Setting up a competition in MatchPoint

This guide walks competition administrators through creating a new competition in MatchPoint, from first setup through to making it live and ready for entries.

The competition lifecycle

Every event moves through the same five stages, in order. Each stage depends on the one before it, so it helps to work through them in sequence rather than jumping ahead:

1. Create the competition – add the competition, set its format (Singles or Doubles) and dates, then activate it.
2. Configure scoring – set the result/scoring settings, most importantly the number of sets (best‑of‑N).
3. Add entries – add each competitor (player or pair) and secure their entry.
4. Build the schedule – generate or import the fixtures and place competitors into slots.
5. Enter results – score each match and finalise it; winners then flow through the draw.

Create the competition

Go to Competitions › Competition List and select Add Competition. You’ll be offered two options:

• Quick – a short form for getting a simple competition up fast.
• Advanced – the full 8‑step setup wizard (Details, Entry, Entry additional details, Entrant additional details, Fees, Add‑Ons, Scheduling, Results Settings). Use this when you need control over entry options, fees or scoring.

Competitions › Competition List, with the Add Competition button.

Key details to set

On the Details step, set the essentials:

• Title – a clear, specific name (e.g. “10U Girls Singles – Summer 2026”). This is what appears in lists, draws and public views.
• Type – the competition structure (e.g. Knockout, Round‑Robin).
• Format – Singles or Doubles. Set this before adding any entries. If a doubles event is left as Singles, MatchPoint only accepts one player per entry and pairs split into two separate entries.
• Description and Organising Body – complete as required.
• Dates – set the start and end dates. If the dashboard later shows today’s date instead of the dates you entered, re‑open the edit form and re‑save them.

The New Competition wizard (Advanced) – Details / Key Information step.

Activate the competition

A new competition starts as a Draft. Competitions move through the status tabs on the Competition List: Draft → Entering → In Play → Completed (with Cancelled available too). Activate the competition once the details are right so it moves to Entering and you can add entries and build the schedule.

Next steps

With the competition created, set up scoring (see Configuring how results are scored), then add entries, build the schedule and enter results.