Below is a note from Richard Coates, our Assistant Tab Master. Originally appeared here, and is reposted on this blog with his enthusiastic support!
In preparation for what we hope will be the most inclusive and largest WUDC ever held, I thought it would be useful if I laid out the planned Tabbing software upgrades that will allow this to happen logistically. Bob has given you the benefit of his wealth of experience, but it is also important that the Tab program that we are going to be using can be the magic wand that Bob deserves to weave his tab wizardry. As one of the people currently developing Tabbie, the tabbing software used by (among many other competitions) Cork Worlds, Manila Worlds, Newcastle Euros and Tallinn Euros, as well as the upcoming Zagreb Euros, I am very excited to share with you some of the things that will mean that a 500+ team worlds runs as smoothly as a much smaller competition.
1) eBallots (at the CA team’s discretion)
While it is not yet clear whether eBallots will be any faster than the gigantic group of excellent volunteers that we will have assisting us, the capacity is already in place to ensure that this can be activated at the touch of a button.
eBallots are somewhat established on the IoNA circuit now, having been introduced at the Cambridge IV last year, and used at several competitions since then, including 2 Cambridge IVs, the Oxford IV and the English National Championships. The capability for producing and processing eBallots is fully integrated with Tabbie, and we have a dedicated, professional, server set up to allow this to work, along with a technical support staff to ensure that the server can cope with the demands of 130 rooms requesting information at once. eBallots allow information to come back before the runner physically delivers the ballot to the TabCave, via an adjudicator's mobile phone, tablet, laptop, or a computer situated in the debate venue. This also acts to provide a check against bad handwriting or incorrect maths, to ensure that there are no issues with data input, while still turning the tab around in a very reasonable time.
2) Pre-Draw
Bob Nimmo has already explained exactly what this means, and I can’t do better than to quote Bob:
"Normal procedure is to draw the round and then assign judges based on that. However, it is possible to predict with fairly high accuracy how many points each room is going to contain and assign judges [within Tabbie] to rooms ranked from 1 to 130. Those assignments can then be matched up with the real draw once it has been made. The assignment still needs to be examined for clashes and a last check based on any late-received feedback, but does allow the A-team to discuss the judge assignment during prep time and (in the case of the members sitting out of a round) complete the majority of the work during the debate itself.
3) Social Networking Updates (at the CA team’s discretion)
Tabbie will also be equipped to publish a live draw to Twitter and/or Facebook (and MySpace, if Worlds is ever held in 2004 again) with details of who is speaking where. Not only does this ensure that speakers and judges can always be in the right place at the start of the round (and debating the right side of the motion), but it will also provide the opportunity for those following along at home to have complete information for every round, without scouring Twitter for details of the crucial bubble room that their favourite Durham team is competing in. It should be noted that the strict safeguarding policy that we will have at Worlds will mean that these updates will not include any information not made available to the public.
4) All-In-One integration
From registration, to data-inputting, to draw, to publication of results, Tabbie has the capacity to do it all. This means that there will be no awkward turnarounds while data is imported from one format to another, no difficulties in preparing the draw, and the tab can be published as soon as the best speakers are announced with the click of a button. Bringing everything into one piece of stable software will mean that the only delays will be those required for competitors and adjudicators to catch their breath between those gruelling rounds of debate.
5) Tabbie Tournament Manager
Introduced at the Cambridge and Oxford IVs this year, Tabbie Tournament Manager allows for instant feedback from judges to the Convening and CA teams. Has your room disappeared? Are you missing a team? Has your debate started on time? Do you need your ballot taking to the tab room? Tabbie Tournament Manager allows for instant communication between room and TabCave (is it any coincidence that this is an anagram of BatCave? I think not...) and allows for the clear organisation of our huge team of wonderful volunteers.
6) Interactive Tabs (at the CA team’s discretion)
Interactive tabs (described by someone on Facebook as ‘the best thing ever’) allow for teams to chart their progress over the course of an entire tournament. WUDC is a unique experience for people to compete against the best in the world, as well as teams from across the planet. Interactive tabs allow you to see exactly how every room broke down, how every speaker point was dished out, and just how close you were to not taking that crucial point at the crucial time. It also allows for complete transparency in adjudication, and even provides for a fantastic way to chart exactly how that Monash team did so well. Again.
7) Judge Feedback
Originally a piece of standalone software, the OverCoates judge feedback system has been used at multiple IoNA IVs and Schools Competitions, as well as Manila and Chennai Worlds, and will be used at Zagreb Euros. This analytical package allows for a clear breakdown of how judges are performing, with clear numerical values, and direct integration with Tabbie software. This ensures not only that every piece of feedback is processed and taken into account, but also that it can have a direct input into the judges' rankings, again with the touch of a button. With 130 chairs, it would be almost impossible for the CA team to witness first hand every single potentially breaking judge, and so the integration of Judge Feedback into Tabbie allows for comprehensive meta-adjudication.
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