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Why Are My Matches Overlapping in the Schedule?

Fixing Overlapping Matches in Your Schedule

If you notice matches scheduled at the same time for the same team, referee, or location, it likely means the auto-scheduler wasn’t given enough constraints—or the matches were scheduled manually without conflict checks.

Here’s how to identify and fix overlapping issues.


Common Causes of Overlapping Matches

1. No Rest Time Defined

  • If you don’t set a minimum resting time, teams may be assigned back-to-back matches

2. Insufficient Time Slots

  • Limited time windows or unavailable days can force multiple matches into the same slot

3. Missing Conflict Settings

  • If referees or locations are not assigned, the scheduler can’t detect conflicts
  • Matches might also be created manually without validation

How to Prevent Overlaps When Using the Scheduler

  1. Go to Scheduler in your tournament

  2. Set the following:

    • Match Duration (e.g., 60 minutes)
    • Minimum Rest Time between matches for participants
    • Day and Time Slots that provide enough capacity
    • Locations and Referees (optional but useful for conflict detection)
  3. Avoid overloading the schedule (e.g., 12 matches with only 1 hour of available time)

  4. Consider splitting matches across multiple days or venues


How to Fix Overlapping Matches

Option 1: Adjust Manually

  • Go to Matches
  • Click Update Date, Location, Referee for each affected match
  • Stagger times to avoid overlaps

Option 2: Reschedule with the Scheduler

  • Reopen the Scheduler
  • Update time slot and rest time settings
  • Enable Override existing matches
  • Re-generate the schedule for the affected stage

Note: This will overwrite all previously set dates for that stage.


Tips to Avoid Future Conflicts

  • Always define clear time blocks and rest intervals
  • Use multiple locations if running high-volume matchdays
  • Review the match list visually to catch overlaps early

Need to tweak one match without changing others? See How to Edit Match Times, Dates, and Locations