Merge live assignment groups without stopping the mats

When one part of a tournament falls behind, you can combine its work with another assignment group without emptying the live mats first.

The safe pattern is Build, review, then Launch:

• Build Assignment Group prepares a saved plan. It does not change a live mat.
• Launch applies that plan to its planned mats. The confirmation may say Apply when the matches are already staged.

Building is planning. Launching is the cutover. You can build the alternative while wrestling continues, inspect it, and decide when to use it.

When to combine groups

Use a combined group when the work needs to be shared differently for the rest of the session. Common examples include:

• semifinals are backing up while consolation mats are moving quickly;
• one division needs access to more mats for the next round;
• two smaller groups should alternate across the same set of mats;
• you want a fallback plan ready before deciding whether to switch.

If you only need to move one waiting bout, use Move in the Mat Control Center instead. A new group is for changing the plan, not for relocating one specific match.

Build the combined plan

Suppose Consolations runs on Mats 1–3 and Semifinals runs on Mats 4–5. Semifinals starts falling behind.

1. Leave both current groups and all five mats running.
2. In Match Publishing, create a third assignment rule, such as Consolations + Semifinals.
3. Set its filters to include both segments and choose the mats that should use the combined plan.
4. Open the rule menu and choose Build Assignment Group.
5. Review the preview and build the group.

A bout can belong to its original group and the combined group at the same time. Building the combined group does not remove it from the original group, change a mat’s assignment, or clear a waiting match.

That means the director can stop here. The alternative is ready, while the original schedule continues normally.

Apply it when you are ready

Open the combined rule’s menu and choose Launch. Review the planned mats and the confirmation carefully, then confirm.

Snapdown makes the cutover as one operation:

1. Matches included in the combined group keep their current mat and position.
2. Started matches and recorded results stay in place, even if the new group does not include them.
3. An unstarted match on a planned mat is removed only when the combined group excludes it.
4. Open spaces are filled from the combined group’s order.
5. The planned mats use the combined group for future automatic backfill.

There is no moment where Build empties the mats and leaves the director racing to launch a replacement.

If a bout is already on another mat

Assignment-group membership does not move a staged bout.

For example, a bout is waiting on Mat 1. You build Group B, include that bout, and plan Group B for Mat 3. When you apply Group B:

• the bout stays on Mat 1;
• Snapdown does not create a second copy on Mat 3;
• Mat 3 takes the next Group B bout that is not already on a mat.

Use Move if you intentionally want that bout to leave Mat 1 and go to Mat 3. This keeps a schedule change from silently rearranging a live mat.

Narrow a group safely

You can also rebuild an existing group with fewer bouts.

Build Assignment Group updates the saved plan but leaves the current mat queues alone. The visible change happens when you choose Launch again:

• included bouts remain in their existing positions;
• excluded bouts that have not started return to pending;
• started bouts and completed results remain;
• the mat fills any open space from the revised group.

The confirmation lists unstarted matches that will be removed. If the warning does not match what you intended, cancel and adjust the group’s filters.

What the old groups become

Applying the combined group does not delete the original groups. They remain saved alternatives, but the newly assigned mats pull from the combined group.

You can later revise and reapply an earlier group. The same safety rules apply: included and pinned work stays, unstarted exclusions are removed from the planned mats, and empty spaces are filled from the selected plan.

Do not launch two different groups onto the same mat as one batch. Give each mat one active plan at a time so the director and table crew see one clear upcoming-work plan.

Before you confirm

Check three things:

• Planned mats — are these the mats that should pull from the new plan?
• Included work — does the preview contain both segments you meant to combine?
• Removal warning — are the listed unstarted exclusions safe to return to pending?

Then watch Run in the Mat Control Center after the cutover. Existing included bouts should be in the same positions, and new work should arrive from the combined group.