Atlas / tournament documentation

Check-in

The check-in desk, the self check-in switch and the roster freeze: who is in the building, how arrivals are recorded, and what freezing the roster does.

Check-in is the day-of desk for recording who has arrived. It is the Check-in view of the Field screen: the third item in the Field rail, labelled Check-in with the line Who is in the building, at /tournaments/<tournament id>/admin/field?view=checkin. The older address /admin/check-in redirects there. A second page at /admin/check-in/settings holds the self check-in switch and the roster freeze. The desk lists every active competitor entry and every judge still on the roster, puts the people paired in the live round first, and lets staff type a name and press Enter to mark someone present.

A check-in is a record that a competitor or judge is present. It does not seat anyone. It matters in two ways: a round's release check reads it, and the Field rail counts people who are not yet here. See Registration and field for the rail and Judges for the judge roster.

Who can use it

Role	What it can do on Check-in
Platform admin	Everything on the desk and the settings page: check in, undo, group check-in, drop, restore, freeze the roster, turn self check-in on or off.
Organization owner or admin	The same as a platform admin, for tournaments of the organization.
Tournament admin seat, admin	The same as a platform admin.
Tournament admin seat, tab	The same as an admin seat. Nothing on Check-in moves money, so no control is withheld from a tab seat.
Compliance seat	Cannot open Check-in or its settings page. The admin layout sends a compliance seat to Records, which it may read.
Coach, competitor, judge, observer	Cannot open the desk. A competitor on an online tournament and a coach for their own entries can record arrival from their own screens, under the rules in Self check-in.

The bar

Control	What it does	Default or limit
Check-in	The title of the view.	Not applicable.
Freeze roster	Freezes the roster at once with no confirmation. Shown only while the roster is not frozen. See What freezing the roster does.	Hidden after the first freeze. There is no control that unfreezes.
Settings	Opens the check-in settings page.	Always shown.
Roster frozen	Status pill shown after a freeze.	Takes priority over the other two pills.
Self-check-in on	Status pill shown when the self check-in switch is on and the roster is not frozen.	Shown only while the roster is open.
Self-check-in off	Status pill shown when the switch is off and the roster is not frozen.	Off for a new tournament unless it was turned on.
N of M here · N to go	The first N is the number of desk entries currently checked in. M is the number of desk entries, competitors and judges together. The second N is M minus the first.	Computed on each load, and adjusted at once when a person is checked in or undone.
N paired in Round and not here	Shown only when at least one person paired or seated in the live round is not checked in. Round is the name of the live round, or the words the live round.	Hidden at zero.

Two banners can appear under the bar. A red banner carries the error from the last action. A green banner carries the result of the last action, for example Checked in. Only one of them shows: an error replaces the confirmation.

Which round the desk is about

A round is a scheduled set of debates, and a pairing is one debate: two entries in a room with a judge. The desk is about one round, called the live round on this page. The live round is the latest round that has at least one pairing and is not marked completed. A round that is paired but not yet released counts, because attendance decides whether it can be released. If no round has a pairing yet, the desk has no live round: every person reads Not in the live round yet, and the bar shows no paired count.

A round is out when its status is in progress or any of its pairings is released. Released means published to competitors and judges. For a round that is out, the desk stops saying that release is held and says instead that the round is already out.

Byes are skipped. A bye is a round in which an entry is not paired and receives a win. An entry holding a bye is not counted as paired.

Who is listed. Every competitor entry with status active appears, one row per entry, a pair shown as Name & Partner. Every judge on the roster whose status is not withdrawn appears, whether or not the judge has accepted or been approved. A judge who has not accepted a place is named from the public judge list. Waitlisted entries are not listed. Dropped entries appear only in the Dropped strip.

Check someone in

Control	What it does	Default or limit
Check someone in	Label of the search box. The box takes focus when the desk opens.	Searches name, partner name and school, ignoring case. A judge's school reads Judge roster, so typing judge finds judges.
Search box	Shows up to five matches from people who are not here and people who are here. The placeholder begins Name, partner, school or judge and says that Enter checks in the top match.	Five matches at most. Nothing is shown until something is typed.
Enter	Checks in the first match who is not already here. A pair entry is checked in with the partner marked present.	Does nothing when every match is already here, or when the roster is frozen.
Competitor, Judge	The role label at the start of each match.	Not applicable.
Enter · Both here	Button on the first match when that match is a pair entry. Checks in both partners.	A pair entry is an entry in an event with two speakers per side.
Enter · Check in	Button on the first match when that match is a single entry or a judge.	Disabled while a save is pending or the roster is frozen.
Both here, Check in	The same buttons on the other matches, without the Enter prefix.	As above.
Undo · here time	Shown instead of the check-in button for a match who is already here. Undoes that check-in.	Time is the arrival time in the tournament time zone. Disabled when the roster is frozen.
Nobody on the roster matches that. Check the spelling, or add them in Registrations.	Empty result message.	Shown when text is typed and nothing matches.
Roster frozen. Check-in changes are disabled.	Notice under the search box after a freeze.	Shown only while frozen.

A note under the search box reads: For a pair, Both here records the entry as complete. Use Partner absent only when the named competitor is present.

Checking in a person who is already checked in changes nothing and records nothing. The record of a check-in keeps who marked it. The Here list shows that as self when the person checked themselves in, as a short name such as J. Smith for a desk worker, as tab when the worker's name cannot be read, and as you for a mark made in the current browser session.

Not here yet

The left column lists everyone who is not checked in. People paired or seated in the live round come first, then the rest, each group in name order.

Control	What it does	Default or limit
Not here yet · N	Column heading with the count of people not here.	A green dot at zero, a red dot otherwise.
Paired in Round first	Reminder of the sort order.	Round is the live round name, or the words the live round.
All, Competitors, Judges	Filter chips with counts. They narrow the list without changing any record.	All is selected on first visit. The choice is remembered for the browser session.
Group check-in	Label of a row of buttons, one per school.	Shown only when a school has more than one competitor still out.
Check in School · N	Checks in all N competitors of that school who are still out, in one action.	Competitor entries only, never judges. Entries with no school listed are never grouped. Disabled when the roster is frozen.
No school has more than one person still out	Replaces the group buttons when none applies.	Not applicable.
Dropped · N, Hide dropped	Shows or hides the Dropped strip.	Shown only when at least one entry is dropped. Hidden at first.
Check in	Checks in a single entry or a judge.	Disabled while a save is pending or the roster is frozen.
Both here	Checks in a pair entry with the partner present.	Replaces Check in for a pair entry.
Partner absent	Checks in the named competitor and records that the partner is not present. The entry then shows partner absent in the Here list.	Shown only for a pair entry. Disabled when the roster is frozen.
Drop Name	Starts a drop of that competitor. See Drop a competitor from the desk.	Competitors only. Hidden when the roster is frozen.
Everyone on the roster is checked in. Nothing is holding a round on attendance.	Empty state of the column.	Shown when the filtered list is empty.

Each row has a second line. For a person paired in the live round it reads Paired for a competitor or Seated for a judge, then the round name, then the room if one is set, then either the round cannot release without them, or the round is already out. A person who is not in the live round reads Not in followed by the round name and yet. A paired person has a red bar at the left edge of the row.

Here

Control	What it does	Default or limit
Here · N	Column heading with the count of people checked in.	Green dot.
Latest first	Reminder of the sort order.	Newest arrival at the top.
partner absent	Marker on an entry whose partner was recorded as absent.	Shown only for that record.
Time and marked by	The arrival time and who recorded it.	Time is in the tournament time zone, 24 hour clock.
Undo	Marks the check-in as ended and moves the person back to Not here yet. The earlier record is kept with an end time; it is not deleted.	Disabled when the roster is frozen. A later check-in creates a new record.

Dropped strip

The strip lists each dropped entry with its school and a Restore button. Restore puts the entry back to active at once and asks nothing. The strip is not affected by a roster freeze. A dropped entry stays out of every future pairing. The drop and the restore are recorded in Records.

Footer line

The footer counts blocking people. A blocking person is someone paired in the live round who is not here, plus someone who is here with the partner recorded as absent and who is paired. The wording changes with the count and with whether the round is out.

Footer text	When it shows
N people paired in Round are not here. Release is held until they arrive, are replaced, or are dropped.	At least one blocking person and the round is not out.
N people paired in Round are not here, and Round is already out. Check them in, replace them, or drop them.	At least one blocking person and the round is out.
Everyone paired in Round is here. The round can release.	No blocking person and the round is not out.
Everyone paired in Round is here.	No blocking person and the round is out.
Freezing the roster stops all check-in changes and lets Round release	Right side of the footer when the round is not out.
Freezing the roster stops all check-in changes	Right side of the footer when the round is out.

What check-in changes in the release check

A round's release check lists findings, each either blocking or a warning. A blocking finding refuses the release. Check-in state feeds three findings.

Finding	Severity	When it appears
Competitor is not checked in	Warning	A paired competitor has no current check-in. A warning does not refuse the release.
Partner is marked absent at check-in	Blocking	A paired entry has a current check-in with partner absent. Fix it by checking the partner in, replacing the entry, or dropping it.
Competitor is checked in and in no pairing this round	Blocking	A competitor in the round's event is checked in but appears in no pairing. Applies to preliminary rounds only, never to elimination rounds.

A competitor with no event, or a round with no event, is treated as matching. The roster freeze is not read by the release check. When Setup has the automatic release switch on, every desk write that can clear a finding, a check-in, an undo, a group check-in or a roster change, runs the check again and releases any round that now passes. The desk then adds The check passed, so the round released itself. to its confirmation.

Check-in and Finalize

Finalize closes the tournament. It refuses while any active competitor entry has no current check-in. The refusal reads Check in or account for every active competitor before finalizing this tournament. To account for an entry that never came, drop it. Judges are not tested for check-in at Finalize. Undoing a check-in puts the entry back in the count.

Drop a competitor from the desk

A drop removes the competitor from every future pairing. If a pairing of theirs is released and has no result, the opponent receives a walkover, which is a win awarded because the other side did not debate, and the opponent and the judges are told. A pairing that already has a result is left as it is. The drop is confirmed by typing the competitor's name, and the server checks the typed name again.

Control	What it does	Default or limit
Drop Name	Opens the confirmation for that competitor. The name is on the button so that two rows can be told apart.	Competitors only.
Type Name	Placeholder of the confirmation field. The typed name is compared with the entry's name after removing capitals and extra spaces.	Autocomplete is off.
Confirm drop of Name	Submits the drop.	Disabled until the typed name matches.
Cancel	Closes the confirmation and clears the typed name.	Not applicable.
Restore	Puts a dropped entry back to active. Appears in the Dropped strip.	Asks for no confirmation.

Check-in settings

The settings page is reached from the Settings button and from the address /admin/check-in/settings. It has a back link, the tournament name, the heading Check-in settings and two sections.

Control	What it does	Default or limit
Back to check-in	Returns to the desk.	Not applicable.
Participant self-check-in	Section title. The text reads Allow competitors and judges to record their own arrival. Admins can always check people in manually.	See Self check-in for what the switch reaches in practice.
Enabled, Disabled	Shows the current state of the switch.	Disabled for a tournament that has never turned it on.
Enable, Disable	Flips the switch and writes a Records entry. The desk then confirms Check-in setting saved.	Available to any admin seat. The switch does not stop admins from checking people in.
Roster freeze	Section title.	Not applicable.
Registration changes remain open.	Status text before a freeze.	Shown while the roster is open.
Frozen followed by a date and time	Status text after a freeze. The time is the first freeze, in the tournament time zone.	A second freeze does not change the time.
Freeze roster	Asks Freeze the roster for round one? Admin overrides remain available. and freezes the roster after a yes.	Hidden after a freeze. The confirmation names round one, but the freeze is not tied to any round.

Self check-in

The switch Participant self-check-in gates check-ins made by people other than staff. In practice it reaches two paths, both limited to online tournaments.

Competitor. On an online tournament with the switch on and the roster open, a competitor with an active entry sees a check-in control on their own tournament page and can record their own arrival. The desk then shows them as here, marked self.
Coach. On an online tournament with the switch on and the roster open, a coach can mark the coach's own entries present from the coach screen. The same conditions apply, and a tournament that is completed or cancelled refuses it.
In person tournaments. Staff check people in at the desk. The switch does not open self check-in on an in person tournament, whatever its state.
Judges. The database permits a judge to check themselves in when the switch is on, but no judge screen has a control for it. Judges are checked in at the desk.

A self check-in is refused when the roster is frozen, when the entry is dropped, or when the switch is off. A repeated tap is treated as already done. The competitor sees one of the messages listed under Troubleshooting.

What freezing the roster does

Freezing records the time in the tournament record and changes the following. It cannot be reversed from the product.

On the desk. Check in, Both here, Partner absent, Undo, Check in School and the search buttons are disabled, and Enter checks in nobody. The Freeze roster button and every Drop button disappear. The pill reads Roster frozen. Restore in the Dropped strip still works.
For registrants. After a freeze the database refuses roster changes made by accounts that are not admins: a new registration, an edit or a removal. The registrant sees roster is frozen; an administrator must approve this change. Payments recorded by the server, such as a Stripe payment arriving, are still accepted.
For self check-in and coaches. Both are refused after a freeze. The competitor is told that the roster is frozen and to ask tournament staff to check them in, and the coach is told to ask the tab room.
For admins. An admin can still add, edit, drop, restore and promote entries from the Registrations view. The server action behind the desk's check-in buttons does not read the freeze, so the disabled buttons are an interface rule, not a refusal by the server.
For the release check. Nothing. The release check does not read the freeze, despite the footer's wording.

Tasks

Check in one person at the desk.

Open Field, then Check-in.
Type part of the name, school or partner in Check someone in.
Press Enter to check in the top match, or select the button on another match. Select Both here for a pair entry, or Partner absent if only the named competitor is present.
Read the confirmation under the bar. The person moves to the Here list with the time.

The count in the bar and the Check-in count in the Field rail fall by one.

Check in a whole school.

Open Field, then Check-in.
In Group check-in, select Check in followed by the school name.

Every competitor of that school who was still out moves to Here. If any of them is not active, the group is refused and nobody is checked in.

Undo a check-in.

In the Here list, find the person.
Select Undo.

The person returns to Not here yet and is counted as not here in the rail.

Drop a competitor who will not arrive.

In Not here yet, select Drop followed by the competitor's name.
Type the name exactly as shown in the placeholder.
Select Confirm drop of followed by the name.

The competitor moves to the Dropped strip. If the competitor was in a released pairing without a result, the opponent receives the walkover and the notice. Registrations shows the entry as dropped.

Restore a dropped competitor.

Select Dropped followed by a count, beside the group check-in row.
Select Restore beside the name.

The entry is active again and appears in Not here yet.

Turn self check-in on for an online tournament.

Open Field, then Check-in, then Settings.
In Participant self-check-in, select Enable.

The pill on the desk reads Self-check-in on. Competitors with active entries now see a check-in control on their tournament page.

Freeze the roster.

Open Field, then Check-in.
Select Freeze roster. On the settings page the same button asks for confirmation first.

The pill reads Roster frozen, the freeze time shows on the settings page and the desk's check-in buttons are disabled.

Troubleshooting

Message	What it means	What to do
You do not have admin access to this tournament.	The signed in account holds no admin seat that can act on this tournament.	Sign in with an admin or tab seat account, or ask an owner of the organization for a seat.
Could not check your admin access. Try again.	The access check could not run, twice in a row. The account was not refused.	Repeat the action. If it persists, reload the page.
Invalid check-in target.	The form sent a person that is neither a competitor nor a judge, or an identifier that is not valid.	Reload the desk and try again from the list.
Invalid competitor group.	A group check-in named no competitors, or an identifier that is not valid.	Reload the desk and use the group button again.
Only active competitors on this tournament roster can be checked in as a group.	At least one member of the group is dropped, waitlisted or not on this roster.	Reload the desk. Restore or remove that entry, then check in the rest one at a time.
Invalid roster adjustment.	A drop or restore named an entry or a status the desk does not accept.	Reload the desk and try again.
Registration not found.	The entry is not on this tournament's roster.	Reload the desk. The entry may belong to another tournament.
Type Name exactly to drop them. Nothing was changed.	The typed name did not match the competitor's name. Name is the competitor's name.	Type the name as shown in the placeholder and confirm again.
not authorized	The freeze was refused because the account is not an admin of the tournament.	Use an admin or tab seat account.
tournament not found	The freeze named a tournament that does not exist.	Reload from the tournament's own admin address.
The automatic release could not read its setting:	A desk write landed, but the automatic release could not read its switch. A detail follows the colon.	Open Rounds and release the round by hand if it is ready.
The automatic release could not read the rounds:	A desk write landed, but the rounds with unreleased pairings could not be read.	Open Rounds and check the release bar.
The automatic release could not run the check:	A desk write landed, but the release check failed to run.	Open Rounds and run the check there.
The round released itself, but not everyone in it was told:	The round released automatically and a notice to the people in it failed.	Open Rounds and send the notice by hand.
This tournament checks competitors in at the desk. Find tournament staff.	Self check-in was tried on an in person tournament. Shown to the competitor.	Check the competitor in at the desk.
Check-in is not open yet. The tab room will open it.	Self check-in was tried while the switch is off. Shown to the competitor.	Turn the switch on in Check-in settings, or check the competitor in at the desk.
The roster is frozen. Ask tournament staff to check you in.	Self check-in was tried after a freeze. Shown to the competitor.	Check the competitor in at the desk.
You are not on the roster for this tournament.	Self check-in was tried by a competitor whose entry is dropped.	Restore the entry if the drop was a mistake.
That did not go through. Try again, or ask tournament staff to check you in.	The self check-in write failed. Shown to the competitor.	Try again, or check the competitor in at the desk.
Check in or account for every active competitor before finalizing this tournament	Finalize found an active competitor with no current check-in.	Check the competitor in, or drop the entry if it will not play, then finalize again.
roster is frozen; an administrator must approve this change	A non admin account tried to change a registration after the freeze.	An admin makes the change from Registrations.

Confirmation messages

Message	When it shows
Checked in.	One person was checked in.
N checked in.	A group of N people was checked in.
Check-in undone.	A check-in was ended.
Registration marked dropped.	A competitor was dropped from the desk.
Registration marked active.	A competitor was restored from the desk.
Roster frozen.	The roster was frozen.
Check-in setting saved.	The self check-in switch was changed.
The check passed, so the round released itself.	Added after any of the above when a round released automatically. For more than one round it reads that N rounds released themselves.
You are checked in. The tab room can see you.	Shown to a competitor after a successful self check-in.