Team Registration
Team registration lets players form teams within a tournament section. A captain creates the team and shares a join code; teammates use the code to reserve seats during their own registration. Organizers control team size, rating limits, join policies, and payment models per section.
Team registration is configured per section. A tournament can have a mix of individual and team sections.
Enabling Team Registration
Team registration is available on any section that uses ChessRoster online registration. To enable it:
Open the tournament editor
Navigate to your tournament and click Edit Tournament in the admin bar.
Go to the Sections step
Open Step 4: Section Details and expand the section you want to configure.
Mark the section as a team section
In the section settings, set the Tournament Type to a team type (Team Swiss, Team Match, etc.) or toggle the team section flag. The section must also have online registration enabled.
Configure team settings
Once a section is marked as a team section with registration enabled, a Team Registration accordion appears at the bottom of the section. Expand it to configure all team-specific settings.
Save team settings
Click Save team settings inside the accordion. Team settings save independently from the main tournament form.
Team Settings Reference
The team registration settings panel contains the following fields:
Enrollment Style
Controls who can create teams.
| Option | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Self-service | Any player can create a team from the tournament’s Teams tab |
| Captain required | Only the organizer or assigned captains can create teams (coming soon) |
Open-Seat Join Policy
Controls how empty seats on a team get filled.
| Option | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Invite only | Players must receive an invitation from the captain to join |
| Open join | Anyone with the team’s join code can reserve a seat |
| Captain decides | Each captain chooses their own team’s join policy at creation time |
Payment Mode
Determines who pays each player’s entry fee.
| Option | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Each player pays for themselves | Each player pays their own entry fee at registration |
Captain pays all and Captain choice payment modes are coming soon. Currently, only Each player pays for themselves is available.
Solo Entry Mode
Controls whether players can register for a team section without joining a team.
| Option | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Disallow | Players must join a team — solo registration is blocked |
| Allow solo | Players can register without a team and play as an individual |
Team Composition Rules
The Team composition rules group combines size limits and rating requirements — everything that governs what a valid team roster looks like.
- Min team size / Max team size — the range of filled seats a team must stay within. Both are optional (blank = no limit); teams that fall outside the range show a warning chip.
- Rating method — how the team’s combined rating is calculated from its players: Average (mean of claimed players) or Sum (total of claimed players).
- Min team rating / Max team rating — optional combined-rating bounds. Teams that violate them show warning chips on the Teams tab and captain dashboard.
Captain Permissions
The Captain permissions group controls what the captain can do on behalf of the team, plus the deadline at which those editing permissions expire.
- Captain can edit roster — when enabled, the captain can add and remove players from the roster.
- Captain can send invites — when enabled, the captain can invite players to open seats.
- Roster lock deadline — optional datetime after which the captain can no longer modify the roster. Use this to freeze team compositions before the tournament starts. Leave blank for no deadline; the captain can also manually lock the roster early from their dashboard.
Captain Price Adjustment
An optional dollar amount added to (positive) or subtracted from (negative) the captain’s own seat fee. Use this to offer captains a discount for organizing their team, or to charge a surcharge for the administrative role. It only affects the captain’s seat — other seats pay the section’s normal fee.
How Teams Work (Player Perspective)
Once team registration is enabled on a section, players interact with it through three surfaces:
Teams Tab
A new Teams tab appears on the tournament detail page. It lists all teams grouped by section, showing team name, captain, status, seat counts, rating, and rules compliance. A Create a team button links to the team wizard.
Captain Team Wizard
When a player clicks Create a team, they see a simple form:
- Section — pick the team section
- Team name — must be unique within the section
- Seats to create — between the section’s min and max team size
- Join policy — only shown when the section uses “Captain decides”
After submission, the captain receives a join code (6-character alphanumeric) to share with teammates.
Team Choice Step (During Registration)
When a player registers for a team-enabled section, a Team Choice step appears in the registration form between section selection and payment. The player can:
- Join by code — enter the 6-character join code from their captain
- Register solo — only available when the section allows solo entry
After entering a valid code and clicking “Join this team,” the player’s seat is reserved and they proceed to payment.
For the full player walkthrough, see the Player Team Registration Guide.
Managing Teams
Viewing Teams
The Teams tab on the tournament page shows all teams organized by section. Each team row displays:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Team | Team name |
| Captain | Name of the team captain (or “unset” if none) |
| Status | DRAFT, OPEN, FULL, LOCKED, or CANCELLED |
| Seats | Filled seats / total seats |
| Rating | Combined team rating (average or sum, per section) |
| Rules | Size and rating compliance chips (green or red) |
Team Statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| DRAFT | Team created but not yet visible to other players |
| OPEN | Accepting new members |
| FULL | All seats are filled — automatically set when no open seats |
| LOCKED | Captain or organizer froze the roster |
| CANCELLED | Team has been cancelled |
Status transitions happen automatically: when all seats fill, the team moves to FULL; when a player is removed, it reverts to OPEN.
Captain Dashboard
Captains manage their team from the captain dashboard (accessible via the Teams tab or the link shown after team creation). The dashboard shows:
- Team header — team name, section, status, seat count, and rules compliance chips
- Share panel — join code with copy button
- Roster table — every seat with its index, role, status, player name, email, and payment responsibility
- Management actions — lock roster button (prevents further joins)
Per-seat actions available to captains (when captain editing is enabled):
| Action | When available | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Invite | Open seats or uninvited paid seats | Opens inline form to send an invitation |
| Resend invite | Seats with a pending invitation | Resends the invitation email |
| Cancel invite | Seats with a pending invitation | Cancels the invitation, reopens the seat |
| Remove player | Any filled seat (reserved, invited, claimed, paid) | Removes the player and reopens the seat |
Locking a Roster
The captain can lock the roster at any time by clicking Lock roster on the dashboard. Once locked:
- No new players can join the team
- The captain can no longer modify the roster
- The management actions card disappears
Organizers can also set an automatic lock datetime in the team settings — after that time, all captain roster edits are blocked regardless of whether the captain clicked Lock.
Pairing Integration
When teams exist for a section, the system automatically creates the corresponding pairing-engine records. These records sync when:
- A team is created or cancelled
- Players join or leave
- The captain locks the roster
Once pairings have been generated for a section, team creation and modifications are blocked to preserve pairing integrity.
Related Topics
- Creating Tournaments — full wizard walkthrough including section setup
- Editing & Deleting Tournaments — modify team settings after creation
- Managing Participants — handle individual player actions within teams