry was credited, hover your mouse over the line and it will pop up with this information.

Finally, note that points credited under the P2P system will be credited monthly and amalgamated by club. The entry now tells you which club and which month it was for.

This new feature is available now and the existing page will be retired. If you notice any problems or have any suggestions, leave a comment or contact us.