2023 Update - the scorekeeper still very much works, and its creator is still very much interested in your feedback, suggestions, and corrections.
I strongly recommend that come back and retrieve the file before each tournament so that you always have the latest version. If you want to share the file with friends, it is usually better to give them a link to this website rather than sharing the file using email or some other method, also to make sure your friends have the latest version.
The file has been successfully used on several versions of Excel with macros enabled.
It does not work on mobile (smartphone and tablet) or online (Microsoft 365) versions of Excel. I don't know if it works under any other circumstances.
Your computer may try to help you from being harmed by content you download from the internet, such as the Simple Bowls Scorekeeper file.
Depending on your computer's security settings you may need to "Unblock" the file before using it each time you download it, if a red SECURITY RISK notice appears at the top of the screen when you open the file. To unblock the file, right-click on the file and select Properties. At the bottom of the window check the "Unblock" box.
If a yellow SECURITY WARNING appears saying "Macros have been disabled." you should press the "Enable Content" button. You may also need to press an "Enable Editing" button.
This easy to use Excel workbook is designed to assist in the record keeping for a two or three game lawn bowling tournament for up to 32 teams as typically organized in Ontario, Canada, and possibly elsewhere.
In such a tournament, after each game the teams are ranked by:
- Number of wins;
- Shots for, up to a maximum of 1.5 times the number of ends played;
- "Plus" points;
- Shots against.
The next game's matchups are based on this ranking.
The goals of the workbook are efficiency (so that bowlers are not left sitting and waiting for interim and final results) and accuracy.
The workbook assists the drawmaster by warning:
- when an inconsistent set of game scores has been entered;
- when a drawn match did not have its extra end score entered;
- when the same teams have been drawn against each other again;
- and when a team is assigned the same rink more than once.
All this being said, the workbook is not intended to be a complete tournament organizer, and does not solve the following problems:
- Rink assignments are still done by the drawmaster and are not done automatically.
- Teams could still be tied after the four ranking methods listed above. These ties will have to be broken by the drawmaster using ends won, etc. This situation is not common and only affects small numbers of teams. Entering ends won and lost for all teams just to cover this case is not worth the effort and would make the spreadsheet much larger.
- The scorekeeper warns when the same teams have been drawn against each other a second time, but it is up to the drawmaster to decide how to handle the situation.
Don't forget to use the Press to Reorder button, which puts opposing teams next to each other for each game.
When assigning rinks for the third game in small tournaments (12 or fewer teams), always look for matchups where the two teams have played on a total of 4 rinks. This scorekeeper will gently highlight these games for you. Then make the other rink assignments.
Anyone is free to use, copy, share, and modify the workbook as they see fit, possibly subject to any restrictions Microsoft might put on the use of its intellectual property.
This workbook is provided "as-is". Use at your own risk. Using the file might require you to have a license to use 3rd party software (such as Microsoft Excel) which is your responsibility.
Please let me know if you discover any errors or have any suggestions for improvement at: neilmontg@gmail.com