# Set match times in the order of play

> Give matches a day, time and court: let Sports Club OS fill a day, then drag matches to move or swap them, or set one match's time from the match itself.

Who this is for: Anyone with “Run competitions” (by default: Administrator, Sports Convener).
Last checked in release 2026.10.28, on 28 October 2026.
Source: https://sportsclubos.net/help/competitions/order-of-play/

The order of play is the convener's board for one day: the courts (or tables) across the top, the times down the side, and the matches still to place beside it. The time and court you give a match show in the draw, on My matches, on the court's scoreboard and on the wallboards, which list what is next on each court. Members do not set a match's time or court: the convener does.

## Before you start

- You need to be able to run competitions. The Sports Convener and the Administrator can by default.
- The order of play is for a knockout tournament or a round robin that is in play, and for an event with competitions in play. Ladder and box league matches are given a time from the match itself (below).

## Fill a day

1. Open the competition and press its **Order of play** tab, or an event's **Order of play** tab. In an event with more than one sport in play, choose the sport.
2. Choose the **Day** and the time of the **First match**.
3. Press **Fill the day for me**. Every match without a time is placed: earliest rounds first, nobody on two courts at once (across every grade of an event), and no match before the matches that feed it. The message says how many were placed, and how many did not fit.

![The Order of play tab of the GPHC In House event: Day, First match, Fill the day for me and Clear this day, a note that this is one board for every squash competition in the event, and a grid of Court 1 to Court 4 by time, with each placed match showing its grade, round and the two players, and nothing left under To place. A message says "10 matches placed".](https://sportsclubos.net/help/img/comp-order-of-play-1600.webp)
*Every grade of one sport shares one board, because they share the courts. Shown in release 2026.10.29 · Competitions · as a Sports Convener.*

Each space is one match long: 30 minutes for pickleball, 45 for squash and badminton, and 90 for tennis, padel and snooker. A match that cannot be decided yet ("To be decided v to be decided") can still be placed, so the day is planned before the earlier rounds are played.

## Move matches by hand

- Drag a match from **To place** onto a court and time.
- Drag a placed match to move it, onto another match to swap the two, or back to **To place** to take its time off.
- On a phone, press a match, then press a space.

A match that would clash (a player on two courts at once, or before a match that feeds it) is marked with the reason. The move is kept, with the message **Moved, but check it:** and the reason. A match in play, or one already played, cannot be moved. Matches of other competitions on the same courts show as taken.

**Clear this day** takes the time and court off every match still to be played on that day, in every competition that shares the board (every grade of the sport, in an event), including matches you placed by hand. It does not ask first. A match in play, or already played, keeps its time. The message says, for example, **14 matches taken off Fri, 23 Oct**. Press **Fill the day for me** to place them again.

## Set one match's time from the match

1. Open the match from the draw, the boxes, the table, the **Matches** tab or the ladder.
2. Under **When and where**, choose the **Date**, **Time** and **Court**.
3. Press **Save the time**. The message names the court, day and time. **Clear the time** takes it off.

This is how a ladder challenge or a box league match gets a time.

## What happens next

- The match shows **Arranged** with its day, time and court on My matches and in the draw.
- The wallboards and the court's scoreboard show it under what is next.

> **Not built yet:** The order of play does not book the courts on the booking calendar. Book them on the booking calendar as well.

> **Not built yet:** Players are not sent their match times. They see them on My matches.

## If something goes wrong

- **"Court 2 is taken at 6pm."** Another competition's match is in that space. Choose another.
- **"Choose a date, a time and a court."** All three are needed to save a time.
- **The Order of play tab is missing.** It shows only to the convener, and only once the competition is in play. A ladder and a box league have none.