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Fernando Valley Club

The Fernando Valley Club, located in the San Fernando Valley, California, hosts the Snowbird Classic and Snowbird Futurity races each year; two of the most important and prestigious events in pigeon racing worldwide.

Both are 400 mile events; the Classic is held on the weekend before Thanksgiving and the Futurity takes place three weeks later.

The course starts in the foothills of the Siskiyou mountains and runs 300 miles along the San Juaquin valley before the birds travel 55 miles through the Tehachapi mountains, climbing to more than 4,400 feet above sea level, to reach the San Fernando valley and their home lofts.

Terry Gilmore, the FVC committee member responsible for computer systems, contacted Northwind in February 2000 to develop an application in Lotus Approach that would replace a MS-DOS program which had been written for the club some years ago. The main requirements were.

• Handle all race data. Pigeons, breeders, handlers, multiple race entries, linked race entries, class entries, release stations and distances to lofts.
• Synchronise the pigeon band and chip numbers in the Approach database with data in handlers' clocks.
• Import race finish times from handlers' clocks. Calculate speed and race position of each pigeon.
• Distribute the capital prize fund according to race position.
• Calculate and distribute class prizes.
• Accounts receivable tables to track entry fees and prize payments. Automatic creation of invoices for entries and credits for prizes. Open item ledger with payments allocated to invoices and credits. Unreconciled cash posting facility.
• Class entry system capable of processing hundreds of entry sheets submitted on race day, each containing one or more pigeons entered in multiple classes.
• Track race expense payments by expense type.
• Comprehensive reporting capabilities.
• Cheque writing module

It was immediately clear that FVC's specification presented two challenges. Firstly, we knew absolutely nothing about pigeon racing but thanks to Terry Gilmore's endless enthusiasm and knowledge we were soon brought up to speed. Secondly, was the complexity of many of the procedures and the amount of programming that would be required.  

We analysed the data structure, relationships and the functionality required and determined that 21 joined tables were needed. The next stage was to build the user interface, a complex task in view of the integrated accounts receivable functions. For example, when a pigeon is entered in a race, an entry record is created in one table and multiple invoice records (entries are paid in instalments) are created in another. Birds can also be entered as "back ups" and later converted to full entries with a consequent adjustment to invoice records.

Since most functions and procedures would require extensive use of LotusScript, we decided at the outset to put them all in a user defined class. By the time the project was completed, the Snowbird2000 class as we called it contained over 10,000 lines of code!

The application has been in use for over two years and we recently made some small modifications at FVC's request. It has proved very successful, both in ease of use and the many new features that weren't present in its MS-DOS predecessor. The integrated accounting system is a major benefit; the old program had no accounting functions and reconciliation of entry fees and prize distributions with bank statements used to be a major headache.

The point-of-sale, class entry system is another example of improved functionality. There are up to ten classes in a race each with a different payout method, 10 for 1 or winner takes all for example. All birds entered in the race are eligible for the classes. Anybody (not just the owner or handler) can enter a bird in one or more classes but a bird may only be entered once in each class. Class entries are made on race day and several hundred have to be processed in a short time period. Previously, class entry sheets were completed by hand and processed manually. In the heat of the action, sheets could be misplaced or misrecorded, leading to errors in the calculation and distribution of class prizes.

The new system removes all these problems and permits entries to be processed much faster. Class entries are created on a dialog that shows only the available classes for the selected bird. Multiple birds can be entered in multiple classes on the same dialog. Entry in some classes requires a prior entry in another class and this is also handled by the program logic. Once all the entries have been made on the dialog, the system prints the class entry sheet which is given to the entrant who checks it and pays the entry fee. Errors and omissions can be easily corrected at this point. Once the entry sheet has been accepted, the program creates an invoice in the accounting side of the system against which the cash or cheque can be posted.