Schedule divisions in separate sessions or mat groups

Keep divisions in one event when they share the same tournament record but need different start times, mats, or bout-number ranges. Customized Match Scheduling lets each division become its own publishable assignment group.

Use separate events instead when the competitions need separate registration, staff access, public event pages, or results. Scheduling rules divide work inside an event; they do not create a second event record.

Prepare the divisions

Before building the schedule:

1. Configure every division and its competition type.
2. Finish weigh-ins and clear known scratches for the first session.
3. Build the brackets or automatic matchup groups that belong to each session.
4. Open Match Publishing and expand the division breakdown to review the built and published match counts.

You can prepare later-session brackets in advance without publishing their assignment groups. If the later roster is still changing, leave those brackets unbuilt until that session is settled.

Switch to Customized Match Scheduling

On Match Publishing, choose Customize when Snapdown suggests a custom schedule for a multi-division event. The page changes from one automatic schedule to Match Rules.

Rules can control numbering, mat assignment, or both. They can filter by division and bracket, which is what keeps one session from mixing with another.

Create one rule per session

Choose Add Rule, then configure the session:

1. Give the rule a name that identifies the session, such as Morning 8U or Afternoon Girls.
2. Select only the divisions or brackets that belong in that session.
3. Enable bout numbering and choose its starting number or numbering pattern.
4. Enable assignment and select the mats available to that session.
5. Save the rule.

If every division needs its own range, use Create one rule per division. Choose the first starting number and the increment between divisions. Snapdown creates the division-filtered rules as a batch.

For a session using several mats, the assignment rule can distribute its selected brackets across those mats by match count. Preview the distribution before publishing it.

Auto-balance a session across several mats

Use Auto-balance brackets when a session contains many individual brackets and the main goal is a similar match count on every mat.

1. Select only the divisions in that session.
2. Select at least two session mats.
3. Choose Balanced for the most even match totals, or Sequential to keep division and weight-class order together.
4. Move whole brackets between the proposed mat columns as needed.
5. Enter the session number so its mat-specific bout ranges do not overlap another session, then create the rules.

Auto-Balance keeps every bracket on one mat. It does not split an individual bracket’s matches across mats, and it excludes dual-tournament brackets. Use Schedule dual brackets for a dual tournament that consumes several mats in one round.

Auto-balance rules include planned mats and default to unlimited assignment depth. Creating them does not change a live mat. Choose Launch when the session mats are ready; Snapdown applies missing numbers, builds each assignment group, and loads its planned mat.

Number and prepare the first session

Select the first session’s rule.

1. Choose Apply Numbering.
2. Check the selected divisions and proposed bout-number range, then apply the numbering.
3. Choose Build Assignment Group.
4. Check the mats, order, and match count.
5. Build the group.

If the rule has planned mats, Launch can perform those missing steps and load the mats in one guided flow. Existing numbers are preserved. Use the separate actions when you want to number the event before the session mats are ready.

Only matches covered by the selected rule are added to that assignment group. Later-session rules can remain saved without being launched, keeping those matches out of the live mat queues.

Start the next session

When the first session is complete or its mats are ready to turn over, select the next rules and choose Launch. Existing completed and in-progress bouts remain in place.

Do not reset the queue or force-renumber the whole event merely to begin the next session. Those actions are for intentionally replacing existing schedule work. A new session should normally add its own numbered and assigned group.

If a later-session bracket changed after its rule was prepared, build that bracket first. Preview the same rule again so its new matches receive numbers and assignment coverage.

Use different mats without different times

The same pattern works when divisions run simultaneously but must stay on separate mat groups. Give each division-filtered rule its intended mats, launch all the groups, and verify the Mat Control Center before wrestling begins.

Verify before opening the mats

For every published session, confirm that:

• every built bracket has bout numbers;
• every numbered bout belongs to the intended assignment group;
• no later-session division appears in the current mat queues;
• the selected mats match the session plan; and
• previously completed bouts and results are still present.

For a broader custom workflow, see Create a custom tournament flow and finals schedule.