Preparation and running events with the system

In order to run an event with the system, you need to go through several steps.

These can be divided into several sections:

1. Creating brackets
2. Preparing the schedule + generating fights
3. Preparing mats
4. Competitors verification and conducting fights

Creating brackets

Before creating a schedule, brackets must first be created. The section responsible for brackets can be found by going to the menu: Management and then Brackets.

Defaults configuration

The system allows us to create all brackets with a single click. However, we must first decide how the brackets are to be played. For this there is a Defaults configuration button that is available on the brackets page.

After clicking the button, a window appears that allows you to select the type of bracket depending on the number of participants. Confirm the changes by clicking OK.

Generating brackets

Now we can generate all the brackets. To do this, click Generate all. The system will display a window where we will see a summary of what the system will do.

These will be:

• brackets to be generated - if a bracket is not in the system, such a bracket will be added,
• brackets to be changed - if we have generated the bracket before, but in the meantime new competitors have registered in the category, the system will update the bracket,
• brackets to be deleted - if, for example, the competitors have moved to other categories, the bracket without competitors will be deleted by the system.

Providing bracket to competitors

Once we are sure that the brackets are in their final form, we can make them available to the competitors through the system.

To do this, go to the Management menu and then Sharing brackets.

Preparing schedule

The next step is to develop an event schedule.

Go to the Management menu and Manage schedule.

Creating schedules

The most common practice is to create the number of schedules that corresponds to the number of days the event will be held.

• For example, if we have a one-day event, we usually create one schedule,
• if the event is a two-day event, we make two schedules respectively.

When creating the schedule, we must choose the time we plan to start the fights. Additionally, we have to give the schedule a name, it can be the day on which the fights for the schedule take place or simply the date of the event.

Arranging categories on mats

The next step is to arrange the categories on the mats for each schedule. To do this, we must first create mats using the Management and Manage mats pages.

Next, we proceed to manage a specific schedule. In the list of schedules, click the name of the selected schedule. The following form opens:

It is divided into two sections:

• the form for assigning categories to the mat,
• schedule preview + estimated category duration.

Assigning categories to your mat

The form for assigning categories is divided into 3 parts:

• in the first part you can see the categories that are not yet assigned to any mat in any schedule,
• after selecting a category, in the middle part you will see the number of available mats on which we can play the category,
• in the third part there is information about how the category can be divided - this is important in case of large categories

Example

We have a adult; white; -77 kg category that has 44 competitors. The bracket is large, so we will want to split the category into two mats.

1. we select the category.
2. We select the first mat from the middle form.
3. In the last part of the form, select "First Half".
4. Then repeat these steps for the second mat and select "Second Half" at the end.

The schedule summary should show us the split category, it will be highlighted in color to make it easier to recognize that it is the same split category:

We need to repeat this for all categories for all schedules we plan during the event.

When we schedule all the categories, we will know the estimated duration of the event.

Sharing schedule

The next step is to make the schedule available, in a similar way like we did for brackets.

You can read about this more here.

Generating fights

The system offers several ways to share a schedule, but if we plan to run event with the system, we will always need generated fights on all mats at this stage.

To generate fights, go to Management and Manage schedule. Below schedules list, there is a button Generate fights. When clicked, a window will appear with a summary of the status of the brackets.

The system creates fights based on the current state of the ladders. Make sure the brackets in the system are up-to-date.

Once the fights are generated, we can go to Management and Manage fights to see that the system has scheduled fights on all mats.

Attention! The fights presented in the system correspond to the schedule which is set as "Active". E.g. if we have fights on the first day on Saturday and we want to continue the fights on Sunday, we have to activate the second schedule corresponding to the fights from Sunday.

Fights sorting

Now you need to sort the fights (here is dedicated tutorial about the topic). By default, the system will arrange the fights by category, one after the other.

If we have fights from categories A and B and each of them has 4 fights then they will look like this:

A - semifinal
A - semifinal
A - final
B - semifinal
B - semifinal
B - final

**This way of arranging fights does not give a break to the competitors between the second semifinal and the final.

To prevent this, use the Sorting fights function available on the schedule list. The system will automatically sort the fights according to the selected method. The following options are available:

• With a break - For the same competitor, between different fights, the system will try to insert fights from another category to give the competitor a break. We can specify how many fights the system should set as a break (default 2).
• By rounds (finals at the end) - The system will arrange all categories, from the largest to the smallest, so that all final matches on each mat will be played at the very end. For example: first all quarterfinals will be played, then semifinals and finals.
• By rounds (begin all categories at the same time) - This way of sorting is similar to the sorting above. Categories are also arranged by rounds, but here we have a guarantee that all categories will start together, i.e. the second round of the category will not start until all other categories have finished their first round.

If this way of arranging fights does not suit us, an alternative is to arrange the fights manually.

Preparation of mats

To conduct the competition, each station must include:

• computer
• TV/monitor
• a cable to connect the monitor with computer.

Additionally, we need to make sure that there is internet available in the sports hall. This can be wi-fi or a hot spot provided by phone.

At each mat, we log in and go to the queue of fights that will be played on the mat. We go through the Management menu and Start fights. Then on the page we select the mat we want to manage:

After selecting a mat, a ready-made queue will appear with fights to be played.

Competitors verification and conducting fights

Verification

Before any competitor can compete, they must pass a verification stage and be marked as verified in the system. For this purpose, there is a module available in the Competitors menu under Competitors verification.

There are three tabs available:

• Fights Queue - here we will be able to verify first those players who start fights first.
• Full list - we can search for any fighter by name or academy, and then verify him.
• Verification history allows you to see what verifications have been made and at what time.

Conducting fights

When we go to the Start fights page, we will see the fight queue for the active schedule.

The interface looks as follows:

• Clicking Start first fight... will display the scoreboard for the first fight from the queue, allowing it to be played.
• Show finished fights allows you to preview what fights on the selected mat have been played. This also gives you the ability to undo the verdict of a fight. More about this here.

Scoreboard

Once the scoreboard is loaded, it will be possible to fire the fight timer and when the countdown is complete, determine the winner. The result that will be recorded in the system depends on the choice of scoreboard.

When the fight is over, the system will automatically return to the fight queue.