Download BiaB

All versions of BiaB, including the Demonstration Version, require that you have a password in order to activate the installer.

If you are affiliated (perhaps as a member of a Club) to an organization holding a divisional license, such as your Division, you can get the password from your Biathlon-affiliated club or division.

• If you want to try the Demonstration version, simply email, using the link that follows, Biathlon Ontario’s BiaB Support Representative (and the author of BiaB), Graham Lindsay
• If you don’t have access to a BiaB Divisional license but want to consider getting one, you can see the available types of license on the BiaB Licensing page of this web site.
• All versions of BIAB run as a stand-alone application, and include a fully-licensed copy of the Runtime version of FileMaker Pro 17.

Download the Installers:

Windows Fully-Licensed Version

• BIAB_v9.0.0_Win_Installer.exe (runs in 64 bit mode and requires Windows 7 (SP1) Professional Edition or Ultimate Edition (with System update 2999226) or later, up to and including Windows 11)

Macintosh Fully-Licensed Version

• BIAB_v900_Mac_Installer.dmg.zip (runs in 64 bit mode and requires mac OSX Hgh Sierra (version 13) or later, up to and including mac OS Sequoia (version 15).  Note:   Both the regular and Demo versions of the Mac BiaB installers have been notarized by Apple.   Notarization gives users more confidence, in that the application, as Apple-Developer-ID-signed software, has been scrutinized by Apple for malicious components.)

All Demonstration Versions

The demonstration versions have the same operating system requirements as the fully-licensed versions, but do not include the BiaB Summit Network Simulator and have other restrictions.

Windows Demonstration Version

• BIAB Demo_v9.0.0d_Win_Installer.exe

Macintosh Demonstration Version

• BIAB Demo_v900d_Mac_Installer.dmg.zip

To see notes about the installation of BIAB in both Windows and Mac OS X, click here.

Release Notes

BIAB v9.0.0 – 17 November 2024

• This is probably the final version of BiaB.  The software underlying BiaB, which is the runtime edition of v.18 of FileMaker Pro, is no longer being updated or supported by the manufacturer, Claris.  In addition, after over 25 years of making changes to BiaB, I am getting too old to continue to make many more updates.
• The BiaB Summit Network Simulator has been updated to v2.7.
• The concept of having Concurrent Events has been expanded and transformed into ‘Results Filtering’.  This allows for Concurrent Events (Events within Events) as they previously existed, but also employs the same mechanism, which was essentially to ‘filter’ and then ‘rename’ a set of results.  As a common use example, this will permit one to apply gender filtering to the results of an event to extract gender-specific performance data from Competitions where everyone participates jointly.  This is most likely to be used for Development level athletes within the new Biathlon Canada Competition Classes structure.
• Changed the terminology used in BiaB from the old term “Provisional Results” to the new ‘Official IBU’ terminology of “Unofficial Results”.
• A number of the changes are outlined below, while other ones that are purely cosmetic or are very minor have not been listed.
• Added, to the Status categorization within all Competition Files, the term “LAP”, which can be selected from the dropdown list used to designate Competitor’s Status, to indicate any who have been ‘lapped’ AND who are required by the rules you are using to immediately stop competing and withdraw themselves from the Competition.  Such ‘lapped’ competitors will then be treated as if they had not finished, and be listed at the bottom of their section of the Results.  If the completion is a Relay competition, it is up to the BiaB operator to enter any appropriate times and status of any teammates who may be following the lapped competitor. 
• Fixed the Cover Sheets for Final Results for both individual and team competitions so that they now properly list both the Adjustments and all of the Penalties that have been awarded by the Competition Jury..
• Elsewhere, you will notice I have changed (one might actually say ‘finally corrected’) the  action buttons / menu structure within BiaB’s Main File.jgl so that the option for “List View” or “Form View” now only appears when needed which is after you have clicked upon “Enter Your Data” from the topmost menu.  This change is logical and was long overdue since that choice of views, List or Form, has only ever been applicable to those screens/views that appear after you clicked on “Enter Data”.
• Throughout the BIAB Main file you will find that I slightly revised the terminology in the menus and tabs to make them more consistent, and to improve some of the intended meanings.  For instance “Enter Data” has become “Enter Your Data” and “Dates” has become “Dates & Times” to make the titles more inviting as well as descriptive.
• In Competition Files you will notice some slight re-organization and re-alignment of the top menus.  The occasional-use items, which only apply when you have elected to manually enter data, have now migrated into a separate button.  The order of presentation of the options on the main navigation menus has been made consistent for all of the menus.
• I have made updates to the information contained in a number of the help offerings throughout BiaB.  This will, I hope, improve the guidance that the Help function is intended to provide.  In a similar fashion, I have updated and expanded upon some of the explanatory text that  appears directly on some screens to provide more guidance. Additional information is now presented on Dates & Times, and how “Dates” link with Participants and Clubs/Divisions, as well for defining periods of service, for both Jury Members and Officials.
• Also slightly revised is the Performance Data Report generated from within a Competition File, so that the Competitors are listed in alphabetic order, rather than by Bib Order, for all competitions except for the Single Mixed Relay, for which they are listed by Bib Order.
• Hopefully I have streamlined the process of and control over downloading data from a network of Summit Timers.  The process is now marginally faster, since I have removed a number of redundant steps from within the process.  More importantly, I have made changes to how some of the buttons that control the polling of the timer network react to your input, so that BiaB is more responsive.
• The screens you see if you choose to Display a Draw have been slightly modified to make the process more readily apparent to someone who has never seen a Draw before.
• I have also removed from the interface a number of the older and no-longer-used aspects of BiaB – namely the ability to use timers of brands other than Summit Timers and I have removed elements that controlled the interface with electronic target systems.  These removals allowed me to simplify the user interface, but do have implications.  Specifically, because I am not aware that anyone is using them, I have removed the options for selecting and using any of the following electronic timers:   TAG Heuer, TimeTech, and ALGE, and I removed all provision for BiaB to interface with Kurvinen and HoRa electronic target systems.  IF ANY BIAB USER IS STILL USING ANY OF THOSE FEATURES they can contact me directly, so that I can make available to them an older version of BiaB that will interface with those timers.
• In the Competition File the Rapid Keyboard Data Entry capability has been slightly streamlined, and the Internal Timer Data Entry (ITDE) feature has been considerably improved, to the point that I think it could be very advantageously used at club level events.  You can now use Rapid Keyboard Data Entry (RKDE) with Relay Bibs as well as ‘normal’ Bibs.  In addition, RKDE is now functional with all types of Competitions, including Single Mixed Relays.  Finally I fixed a long-existing issue when using the Internal Timer Data Entry (ITDE) capability that it would not properly recognized Relay Bib numbers. 
• Some seldom-in-ever-used features, including requiring specific confirmation of Jury awards of penalties and adjustments, have been retired unless there is a cry for their resurrection.
• Made a number of clarifications and corrections to the printable Summit Timer Setup and Operating Specifications that can be produced from within any Competition File.
• I have updated the database application the underlies BiaB to v18.0.3 of FileMaker Pro Advanced.  This is the last version of FileMaker Pro that has a runtime version and hence is compatible with BiaB. 
• Finally, the amount of residual data that I leave in the copy of BiaB that is destined for distribution to the public has been reduced to the minimum necessary to provide examples of typical data, and to feature some good training examples.  In addition it contains enough data to allow you to complete a Draw for a Sprint Competition, and one that has been formatted to effectively work with the as-delivered configuration of the BiaB Summit Network Simulator that forms part of a default BiaB installation. 

BIAB v8.9.8 – 10 November 2023

• Updated BiaB’s default listing of Competitor Classes to reflect the additional Competitor Classes (Sport 1, 2, 3 and 4 and Development 1,2 and 3) that Biathon Canada has introduced.  The new classes are included, in both English and Français, so they will appear on the selection lists you use as you are defining Competitions and registering Competitors.  [Note that normally, if you import data from an older version of BiaB using its built-in back-up/import capability, the Competitor Classes are also imported, which would overwrite the revisions to the Class Names contained in the newer version.  To overcome this, if you upgrade and then import from a back-up from an older version, on your first attempt to do so, the Class Names will not be imported.  However, on any second and all subsequent attempts to import, the Class Names will be imported from the previous version. This should allow you to benefit from the changes, yet still make and use backups in the new version.]
• Added, within the BIAB Main file when performing a Draw and at [Competition File] >  Lists and Results, the option for displaying the Year of Birth and the Year of Birth and Gender for each Competitor on Start Lists and Results.  This has been done to give you a tool to help determine sub-classes of Competitors, as may be needed to provide awards for different gender and age groups.
• Added, at [Competition File] >  Lists and Results, a tool to help extract performance data from results for a particular Class of Competitor.  It is used to extract performance data for a single Class of Competitor from a Competition File, but only after the Results have been calculated.  It will produce a printed listing of athletes in a selected Class with their ski times and shooting results, but with no placings shown.  It can be used to provide performance data, as well as for the identification of award winners from a Competition that has a number of Constituent Classes.
• Modified, at BIAB Main > Enter Data > Competitions, the field formerly called ‘Rifle Type”.  That field is now titled ‘Rifle Notes’ and can be used to provide information about the type of rifle and if it is carried in each Competition.  The options you are given are:  <nothing shown>, ‘without-rifle’ [to identify competitions in which the athletes will not be carrying rifles], ‘air rifle’, and ‘laser rifle’.  You may enter other text of your choice, but you need to keep anything short since the space on printed documents is very limited.
• Included, as a sample Competition in the BIAB Main.jgl file, an example Master 35+ Sprint Competition that uses Constituent Classes to allow athlete in registered in diverse Classes, with different ages/genders/experience to be entered into a single competition, for which BiaB will produce  lists and results. From those results you can, if you want, then use optionally included YoB and Gender data to identify prize winners without having to create and run separate competitions and then produce separate formal results for classes with only one or two competitors entered.
• Updated a number of routines used within BIAB that perform the printing functions.  They now use a standardized set of coded instructions, making them much more consistent in appearance, as well as easier to maintain in the future.
• Added more on-page guidance if you are defining a Triathlon competition.
• Added more on-page guidance if you are using the Zeroing Lane Allocation functions.
• Added the option of choice of language before reprinting a Team Order of Start Listing from within BIAB Main.
• Greatly expanded the text that results from pressing the ‘Help” button that appears beside the ‘Rules for Starts and Handicaps’ options on the Draw Options for a Pursuit Competition.  The help now reveals far more details about the differences between the options that are offered.

BIAB v8.9.7 – 1 October 2023

• Fixed, I hope, an obscure issue in which the names of relay teams that contained accented letters were changed within a competition file.
• Changed the DEFAULT time that BIAB uses for the Normalized Pursuit start gaps – to 3 seconds – so that it conforms to the updated Canadian Competition Rules, as specified in the September 2023 version of the Canadian Hosting Policy.
• Added to BIAB’s Preferences, two fields in which you can specify the DEFAULT start intervals that BIAB will use when it creates Competitions and establishes Start Lists.  These fields establish the default Starting Interval for Single Start competitions and the Starting Gap for Normalized Pursuit competitons.  You will find these new fields in the BIAB Main file, on a NEW tab at Preferences > Set-Up > Start Parameters.  Notwithstanding these defaults, you retain the option to change these values for a specific competition.
• If you create a new Team (for a Relay, Team Sprint or similar competition) BIAB now annotates that team as an “Unofficial Team” as soon as it is created.  Subsequently, you will need to manually change that team’s status to “Official Team” after you have received confirmation that the team actually has official status.
• Changed the appearance and sequence of some of the options used to set up for a draw for a Triathlon Competition.
• Changed the appearance and updated the functionality of the existing tool set that facilitates changing Bib Numbers and Start Times that is accessible in any Competition file from Manual Data Entry > Occasional-Use Options > Edit/Change Start Times and Start Numbers.
• Added a new tool set that facilitates changing Bib Numbers, Bib Colours and Start Times for team-based competitions.  It is accessible from Manual Data Entry > Occasional-Use Options > Edit/Change Start Times and Start Numbers in competition files created for team-based competitions such as relays.  [This tool opens the door to a different option for the allocation of bibs to teams in a SMR.  If you are interested in hearing more, contact either Graham Lindsay or Normand Gonthier by email or phone.]
• Updated the routines used to generate the reports showing Starting Grid placements for Competitors in competitions that utilize a Simultaneous Start or a Pursuit Start.  The routines are now more efficient and the appearance of the reports is improved.
• Fixed an issue in which the finishing Place and the awarded Points did not match in some Results for Single Mixed Relay Competitions if the Split-Bib-Set option was used.
• Fixed an issue for Relays in which, under specific conditions when using Split Bib Sets, the addition of time delays between start groups did not work properly.
• Added a new report – showing PAL numbers and Rifle Serial Numbers, listed alphabetically for all competitiors.  The report is accessed from the BIAB Main file, using the tabs Get Ready for the Draw > Confirm Data > Other Data Reports.
• Added some additonal notes and guidance to the screens used when setting the shooting and timing parameters for Competitions.

BIAB v8.9.6 – 10 March 2023

• Added the capability, when printing Results for a Pursuit Competition, to select whether or not to print the Ski Times on those Results.
• Added the capabilty, when defining Competitions, to set a Time Gap before the start of each Start Group within a Competition.  This feature can be used to help control the possible overloading of the Range when there are a lot on Entries in a Competition.
• Added an extra warning level before commitment if you choose to Reset vs Adjust the Pollng Order and download history for data received from a Network of Summit Timers.
• Added the option, when printing Grouping Questionnaires, to choose to print Questionnaires for either a particular date (which could feature multiple Competitions) or for a single specific Competiiton.
• If you use the Status field to indicate acceptable/verified data from a Summit Tiimer, you will notice that the order of appearance of the selectable options has changed.  Now, a click, hold and release, or deliberate ‘double-click’ on the field with the mouse button will result in an ‘acceptable’ checkmark [✔︎], so you can indicate your acceptances more rapidly.  A click, drag-to-select and release of the mouse button lets you change the selected option quickly.
• Fixed an issue in which the Results for a Single Mixed Relay Competition were not properly formatted, with placings and points, when there was a DSQ in the Competition.
• Fixed an issue that, when conducting a SMR, prevented the selection of a single Competition for which to produce Results when a Draw placed two or more different Competitions within the same Competition File.
• Added the penalty for Cross-Fire to the list of pre-entered penalties that can be selected when preparing Competition Results.
• Fixed an issue with the Range & Penalty Loop Data Verification Report [for data from Summit Timers] that prevented the report from displaying more than 27 lines of data.
• Updated BIAB to work with the new, high-precision Summit SRT2000 timer that is now being sold by Zone4.  BIAB is now compatible with Summit SRT500s, SRT1000s, and SRT 2000s.  Thanks to Charles Lacasse of Chelsea Nordique for his input.
• Updated BIAB to eliminate the old terminology of ‘Start Rows’, which was associated with an outdated model of a Simultaneous Start grid, and replaced it with ‘Start Groups’ for Relay Teams, so that an additional separation of Competitors can be interduced between groups, if needed, in Relay Competitions.
• Updated the Material Control Record (within the Competition File) of Inspections to remove the ski check, and, for verification purposes, added the Competitor’s PAL number beside the serial number of his/her rifle.
• Removed access to the Announcer’s screen in the Competition File since I am not aware of anyone using it.
• Removed access to the BC Points tables from the Results & Lists Tab and then the Meteorology Tab in a Competition File since they are no longer in use.

BIAB v8.9.5 – 1 February 2023

• Made some changes and fine-tuning to the Single Mixed Relay.  Fixed an issue that occurred when printing a Start List, which might report an error when none had actually happened.  Also repaired the code that generates the Simultaneous Start Starting Grid Layout, so that it works correctly for a SMR. as well as the other forms of Relay.
• Made some changes to how BIAB sorts files in preparing for a SMR so that, provided you manually edit some Start Numbers, you may use a slightly different approach to Splitting a standard Relay Bib set.  Contact me, or Norman Gonthier, if you would like further explanation.
• Fine-tuned the process of creating a Competition File from the list showing the Order-of-Start of Teams so that it should now be consistent, regardless of circumstances.
• Fixed an issue associated with conducting Draws and creating Start Lists for the Team Sprint Competition.  It had become broken in v8.9.4 as a side effect of other changes that I had made within the application.
• Made a cosmetic change to the text shown for the age of a Competitor.  BIAB now correctly differentiates between the singular and plural of ‘day/days’ and ’month/months’ when expressing the calculated age of a competitor.

BIAB v8.9.4 – 2 September 2022

• For all Relays, including the Single Mixed Relay, changed the way that Start Lists and Results are displayed after you select the ‘Show Flags’ option at BIAB Main > Preferences > Set-Up > Results Parameters > Identify Clubs/Divisions by Flag.  The flag for each Team is now displayed in addition to displaying the flag for each Competitor on the Team.
• Tweaked the option of ‘splitting’ a set of Relay Bibs, which allows one set of four Relay Bibs to be used for two separate Single Mixed Relay Teams.  The explanatory notes and help screens are more clear, and you can now be more precise in forcing a specific order of start since the ‘split’ Teams are now informally identified by Bib Number as well as by ‘A’ or ‘B’.  In addition, the work of designating which team member goes first has been simplified in that you can simply use the “Red” and “Green” bib colour selection for the members of each team (Red preceeds Green), and BIAB will then assign the correct bib colour, regardless of which part of the ‘split’ bib set has actually been assigned to that team.
• For networks of Summit Timers you may now allocate up to 5 different Summit Timers to the Penalty Loop, to better accomodate the Biathlon Canada rules that could see you simultaneously operating up to three different lengths of Penalty Loops.
• Made cosmetic changes but significantly rearranged the presentation of the choices that you are offered when performing the Set Up of a Network of Summit Timers.  The emphasis has been shifted to Finish Data, rather than Start Data, and to correctly configuring each Summit Timer and any attached switches/devices, rather than the previous focus which was on processing the data.  The selection choices in a number of fields have been streamlined to make them less ambiguous.  Hopefully the set-up process will be easier to complete.
• A number of the Help offerings that are relevent to setting up a network of Summit Timers, and for those associated with making Draws, have been updated.
• Made changes to the line spacing used between the options for Points in the different Points schemes to be applied to Results for Concurrent Events.  They should now list properly in the Windows version of BIAB.
• Updated the in-built “Suggested Configurations for Summit Timer Networks”, which gives my recommendations for the configurations to use when you have between 1 and 6 Summit Timers.  You now have more more options and a better portrayal of the suggested priority-of-use of the Timers.
• Made significant changes to the printable Summit Timer Set Up Specifications that can be generated from within a Competition File at Electronic Data Entry > Summit Network > Set-Up – “Preview/Print Set-Up Specifications for the Network”.  The specifications are now much more detailed, and contain role-specific direction to the timer operators about their assigned role and responsibilities, and about the techniques for data entry, including posting and data transcription procedures, that they should use to get the best results from the timer using the configuration that you have set.
• If you are monitoring the incoming data from a network of Summit Timers, you will now find, when you examine the posted Finish Times and Order-of-Finish timer data that BIAB has imported, that BIAB will flag duplicated Bib Numbers that it finds within each of those sets of incoming data. This flagging means that you can quickly identify such duplicates and correct any errors that may have arisen when data from a record containing an incorrect, but duplicated, Bib Number overwrites perfectly good data that had previously been received from a timer.
• Added, within a Competition File, to the e-format Summary Results for a Pursuit Competition, the ski time of each Competitor.
• Added an option, which appears as you are setting up a Draw, to choose to have a fixed number of unallocated Bibs for each Competitor Class (for last minute entries) as an option in addition to the previous choice of allocating/not-allocating Bibs for the gaps between successive Competitions.  This may be helpfull in choosing how best to allocate a limited bib set.
• Re-arranged and standardized the presentation of the pre-Draw options/choices-you-are-offered which affect the Draw and the Start Lists that are produced immediately after the Draw.  This applies to Relay/Team Competions, Pursuit Competitions, and those Competitions which use a single start/fixed interval individual start.
• Fixed two bugs on the List View for Enter Data > Participants that produced an error message if you to clicked on the top row button “Conduct a Competiton”.
• Fixed a bug in which a Summit Timer that was assigned as the Bib Order of Finish Timer for the Handover Zone might not get included within the polling sequence for the Summit Timer network.
• In a Competition File, when you open the Serial Port to communicate with a network of Summit Timers, the polling control box is now re-sized according to the specifications you have made for the Zoom Level on the Help Window.  You can change this setting from the BIAB Main file at Preferences > Computer/Human Interface.
• Did some fine-tuning on the process of importing the data needed to associate Bib Numbers with each AMB/MyLaps transponder serial number.

BIAB v8.9.3 – 31 January 2022

• Fixed a very obscure but serious bug,  which could occur while actively polling a network of Summit Timers, causing BIAB to lock up completely.  The issue only happened under very specific circumstances, but was a repeatable fault that has now been fixed.  Thanks to Tim Roots of Biathlon BC for taking the time to describe his encouter, which allowed tracking down its exact cause.

 BIAB v8.9.2 – 20 January 2022

• Fixed an obscure issue in which, if you tried to insert a delay into a Simultaneous Start for a Relay Competition, so that some Competitors started at time 00:00:00, but one or more Competition Classes needed to have their start delayed, and you tried to do that by using the Gap Between This Competition and the Competition that Precedes It field for the Competition that was to be delayed, the delay was not actually imposed as part of the Draw. Thanks to Jim Crellin of Biathlon BC for helping point out this bug.
• Updated the function, which is active when you are selecting the Competition Class for a Competitor, that highlights a miss-match between the Suggested Competition Class, which is based upon gender and age, and the Competion Class that you select for the Competitor. The highlighting now recognizes a Class, such as “Sr Girls” within a suggested combination of Classes, when that combination has been listed in a format such as either “Sr Girls or Youth Women” or “Sr Girls/Youth Women”, so that the mismatch highlight is no longer triggered when the selected Class is contained in a combined listing of Classes.
• Fixed a very obscure issue that occured in the Results of a Relay Competition in which the Leg Ranking and Final Ranking were not correctly calculated if the colour of a Competitor’s Relay Bib had been specified using the French abbreviation for the Bib Colour.
• Cleaned up some of the example data that comes in the release copy of BIAB to make it a bit more consistent.

BIAB v8.9.1 – 9 January 2022

• When using extra timing lines to record time spent in the Range, BIAB will now automatically produced tables of that Range Timing Data, in .html format, which, when opened in MS Excel (the stand-alone Windows version, not the browser-based Office 365 version) or in the MS Excel stand-alone version for Macintosh, will transform into a spreadsheet containing all the timing data.  This can then by used by coaches to analyze athlete’s Range Performance.
• Updated the Zone4 competitor class name pairs in BIAB, having changed any “+” signs that I had used in previous versions to the word “plus” since Zone4 will not allow the use of a “+” in its selection lists.  (Thanks to Pierre Beaudry for identifying this quirk.)
• Added, to registration imports from Zone4, the ability to download and import into BIAB the competitor’s Rifle Serial # and the competitor’s PAL/Minor’s Permit #.  These fields have also been added to a Zone4 BIAB Master Template [for use with v8.9.1 and higher] as optional fields, which you can choose to make mandatory as part of your registration process.
• Changed the visual appearance of the main navigation menus in the BIAB Main file and in the Competition File so that the casual user should a have bit more guidance about how to navigate within and use BIAB.
• Within the Competition File, updated the instructions for using your BIAB computer as the Timing Device for a Competition, as well as made a number of improvements to the interface for using BIAB’s Internal Timer Data Interface to time a Competition.
• Updated the Enter Data > Participants screen so that the Rifle Serial # and PAL/Minor’s Permit # fields that have always been there are now visible without having to go to the Contact Details tab.
• Reformatted the Form “Material Control Record of Inspections”, available from within a Competition File as the “Material Inspection Record”, so that it now contains the Rifle Serial #s that have been entered into BIAB.  This should help streamline the material control process.
• Updated the document, “User Notes – BIAB and the Zone4 On-Line Registration System” to v2.5, to reflect these changes, so you have additional guidance when configuring Zone4 registration.
• Fixed an error that could occur when you are creating the printed reports used to configure Zone4.  The error would occur if the Clubs data table contained no records that had been categorized as “Club” or “Division” or “Cadet Corps”.
• Fixed an error in which the selection list for the Dates used for Grouping Questionnaire generation was not always properly updated.
• Changed the function that deletes practice data from a Competition File so that it also deletes any Penalty or Adjustment Remarks that have already been entered.
• Fixed an unreported error in which a Start Time that exceeded 59 minutes and 59 seconds (in elapsed time from the start of the competition) was not displayed correctly under certain circumstances.

BIAB v8.9.0 – 1 December 2021

• If you are planning for the Canada Winter Games, this is a very significant update to BIAB. Otherwise, especially for the Entries Confirmation Report, it is still very worthwhile.
• Added a new pre-formatted report, which will provide a printed confirmation of all the Entries that have been made for a specific Competition Date, and which can be sorted by either the specific competitions, or by Club/Team, so they are appropriate to use at a Team Captain’s meeting to facilitate the verification of Entries prior to a Draw. This new report is listed in the BIAB Main File, at Prepare for Draw > Confirm Data > Registrants and Entries, and is now the first of the listed choices.
• Based on limited testing I have confirmed that this version of BIAB is compatible with both Windows 11 and MacOS 12 Monterey.
• Updated a number of the example Competitions that are included in BIAB when you install it. The revised examples better reflect the changes that were introduced to the competition specifications in the IBU Event and Competition Rules in the last two years.
• Added more on-screen guidance for the user when assigning Team Members to Teams for the various types of team competitions.
• Fixed an issue within Competition Files in which Practice Data were not being properly generated if the type of competition was either a Relay or a Mixed Relay.
• Added the capability, for the Single Mixed Relay, to ‘split’ a four colour Relay Bib set so that you can use one ‘normal’ Relay Bib Set for two different SMR teams: i.e., Ontario SMR Team#1 is assigned bibs 3-red and 3-green, and Ontario SMR Team#2 is assigned bibs 3-yellow and 3-blue. This means you can support even more SMR teams with your relay bib set.
• Updated the gender and age linking tables used for suggesting the Class for each Competitor when you are making Entries. The updated table now matches the changes made by Biathlon Canada starting in the 2020-2021 season, in which all Senior Boys and Senior Girls could elect to ski up and compete in the Youth classes.
• Updated the Points Table to reflect the changes that have been made for the allocation of Sports Points for the 2023 Canada Winter Games.
• Updated the screens and processes used for the Aggregation of Results from the Canada Winter Games so that they now accommodate the changes in types of competitions and conform to the new rules for Sports Points aggregation that have been made for the 2023 Canada Games in Brookvale, PEI.
• Removed from BIAB the capability to make divisional proof-of-membership cards and accreditation badges. I am not aware of anyone using this capability, so I decided not to spend any effort on updating the capability any further. If someone does use it and wants to continue to do so, let me know.

BIAB v8.8.2 – 29 April 2021

• Fixed the manner in which dialog windows are presented to the user so that the card around the message itself is properly resized, which makes all of the message clearly visible – without scrolling bars obscuring a part of the message.
• Added the capability to use Summit Timers to transmit, from the Range, the number of the Firing Point that is used by each shooter.  This is an advanced capability to be used in conjunction with remote video monitoring of the Range, and will probably only see use in Valcartier.
• Added the option, when using Summit Timers on an Intermediate Timing Line after the Range, to have BIAB ignore the first passing of each Competitor over that Timing Line.  This allows one to make proper use of that Timing Line in the situation in which the design of the facility is such that the Competitors must ski across that timing line after their Start, but before they enter the Range for their first Bout of shooting.

BIAB v8.8.1 – 10 January 2021

• In the Range Timings Report, fixed the sort order used for the report that is created when ‘By Speed (all Competitors)’ is selected.

BIAB v8.8.0 – 10 December 2020

• Added, for users of Summit Timers and especially those users who have access to AMB/MyLaps competitor identification transponder systems, the ability to establish two additional timing lines – one at the Entrance to the Range and one at the Exit from the Range. Using these new timing lines BIAB will now produce reports that show, for each Competitor, the elapsed time for each shooting bout (from the time of entry to the Range until exit from the Range). BIAB will also report the elapsed time spent in the Penalty Loop after each bout of shooting provided that you are able to establish an Intermediate timing line in addition to the Range Exit timing line. The reports will also show the aggregate time each Competitor spent in the Range, in the Penalty Loop, and on the Trails.
• Updated the scripts that are used within BIAB to generate practice data in a Competition File.  This practice data is provided so you can verify the appearance of lists and the various results formats.
• Tweaked the code that runs when setting up a radio modem for use with Summit Timers to remove an irritating error indication that arose under specific circumstances. The same tweaks were applied to the BIAB Summit Network Simulator.
• Made some minor cosmetic changes on a number of screens in the Competition File, especially to highlight the fact that polling of Summit Timers is currently Suspended.

BIAB v8.7.2 – 18 February 2020

• Fixed an issue that arises in specific circumstances – if you attempt to conduct a Draw for a Super Sprint Final Competition. This issue caused BIAB to appear to lock up before the Competition File could be saved.
• Added a reminder about necessary settings for Summit Timers if you choose to use ‘AMB Chip’ as part of an electronic timing option in a Competition File.
• Added a subtle visual indicator, within the BIAB Main file, identifying those data entry fields that are absolutely essential in order to be able to conduct a successful competition. When you are entering data, any field which has a green outline is absolutely essential to having a successful Draw and creating a working Competition File. The fields that do not have the green outline are optional, but their use is encouraged since they are used for the other features of BIAB that enhance its usefulness.
• Added, to the Enter Data > Relay/Patrols Team screen, a statement indicating that you need to assign a Relay Bib Colour to each member of the Team, regardless of whether or not you are using Relay Bibs, so that BIAB knows the order in which each of the Team Members is to compete for their Team.

BIAB v8.7.1 – 27 January 2020

• Fixed an issue, for users of a Summit Network, in which, when trying to specify the Summit Timer Device Numbers to use on the Course, BIAB would simply lock up.
• Fixed an issue in which, in very specific circumstances when trying to assign Zeroing Lanes for Teams, BIAB would lock up.
• Made a number of improvement to the functioning of the selection filters that are used when selecting the Competitors who are to be assigned to Zeroing Lanes.
• Fixed a minor issue in which it was possible to delete the text labels used to describe or identify the data input fields on a limited number of dialog screens.
• Adjusted the report templates used to generate Results for Individual Competitions, to allow slightly more space for the display of the Ski Time and the Competition Time for each Athlete.
• In the Competition File, changed the way that BIAB clears Practice Data, so that regardless of which button is pressed to clear Practice Data, all manually entered data – individual data elements entered from the keyboard as well as that data that results from clicking the ‘Enter Practice Data’ (found on the screen at Lists & Results > Prepare & Print) button – together with all data entered from Summit Timers up to that point, will be cleared at the same time, so that BIAB is fully ready to receive actual Competition data, either manually entered or from electronic sources.

BIAB v8.7.0 – 17 January 2020

• BIAB now makes use of the Runtime Version from FileMaker Pro Advanced v17. This update was made to provide better compatibility with the Windows 10 operating system. It should eliminate the printing-associated issues related to some Windows 10 dialog notifications and subsequent freeze-ups.
• Fixed a long-standing issue, in which, under certain circumstances, and when selecting team members for team competitions, the selection is not immediately confirmed.
• For Team Sprint Draws, added a reminder, which appears if/when you make a Bib Type selection, about the need to designate a ‘red’ or ‘green’ bib colour for each team member, even if you are using ‘Normal Bibs’, as opposed to ‘Relay Bibs’.
• Improved the handling and processing of registration information that is imported into BIAB after having been downloaded from the Zone4 registration system. The import process should now highlight potentially duplicated registrations in the imported file.
• Fine-tuned the screens and reports associated with Zone4 use, especially in preparing the Class definitions/descriptions needed to set up the Zone4 registration system, to provide the correct options for registrants.
• Fixed an error that occurred in importing data from a previous version of BIAB, when the URL that is used for posting Start Lists and Results on a web site was not properly imported from the older version.
• Updated the BIAB Summit Network Simulator (BIAB SNS) to v2.5 to make it consistent with and support the changes introduced into BIAB v8.7.0.

BIAB v8.6.6 – 5 January 2020

• Updated the Draw process, for all types of Competitions, so that, when conducting the actual Draw, you only see the Start List and, if you have chosen that option, the Bib Sorting Sheet. No longer will you be presented, if part of the Draw, with the Pursuit Start Boards, Simultaneous Start Lane Assignments or similar documents. However, if you subsequently choose to display the Start List from within a Competition File, you will see the Start List, the optional Bib Sorting Sheet, and will be given the option of viewing the other documents, such as Start Lane Assignments and Range Tally Sheets.
• Changed slightly, in BIAB Main > Prepare for Draw > Individual Entries > Assign Group Numbers, the process used to select Competitors and then assign Group Numbers. The process now works in exactly the same manner as when selecting Competitors in preparation for an Individual Draw.
• Fixed an issue in which a ‘Draw’ for a Super Sprint Final would hang up, and not proceed.
• Made changes to the parameters for a Draw for a Mass Start Competition so that you have the option to use ‘Grouping’ to influence the order-of-Bib assignment for the Competitors. The Grouping setting for a Mass Start was ignored in previous versions of BIAB, and so had no effect. This change allows more flexibility in using the Mass Start competition format as a basis for locally-modified competitions.
• Updated BIAB’s sample Super Sprint Competitions, as contained in the as-installed BIAB Main file, to accurately reflect the current IBU Rules.

BIAB v8.6.5 – 17 December 2019

• Fixed an issue in which BIAB appears to have locked up if you attempt to create an ‘e-Copy’ Start List from within a Competition File.
• Change the options that you are presented for defining Competition Classes, so that you can now separately select the French version of the Class name, if you don’t like the option that is offered.
• Removed the “Midget” example class, and replaced it with new examples of “Novice” and “Junior” which are male/female classes with both genders competing at the same time, but with separated definitions by age-gender (e.g. m7, f7, m8, f8, etc.) so that they will list properly and not issue an unnecessary ‘out of class’ potential error flag.

BIAB v8.6.4 – 26 November 2019

• Updated BIAB to reflect the changes made in the 2019 IBU Rule Book, which changed the references for the  penalties and sanctions used as disciplinary measures.

BIAB v8.6.3 – 4 November 2019

• Updated the process used to import data from previous versions of BIAB so that BIAB will no longer overwrite an updated Plug-In licensing code with an older but invalid version that it imported along with the data that you needed to import.
• Made cosmetic changes to the sort buttons used on the pre-Draw selection screens.
• Made minor improvements within the steps used to query and change channels on a Summit Systems radio modem.
• Fixed the ‘Error Registering Plug-In’ error message so that it now reports the version number of any installed Troi Serial Plug-In that is actually discovered, should there exist any version of that plug-in.

BIAB v8.6.2 – 26 June 2019

• Updated the User Notes – BIAB and the Zone4 On-Line Registration System to cover the latest changes to the Zone4 user interface, and to provide more detail about the requirements for importing Zone4 registration data into BIAB.
• Added to the Control screen for Summit Timers the ability to select either a 12-hour-long day or a 24-hour-long day when setting Summit Timers to the actual time of day (as opposed to using ‘Race Time’ which is the time elapsed since the official clock was started.
• Added a generic ‘Mixed Relay’ to the list of Types of Competition that can be conducted within BIAB.  This selection allows you to conduct any Mixed Relays, including those that do not conform exactly to the IBU Rule Book.
• Added guidance text that appears in Enter Data > Competition on the Trails tab, for both a Single Mixed Relay and a Mixed Relay – BIAB now suggests how many trails you should specify for each of these two types of competitions.
• Fine-tuned the various Results formats for a Single Mixed Relay in order to better display larger Start Numbers.
• Fine-tuned the ‘Insert Practice Data’ function in a Competition File so that it will produce a realistic set of data for Single Mixed Relay Competitions.
• Fixed an issue that otherwise precluded the use of AMB/MyLaps Transponders while conducting a Single Mixed Relay or a Mixed Relay competition.
• Updated the Summit Network listings of data from the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary timers assigned to the Finish and Handover Zones in a Single Mixed Relay so that any time from any of the listed timers can easily be reassigned as either the 1st or the 2nd Finish Time for a competitor in the Single Mixed Relay.
• Fixed an issue, which was inadvertently introduced in v8.6.0, that precluded having a successful Draw for a Cadet Patrol Competition.
• Added the option, as you are confirming your Draw choices, for you to select whether or not Years of Birth will be displayed on Start Lists.
• Verified the correct operation of the scripts that import data from a previous version of BIAB.

BIAB v8.6.1 – 18 February 2019

• Modified the script used to select the Type of Competition during Draws for Teams so that it is more specific, and will differentiate properly amongst Relay, Mixed Relay and Single Mixed Relay.
• Fixed an error in all Competition Files, which  exists only in v8.6, and is in the process invoked when you ‘Create Practice Data’.  I had inadvertently introduced this error, which occurs when you create practice data for a Relay Competition, into v8.6 when I wrote the code that created practice data for a Single Mixed Relay.

BIAB v8.6 – 14 February 2019

• Updated the list of Types of Competitions to include the Mixed Relay and the Single Mixed Relay, as portrayed in the 2018 IBU Rule Book.
• Updated the example trails to match the 2018 IBU Rule Book, which added, as a new standard, a 1-km-long trail, for which the flag colour is purple.
• Updated the processing of Results for Super Sprint Qualification and Super Sprint Final competitions to match the amended rules for the Super Sprint that appeared in the 2018 IBU Rule Book.
• Added the ability to conduct a Single Mixed Relay and to have correctly formatted Start Lists and Results for that new type of Competition, as defined in the 2018 IBU Rule Book.
• Added the option of having the Competitor’s year of birth printed on Start Lists and Results to meet the revised requirements of the 2018 IBU Rules, as well as the proposed amendment to the 2018 Canadian Hosting Policy.  Due to the extra space it takes on the printed Start Lists and Results, there are situations in which you may prefer not to show this information.
• Updated the example penalty rule numbers for IBU Rules violations to match the 2018 IBU Rule Book.
• Added, in the competition file, to the screens used for both manual data entry and for monitoring Summit Timer Networks, running tallies showing the number of Competitors who have not yet finished, and the number of Competitors who have not yet completed their final bout of shooting.
• Added, to the Bib Sorting List, the Start Time for each Competitor.
• Changed how BIAB automatically retrieves the time that the last finisher crosses the Finish Line (It is printed on the header of the Results) so it will recognize and properly allow for using the Time of Day option with Summit Timers.
• Improved the printed presentation format for Penalties and Adjustments on all types of Results.
• Fixed an issue in which a Penalty Remark, such as a Reprimand or a Caution, would not appear on printed Results unless there was also a time penalty imposed upon that particular Competitor.
• Changed both the Windows and Macintosh installers so that they remind you to make a backup of your existing installation before you install the next version of BIAB.  You need to retain a backup if you want to import any data that you have entered into your current copy of BIAB after you have updated to a later version.
• Enlarged the spacing used on the report that shows the Bib Numbers and Start Times for the Start Grid for Pursuit Competitions, so that there is sufficient space to display a three digit Bib Number along with the Start Time for all the Competitors.
• Added an explanatory note, in the Competition File at Manual Data Entry > Enter Competition Data (form view), about how BIAB calculates the Competition Time of each Competitor.
• Added, under Preferences > Print Forms, five additional forms for recording Primary and Secondary Range Results, which use the format developed and preferred by Valcartier.
• Updated a couple of the Help Notes within the Competition File.
• Made cosmetic changes to most of the Results and Start Lists layouts to better align the headings, and to correct some occasional errors, which were seen in multi-page Results, in which part of a line appeared on one page, with some data belonging to that line appearing on the next page.
• Removed from BIAB the ability to generate routine competition status reports in a special format for use by the Cadets.  This feature was no longer being used.
• One or two cosmetic changes to layouts to enhance their appearance.

BIAB v8.5.3 – 18 December 2018

• Updated the Gender/Age table so that when BIAB suggests a Competition Class for a Competitor it takes into account the changes made by the IBU for the Junior Men and Junior Women Classes, which now cover the age span of 19-21.
• One or two cosmetic changes to layouts to enhance their appearance.

BIAB v8.5.2 – 20 November 2018

• Fixed an issue that arose under certain circumstances in which a Competition that had been redefined was not selectable as an Entry for a Competitor, when it should have appeared as a choice in the selection list.
• Fixed a minor issue, in the Competition File, in which RKDE could be launched from the Announcer Screen, which then caused it to launch behind the Announcer Screen, potentially causing confusion.  You can no longer initiate RKDE from the Announcer Screen, preventing the issue from arising.
• Enhanced the visibility of the buttons that are placed on a number of screens that allow you to change the sort order of the records in the data table you are currently working with.
• Made a very slight change to the internal timing cycles used to interrogate the Serial Port on the computer.  This change makes Serial to USB adapters that use the Prolific chip set a bit more reliable under very specific circumstances.  This change will mean nothing to most users of BIAB.

BIAB v8.5.1 – 4 November 2018

• Fixed (hopefully) an issue that arose for some, but not all, users of the Windows version of BIAB, depending upon the configuration of the computer used for the installation. The issue appears when, after it is installed, BIAB appears to run, and then freezes, with nothing, or very little activity visible. The issue is related to BIAB automatically checking for serial port connections. The issue didn’t appear for some Windows users, and did not appear at all for Macintosh users, so it wasn’t detected in pre-release testing.
• Updated the contact information for BIAB support that appears upon launch on the splash screen and when you click upon About BIAB.

BIAB v8.5.0 – 9 July 2018

• This release contains some significant changes to BIAB, especially if you use it with Summit wireless timers.
• Added, when using Summit timers, a printable data verification report that can be used to facilitate a separate off-line review of the data received from the timers on the Range and the timers on the Penalty Loop. Use this report to streamline the data verification process, freeing up the computer screen for other tasks.
• You are now presented with a more logical on-screen presentation of the Summit timer data that has been gathered by the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Summit timers assigned to Start Times, Finish Times and Handover Zone Times.  This should enhance your ability to review the data and facilitate tracing potential errors.
• Improved, when using the window that is specifically provided to review Secondary and/or Tertiary Summit timer data for Finish and Start Times, the response of the Transfer Buttons.  The Transfer Button is used to assign/reassign a recorded time to a Bib Number that is different to the one that was originally keyed into the Summit timer, or to assign that recorded time to a Bib Number that had never been entered into a timer.
• Added to the Handover Zone, in the same fashion as it already existed for the Finish Line, the possibility to designate a Summit timer to be used to Enter the sequence-of-finish of Bib Numbers at the Handover Zone.  You can allocate a separate Summit timer to this role, but you can also have the Primary Handover Zone Timer perform this role, in addition to its normal role (the same way the Primary Finish Timer can perform the sequence-of-finish role at the Finish Line), which is Posting the Bib Numbers of Competitors as they finish.
• Made very significant changes to both the setup and data verification screens that you see when using Summit timers on the Course.  You can now assign up to 25 timers to the Course, and you have much more flexibility on which timers are assigned to the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary roles.  You can employ up to 15 timers in the Primary Role, and up to 10 for each of the Secondary and Tertiary roles, within an overall limit of 25 timers assigned to the Course.
• If you are using AMB/MyLaps transponders to gather data, they can be used in conjunction with a Summit timer in any of the timer roles within BIAB, except on the Range, or at the Start.  In order to be used with AMB/MyLaps decoders, the Summit timer must be set so that the AMB/MyLaps data is aligned to Channel 0 (zero) on the Summit Timer. In addition, a specific release of the Summit timer firmware must be installed in the timer in order to use it with the AMB/MyLaps system.
• You can now assign a Summit timer to a section of the course where 2 or three or even more trails have converged.  You make this assignment within BIAB when you perform your initial setup for the Course by creating a ‘fictitious’ Trail with combined flag colours, such as ‘red/green/yellow’ or whatever flag colour sequence makes sense.  Then, from within the Competition File, you complete the setup by assigning a single timer to the colour sequence which represents the converged section of the Trail as part of your action when you complete your setup for the Summit Network.
• Changed the manner in which various dialogs, warnings and notices are presented to the BIAB operator.   This change not only standardizes the visual presentation, but it also streamlines the processes needed to present these notices and warnings.  These notices/warnings now make use of a feature within FileMaker called a Card Window that was introduced into v16 of FileMaker Pro.  This feature presents the information window within an existing window, rather than having to create and manage a separate window or pop-up for that purpose.
• Added the ability to allow you to use, simultaneously, two electronic Starting Gates in conjunction with Summit timers.  Each Starting Gate can be associated with its own Summit timer, or both Gates can be used with a single Summit timer, provided that they are plugged into separate Timing Channels on that timer.
• Deleted from Preferences > Import Data the options for importing from Zone4 the Divisional Membership List and the Lists of Clubs by Division.  These options were removed because they no longer work due to changes that have been made to Zone4 or to the FileMaker Pro application that underlies BIAB, both of which are beyond my control.
• Made a number of minor bug fixes.
• Updated the BIAB Summit Network Simulator (BIAB SNS) to v1.4 to make it consistent with and support the changes introduced into BIAB v8.5.
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