Event Setup
Set the event name, date, location, and number of mats. Choose Paper or Digital scoring for every mat, then save the event information.
Set the event rules before entering the roster
This guide covers the configurable division and weight-class workflow used by Round Robin, Single Elimination, Double Elimination, and Hybrid tournaments. It explains every built-in preset, Actual Weight, Assigned Weight Class, HWT, per-class competition formats, custom classes, division period defaults, saved templates, and the updated Setup Wizard.
Scope: This configuration does not replace Scramble or Grapevine. Those formats retain their separate 6U through 16U divisions, weight-window matching, rounds, periods, and saved Custom formats.
Rules responsibility: Built-in presets are editable starting points. Verify the current season, governing body, local event rules, weight allowances, and period lengths before building bouts. MatCommand Youth Default is a convenience configuration, not an official governing-body standard.
Five-stage Setup Wizard
For a new event, save the previous tournament before choosing New / Reset Tournament. To resume an existing event, use Open Previous Tournament instead.
Format and Rules
Select the tournament format. For fixed classes, choose MatCommand, NFHS, USA Wrestling, or a custom configuration. Confirm divisions, weights, rules, and timing. Scramble keeps its separate setup.
Roster
Choose Import Roster File or enter wrestlers manually. Review names and divisions. Store measured Actual Weight separately from the Assigned Weight Class used to build bouts.
Build Tournament
Review class counts and any per-class Double Elimination or Round Robin overrides. Build once after confirming the setup.
Check and Start
Connect the matching scorer for every Digital mat. Paper mats need no scorer. Run Tournament Check and resolve Must fix items. Choose local or online public access, then Start Tournament.
Double Elimination and Round Robin in one tournament
Choose the tournament default first. Each fixed weight class then offers three choices: Use Tournament Default, Double Elimination, or Round Robin. An override applies only to that division and weight class. It does not create a separate event, roster, save, queue, or public link.
Default behavior
A class with no override follows the tournament format. Existing saved tournaments have no per-class value, so they continue to behave exactly as they did before V14.15.
Small groups
A Double Elimination class with 2 through 4 wrestlers receives an advisory Round Robin recommendation. The Director must choose Use Round Robin or Keep Double Elimination. MatCommand never changes the format automatically.
Build and live flow
Each group uses its existing Double Elimination or Round Robin builder. Generated bouts share one canonical queue and global bout numbering. Live Control, scoring stations, displays, results, printing, exports, and recovery use the same workflow.
Results display
Round Robin classes show standings. Double Elimination classes show their bracket and placements. DE and RR badges identify mixed bouts in Director and viewer surfaces.
Lock boundary: Finish every per-class format decision before Build Tournament. To change a format after build, use the explicit rebuild workflow before wrestling starts. A live competition graph cannot be relabeled safely.
USA Wrestling age and medical profiles
Freestyle and Greco-Roman divisions require an explicit supported USA Wrestling age profile. The scorer derives regulation timing from that saved division instead of guessing from a wrestler birth date during a live bout.
Two 2:00 periods
8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, U15, U17, and Masters use two 2:00 regulation periods with 0:30 rest.
Two 3:00 periods
USA Junior, U20, U23, and Senior use two 3:00 regulation periods with 0:30 rest.
Freestyle activity
The passive wrestler is identified on a 0:30 activity clock. A passive-wrestler score cancels it; an opponent score does not. Expiration awards one point without stopping the normal match clock.
Medical coverage
Blood accumulates separately for each wrestler to 4:00. Qualified-event injury time is elapsed under medical control; the no-medical fallback is 2:00 injury and 4:00 blood. The software never makes the medical decision.
Weight systems
Fixed Weight Classes
Each division has an ordered list of numeric class limits, optionally followed by HWT. The Director assigns each wrestler to one configured class. Round Robin and bracket grouping use the assigned class, not a rounded scale weight.
Actual Weight
The measured scale weight. It remains a separate roster value and appears where appropriate in private Director workflows. Changing it does not silently move a wrestler to another class.
Assigned Weight Class
The class the wrestler will compete in. When a fixed-class roster row has no assigned class, MatCommand automatically chooses the smallest configured class at or above the actual weight. For example, 104 lb enters the 106 lb class. An explicit valid import assignment is preserved, and the Director can review or change the class before build.
HWT
An explicit Heavyweight class with no numeric upper limit stored in the tournament configuration. It always sorts after numeric classes and displays as HWT on Director, scorer, viewer, brackets, reports, and supported imports.
Madison / Scratch
The editor can store maximum weight difference, maximum age difference, skill consideration, and preferred bracket size. Automatic Madison grouping is not enabled in the standard Round Robin or bracket engines in this release.
Scramble / Grapevine
A separate match-generation system. It continues to use its own 6U through 16U divisions, matching tolerances, rounds, period settings, and saved Custom formats.
Three built-in program families
The gold Use This Configuration button is beside Close in the editor header and remains visible as you scroll. The same action is also available at the bottom. It applies the checked divisions, validates the configuration, and stays disabled after bouts are built or the event starts. In the setup summary, More Options: review every division and weight stays open during background readiness updates until you close it.
The Setup Wizard groups the starting configurations under MatCommand, NFHS, and USA Wrestling. After you choose one, the editor shows only that program's divisions. Open Change Program or Use Another Source only when you need a different program, a saved template, or a previous tournament configuration. All weights are pounds. P1 / P2 / P3 championship and consolation schedules remain editable before build.
MatCommand
One click selects the full MatCommand Youth Default convenience configuration.
NFHS
Choose Boys High School, Girls High School, or Select Both.
USA Wrestling
Choose 8U Boys, 10U Boys, 12U Boys, or 14U Boys. An optional 6U — Local Event Rules choice is available but starts unchecked. Select All includes every displayed choice; review the selection before applying it.
Optional 6U: local event rules
This separate coed folkstyle division is for ages six and under. Its editable starter classes are 35, 40, 45, 50 and 55 lb, with three 1-minute regulation periods. Keep 35 lb if your event needs it, or remove/change classes before building. Confirm your event's eligibility, timing and medical rules.
This is not an official national USA Wrestling 6U preset. The national chart uses birth-year eligibility, and state/local events may offer additional divisions. Do not assume every younger child is eligible for a national 8U event just because the label says eight and under. See the official USA Wrestling age and weight chart. Selecting local 6U does not change existing saved events or automatically move wrestlers out of 8U.
For imports, use 6U in the Division column and the athlete's measured weight in Weight. Assignments remain separate from 8U Boys. Save and reopen retain the local division, its classes and the roster assignments.
Current workflow: Confirm the program and its divisions in Stage 2, Format and Rules. Save that stage, then continue to Stage 3, Roster. The tournament-owned configuration remains available through autosave and recovery.
MatCommand Youth Default
| Division | Available classes | Default period |
|---|---|---|
| Tot, ages 5 to 6 | 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 | 1:00 |
| Bantam, ages 7 to 8 | 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80 | 1:00 |
| Midget, ages 9 to 10 | 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100 | 1:00 |
| Junior, ages 11 to 12 | 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120 | 1:30 |
| Intermediate, ages 13 to 14 | 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 155 | 1:30 |
| Cadet | 88, 94, 100, 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182 | 2:00 |
| High School | 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195, 220, 285 | 2:00 |
NFHS Boys 14 Class, 2025-26 starting preset
106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 144, 150, 157, 165, 175, 190, 215, 285
Default regulation period: 2:00. Wrestling style: Folkstyle.
NFHS Girls 14 Class, 2025-26 starting preset
100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 155, 170, 190, 235
Default regulation period: 2:00. Wrestling style: Folkstyle.
USA Wrestling 8U Boys, 2025-26 starting preset
40, 43, 45, 49, 53, 56, 62, 70, 85
Regulation: 1:00 / 1:00 / 1:00 for championship and consolation. Wrestling style metadata: Folkstyle.
USA Wrestling 10U Boys, 2025-26 starting preset
49, 53, 56, 59, 63, 67, 71, 77, 84, 93, 105, 120
Regulation: 1:00 / 1:00 / 1:00 for championship and consolation. Wrestling style metadata: Folkstyle.
USA Wrestling 12U Boys, 2025-26 starting preset
58, 63, 67, 70, 74, 78, 82, 86, 92, 98, 108, 117, 135, 160
Championship regulation: 1:00 / 1:30 / 1:30. Consolation / wrestleback regulation: 1:00 / 1:00 / 1:00. The Director must select which schedule Round Robin or another unclassified format uses.
USA Wrestling 14U Boys, 2025-26 starting preset
75, 80, 84, 88, 92, 96, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 126, 132, 140, 155, 175, 225
Championship regulation: 1:00 / 1:30 / 1:30. Consolation / wrestleback regulation: 1:00 / 1:00 / 1:00. The Director must select which schedule Round Robin or another unclassified format uses.
USA timing source: These period schedules represent the USA Wrestling Kids Folkstyle Nationals 2026 event rules. USA Wrestling weight classes alone do not establish universal bout timing. Verify the current event rules before building.
Custom divisions and templates
Display and print labels: standings, awards, wall brackets, scorecards, mat schedules, team roster schedules, and completed result reports use the selected division and class names. Internal group keys such as
8U-Boys_40 are not operator-facing weight labels.Class entry
Paste numeric classes separated by commas, semicolons, spaces, tabs, or new lines. Enter HWT or Heavyweight for the final open class. Duplicate, invalid, zero, and negative values are rejected.
Period schedules
Set P1, P2, and P3 separately for championship and consolation / wrestleback bouts. Values from 30 through 600 seconds are accepted. If those schedules differ, select the Round Robin / other schedule before building.
Gender and wrestling style
Choose Boys, Girls, or Coed. Folkstyle retains its existing scoring workflow. Freestyle and Greco-Roman require an explicit supported USA Wrestling age profile and use international regulation timing, scoring actions, rest, and technical superiority. Freestyle also enables its age-specific passivity and activity workflow.
Templates and previous events
My Templates persist on the same Director browser. Copy Setup from a previous tournament copies only division and class configuration. Wrestlers, bouts, results, scores, payments, and live state are never copied.
Roster import and assignment
Use this header for the current CSV template:
Name,Weight,Division,Team,Record,Skill,BirthDate,MatCommandAthleteId,Rating,Assigned Weight Class
Example:
Jake Torres,68,8U Boys,Pemberton,5-2,Novice,2017-04-12,MCA-ABCD-EFGH-JKMP,3.5,70
Meaning: Jake weighed 68 lb and is intentionally entered in the 70 lb class. The division text must match a configured division. Assigned Weight Class is optional: for a fixed-class format, MatCommand assigns the smallest configured class whose limit is at least the wrestler's actual weight. Thus 104 lb becomes 106 lb when 106 is the next configured class. An explicit valid assignment remains authoritative. Scramble / Grapevine stays separate and pairs from actual weight and its selected tolerance.
Reusable and final exports:
Assigned Weight Class appears immediately after Rating. Reimporting that export preserves the canonical class. A blank exported class remains blank rather than being replaced with an invented class value.Where the configuration appears
After build, the frozen division, assigned class label, style metadata, and complete P1 / P2 / P3 schedule travel with each bout. They are used consistently by Director Live Control, electronic scoring stations, public viewer, parent finder, mat display, bracket display, standings, bout sheets, bracket printing, reports, saves, recovery, and Tournament Cloud public projections. Actual Weight remains separate from the public class label.
Lock boundary: Finish division and class changes before build. If bouts already exist, return to Setup and use the explicit rebuild workflow. Once wrestling starts, weight and division changes are blocked because they would invalidate the competition graph.
Roster review and safe mat assignments
Import review: If a bracket or Round Robin file uses division names that are not configured, Match roster divisions opens. Choose the intended configured division for every group and review weight-class changes. Nothing imports until the review checkbox and Import Reviewed Roster are confirmed. Cancel Import imports none of the file. Actual weights, names, records, known IDs and supplied ratings are preserved.
BirthDate and Age: BirthDate uses YYYY-MM-DD; Age is a fallback. These fields do not verify a birth certificate or automatically repair a conflicting division. Check the event's age rules and cutoff. Bantam and Junior are not universal aliases across every organization's presets.
Scramble mat limits: Both wrestlers must fit a mat's age-division and actual-weight limits, including later queued bouts. A restricted half mat never receives an automatic out-of-range bout. Eligible small wrestlers may also use an unrestricted mat. If no mat fits, review the unassigned bout or mat plan. An explicit Director MAT LIMIT OVERRIDE is required for an exception.
Bracket and Round Robin assignments: Optionally assign a whole division or a specific division/weight class before build. Specific class assignments take priority. Assigned mats are reserved; Automatic groups use unreserved mats. If no automatic mat remains, assign the remaining group or free a mat before building. Live moves outside the plan require an explicit MAT GROUP OVERRIDE.
Scratch and recovery: A Scramble scratch cancels unstarted future bouts without awarding forfeits, preserves completed results and lists affected opponents in Director Activity. Review a replacement hand bout deliberately. Undo This Scratch is limited to ten minutes in the same unfinished build and only while affected bout, athlete, result, reservation and mat-rule state remains unchanged. Bracket scratch preserves completed results and progression, with recorded future forfeit wins where needed. Resolve active or scorer-held bouts first.
