Tutorial Series - Import Tool Part 1 -- Manual mode, Import New

88 STEPS

1. This tutorial is part of a series to demonstrate the updated import tool for schedules and matches.

Manual Import - New Competition is the topic of this tutorial, showing how to create a new Competition and import schedules and matches into it.

2. To start, click Competitions

3. The new import tool requires that the Competition be created first, prior to importing the first set of schedules and matches.

Click Add Competition.

4. Type in the Name of the Competition. For this example, we will call it Cascade Fall 2026.

5. Type in a Short Name (abbreviation) if you have one.

6. Click Sport to expand the dropdown.

7. For this example, we will click Soccer - Youth

8. Type in the Competition Key

9. For this example, we will choose Manual as our Import Mode.

Other tutorials in this series review Synced mode.

10. Turn on the Display Default Game Fee toggle to display game fees to the officials.

11. Adjust the Lead Assignor as needed.

12. Click Create Competition when you have completed your Competition settings.

13. Click Cancel to return to the Competitions page.

14. Click the magnifying glass next to the Competition to open it.

15. Our current import mode is Manual.

It is possible to convert the import mode from Manual to Synced. That topic is covered in the Imports - Convert Manual to Synced mode tutorial.

16. Click Imports in the region selector.

17. Click Import Schedules

18. If your Excel file has a column where the schedules are named, use the default Use Excel Column under Schedule.

19. Click here to choose the Excel file you want to upload.

20. If you need to download the new Excel import templates, scroll down to the Import Guidelines section.

21. This section houses the new import Excel templates. The first template has one tab with the import columns only.

The second template has the import columns on the first tab plus a guide on the second tab. Either can be used for importing.

22. A condensed guide is also visible on this page.

23. When you have selected your import file from your computer, add a description if you wish and click Continue.

24. The column mapping area shows a summary of your Excel columns on the right side of the page.

25. Click Auto Map Columns to automatically map your Excel columns with the exact same name to what Ref Insight uses.

26. Our columns are now auto-mapped, since we used the Ref Insight template.

If your Excel columns are named differently, simply map them manually wherever you see blank fields.

Columns with no data can be left blank during the mapping step.

27. A Grid preview is at the bottom of the page. Any item in the grid can be edited manually if needed, before continuing with the import.

Editing the grid directly saves you from having to correct and re-import the file for minor changes.

28. If you find multiple errors or the data looks off, click Delete this Import. Check and correct your import file and start again.

29. Click Mapping Completed when your columns have been mapped.

30. Information about the Competition and Schedule is displayed here.

New schedules will be created as needed and as entered in our Excel import file.

31. The new Column Mappings area shows more details about the Excel columns mapped, sample values, and what they map to within Ref Insight.

32. Click Mappings are correct after reviewing the mappings.

33. The date format is auto-detected by the import tool.

34. Click Continue to Time Format

35. The time format is also auto-detected by the import tool.

36. Click Continue to Site Mapping

37. If you are confident that your sites map exactly to the master database name, or have been previously mapped accurately, you can use Auto Detect Site Mappings.

For a first import, it is recommended that sites be manually mapped to ensure accuracy.

38. Click the first site on the list.

39. The site displays in the Location from Excel area. Click Map To Site to search and select the actual site from the master database.

40. Click Liberty High School, Hillsboro, Oregon

41. Click Save this Mapping

42. Repeat these steps for the remaining sites in the list.

43. Our sites have now been mapped. To see what has been mapped, move the Hide Completed toggle to the left.

44. Our mappings and the number of matches at each site are displayed.

Move the toggle back to the right to hide the completed mappings.

45. If a site is missing from the master database, full-access administrators and assignors with the Site Admin permission can add a new site.

Before adding a new site, do a thorough search, use proper formatting, and complete all items.

46. Click Site Mapping Completed when your sites have been mapped.

47. Correct or verify all field names before moving to the next step.

48. Click Schedules

49. The schedules that will be created from our Excel column and the number of matches in each schedule are displayed here.

50. Click Confirm when ready to proceed.

51. A Preview of Import is displayed on this page to provide another opportunity to ensure the data is populating under each column as expected.

An interactive menu is available here if you need to filter, sort, search, or add additional columns.

52. When ready, click Import Matches into Staging.

Staging is a significant update to the import tool, which allows subsequent imports to update match details or add new matches seamlessly.

53. Click Import Matches into Staging again to confirm this action.

54. The staging area currently shows the Batch Info and New Matches (plus a count). As we take additional steps, this area will either update automatically or can be refreshed.

55. Batch Info shows the Competition name, Batch Status, relevant dates, Import Mode, and Batch ID.

A batch must be finalized before a new batch can be started within a Competition. This requirement avoids two files from competing with each other.

56. New Matches are displayed here. They HAVE NOT been created yet.

There are several options to choose from to create these matches. Let's review those options now.

57. Before creating any of these matches, let's take a closer look at the match details of the first match.

Click the magnifying glass.

58. An information banner sits at the top of this page. It will identify if it's a new match, a possible duplicate, or an update of an existing match.

For this example, the match does not appear to exist in Ref Insight, so it can be created.

59. A record review provides additional details.

60. The Comparison area shows the Column names, what is in this Import, and compares the items to what is currently in Ref Insight.

Since this is a new match being imported, the Current (Ref Insight) area is blank. The State of each item is NEW.

61. If you want to acknowledge you have reviewed this match but DO NOT want it added to Ref Insight, you have the option to Dismiss it. That action will remove the match from the previous page.

62. If you want to Create this match, click Create Match.

63. Click Cancel to return to the previous page.

64. The top area is updated to show how many matches have been Accepted.

65. It is not necessary to review each match to create them.

Another option to create a single match is to click the plus-sign icon.

66. Click refresh to update the top of the page.

67. The counts are now updated.

68. If you only want to create selected matches, use the interactive menu to filter, sort, or set a control break to find the matches of interest.

Check the box next to any matches you want to create.

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72. We have selected the first few matches.

73. Click Create Selected Matches

74. Another option is to check the top checkbox to select all matches.

75. You can then click Create Selected Matches.

76. The last option is to click Create All New Matches, which creates all the matches under this area with one click.

This option is when you are confident that no matches need to be reviewed or selected into smaller subgroups first.

77. Click Create All New Matches again to confirm this action.

78. We have now Finalized this import batch and the date and time have been added to the Batch Info area.

79. If you want to do any spot-checking on what has been imported, the Match Key is hyperlinked in the Accepted area to conveniently bring you to that match.

80. Click Cancel to return to the previous page.

81. The magnifying glass will show you the details of the import for this match.

82. You can compare this import to what is now current in Ref Insight. Note the State confirms the item details are the same.

83. Click Cancel to return to the previous page.

84. When you are finished reviewing and spot-checking, click Return To Competition.

85. Under the Imports section of the Competition, a record of our import is displayed.

86. Click the magnifying glass to revisit the details of this import.

87. Thank you for watching the tutorial on
Manual Import - New Competition, showing how to create a new Competition and import schedules and matches into it.

88. Visit the other tutorials in this series to learn about using the new import tool to:
1. Update match details in Manual mode,
2. Convert to Synced mode,
3. Import new schedules in Synced mode,
4. Update in Synced mode. Happy importing!