Open and close entries

An event moves through fixed stages. Each stage is changed with a button at the top of its edit page. You need permission to manage events.

The stages

Draft. Only your team can see it. Set everything up here.
Published. The event is public and shows its dates and documents, but competitors cannot enter yet.
Entries open. Competitors can start and submit entries.
Entries closed. No new entries. You work the entry list.
Running. The event is on.
Complete. The event is over.

An event can be cancelled from any stage before it is complete. Cancelling asks you to confirm.

Before you open

Check these first:

Classes, fees and the withdrawal policy are set. See Classes, capacity and the waitlist and Fees and the withdrawal policy.
Every declaration has your own wording, not the placeholder. See Required documents and declarations.
"Entries open" and "Entries close" times are right, in the event's time zone.

Open by hand

Open the event with "Edit" and check the status shown under its name.
Choose "Move to Published" when you are ready to show the event.
Choose "Move to Entries open" to start taking entries.

Open and close automatically

If you set the "Entries open" and "Entries close" times, the system moves a published event to open when the open time passes, and an open event to closed when the close time passes. It checks regularly, so allow a short delay. You can still use the buttons to open early or close early.

Close entries

Choose "Move to Entries closed". Competitors can no longer submit, and they can no longer reopen a withdrawn entry. Entries already submitted stay as they are.

Templates

A template never opens entries. Create an event from it first. See Set up an event.

If something goes wrong

The button you expect is not there. Events can only move to the next stage, so you cannot skip from Draft to Entries open. Move through Published first.
An event opened or closed when you did not expect. The entry times were set. Edit "Entries open" or "Entries close".
A competitor cannot find the event. It may still be a draft, or the entry window may not have started.

https://develop.stagewerk.com/help