> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.podplay.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.podplay.app/events/create-an-event.md).
# Create an Event
## Create an Event
### Overview
Admins create Events from the Admin Dashboard by highlighting a time slot and court, then filling in the Event details and publishing. Events are the things Customers sign up for, and each Event has its own pricing, capacity, and visibility settings that are separate from the pricing used for Court Bookings. This article covers the Event types you can choose from, the steps to create an Event, and every setting available during creation or editing.
### Event types
Choose the Event type in the **Reservation Type** section when creating an Event. Each type serves a different programming purpose.
* **Open Play** — Customers sign up, come into the Club, and play alongside other Customers who have also signed up. Anyone with an open spot can join.
* [**Clinic**](https://docs.podplay.app/events/create-an-event/class-clinic) — Education-focused Event led by a Coach. Use this type for lessons, workshops, or skill-building sessions.
* **League** — Customers sign up and compete against each other over a period of time for a championship. Leagues run across multiple dates, but Customers sign up once.
* **Tournament** — Customers sign up and compete for a championship in a single day.
* **Party** — Party is another type of social play type Event.
* **Custom Event type** — Admins can create new Event types from the Company Settings page of the Dashboard. Before creating a custom type, consider its long-term use carefully.
{% hint style="warning" %}
Once a Customer signs up for a custom Event type, that type can **never** be deleted, because it becomes a direct accounting source. Only someone with the Owner role should create a new Event type, and only after the Club has decided how it will be used long-term.
{% endhint %}
* [**Private Event**](https://docs.podplay.app/events/create-an-event/private-events) — A specific type of Event, normally reserved for birthday parties or corporate buyouts; this selection has a unique revenue category when performing revenue reconciliation.
Adding Tags to existing Events is often a better approach than a new type. Tags let Customers filter by activity type using the Quick Filter in the App without requiring a new Event type.
### Create an Event
Admins create Events from the Admin Dashboard by highlighting a time slot and court, then filling in the Event details and publishing.
1. **Highlight the time slot and court.** In the Admin Dashboard, click and drag to highlight the specific time and court or table where the Event will take place.
2. **Create the Event.** Select **Create an Event** from the action menu that appears.
3. **Choose the Event type.** In the **Reservation Type** section, choose the type of Event you want to create.
4. **Fill in the Event details.** Complete the required fields:
* **Event Name**
* **Event Price** — set separate rates for Members and Non-members in the Admission Rate section
* **Event Picture** (recommended size: 1200x630)
5. **Publish the Event.** Change the publishing status from **Draft** to **Published**.
6. **Book.** Click the **Book** button at the bottom to confirm.
Once published, Customers can sign up for the Event. In the Reservations tab of the App, they will see the specific court or table assigned to their Event.
{% hint style="info" %}
Event pricing is separate from the Member vs. Non-member pricing used for Court Bookings. Every Event requires its own pricing.
{% endhint %}
#### Event descriptions
Use the description field to communicate details Customers should know before arriving, such as rules, pricing differences between Members and Non-members, and what to bring. Descriptions support Markdown formatting, including headers, bold, italic, underline, quotes, and alerts.
### Event settings
These settings are available when creating or editing an Event from the Admin Dashboard. Most are found in the **Settings** tab of the Event side panel.
#### Admission Rate
Membership perks are dynamic. Customers who sign up for your Memberships receive perks you choose before the Environment is set up, or as you increase the complexity of your Environment. The pricing of Booking a Court, participating in an Event, and joining a League or Tournament can all be set to different amounts for Members and Non-members.
For an Event, set the Member and Non-member prices in the **Admission Rate** section during creation. Every Event requires its own pricing, and Customers pay the chosen amount when they join.
For a Reservation, the Member and Non-member pricing is set by the Environment. If your Club wants to change the pricing for a Reservation, contact your PodPlay Customer Success Manager (CSM) for assistance.
#### Capacity and admission
Set the total number of Customers who can participate in the **Capacity and Admission** section. Enter the preferred number in **Total Teams** with **Team Size** set to 1. This means each team is one person, so Total Teams equals total participants.
If you enter a value greater than 0 in **Max Guests per Person**, Customers can pay for a Guest's spot during signup. A Customer who brings one Guest occupies two spots toward the total capacity. See our article on Guest Pass for Events for more detail.
#### Members-only Events
To restrict an Event to Members only, check the **Members only** box. Non-members will not see or be able to sign up for the Event.
You can set this during Event creation, or apply it to an already-published Event by opening the Event, going to the **Settings** tab, scrolling to **Admission**, checking **Members only**, and saving.
If your Club has multiple Membership types and you want to restrict signup to only specific Memberships rather than all Members, use **Membership Restrictions**:
1. Create an Event.
2. Click on **Membership Restrictions**.
3. Toggle **Members only**.
4. Select the specific Memberships allowed to sign up.
5. Complete the remaining Event details and publish.
The Event will be visible to all Members, but only Customers with the selected Membership types can sign up.
#### Courts and tables
An Admin can add courts to increase capacity or release courts to free them up for other bookings.
To add or remove courts:
1. Click into the Event.
2. Navigate to the **Settings** tab.
3. Scroll to the **Tables Assignment** section.
* To add: click **+ Table**, then select the court name.
* To remove: click the three vertical dots next to the court name, then select **Release table**.
From the same three-dot menu, Admins can also **Unlock table** (which allows the PodPlay algorithm to reassign the court if needed) or **Move** the court (the same as drag-and-drop). See [Algorithmic Court Assignment](https://help.podplay.app/en/articles/733377) and [Table Assignment Status icons](https://help.podplay.app/en/articles/2275969) for more context.
To move an Event to a different court directly on the Dashboard, click and hold the Event block, drag it to an open slot on the target court, then release and confirm in the pop-up by clicking **Move**. To change the time or date of an Event, use the Reschedule feature instead.
#### Attendee name visibility
By default, the App shows each signed-up Customer's first name and first initial of their last name in the Attendees section of the Event page. Customers can turn off their own visibility under **Account → Preferences → Social Settings** in the App. When a Customer turns this off, their name is hidden and the Event shows the total player count (for example, "X players") instead.
An Admin can also turn off name visibility for a specific Event. Go to **Advanced Features** in the Event Settings and toggle off **Public Attendee List**. This is independent from **Show Spots Left** — see [Attendee List and Spots Left Configuration](https://help.podplay.app/en/articles/) for more detail.
#### Spotlighting an Event
Adding the **Featured** tag to an Event makes it appear in the Programs/Community tab of the App. Use this to surface Events you want Customers to discover first.
#### Auto-publish / Scheduling
Scheduling and the FOMO feature both control when an Event becomes visible or available for signup, and can stagger access between Members and Non-members.
To publish an Event at a future date, or to make it visible to Members before Non-members:
1. Create the Event and fill in all details.
2. Click the **Publishing status** dropdown (currently labeled **Draft**).
3. Select **Schedule**.
4. Choose how many days before the Event it should publish for Members and for Non-members.
5. Verify the publish date shown below.
6. Check **Publish** and click **Save**.
This is useful for building out programming in advance.
{% hint style="warning" %}
If you plan to copy a Scheduled Event, do so before it has published for either group. Copying a partially published Event carries that published state to the copies.
{% endhint %}
#### Team Signup
The Team Size feature is visible when creating an Event. This aspect of an Event will be editable for every type of Event, excluding Open Plays. Meaning, it is editable for Clinics, Leagues, Tournaments, and Party Event types.
The Team Size is part of our **Team Sign-ups** feature. It is used when the Club wants to track which Customers are signing up with each other. The Team Size feature is available for Clinics, Leagues, Tournaments, and Party Events, not Open Plays. Use it when the Club wants to track which Customers are signing up together.
When enabled, a Customer can pay for a friend's spot during signup and send an invite after their signup is confirmed. If the friend has a Membership and the Event has a Member discount, they receive that discount automatically.
### Auto-Cancel Events for Low Turnout
Auto-Cancel for Low Turnout cancels an Event automatically when it has fewer than a minimum number of attendees at a set time before the Event starts. This lets a Club avoid running Events that never reached enough signups without an Admin having to watch and cancel them by hand. The cancellation behaves the same as a manual cancellation with the "Low Turnout" reason, and every registered Customer receives a cancellation email.
#### Set Auto-Cancel on an individual Event
1. Open the Event Drawer for the Event and expand the **Cancellations** section.
2. Under **Auto Cancel for Low Turnout**, enter the **Minimum Attendees** required to keep the Event live.
3. Set **Time Before Event To Cancel** — how many hours before the start time the attendee count is checked. If the Event does not meet the Minimum Attendees by that time, it is canceled automatically.
Leave both fields blank to disable Auto-Cancel for that Event.
#### Set Club-wide defaults for Open Play
Open Play Events can pre-fill Auto-Cancel values so an Admin does not have to set them on every Event.
1. Go to **Company Settings → Booking → Community Events**.
2. Enter a **Default Open Play Minimum Attendees for Auto-Cancel** (accepts 1–10).
3. Choose a **Default Open Play Time Before Event To Auto-Cancel** from the preset options.
Both fields are blank by default. Once set, new Open Play Events pre-fill these values in the Event Drawer's Auto Cancel for Low Turnout section, and you can still adjust or clear them on any individual Event.
{% hint style="info" %}
These defaults apply only to Open Play. Other Event types must be configured per Event.
{% endhint %}
#### What happens when an Event auto-cancels
* The Event is canceled with the "Low Turnout" reason, the same as a manual cancellation.
* All registered Customers receive a cancellation email.
* The cancellation record indicates the Event was auto-canceled, so Club staff can tell it apart from a manual cancellation when reviewing Event history.
#### Single Events vs. Event Series
A **Single Event** is held on one specific day and time. This is the default for most Events.
An **Event Series** spans multiple days. Customers sign up for the entire Series at once and are registered for all sessions. For example, an eight-week Clinic Series on Mondays at 5 pm requires one signup that covers all eight sessions. Any Event type can be created as a Series.
---
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