Plan and run an event

Every Snapdown event follows the same broad lifecycle. A league event and a standalone tournament differ mainly in where their participants come from; both can use the same divisions, competition methods, publishing tools, and event-day screens.

Use this page to decide what comes next. Each stage links to the detailed guide for the work you actually need to do.

1. Plan the event

Create the event, choose whether it lives independently or in a league, and set the event basics. The event’s competition setup determines which later choices you will see.

• Choose the right Snapdown event setup if you are deciding between a league and a standalone event, or between individual competition and team duals.
• Configure your event for the event settings and defaults.
• Configure your league when the event belongs to a recurring league.

2. Set divisions and eligibility

Set divisions, fixed weight classes when you use them, and the eligibility rules that determine where participants belong. Do this before registration, imports, or roster selection so entries land in the right place.

See Set up divisions and weight classes.

3. Set match rules

On Event Dashboard → Manage Divisions → Match Rules, expand each division and set its wrestling style, enabled periods, period lengths, and overtime where applicable. Check championship and consolation settings separately. Times are in seconds. Use presets or copy shared rules between divisions, then Save changes before building bouts.

See Set match rules and allowances.

4. Prepare participants

Choose the source that fits this event. Individual online registration and direct roster import are alternative intake paths. In team registration, the paid entry is the team and its wrestlers are managed or imported under that existing event team.

• League roster: Select wrestlers for a league event.
• Public wrestler or team entries: Set up online registration.
• Director-controlled entry list, or wrestlers for existing registered teams: Add wrestlers to a standalone event.
• Event-day additions: Take walk-up registrations at the door.

5. Build and review the competition

Use the competition method chosen for each division. You can keep an event simple, or use different methods for different divisions when the event needs them.

• Choose a matchmaking format and generate matchups for automatic groups and mini-brackets.
• Build individual weight-class brackets for fixed-weight competition.
• Build a single dual or dual tournament for team-versus-team lineups.

On Brackets, select each division, generate its brackets or groups, and review the wrestlers, classes, seeds, format, and placement depth. Review again after any attendance or weight changes.

6. Weigh in and confirm attendance

You choose whether weigh-ins come before or after bracket generation. Prepare provisional brackets from registered weights or assigned classes if that fits your event, then weigh in and adjust them. Or finish a division’s weigh-ins first, then generate its competition. Automatic grouping uses only weighed-in wrestlers once weigh-ins have begun in that division, so wait until its scale work is done before generating from weighed-in weights.

Confirm no-shows before you Scratch them, which clears their bracket spots; a missing weigh-in never removes someone automatically. For someone who has already started or completed a bout, Scratch… on their Roster row withdraws them instead: results stand and their remaining bouts become forfeits, or injury defaults for an injury. Review affected brackets and offered downsizing before publishing.

See Run weigh-ins and Withdraw an injured wrestler.

7. Publish the matches you are ready to run

Publishing turns the prepared competition into the matches and queues the room will use. A straightforward event can use System-Managed Scheduling across its mats. For a more deliberate operation, Director-Managed Scheduling lets you publish selected divisions or brackets in separate waves, assign them to specific mats, and leave later rules unrun until their turn.

• Use System-Managed Scheduling across mats
• Plan your tournament schedule
• Run morning and afternoon sessions
• Create a director-managed tournament flow and finals rules

A session is a number on each Director-Managed plan or rule, not a separate part of the event. Session 2 bouts read 2-1, 2-2, and each session’s rules run when that session is ready to wrestle.

8. Run the room

Use the event-day screens to load matches, score them, show the room what is next, and respond to changes.

• Run your tournament from weigh-ins to results
• Run the Mat Control Center
• Score matches at a table
• Set up the Bout Board

When an event changes after publishing, use the focused troubleshooting guide for the specific change rather than rebuilding more than necessary.