Instant Book - Creating Tryouts For Competitive Sports Teams

The setup process consists of four parts: 

• Part 1: Set up a Container
  Create a container for your Sports Tryouts. This is where you define the general settings of the programme.

• Part 2: Create Groups
  Add groups inside the container for each service (e.g. Tryouts - Boys Basketball Year 9 & Year 10, Tryouts - Boys Basketball Year 9 & Year 10).
  This is where you control who can view and book each option by applying filters such as Year and Gender.

• Part 3: Create Events
  Define the dates, times, and place limits(if applicable) for the tryouts. 

• Part 4: Publish Events
  Make the events live so they’re visible and available for students/parents to book.

Part 1 - Creating the Container

1. Click the Activities, Clubs & Bookings Admin tab on the Homepage
2. Click the Instant Book & Pay container type
3. Click Add to create a new container
   

Fill in the basic information for the Tryouts: 

1. Sign Up Title: e.g. Sports Team Tryouts - Season 1 2025/2026
2. Description: Any information that is relevant to tryouts
3. Allow Booking Cancellation/Auto Adjust Payments: If allowed, enter the number of days/hours before the tryouts that students/parents can cancel their booking
4. Block Clashes: When enabled, bookings will be prevented if the student has another event at the same time. If disabled, a warning will appear, but the booking can still go through.
5. Maximum Bookable events per group: Leave this as 0.
6. Activities start/end dates: The overall period during which tryout events will take place. Specific dates for each sport will be defined later.
7. Activities start/end times: The overall period during which tryout events will take place. Specific times for each sport will be defined later.
8. Responsibility for confirmation: This is who will make the booking. Select Parents only or Students/ Parents according to your School’s preferences.
9. Sign up opens: Date when sign-up opens (when students/parents can start booking tryouts)
   Sign up closes: Date when sign-up closes (when tryout stop accepting booking)
10. Show select all button: Leave it as blank unless you allow students to attend all tryouts.
11. Use organisation block dates?: This prevents events from being scheduled on organisational block dates. Uncheck this field if you plan to run tryouts during periods like half-term break.
12. Accept Voucher Payments: This option is for UK schools and clubs only. Leave it blank, as it applies only to payable activities.
13. Send New Booking Alerts:
14. Terms & Conditions: You can enter any terms & conditions that apply to all tryouts.
15. T&Cs additional info (URL): If you have your school T&Cs in a PDF file, for example, you can add a link to it here.

16. When the correct details have been entered click the green save button on the lower right of the screen.

    

Part 2 - Creating Groups

From the left-hand menu, click the Groups tab and then the blue + Add button at the top right.

Fill in the correct details regarding the Club.

1. Title: Title of the Group (Parents/Students will see this), e.g. 'Tryouts - Boys Basketball Year 9 & Year 10' or 'Tryouts - Mixed Gender Cheerleading - All Secondary School'.
2. Description: Optional. Description of the Group.
3. Available to: When selected, a pop-up will appear to choose who can sign up for the tryouts. Use the dropdown and search to find the correct Year, Group. Click 'Add', then the green 'Continue' button.
4. Gender: Select the relevant gender for this tryout.
5. Lead Staff Member: Select the lead staff member of the tryout.
6. Activity: This will not be visible to the booker, so can be set as Other
7. Include in Sports Portal: No
8. Default Location: Location of the Tryout.
9. Group Code/Billing Code: Optional. If you have a code for each activity
   
   
   
   When the correct details have been entered, click the green Save' button.

Part 3:  Creating Events

Click Create Events in the left-hand menu and then the + Add New button on the right-hand side of the page.

1. Title: Tryout
2. Vital Information: any vital information for each tryout
3. Additional Information: any further information
4. Booking Options: Please choose carefully
   • Individual: Select this if there is only one tryout session for the sport.
   • Block bookings: Select this if there are multiple tryout sessions and students are required to attend all of them.
5. Number of places: maximum number for the tryout; leave 0 if unlimited
6. Create for groups: select the sports team you are cfreating for
7. Location:  Select the default location
8. Event type: Select an applicable option from the list
9. Cost Type: Select Free
10. Frequency: Single day
11. Event start/End date: The date of the tryout for the selected sports
12. Start / End Time: Start and End time of the tryout
13. Sign-up opens in advance: Leave blank to use the date & time set at the container level
14. Click Create Rule 

Part 4: Publish Events

Now the events have been created, they must be published to be visible to users. Please go to the Publish Events tab. A summary of the events ready to create will be listed. 

1. Select the events you wish to publish once you've checked the event count is correct
2. Click the I confirm tick box
3. Click Publish

Once the events have been published and the sign up has opened, parents/pupils will be able to book the events.

FAQ

Q: Why create a separate container specifically for tryout?

A: As the tryouts take place before regular activities (ASA/ECA/CCA) begin and often follow a different schedule. Using a separate container helps keep the timing clear and avoids confusion during setup and bookings.

From tryouts to team selection

After the tryouts, coaches pick the team and you add the players to your main activity programme. Choose the option that fits your timeline.

Option 1: tryouts finish before general sign-up opens

1. Run the tryouts using the steps above. On the day, coaches take attendance as usual and can record successful players in the Attendance Notes field on their register.

2. When the coach sends the final list, add those students to your main activity container.

If you use a Preference container: add the sports teams to the same container as your other activities. In the activity settings, set Available To to your tryouts group and choose User can view but not select. Before you open the container, go to the sport's Allocate tab, pre-select the successful students, select Allocate All and then Complete. Parents then see the sport greyed out and already selected, so they cannot choose clashing activities.

If you use an Instant Book container: create a separate Preference container with only the sports teams, pre-select and allocate the students as above, then select Generate Events straight away. The training schedule appears in the students' diaries, and when your Instant Book container opens, students cannot book activities that clash with it.

Option 2: tryouts and general sign-up at the same time

Use one container for both sports and other activities so students cannot double-book.

Preference container: students choose the sport as one of their preferences. After sign-up closes, and before you run auto-allocation, add the successful students to the team in the Allocate tab and mark the team Complete. Then run auto-allocation for everyone else. It will not place those students in clashing activities.

Instant Book container: students book the sports they are trying out for along with other activities. When results are in, go to View Events and Bookings, remove the bookings of students who did not make the team, and remove them from the activity group too. This frees their schedule to book something else while sign-up is still open.

Tips for sports teams

• Place limits: for teams an admin manages, set the maximum and minimum places to 0, as you control the roster yourself.

• Sports Portal: turn on Include in Sports Portal when you create the activity if you will manage fixtures, matches and parental consent later.

• Tell the players: when you generate events, add a message asking them to check their diary for the sports schedule before choosing other activities.

Video series: tryouts to teams

Three short videos show the whole process. Some screens in the videos may look different from the current version.

• Part 1: creating a tryout with Instant Book and Pay

• Part 2: adding sports teams to your activity programme

• Part 3: generating events and using registers