Overview
Pools are subdivisions that sit within a Competition's Grade. They're useful for creating geographic divisions, skill-level groupings or tournament structures within a single competition.
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Important: If you're using Pools in your Competition, you cannot use the Fixture Generator to create fixtures automatically. You'll need to create fixtures manually or import them from a spreadsheet.
When to Use Pools
Pools work well for:
Geographic divisions - Separating teams by region (e.g., North Pool vs South Pool)
Skill-level groupings - Dividing teams within a grade by ability
Tournament formats - Creating round-robin groups before finals
Gala day structures - Organising teams into manageable groups for one-day events
Creating and Managing Pools
Setting Up Pools
Navigate to Seasons > Competition
Either create or select a Competition
Within your Competition setup, you'll find the section 'Pooling'
Switch the toggle on to allow the creation of Pools
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Important: Once you turn the toggle on and click 'Save', you can not manually turn Pools off. A member of Clipboard's development team will need to correct this, which may take a few days. If you are not sure about Pools, please contact the in-app support chat for advice.
Assigning Teams to Pools
Once schools have nominated their teams:
Go to the Competition tab within your Season
Under the 'Options' column, select Manage Pools
You'll see all nominated teams for each Grade
Add your Pools and give them clear, descriptive names (e.g., "Pool A", "North Division", "Junior Pool")
Drag and drop teams into the appropriate Pools
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Pro Tip: Organise your Pools before creating any fixtures to avoid complications later.
How to Create and Manage Pools
Moving Teams Between Pools
You can move a team between Pools at any time, including mid-season when past, current or future fixtures are scheduled.
To move a team:
Go to the Competition tab within your Season
Under the 'Options' column, select Manage Pools
Drag and drop the team into the new Pool
Once moved, new fixtures can be created for the team in their new Pool.
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Important — Ladder impact: If you move a team mid-season, they will appear on both their original Pool's Ladder and their new Pool's Ladder. You will need to manually adjust each to ensure it reflects the correct teams. Currently, you cannot remove a team from a Compete Ladder if they have scheduled fixtures within the Competition.
To adjust Ladder standings, see the Making Adjustments to Ladders section of the Mid-season Fixture, Result & Ladder Management article.
Creating Fixtures with Pools
Important Limitation
If your Competition uses Pools, you cannot use the Fixture Generator. Instead, you'll need to create fixtures using one of these methods:
Manual Upload - Create fixtures one by one in the spreadsheet
Import Fixtures - Upload a pre-prepared spreadsheet with your fixture schedule
This limitation exists because the Fixture Generator cannot currently handle pool-based fixture structures.
Pools and Ladders
How Ladders Work with Pools
Each Pool displays its own ladder
All Pools in a Competition use the same ladder configuration (scoring rules, ranking method)
Ladder rankings are calculated separately for each Pool
Managing Finals After Pool Play
Currently, Clipboard Compete does not automatically progress teams from Pools to finals. You'll need to:
Determine which teams qualify from each Pool (e.g., top 2 from each Pool)
Manually create 'Knockout' fixtures
Assign the qualifying teams to these fixtures
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Important: When final fixtures are created using the 'Knockout' feature, final results will not display on the Round-Robin Competition Ladder.
Ladder View with Pools
Additional Pool Support
Best Practice for Pool Fixtures
Plan your fixture schedule in a spreadsheet first
Ensure you've included all Pool matchups
Use the Import Fixtures tool to upload your schedule
Review fixtures carefully before publishing to schools
FAQ
Q: Can we have cross-Pool fixtures?
A: Yes, you can manually create fixtures between teams from different Pools. This is common for finals or special matchups.
Q: What happens to the Ladder if we move a team between Pools?
A: When a team is moved mid-season, they will appear on both their old and new Ladder. You'll need to manually adjust the Ladders in both Pools to ensure standings are accurate. See Making Adjustments to Ladders for guidance.
Q: Can schools nominate directly into Pools?
A: No, schools nominate into Grades. You then assign teams to Pools during your setup process.
Q: Why can't I use the Fixture Generator with Pools?
A: The Fixture Generator is designed for simpler competition structures. Pool-based Competitions require more specific fixture planning that's best handled through manual creation or spreadsheet import.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
"Schools can't see which Pool their team is in"
Schools nominate their Teams in Grades. Pool assignment is managed at the association level. Schools cannot view their Pool directly within their Clipboard account. However, Pool information is visible on the public Fixtures and Ladders pages (fixtures.clipboard.app/[association acronym]), which schools can access.
"I need different ladder rules for different Pools"
Ladder configurations apply to the entire Competition, not individual Pools. If you need different scoring rules, you'll need to create separate Competitions for each group.