# Set up courts, tables and booking rules

> Add each sport with its hours and booking grid, every court and table, and the rules for members booking online: how far ahead, how long, guests and peak times.

Who this is for: Anyone with “Club settings” (by default: Administrator).
Last checked in release 2026.10.23, on 23 October 2026.
Source: https://sportsclubos.net/help/setup/courts-and-rules/

Bookings need three things set up: each sport, with the hours it can be booked and the grid the calendar uses; every court or table, each belonging to one sport; and the rules for members booking online. All three are on Admin > Settings. What every setting does is in [Booking rules, sports and courts](https://sportsclubos.net/help/bookings/booking-rules/index.md); this article is the order to set them up in.

## Before you start

- You need to be able to change the club's settings. The Administrator can by default.
- List each sport, the hours it opens and closes, and how long a usual booking is.
- List every court and table by the name members know it by, in the order you want them shown.
- Decide the online rules: how far ahead members can book, the longest booking, any weekly limit, guest fees, and when peak time is.

## Add the sports

1. Open Admin > Settings and press the **Sports & courts** tab.
2. Press **Add sport**. Your browser asks for the name of the sport; type it and press OK. A new row starts as a **Court**, on a 60-minute grid, with 60-minute bookings, open 7am to 10pm.
3. In the sport's row, set:
   - **Called a**: **Court**, **Table**, **Lane** or **Room**.
   - **Grid step**: how far apart the times on the office calendar are, 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes.
   - **Usual booking**: how long a booking made on the office's calendar is to begin with, from 30 minutes to 2 hours.
   - **Opens** and **Closes**: the hours the calendar shows and bookings can be made in.
4. Press **Save settings** at the top right. A message says **Settings saved**.

To remove a sport, press × at the end of its row and then **Save settings**. A sport that still has courts is refused, with, for example, **Move or delete the Squash courts first.**

## Add the courts and tables

1. Under **Courts and tables** on the same tab, press **Add court / table**. The **New court / table** panel opens.
2. Type the **Name**, such as "Squash 5", choose its **Sport**, and set its **Display order** (its place in the list and on the calendar).
3. Type anything worth knowing under **Surface / notes**, such as "Synthetic grass".
4. Leave **Bookable (untick it to hide it from the calendar)** ticked.
5. Press **Save**. A message says **Saved**, and the court is in the list as **Bookable**.

![The Sports & courts tab of Settings. Sports lists Tennis, Squash, Pickleball and Snooker, each with Called a (Court or Table), Grid step, Usual booking, Opens and Closes, and an Add sport button. Below, Courts and tables lists Tennis 1 to Tennis 7 and the others with their sport, order and Bookable status, and an Add court / table button.](https://sportsclubos.net/help/img/setup-courts-1600.webp)
*Each sport has its own hours and grid; each court or table belongs to one sport. Shown in release 2026.10.29 · Settings · as an Administrator.*

Press a court in the list to change it. Untick **Bookable** to take a court out of use for good; it shows as **Hidden**, and its past bookings are kept. For a court closed for a while (resurfacing, an event), use a closure instead: see [Close courts for an event or repairs](https://sportsclubos.net/help/bookings/closures/index.md).

## Set the rules for online booking

These rules apply to members booking for themselves. The office can book outside them.

1. Press the **Booking rules** tab.
2. Under **Rules for bookings members make online**, set:
   - **Bookings open this many days ahead**: 7 to start with.
   - **Longest booking (minutes)**: 90 to start with.
   - **Bookings per member per week**: 0 (no limit) to start with. A membership type can set its own.
   - **Online cancellation cut-off (hours before start)**: 2 to start with. Closer to the start than this, a member cannot cancel online. It does not stop them moving the booking.
   - **Adult guest fee** and **Junior guest fee**: $20 and $5 to start with, charged for each guest named on a booking. See [Guests and guest fees](https://sportsclubos.net/help/bookings/guests/index.md).
3. Under **Peak times**, press the days that have a peak (Monday to Friday to start with; a tick shows on each), and set **Peak from** and **Peak to** (5pm to 8pm to start with). Members on a membership type marked off-peak only cannot book online in those times.
4. Press **Save settings**. A message says **Settings saved**.

> **Your club decides:** every one of these rules. A member who is refused is told why, in words such as **Bookings open 7 days ahead.** or **You have reached your limit of 3 bookings for that week.**

## Check it worked

- Open Club > Bookings > Calendar. Each sport should show its courts or tables, in order, between its opening and closing times, on its grid.
- Ask a member (or a member's login you can use) to try booking further ahead than the rule allows: they should be told it opens later.

## Next

[Set up membership types and fees](https://sportsclubos.net/help/setup/membership-types/index.md), where each type can include only some sports, set its own weekly limit, or be off-peak only.