League opt-in
Use league opt-in to collect player availability before each round so you only generate matches for players who are actually playing that week. You can set an opt-in deadline and add reminders so players are notified before the deadline through their preferred channels.
Set the opt-in deadline in Event settings before your first round. For leagues that use play dates, add your round dates first because the opt-in deadline countdown is calculated from each round date. See Managing rounds and dates in Ladder formats.
How league opt-in works
League opt-in is different from tournament check-in. Instead of confirming that a player has arrived on site, league opt-in tracks whether each player plans to play in the upcoming round. If you need the tournament attendance workflow, see Check-in and check-out.
Each player has one of three statuses for the upcoming round:
Waiting: The player has not responded yet.
Opted In: The player confirmed they are playing.
Opted Out: The player said they are not playing, or they missed the deadline.
Set the opt-in deadline
Open your league and go to Event Settings.
Select Set Opt-In Deadline.
Enter how many hours before the round starts opt-in should close.
Save your changes.
You can use fractional values. For example, 0.5 closes opt-in 30 minutes before the round starts.
Add opt-in reminders
After you set the deadline, you can add one or more reminders that send before the deadline. Opt-in reminders notify players through their preferred communication channels:
Push notifications
Email
SMS
Use reminders to prompt players who are still in Waiting status before opt-in closes. Keep your reminder schedule tied to the round timing you already set with the opt-in deadline.
Opt-in reminders are different from general announcements in the event feed. Use reminders for weekly availability responses, and use announcements when you need to share broader event updates. For announcement workflows, see Club feed and announcements.
Set round dates for your league
For leagues that use play dates, set your round dates first because the opt-in deadline countdown is calculated from each round date.
For Ladder leagues:
Open the Matches tab.
Click the admin button.
Click Manage League Dates.
Add each round date for your ladder league.
For Round-Robin leagues, see Managing play dates in Round-Robin leagues.
Players see these dates in the app, and the opt-in deadline countdown is calculated from each round date.
What happens each round
After a regular league round ends, player statuses reset to Waiting for the next round.
Before the next round, players use the app to opt in or opt out. For the player steps, see Opting in or out of a league week.
If you added reminders, Good Game Sports sends them before the deadline through each player's preferred notification channels.
When you generate matches, Good Game Sports only includes players whose status is Opted In.
Players who are still Waiting when the deadline passes are treated as Opted Out for that round.
In regular leagues, Good Game Sports resets players back to Waiting at about 6:00 AM in your facility’s timezone after a round ends. You can also reset everyone manually from the Players tab with Bulk Set Waiting.
What you can manage as a host
Use the Players tab to review each player’s opt-in status and filter the list by availability. In group management, player chips also show opt-in status so you can see who is available before you assign courts or groups.
If a player contacts you after the deadline, you can update their status manually before you generate matches.
League play date behavior
In leagues that use play dates—including Ladder leagues and Round-Robin leagues with rotating partners—opt-in is tracked by round date instead of one shared league-wide status. A player can be opted in for one date and opted out for another. When you generate matches for a specific date, Good Game Sports only includes players opted in for that date.
These leagues do not use the same round-to-round reset flow as regular leagues. Instead, each round date keeps its own opt-in responses.
Opted-out players appear in the Excluded section of the group editor so you can see who is not participating for that date.
If you imported players into the league, they begin in a waiting status until they respond. See Create an event with bulk player upload.
What to do next
After you set the deadline and reminders, confirm your player list, then generate matches when your opted-in players are final. If players need instructions, send them to Opting in or out of a league week.