Applicable to: Association and Club Administrators
Application(s): Admin Portal > Competition Management

This article will cover the following:

1. Key PlayHQ portals and links
2. Setting up competitions and seasons
3. Creating and managing grades
4. Working with teams
5. Generating and managing fixtures
6. Managing ladders and finals

Related articles:

• Creating and Managing Competitions
• Creating and Managing Seasons
• Creating and Editing Grades

Introduction

This guide provides Association administrators with an overview of the key tasks required to set up and manage competitions and fixtures in PlayHQ. Whether you're running a competition with a handful of clubs, or a large association with multiple competitions spanning Domestic and Tournament types, the steps outlined here will help you get started.

The following instructions require administrator access to the PlayHQ Admin Portal. If you don't have access, please contact an existing administrator who can grant you appropriate permissions.

Setting Up Competitions

Understanding the PlayHQ Structure

Before you begin setting up competitions, it's important to understand the hierarchy in PlayHQ:

• Competition: The top level that contains one or more seasons (e.g. "Summer League")
• Season: A specific time period within a competition (e.g. "Winter 2025")
• Grade: Divisions within a season, usually grouped by age or level of competitiveness (e.g. Women's Premier", "Under 14 Boys")
• Team: Individual teams that participate in grades

You'll need to set these up in order: Competition → Season → Grade → Teams.

We recommend limiting the number of competitions created within your organisation. Within a competition, you can have as many grades as required, each of which can have a variety of game types.

For most associations, we recommend setting up a Junior Competition and a Senior Competition. Within these competitions, you can cater for different age groups and genders.

Step 1: Adding a Competition

Navigation: Competition Management

1. Create the Competition

   From the Admin Portal, navigate to Competition Management. Click the + Add Competition button and complete the required details including name, type, and format. 

   

For more detailed instructions, see Creating and Managing Competitions.

Step 2: Adding a Season

Navigation: Select a Competition within the Competition Management section

1. Create the Season

   Select your newly created competition, then click the + Add Season button. Fill in the season details, including name, start and end dates.

   

For more detailed instructions, see Creating and Managing Seasons.

Step 3: Adding Grades

Navigation: Competition Management > selected Competition > selected Season

1. Create Grades

   Select your competition and season, then click the + Add a Grade button. Enter grade details including name, gender, and age group if applicable. 

   

For more detailed instructions, see Creating and Editing Grades.

Managing Teams

Adding Teams to Your Season

Navigation: Competition Management > selected Competition > selected Season > Teams tab

Teams can be added to your season in two ways:

For more detailed instructions, see Managing Teams.

Allocating Teams to Grades

Navigation: Competition Management > selected Competition > selected Season > Grades tab

1. Assign Teams to Grades

   Find the grade you want to add teams to. Click the Allocate a Team icon next to the grade name to select from the available teams in your season. 

   

For more detailed instructions, see Allocating Teams to Grades.

Setting Up Fixtures

Generating Fixtures

Navigation: Competition Management > selected Competition > selected Season > Grades tab

1. Create the Fixture

   Ensure you have at least two teams assigned to a grade. Click Generate Fixture for the grade. Configure the fixture options (rounds, times, venues) before clicking Generate to preview then create the grade fixture. 

   

Managing Exception Dates

Navigation: Grade > Settings > Fixturing sub-tab

1. Add Exception Dates

   Navigate to the grade's Fixturing settings. Click Edit Exception Dates then enter dates when games should not be scheduled. You can preview the changes to the fixture which will occur when setting your exception dates. 

   

Editing Fixtures

After generating fixtures, you may need to make adjustments to game dates, times, or venues. PlayHQ offers several options for editing fixtures:

• Moving individual games to different dates, times, or venues
• Rescheduling multiple games at once
• Adding additional games to the fixture

For detailed instructions on editing fixtures, see Editing Fixtures and Game Dates.

Managing Ladders

Navigation: Grade > Settings > Game sub-tab

1. Configure Ladder Settings

   Select your ladder type and set ladder visibility options. Configure points for win, loss, draw, etc. 

   

Setting Up Finals

Once your regular season is nearing completion, you can set up finals fixtures. PlayHQ provides tools to:

• Add finals games to a grade
• Manage finals games
• Assign teams to finals games based on ladder position or manual selection
• View and publish the finals fixture

For detailed instructions on managing finals, see the Finals Game Management articles.

Game Day Management

PlayHQ provides several tools to help manage your competitions on game day:

Regrading Teams

Navigation: Competition Management > selected Competition > selected Season > Grades tab

During the season, you may need to move teams between grades to ensure competitive balance. The regrading process allows you to:

1. Regrade Teams

   Navigate to the Grades section of your season, then click the Regrade button. Select teams to move between grades and the round this should occur (i.e. the next upcoming round). 

   

Next Steps

After setting up your competitions, seasons, grades, and fixtures, you may want to explore these additional features:

• Registration Forms: Set up online registration for participants
• Electronic Scoring: Configure electronic scoring for your games
• Reports: Generate competition participant or fixture reports for your organisation
• Communications: Publish a post to participants and team contacts