T&F: All about Mark Conversions

===Mark Conversion===
Many of you have been wondering why there is a ''''c'''' after certain marks, and why times show up differently in different locations of the website.

Races that are totally timed by a computer system ('''FAT''', '''F'''ully '''A'''utomatic '''T'''iming) have the most accurate results.   While these times are the most accurate, they are not directly comparable to times obtained with a human controlled timing system.  FAT timers start right when the gun goes off, where as humans have a measurable reaction delay. 

'''For all performance lists''', Athletic.net has chosen to convert all hand timed results into values that are generally accepted as being comparable to '''FAT''' times.  Converted times are denoted by the ''''c'''' that follows the time, while FAT times are denoted by an ''''a''''.

To enter a mark as FAT, append an 'a' after the mark.  ie, 12.34a vs. 12.34

Our conversion process, following the lead of ''Track & Field News'':
* Round mark up to nearest 10th/second (as is standard procedure with hand times)
* add 0.24s for races less than 300m
* add 0.14s for races 300m to 400m


===Example===
Here is an example to explain how the system works.  Lets say that you are at a meet where the races are hand timed. (No finish line camera, or, the camera system was not working). 

* You run a 12.82 second 100m. 
* The first step is to '''round up''' the time to the next tenth of a second. 12.82 -> 12.9
* Next, we add our conversion factor of 0.24s.  So, our 12.9 -> 13.14c 
* A 'c' is added to the converted mark to indicate that it has been converted. 

Coaches are instructed to not perform any conversions prior to entering marks into Athletic.net.  Conversions are automatically performed on all marks in a consistent fashion.  This helps insure that the conversions are done correctly, and that the performance lists are as fair as possible.


===Team Page Option===
Coaches may also change whether their team pages are displayed with converted marks, or shown 'as entered'.  This can be changed on the Edit School Info page when you are signed in.  All performance lists use converted marks to promote accurate comparison.

===Marks entered incorrectly?===
* Manual - Coaches need to add an 'a' to marks when entering them manually to indicate they are FAT.  
* Upload - If the results were uploaded and indicated they were Hand, when they were actually FAT, just re-upload the results, making sure to indicate FAT.
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T&F: All about Mark Conversions
