Clash Matrix: find participants who are in two competitions before the event

One child in two competitions at the same time is the most common problem on event day. You can find it before the event. The new Competition Clash Matrix page puts every competition against every other competition in one grid. Red means the same participant is in both competitions. Green means nobody is. It works on a phone and on a computer.

What you see on the page

Open Time Management → Clash Matrix. The competitions are listed down the left side and across the top, grouped by age group (Common competitions in their own band), with a number in front of each name. Each square compares the competition in its row with the one in its column.

• Red square: at least one participant is in both competitions. For team competitions, the team members count.
• Green square: no participant is in both competitions.
• Grey square: a competition against itself.

Above the grid, four counts show the total competitions, the clash pairs, the no clash pairs and how many competitions have at least one clash. The bottom row, Shared participants, shows for each competition how many of its participants are also in another competition on the grid.

See who is in both

Tap or click a square to open its details. You see the two competitions with their age group, stage and planned time, the name and number of each participant who is in both, and whether the Schedule Table plans the two competitions at the same time or at different times. If the two competitions are in different age groups, a note says so, because a child can be in a Junior competition and a Common competition at once. A red square with different times is not a problem on the day. A red square at the same time is the one to fix.

Below the grid, the All clashes list shows every red pair with its participant numbers. This list is the easiest way to read the page on a small phone screen.

Narrow the grid

• Age group: a drop-down where you can choose several age groups. With none chosen, every group shows. Include Common competitions adds the Common competitions next to the groups you chose.
• Display mode: Only competitions with a clash hides every competition that has no clash, so a large event shrinks to the few that need your attention.
• Status (you can choose several): by default the grid shows competitions that are Not Started, Yet To Begin or On Progress, so finished competitions do not fill it. Add Finished or any other status if you want them.
• Search by competition name.
• View all clashes for (in the details) shows one competition and only the competitions that clash with it.

Print it on a landscape sheet

Press Download to save the grid as a CSV file that opens in Excel. Press Print to print the grid and the list of clashes on one landscape sheet (A3), with the event name, the age groups shown and the date. The buttons and filters are not printed. What you printed is what is on the screen, so choose the age group first.

How a coordinator uses it

1. Add the competitions to the Schedule Table, and make sure the participants are added to their competitions.
2. Open Time Management → Clash Matrix and set Display mode to Only competitions with a clash.
3. Click each red square and check the participant numbers and the planned times.
4. Where two competitions are planned at the same time, move one of them in the Schedule Table or on Automate Schedule, then press Refresh to check again.

What the Clash Matrix does not do

• It only shows clashes. It does not change the schedule.
• It compares people, not rooms or judges.
• A competition only appears if it is in the Schedule Table, and a clash only shows if the participant is added to both competitions.

Questions organisers ask

Why is a square red when the two competitions are on different days?

Red only means a participant is in both competitions. The details tell you whether the planned times are the same. Different times are fine.

How is this different from the Live Schedule?

The Clash Matrix looks at all competitions before the event. The Live Schedule only compares the competitions that are on now, one per stage, while the event runs.

Planning an event on eTalenter? Open a live demo and log in as a demo coordinator (no sign-up, read-only), WhatsApp us, or email support@etalenter.com for help with the software.