Adding a Blackout Window

A blackout window tells MatchGrid when scheduling should be avoided — such as holidays, facility closures, or team conflicts.

Steps to add a blackout

1. Click Blackouts in the sidebar (or go to /blackouts)
2. Click Add Blackout in the top-right corner
3. In the dialog, fill in:
   • Scope Type — select who this blackout affects:
     • Region — all teams in the region
     • Club — all teams at a specific club
     • Team — a single team only
     • Location — a specific venue
   • Entity — select the specific region, club, team, or location
4. Choose the Duration Type:
   • Full Day — blocks the entire day
   • Half Day — morning or afternoon only
   • Custom Hours — specific time range
5. Select the Date (or date range for multi-day blackouts)
6. Choose Hard or Soft:
   • Hard — scheduling is blocked completely
   • Soft — prefer to avoid, but can schedule if needed
7. Add an optional Reason (e.g., “Thanksgiving Break”)
8. Click Create Blackout to save

[!TIP] Use Hard blackouts for mandatory closures like holidays. Use Soft blackouts for preferences that can be overridden if necessary.

Quick add: holidays

To quickly add common holidays:

1. Click Blackouts in the sidebar
2. Look for the Holidays or Import Holidays option
3. Select the holidays you want to add
4. Choose hard or soft for each

[!INFO] MatchGrid includes templates for US federal holidays and common school breaks. You can customize which ones to import.

What’s next

After adding blackouts, run the auto-scheduler to generate a schedule that respects them — see Running the Auto-Scheduler.