Availability Tracking and Session Attendance

Knowing who's turning up each week changes everything. Instead of scrambling to rearrange matchups when players don't show, you can plan ahead, adjusting tables, lining up substitutes, or even rescheduling before anyone walks through the door.

ServeLeague's availability system works from both sides: players mark the dates they can't attend, and admins see an at-a-glance view of who's available for every upcoming session. Combined with session check-in, you get a complete picture of planned vs. actual attendance.

How Availability Works

Availability tracking in ServeLeague follows an opt-out model: every player is assumed available unless they mark otherwise. Players log periods of unavailability (holidays, injuries, work conflicts), and admins see those absences overlaid against the session calendar.

There are three statuses for any unavailability record:

• Upcoming: the absence period hasn't started yet
• Current: the player is currently unavailable
• Past: the absence period has ended

For any given session, each player's availability resolves to one of three states: available, unavailable, or unknown (no data recorded).

Step 1: Players Mark Their Availability

Players manage their own availability from the My Availability page, accessible from the main navigation menu. Here they can add, edit, or remove unavailability periods.

To mark time off, a player clicks Add and a form appears with:

• From and To date pickers: the range of dates they will be away
• Reason (optional): for example, "Family holiday" or "Knee injury"
• Quick presets: buttons for Today only, This week, and Next two weeks that fill in the date range with one tap

The system automatically calculates which sessions fall within that window and flags the player as unavailable for those dates.

[!TIP] Players can add unavailability for any league they're registered in. If they belong to multiple leagues across different clubs, each unavailability period is managed independently per league.

Players can also remove an unavailability record if their plans change, they delete the entry, and they'll show as available again for any affected sessions.

Step 2: Admin Calendar View

As an admin, go to Member Availability from your club dashboard. This page gives you two ways to view availability data:

Calendar View

The month-view calendar highlights every scheduled session date. Days are color-coded by how many members are marked unavailable:

• Green: all (or nearly all) players available
• Amber: a few players unavailable
• Red: several players unavailable, may need attention

Click any day to see the list of unavailable members and their reasons. If an upcoming session has unavailable players, an alert banner appears at the top linking directly to the affected session so you can take action.

List View

Switch to List view using the view buttons at the top for a table-based breakdown grouped by player. This shows each player's unavailability periods in a scannable format, making it straightforward to spot patterns like a player who is always away on the first Friday of the month.

[!TIP] The calendar highlights sessions where availability is low with alert badges. Use these early warnings to arrange substitutes or adjust your session plan before match night.

Step 3: Admin-Managed Availability

Sometimes a player can't update their own availability, perhaps they've sent an email or called ahead. Admins can record unavailability on a player's behalf:

1. Go to your league's availability page (from the league settings or admin panel)
2. Click Add Availability and select the player
3. Enter the date range and optional reason
4. Save, the player will show as unavailable for affected sessions

You can also use batch operations to mark multiple players unavailable at once, useful when a public holiday affects several members or when a venue closure cancels a session.

Step 4: Check-In on Match Night

When session night arrives, availability data meets reality through session check-in. ServeLeague offers several ways to check players in:

PIN-Based Self Check-In

When you open a session, a 4-digit PIN is generated. Players visit the join page on any device, enter the PIN, and check themselves in (see Player Self-Service for all the ways players can interact with sessions). This is the fastest option for walk-in nights.

Admin Check-In

From the Check-In page in the admin panel, you'll see today's sessions with a list of expected attendees. One tap marks a player as checked in. The check-in feed shows:

• Expected: registered and marked available, but not yet checked in
• Checked in: confirmed present
• No-show: expected but didn't arrive

Kiosk Mode

For venues with a shared tablet or display, Kiosk Mode lets players check in using their personal PIN. Set up a device at the door, and players tap in as they arrive, no admin intervention needed.

[!NOTE] Check-in is available for all league types. graded, team, drop-in, and tournament sessions. Drop-in leagues use check-in as the primary way to register who's playing each week.

Step 5: Tracking Attendance Patterns

Over time, check-in data builds a valuable attendance history. ServeLeague tracks this across several dimensions:

• Per-session attendance: see exactly who was present for each session after finalization
• Attendance history: aggregated check-in data by date shows trends across your club
• Occupancy tracking: for facility bookings, real-time occupancy counts help manage capacity

This data feeds into the Statistics and Reports section of your admin dashboard, where you can spot trends like declining attendance on certain nights or identify your most reliable players.

Step 6: Using Availability for Smarter Scheduling

Availability data isn't just for record-keeping, it actively helps you run better sessions:

Before the Session

• Review the availability calendar a day or two ahead to see who's marked as unavailable
• Arrange substitutes if key players are missing from team leagues
• Adjust table count if fewer players than usual are expected: no empty tables wasting space

During Session Setup

When creating matchups or generating a play order, the system factors in which players have checked in. Players marked unavailable or who haven't checked in won't be assigned matches.

After the Season

Use attendance patterns to inform future scheduling. If Wednesday nights consistently have lower attendance than Mondays, consider consolidating. If certain players regularly miss the first hour, you might adjust start times.

[!TIP] For drop-in leagues, availability tracking is especially powerful. Since the player list changes each week, the check-in data becomes your primary tool for understanding participation levels and planning table allocations.

Summary

ServeLeague's availability tracking connects the dots between who plans to come and who actually shows up:

1. Players self-report unavailability from their dashboard, or admins record it on their behalf
2. The calendar view gives admins an at-a-glance forecast of each session's turnout
3. Session check-in (PIN, admin, or kiosk) captures real attendance on match night
4. Attendance history reveals patterns that help you schedule smarter over time

The result: fewer surprises on match night, better-planned sessions, and a more reliable experience for everyone in your league.

What's Next?

• Player Self-Service: Learn about all the tools players have to manage their own profiles, availability, and match history
• Running Your First Session: Master the full session lifecycle from creation to finalization
• League Settings and Access: Configure league-level settings including access control and registration options