Create a carnival

Create a carnival with grade or age grouping, dates and event-completion settings.

Each carnival brings together the events, competitors and results for one school sports carnival. When you create it, you give it a name and dates, then choose whether students compete by year level or age.

This guide covers both options. If you have not decided which your school needs, compare grade and age grouping first.

• A carnival grouped by grade uses school year levels.
• A carnival grouped by age uses age brackets.

The form also includes Automatic Event Completion. With it on, choosing Done on the results screen completes an event that has a result. Turn it off if staff will review and complete each event separately. You can read more in Complete or reopen an event.

A carnival grouped by grade

Choose Grade to use school year levels for event groups. You will add events and competitors after creating the carnival.

1. On the Dashboard, click Create Carnival to open the new carnival form.

2. Type a Name for the carnival that staff will recognise.

3. Choose a Carnival Type. Types (like Athletics or Swimming) are set up in your school settings and control which events are available.

4. Pick the Start Date and End Date the carnival runs. The end date must be on or after the start date.

5. The Age Grouping Method decides how competitors are bracketed. Choose Grade to have students compete within their own year level, with no age brackets to configure.

6. Choose whether to use Automatic Event Completion, which is on by default. With it on, clicking Done after entering results completes the event. Turn it off if you prefer to complete events manually.

7. Click Create Carnival to save. You’re taken straight to the new carnival’s page, where you can start adding events.

A carnival grouped by age

Choose Age to group competitors by their age on a calculation date. Students need dates of birth to be placed in the correct age group.

1. From the Dashboard, open the form with Create Carnival and give this carnival a Name.

2. Set the Carnival Type, then pick the Start Date and End Date the carnival runs.

3. Change the Age Grouping Method to Age. The form expands to reveal the age settings — format, calculation date, and the list of age categories.

4. Age Group Format controls how each bracket is labelled. Age shows the competition age itself (e.g. “Age 11”), while Under labels it as the next year up (e.g. “U/12”). Choose the format your school uses.

5. The Age Group Calculation Date is the date each student’s age is calculated on. For example, a student who is 11 on that date has a competition age of 11, even if they turn 12 before carnival day. The default is 31 December of the previous year. Check it against your school’s competition rules and change it if needed.

6. Age Categories are the brackets the carnival actually runs. Tick each age you need. The lowest selected category includes younger ages; later categories cover the ages after the previous selected category. Read the range beside each category to check that your choices cover the students who will take part.

7. Choose whether to use Automatic Event Completion. Turn it off if you want to review results before completing each event manually. Leave it on to complete events when you choose Done after entering results.

8. Click Create Carnival to save. The carnival opens ready for events, now grouped by the age brackets you chose.