This guide explains how to prepare competitor entry data so it imports
cleanly and seeds correctly in the Pony Club Tetrathlon Control Panel.
Supported file types
.xlsx (Excel – recommended)
.csv
Data may come from any entry system or spreadsheet.
The app normalises the data internally — but clean input gives the best results.
Required columns
Name – competitor’s full name
Branch – Pony Club branch or centre
Class – class name (e.g. Open Boys, Junior Girls, Beanies)
The system will generate competitor numbers automatically based on
class order — you do not need to supply numbers.
Optional but recommended columns
Age – numeric only (optional)
Team name – leave blank for orphans
Horse name – required if the event includes a Ride phase
Gun share – name of another competitor sharing the same gun
Left handed – Yes / No / blank
Swim certificate – CSA / PCSA / full text accepted
Outside lane requested – Yes / No / blank
Ride down – Yes / No / blank
Blank cells are allowed. For Yes/No fields (like Left handed, Outside lane requested, Ride down),
a blank cell is treated the same as No.
Previous Swim Score – accepted formats
This field is used to seed competitors for swim heats.
The system understands a wide range of common organiser shorthand.
Values are always interpreted as text, not Excel formulas.
The system automatically detects whether a value represents
points or a swim distance and converts it appropriately.
Previous Run Score – accepted formats
This field is used to seed competitors for run heats.
You can provide a time, points, or a Fast/Medium/Slow band.
Times:
6:10,
06:10,
6m10s,
10.30
Excel times: interpreted safely (e.g. 07:35:00)
Points: 950, 1020
Bands: Fast, Medium, Slow
Blank: allowed (treated as “no prior run data”)
Important dos and don’ts
✅ Keep seeding columns as plain text
✅ Use consistent competitor names (important for gun sharing)
✅ Blank cells are fine — the system defaults safely
❌ Don’t rely on Excel formulas
❌ Don’t mix times and points in the same cell
Example entry file (recommended)
The best way to prepare your own data is to start from a known working example.
This file contains a full, realistic competition dataset with mixed classes,
teams, gun sharing, and a wide range of swim and run seeding formats.
101 competitors across multiple classes
Examples of points, distances, shorthand, bands, and blank seeding