Build the carnival program

Order carnival events, then set their start times and the gaps between them.

The Program turns your carnival’s event list into a running order. Arrange events first, then adjust their start times and the gaps between them. This example uses a selection of athletics events across three grades and both genders.

Order the events

1. Open Events. Notice the # (the event number) and Sched. (the scheduled start time) columns. Both columns are empty because these events have not been placed in the program yet.

2. In the left-hand Carnival menu, click Program. The left column holds unscheduled events; the right column is the running order for the selected day.

3. Drag an event from Unscheduled into the day on the right. It receives event number 1 and the day’s starting time.

4. Use Sort By to group the remaining events by Event Type, then Grade, then Gender. Each box adds another level of grouping. This makes grade and gender groups easy to select and arrange in the order you want.

5. Click one race, then Ctrl-click (Cmd-click on Mac) another to select events that are not adjacent. Drag either selected race into the scheduled column; both move together.

6. To take a whole group, click the first 200m run, Shift-click the last, and drag one of the selected rows across. The events keep the order shown in Unscheduled.

7. Drag a scheduled event higher or lower within the right-hand column to change its number. You can also select several scheduled events and drag them as one block.

8. If an event should not be in this day’s program, drag it back to Unscheduled. Its program number and time are removed.

9. In the carnival menu, click Events. Click the # heading to sort by the event number.

The sort boxes help you find groups; they do not automatically alternate grades or genders. Choose a group, move it, then repeat in the sequence your officials need. Continue below to space the events through the day.

Adjust the timing

1. In the carnival menu, click Program again. The events have a running order, but they still share a starting time. Now give the day a workable timeline.

2. Hover over a scheduled event to reveal its + and − time controls. Use them to adjust the timing by one minute, ten minutes, or an hour. The event and every event below it shift together.

3. Click one scheduled event and Shift-click another to select a consecutive block. Use the + beside that block to add a minute between each pair. The first event stays put, while the events below the block move later too.

4. The − beside the selection closes those gaps again. Use it when the program needs less time between events.

5. Click Events in the carnival menu, then click Sched. to view the events by scheduled time.

On a multi-day carnival, choose each day in Program and arrange its events separately. Any event still in Unscheduled has no number or time. When the running order is ready, export the Program of Events for officials. Download a new copy after later changes.