Applicable to: Association Administrators
Application(s): Admin Portal > Game Details
This article will cover the following:
- How club game change requests work
- Setting up game change notifications
- Enabling clubs to submit game change requests in PlayHQ
- Overriding club game change requests
- Monitoring game change requests
Related articles:
- Club Administrators: Coordinating game change requests between clubs
Overview
Club game change requests let clubs reschedule games directly with each other, reducing manual processing for associations.
Associations set how far in advance changes can be requested and finalised before scheduled games.
When enabled in grade settings, clubs can propose changes to game dates, times and venues, which the opposing club must approve. This feature is disabled by default across all competition types but can be activated anytime through a competition's grade settings.
Any unapproved requests automatically expire after the association's set timeframe.
Associations can always override a club game change request, either declining this while the request is pending, or amended the game changes in a grade fixture.
Setting up game change notifications
Receive alerts when clubs submit a game change requests via email notifications.
Navigate to My Organisation > Overview > Notifications
Ensure your relevant email address is subscribed to 'Change Requests'
Save your notification preferences
Enabling club game changes
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Access Grade Settings
Navigate to your competition
Select the grade you want to configure
Go to Grade Settings
Find Club Access Settings near the top of the page
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Configure the Feature
Toggle 'Allow clubs to make changes to games' to ON
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Select 'Changes completed by' timeframe (1-28 days)
This sets the deadline for both requesting AND approving changes
Example: If set to 7 days, clubs must request changes AND receive approval more than 1 day before game start time
Save your settings
Overriding club game change requests
Associations can always override a club game change request, either accepting or declining this while the request is pending, or amended the game changes in a grade fixture. The below steps walk through how to decline a pending game change request.
Navigate to the game via Game Day or from a grade's fixture
Switch to the 'Change Requests' tab
Review the proposed changes and any notes from the requesting club
Choose to Approve or Decline
Add an optional note explaining your decision
Submit your response
⚠️ Important: The audit history of the game change request will show the association as overriding the change requests.
Considering Referee Allocations
Before enabling this feature, consider the impact on referee schedules:
Game changes may affect existing referee allocations
Integrated referee appointment systems may receive notifications when games are modified
Consider using longer timeframes (7+ days) for grades with official allocations, please align with your allocations manager on best timeframe
You may want to enable this functionality for a window of time (e.g. pre-season), then disable club game change requests in a grade's settings
Monitoring Game Changes
View all historical change requests for a specific game in the 'Change Requests' tab. See status, timestamps, and notes for each request.
Frequently asked questions
Here are answers to common questions associations have about game change requests:
- Should we enable club game change requests for our competition? Consider enabling this feature if your association regularly receives fixture change requests from clubs and wants to reduce administrative workload. The feature works well for competitions where clubs have established relationships and can coordinate changes effectively between themselves. Review your current change request volume - if you process multiple requests weekly, automation through PlayHQ will save significant time while maintaining oversight through the approval process and comprehensive audit trails.
- Can we set different timeframes for different grades? Yes, game change request settings are configured individually for each grade within a competition. This flexibility allows you to set different parameters for specific grades, or enable this functionality only in selected grades.
- Can associations override club decisions or require additional approval? Association administrators retain full fixture control and can override a pending game change request, or modify any games directly through the standard fixture management tools.
- What restrictions apply to club game change requests? Clubs can only reschedule games within the competition season dates and cannot select dates during exception periods (such as school holidays or representative weekends) set at grade or competition level. The system automatically checks venue availability and will alert you to any scheduling conflicts, such as if there is another game scheduled at the proposed time. You can then decide whether to proceed with the request or choose a different time.
- How are referees or officials notified of approved changes? If you use an integrated referee system like OfficialsHQ or Refbook, these systems may automatically receive alerts about game changes. However, we recommend confirming your specific notification process with your referee appointment system provider before enabling this functionality to ensure referees or officials are properly informed of any game changes.
- Can we track and report on game change requests? While detailed reporting on declined and expired requests is currently being developed, you can monitor historical change requests through specific games in the 'Change Requests' tab.