Competition & Meet Entry Management

MyAthlete takes you from the meet pack to the final entry file without spreadsheets. You import the meet, open it to the right squads, swimmers or parents pick events, the system validates eligibility and enters them immediately, and fees are settled cleanly.

In short, the flow is:

• 1. Add the meet — upload the entry file and check the details.
• 2. Open it to swimmers — choose who can enter, set your own closing date, and add any club charges.
• 3. Parents & athletes pick events — they only see events they qualify for, with a clear explanation if they don't.
• 4. Instant approval (no bottlenecks) — entries go straight in as approved; no laborious manual review is required before parents can proceed.
• 5. Coaches retain full control — coaches can review the roster at any time, adjust events, or reject entries after the fact.
• 6. Close and send — lock entries and export a clean SD3 file for the meet host.
• 7. Fees sort themselves out — paid immediately at checkout or added straight to the family ledger.

1. Adding a meet

You start by uploading the file the meet host provides. MyAthlete accepts entry/condition files (.ev3, .hyv), result files (.hy3, .sd3), and zip files containing them.

When you upload, MyAthlete reads what it can from the file so you don't have to type it in:

• Basic details: name, dates, course (25m or 50m), location, and sanction number if included.
• Deadlines: the host's entry deadline, plus the date used to work out ages and the start of the qualifying window.
• Sessions and events: event numbers, age groups, strokes, distances, and entry fees per event.
• Qualifying times: the cut-off times for each event, including separate long-course and short-course cuts where the meet provides both.

You can edit anything after import: fix prices in bulk, add or remove events, correct a deadline, or fill in a missing venue. If the host sends an updated file later, re-importing updates the meet and moves existing entries to the right event where possible. Anything it can't match safely is flagged for you to check.

2. Opening entries to your squad

A meet is only visible to the swimmers you choose. When you open a meet for your club you set:

• Who can enter: pick a group, for example "National Squad" or "All Competitive". Only swimmers in that group see the meet.
• Your own closing date: this is usually a few days before the host deadline so coaches have time to review. Parents can't enter after this date, but club staff can still make changes.
• Payment model: choose whether fees are billed to the family's normal monthly club account (Direct Debit / invoice) or require instant card payment on entry.
• Club charges: an optional amount per swimmer or per event to cover admin or coaching costs. These are kept separate from the host's entry fee.
• When to collect: charge on your normal billing date or on the entry deadline.
• A note for parents: shown at the top of the entry page, useful for travel info, bus lists, or "talk to your coach before entering" messages.

When you open the meet, parents of eligible swimmers get a notification. Closing the meet stops new entries. Archiving it locks everything for record-keeping.

3. How parents and swimmers enter

Parents see a simple list of events for their child. Behind that list MyAthlete checks every event against the meet rules:

• Age and gender rules for the event, worked out from the meet's age-up date.
• Qualifying times: the swimmer's best valid time has to be inside the meet's time window and faster than the cut-off.
• Entry limits: for example, a maximum of 6 individual events per swimmer.
• Previous decisions: if a coach has already rejected an event, it stays blocked.

If a swimmer can't enter an event, the page says why in plain words — for example, "Needs 1:04.00, best is 1:04.23" or "For ages 13–14". That alone cuts out most of the messages clubs usually get about entries.

Course conversions and splits

Many meets accept times from both pool lengths. If the meet allows it, MyAthlete will:

• Use the swimmer's best time in the meet's pool length first.
• If they only have a time in the other length, convert it using the standard conversion so they are not left out.
• Use a split from a longer race where the meet allows it — for example, a 100m split from a 200m swim. Splits are marked clearly and are never converted.

If the meet has separate long-course and short-course cuts, both are checked separately and no conversion is needed.

Every entry stays linked to the actual swim it came from. Coaches and meet hosts can click through to see the date, meet, and course behind the entry time.

Entering multiple children & instant payment

For parents with more than one competitive swimmer, entering is effortless:

• Switch between children: parents can seamlessly toggle between siblings on the same screen, seeing each child's qualified events.
• One combined checkout: when the meet requires instant payment, parents select events for all their children and pay for everyone in a single, combined transaction using Apple Pay, Google Pay, or card.
• Reservation lease: when a parent proceeds to payment, spots are locked for 30 minutes while they complete checkout. Once confirmed, entries are approved instantly. If abandoned, the spots release automatically and no phantom charges are left on the family's account.

4. Proof of Time (POT)

Sometimes a swimmer has a valid time that isn't in MyAthlete yet — for example, a swim from another club, another country, or before records were imported. Proof of Time lets you use that swim for entries.

How it works:

• Submit the time: parents or coaches add the distance, stroke, pool length, time, date, and name of the meet where it was swum, plus evidence such as a photo, screenshot, or link to the results.
• It gets checked: a coach or admin reviews it. They can run an automatic document check that reads the uploaded file and confirms the name, event, time, and date match. This is a helper — a person still approves or rejects it.
• Once approved, it works like any other time: it shows up in eligibility checks and can be picked as the entry time. It is clearly labelled as a Proof of Time.

Staff-added times are approved straight away. Parent-added times always wait for approval first. You cannot enter a meet on a Proof of Time that is still waiting or has been rejected.

5. Coach review & oversight

Entries go in as approved by default so fees, rosters, and lists update immediately without creating administrative bottlenecks. Coaches and admins do not need to sit through a laborious line-by-line sign-off queue, but retain total authority to review and adjust after the fact:

• See all entries for a meet in one unified view, filtered by status, swimmer, or squad.
• Reject or withdraw entries in bulk if a swimmer entered an unsuitable event.
• Get an instant summary of swimmer counts, event totals, and meet host costs before closing.

Rejecting an entry voids or credits the family charge automatically. Once a meet is archived, entries are locked for record-keeping.

6. Relays

Relays are handled separately because the club pays for them and picks the teams, not parents.

• Pick from eligible swimmers: the list shows who is available for each relay, flags anyone who has opted out, and explains why someone can't swim it.
• Suggested teams: MyAthlete can suggest the fastest combination based on personal bests, recent swims, and relay splits, while respecting gender rules (for example, 2 boys + 2 girls for mixed) and age rules.
• Seed times: relay seed times are worked out from individual times, past relay splits, or an average for the age group if there is nothing else to go on. You can also set a time by hand.
• Costs stay with the club: relay fees are tracked as what the club owes the host. They are never added to a family bill.

Swimmers (or parents) can also opt out of a gala altogether with a reason, so coaches know not to consider them for relays.

7. Closing entries and sending to the host

When your internal closing date passes, parents can no longer add or remove entries. Staff can still tidy up.

• Submitted entries are locked: once you mark entries as submitted to the host, they can't be deleted by parents and are protected from accidental changes.
• One-click export: the export builds a standard SD3 file with all individual entries and relays, including correct course, age, and seed-time formatting. The file name includes your club code and meet name.
• Re-import safely: if the meet file changes, entries are moved to the matching event where the age group and stroke still fit. Anything unclear is flagged rather than guessed.

8. Money: how meet finance works

This is the part clubs feel most. When an athlete enters an event, the fee is added to the family's bill automatically. No invoices, no chasing.

What families are charged

• Entry fee per event: taken from the meet file (for example, €7 per event). The amount is saved on the entry at the time it is made, so later price changes don't rewrite history.
• Club surcharge (optional): a fixed amount per swimmer or per event that you set when you open the meet, for example €5 per swimmer to cover coaching. This is listed separately on the bill.
• One bill per family: all entries for brothers and sisters are grouped under the family's payer, due on the collection date you set.

Payment models: Instant Pay vs. Monthly Billing

Clubs can choose how entry fees are handled on a meet-by-meet basis:

• Instant card payment (Pay before entry): Perfect for high-demand invitationals or host galas where the club must pay upfront. Parents pay via Apple Pay, Google Pay, or card at the point of entry. Entries are reserved for 30 minutes and confirmed immediately upon payment settlement.
• Standard monthly billing: Fees are added directly to the family's ledger as pending items and collected in your club's regular monthly Direct Debit run, or paid via the member's finance dashboard.
• Coach-entered swimmers: If a coach enters a swimmer on the family's behalf, coaches are never asked for card details. Instead, the charge is sent to the parent as an approval request in their app.

Scratches, rejections, and refunds

• If an instant payment checkout is cancelled or times out, entries are removed and all temporary charges are voided immediately — leaving zero outstanding debt.
• If a coach rejects or deletes an entry before payment, unpaid charges are cancelled straight away.
• If the family has already paid (via card or Direct Debit) and an entry is scratched or rejected, a credit is placed directly onto the family's club balance (Virtual Wallet). This credit automatically offsets their next invoice, monthly subs, or future meet entries with zero gateway refund fees.
• Credits for Direct Debit payments stay linked to the batch until it clears the bank, then unlock automatically.
• Relay fees are never charged to families in the first place, so scratching a relay just updates what the club owes the host.

If fees change after entries are in

Sometimes the host changes a fee after you have started collecting. MyAthlete spots the difference between what was charged and the current fee:

• Collect the difference: asks families to approve the extra amount.
• Refund the difference: adds a credit for the overcharge and updates the entry.
• Club absorbs it: the club covers the difference and families see no change.

Every one of these actions is recorded and can be undone — voided charges are restored, credits are removed, and the entry amounts are put back.

9. How this compares to the old way

Task	Old way (manual / Hy-Tek / spreadsheets)	With MyAthlete
Checking times	Read PDFs, compare dates and times by hand.	Checked automatically against qualifying windows, cuts, age, and best times.
Pool length differences	Look up conversion tables.	Converted automatically where the meet allows it.
Times swum elsewhere	Email screenshots, type the time in.	Proof of Time with evidence, approval, and a host report.
Building relays	Add up PBs on paper, check ages by hand.	Suggested teams with rules checked and seed times worked out.
Collecting fees	Separate invoices, bank transfers, chasing, or dealing with unpaid entries after the meet deadline.	Instant card payment (Apple Pay / Google Pay) on entry, or auto-billed to family Direct Debit.
Sending entries	Build the file by hand, fix host rejections.	Pre-checked SD3 export with linked entry times.

If you are setting up your first meet, start with Adding a meet and Opening entries to your squad above. The rest — eligibility, Proofs of Time, relays, and finance — will follow on from there.