Handling Registrations
Manage player sign-ups and entry fees without chasing anyone for bank transfers.
Overview
Once you publish your tournament, players can browse it on ClubChamps and register for any of the draw categories you have set up. As the organiser, your job is to monitor incoming entries, review player details, and close registration when you are ready to generate draws.
Payments are handled automatically through Stripe -- you will never need to collect money in person or track who has paid.
Payments handled for you
Entry fees are collected automatically via Stripe when players register. The £1.99 service fee is charged to the player, not to you. You will see payment status for each entry in your dashboard.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
Continuing with the Riverside Tennis Club Summer Championship 2026, let's say you published the tournament last week and entries are starting to come in.
Monitor incoming registrations
Navigate to your tournament's management page and open the Registrations tab. You will see a list of all entries, grouped by draw category.
Each entry shows:
- Player name and profile
- Draw category they registered for (e.g. Men's Singles, Veterans 45+)
- Registration date and time
- Payment status -- Paid, Pending, or Failed
Real-time updates
The registration list updates in real time. You do not need to refresh the page to see new entries.
Review player details
Click on any entry to see the full player profile. This is useful for checking that players have registered in the correct age category or that doubles partners are both signed up.
If a player has registered for multiple draw categories (for example, Men's Singles and Men's Doubles), each entry appears separately so you can manage them independently.
Approve or manage entries
Depending on your tournament settings, entries may be automatically approved or require manual approval.
- Auto-approved entries appear immediately in the draw pool once payment is confirmed.
- Manual approval lets you review each entry before accepting it -- useful for invitation-only events or when you need to verify eligibility.
You can also remove an entry if needed (for example, if a player registered for the wrong category). Removed entries trigger a refund automatically.
Removing entries
If you remove a paid entry, the player will receive an automatic refund. Make sure to communicate with the player about why their entry was removed.
Track payment status
The Payments column shows the status of each entry:
- Paid -- Payment confirmed, entry is active
- Pending -- Payment initiated but not yet confirmed (usually resolves within minutes)
- Failed -- Payment did not go through. The player will need to try again.
You do not need to do anything for pending or failed payments -- ClubChamps handles the retry flow with the player directly.
Close registration
Registration can close in two ways:
- Automatically -- If you set a registration deadline when creating the tournament, entries close at that date and time. No action needed.
- Manually -- Navigate to your tournament settings and click Close Registration to stop accepting new entries immediately.
For the Riverside Summer Championship, the deadline was set to one week before the start date. But if all 32 spots in Men's Singles fill up early, you might close that category manually while leaving others open.
Closing registration is final
Once closed, players can no longer register for that draw category. You can reopen registration if needed, but it is best to communicate any changes to players who have already entered.
Common Scenarios
- A player registers for the wrong category. Remove their entry (they will be refunded automatically) and ask them to re-register in the correct category.
- You need to add a player manually. Some organisers want to add players who signed up in person or via email. You can add entries manually from the registration management page.
- A player wants to withdraw. Players can withdraw themselves from the registration page. If they contact you instead, you can remove their entry on their behalf.
What's Next
Once registration is closed and you have your final list of players, it is time to generate the brackets. Head over to Managing Draws to learn about seeding, bracket generation, and draw publication.
Want to see what players experience when signing up? Check out the Registering for a Tournament player guide.