Managing Participants
This page covers the day-to-day participant management tasks available on the Registrations tab of the tournament management panel. For a full overview of every tab, see the Tournament Management Panel reference.
Access the management panel by going to your tournament page and clicking Manage (visible to staff only).
Viewing the Roster
The Registrations tab shows all players who have registered for your tournament.
Display options:
- All Players — all players in a single list (default)
- Group by Section — players organized by section
Filtering:
- Search by player name or email address
- Filter chips: Active, Withdrawn, Invited
- Clear Filters resets all active filters
Registering a Player Manually
As a staff member, you can register players directly without them going through the self-registration flow.
Open the Registrations tab
Go to your tournament’s management panel and click Registrations.
Click Add New Player
The admin registration form opens.
Enter the player’s details
Fill in the player’s name, email (optional), phone number, section, and any custom question answers. Real-time eligibility checking shows whether the player meets section requirements.
Set a payment status
Choose how the registration fee will be handled:
- Paid — Player has already paid (cash, check, etc.). Registration is marked complete.
- Unpaid — No payment expected (comp entry, sponsor spot). Registration is marked complete.
- Invoice — Creates a PayPal invoice sent to the player’s email to collect payment.
Submit
The player is added to the roster immediately.
Viewing Registration Details
Click View Details (or the info icon) in any player’s actions menu to open the Registration Details dialog. This shows:
- Player name, email, phone
- Federation IDs (USCF, CFC, FIDE)
- Section, pairing rating, registration timestamp
- Full fee breakdown, including any discounts applied
- PayPal payment history
- Outstanding invoices, with options to resend or cancel them
Emailing an Individual Player
Each player row has a copy-email icon. Click it to copy the player’s email address to your clipboard, then paste it into your email client.
Processing Withdrawals
Find the player in the roster
Use the search bar or scroll to locate the withdrawing player.
Open the actions menu
Click the ⋮ icon on the player’s row and select Withdraw.
Choose a refund option
If the player paid via PayPal, select a refund option and enter a required note explaining the reason:
| Option | Amount refunded | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|
| Default Refund | Auto-calculated based on the tournament’s refund policy (Standard or Full) | All staff |
| Custom Refund | Enter any specific amount up to the total paid | Organizer admins & site admins |
| No Refund | Withdraw the player without issuing a refund | Organizer admins & site admins |
The note field is required and is recorded in the registration history for your records.
Confirm and notify
If staff notification recipients are configured, you will be asked whether to send a withdrawal notification before the withdrawal is finalized.
Refunds are processed through PayPal and can take a few business days to appear in the player’s account. Platform fees are nonrefundable regardless of refund option.
For bundle registrations (players registered across multiple tournaments), bundle-specific withdrawal logic applies. Refund options may be limited to Net Fee and None.
Requesting Additional Payment
If a player needs to pay more — for example, after changing to a higher-priced section — use Request Additional Payment in the player’s actions menu. This sends a PayPal invoice to the player for the specified amount.
This option is available for active players when PayPal is configured for your organization.
Issuing a Standalone Refund
You can issue a refund without withdrawing the player — useful when correcting an overcharge or honoring a partial discount after registration.
Open the actions menu
Click the ⋮ icon on the player’s row and select Refund.
Choose a preset and enter a note
Select Default Refund, Custom Refund (and enter the amount), or No Refund. The note field is required.
Submit
ChessRoster processes the PayPal refund and sends an email confirmation to the player. The registration status is updated to reflect the refund.
The Refund action is only available for players who paid via PayPal. If director refunds are not enabled for your organization, tournament directors will not see this option — only organizer admins can issue refunds.
Managing Bye Requests
Each player row has a direct bye management control. Click the bye chip or bye icon on the row to open the Manage Byes dialog, where you can set half-point and zero-point bye requests for individual rounds.
You can also edit byes through the standard Edit action in the player’s actions menu.
Per-Player Actions Summary
| Action | When available | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Edit | Always | Edit name, email, section, byes, and custom answers |
| Request Additional Payment | Active, PayPal configured | Send a PayPal invoice for extra fees |
| Withdraw | Active players | Remove from active pairings with optional refund |
| Refund | Players with PayPal orders | Process a standalone refund without withdrawing |
| View Details | Always | Full registration info, payment history, invoices |