# Running a competition

> For conveners: create a competition, take entries, make the draw, set the order of play, follow the results and put the boards on the club's TVs.

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/getting-started/convener/

As a convener you run the club's own competitions: ladders, box leagues, round robins and knockout tournaments, in any sport, and events made of several of them. Members enter and enter their own results, so your job is to set each one up, make the draw, keep it moving and put it on the club's TVs. The Sports Convener role does this by default.

A convener is a volunteer member, not staff, so the role sees other members only by name, member number and club rating.

## Where things are

| In the menu | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Club > Competitions > All competitions | Every competition and event, as cards, and **New competition** |
| Club > Competitions > Club rankings | Each sport's club rating, highest first |
| Club > Competitions > Wallboards | Every board a TV can show, with a live preview |
| Club > TVs and Displays | The club's TVs, and the slide shows they play |
| Club > Dashboard | A **Competitions** widget, and any widgets you make from the competitions figures |
| Me > My matches | Your own matches, if you play |
| Admin > Settings, **Scoring** | The rules each sport is scored by, the older and local rules the club offers, and which sports are offered |

## Before the first competition

On Admin > Settings, **Scoring**, switch off any sport your club does not play, and choose whether to offer older or local rules, such as no-ad tennis or squash to 15. Every sport is scored by its current rulebook until you do. See [Choose the club's scoring rules](https://sportsclubos.net/help/competitions/scoring-settings/index.md).

## 1. Create a competition

Open Club > Competitions > All competitions and press **New competition**. Choose its sport, singles or doubles, its kind (ladder, box league, round robin or knockout) and its scoring. For a tournament of several grades or sports, press **New event** instead, then add each grade to the event. See [Create a competition and take entries](https://sportsclubos.net/help/competitions/create/index.md), [Ladders, boxes, round robins and knockouts](https://sportsclubos.net/help/competitions/formats/index.md) and [Events with several grades and sports](https://sportsclubos.net/help/competitions/events/index.md).

## 2. Take entries

Add players yourself from the member list, or let members enter themselves with **Enter** on the competition. Where you approve entries, answer each request with **Approve** or **No**.

## 3. Make the draw

When entries close, press the gold button at the top, for example **Close entries and make the draw** for a knockout or **Close entries and make the boxes** for a box league. Boxes and seeds come from the club ratings.

## 4. Keep it moving

- Set each match's time and court in the order of play. Members do not set these. See [Set match times in the order of play](https://sportsclubos.net/help/competitions/order-of-play/index.md).
- Members enter their own results, which count straight away. You can correct or remove any result, or record a walkover. See [Enter a match result](https://sportsclubos.net/help/competitions/enter-a-result/index.md).
- A match in squash, tennis, padel, pickleball or badminton can be scored point by point on a phone at the court, and the club's TVs follow it. See [Score a match point by point on a phone](https://sportsclubos.net/help/competitions/score-live/index.md).
- Each match has a scoring code and a QR code, so whoever marks it can score on their own phone, signed in or not; the first phone to start scores and the rest watch. You can print the codes as cards for a day's matches. See [Score or watch a match with its code](https://sportsclubos.net/help/competitions/score-with-a-code/index.md) and [Prepare and print scoring codes](https://sportsclubos.net/help/competitions/print-codes/index.md).
- Every result moves the club rating for that sport. See [Club ratings](https://sportsclubos.net/help/competitions/ratings/index.md).

## 5. Put it on the TVs

Each competition and each match on court has its own board. On Club > Competitions > Wallboards, preview a board and press **Put on a TV** to choose the screen. See [Wallboards and putting a board on a TV](https://sportsclubos.net/help/competitions/boards/index.md) and [Set up a TV and choose what it shows](https://sportsclubos.net/help/displays/set-up-a-tv/index.md).

## Who to ask

- The club office, for a member's details or a court booking for the competition.
- The club's administrator, for logins and what the Sports Convener role may do.
- **Help and feedback**, the button at the top right, for how to do something in Sports Club OS.

> **Not built yet:** messages to players about their matches, unanswered challenges lapsing by themselves, and a connection to outside rating services.