Regatta Master version 4.0 has left the drawing board and is under development.  Although the first release of this version is still about 8 months away, there is already something to see. 

At the 2015 Rowing Canada Aviron conference in Burnaby last week, we showed off the first of several big changes - real-time integration with RegattaCentral.  In version 3.x, registration sync is a one-way process, and requires a file download and import from RegattaCentral.

In version 4.0, Regatta Master exchanges entry data with RegattaCentral bi-directionally, behind the scenes.  RM users can set up a new regatta from RegattaCentral with literally 2 mouse clicks, in a matter of seconds (depending on internet connection speed).  After that, the system handles all the changes in RM that need to be reflected in RegattaCentral, such as splitting and renaming events, moving entries between events, adding entries and changing crew assignments. 

After updating RegattaCentral with changes made in Regatta Master, the system compares the two systems and displays new information from RegattaCentral and any differences in existing information between the two systems.

Regatta Master 4.0 is a complete rewrite, using SQL Server as the database engine and written entirely in .NET 4.5 framework.  It will run in a terminal environment as a RemoteApp on both PC's and Macs (requires Remote Desktop for Mac), and has a Mac look and feel.

Other big features in Regatta Master 4.0 include multi-language support and an end-user report designer that allows users to customize existing reports as well as create new ones.