An entry form needs decisions from the people running the meet. Which events can athletes enter? When do entries close? Who handles a correction after closing?
Use this checklist with your organising committee before publishing the entry link. Keep the agreed answers in one place so the person setting up entries has a clear brief.
1. Confirm the dates athletes need
The competition date is only part of the schedule. Allow for the work that follows entry closing, including checking entries and preparing information for officials.
- Confirm the meet name, venue and competition date.
- Set entry opening and closing dates, including the closing time and time zone.
- Agree when athletes will receive the timetable and any final instructions.
- Decide who can approve a late entry or a change after closing.
If the timetable is provisional, say so on the entry page. Give athletes a clear place to find updates.
2. Write down eligibility and event choices
Check the entry rules with the person responsible for competition administration. A familiar event name can still need an explanation of age groups or entry limits.
- List the events offered and the categories eligible for each one.
- Explain how an athlete’s age group is determined for this meet.
- Confirm membership or qualification requirements and how they will be checked.
- Record any entry limits or event capacity limits.
Tell the setup provider about event combinations or eligibility checks you need. Confirm how those rules will be handled before relying on the form to enforce them.
3. Ask for information your officials will use
Start with the reports needed to run the meet, then work back to the entry questions. Ask your competition or results administrator which fields and formats they need.
A club name, membership number or seed performance may have a specific purpose. Make that purpose clear and give an example where the required format could be misunderstood.
- Separate required information from optional questions.
- Agree how names and clubs should appear in reports.
- Confirm any seed-performance format or supporting information.
- Identify the reports and exports required by officials.
If you use meet-management software, confirm the supported export with the provider. Test a sample before entries open.
4. Make the payment instructions clear
Write out the fee for each entry option, including any additional items. Check that the amount displayed at payment matches what the organiser has approved.
- Confirm the applicable entry fees and how transaction charges are treated.
- Agree who handles refund requests and corrections that affect the amount paid.
- Prepare the wording for cancellation or changes to the meet.
- Check what the athlete receives as confirmation.
Keep organiser responsibilities and platform charges clear when discussing the setup. Any paid assistance should have an agreed scope.
5. Give athletes a contact for entry questions
Put a working organiser contact on the entry page and confirmation. The club should be ready to answer questions about eligibility, event choices and the meet itself.
Agree who will check that inbox and who can make entry changes. Give other committee members access to the information they need for their role.
6. Test the path from entry to organiser report
Walk through a representative entry on a phone and a computer. Use an agreed test process so test entries and payments can be identified and handled correctly.
- Check the event choices, required questions and displayed charges.
- Read the confirmation as an athlete would.
- Find the entry in the organiser view and check the required report.
- Try an entry correction and confirm who is responsible for it.
Ask the organiser responsible for entries to approve the final setup. Then share the same checked entry link through the club’s website and communications.
Talk through your next meet with EML
EML’s registration software began with Masters Athletics championships in 2010. We can discuss your entry options, payment requirements and organiser reports before agreeing a setup for your meet.
Tell us the meet date, when you want entries to open and what your officials need.