Importing Games

Sections:
Navigating to the Importer
Using the Template
Importing the Template
Troubleshooting Issues



Looking to import your games and assignments at the same time? Please visit this article: Import Game with Assignments
 

Navigating to the Importer

1. Sign into your Admin account on www.arbitersports.com.
2. Go to the Schedule tab.
3. Click Import Games, located at the top on the right side.

 

4. Click on the Template button  located on the far right side to download the excel spreadsheet.
   1. The excel file will automatically start to download to your computer. If you do not see anything being downloaded, check your downloads or check to see if you have pop-ups enabled. After it has finished downloading on your computer, save it on your computer or forward the excel file to the Schools.

 

 

Using the Template

*Please be sure to download a new template for EACH import.

The template is created specifically for your group. If you are part of multiple groups, you will need to download a new template for each group because the Sports, Levels, Teams, Sites, and Bill-Tos are all unique.

Very Important - Before you can dive into importing your games, there are a few essential things you need to know and do.

1. After opening the file, make sure you click on Enable Editing in excel. 

 

2. **DO NOT** change any of the contents on Row 1. If you do, the import could become corrupted while trying to import it in ArbiterSports. (If you change anything in row 1, you will have to undo the action that you did, close the file without saving and reopening it, or download a new template.)
3. For columns D through L, a drop-down arrow will appear next to the cell. This will have all of your group's information, based on the column (sport, level, site, etc.). You can fill the cell with the proper information by clicking on the drop-down arrow next to the cell and select what you are looking for from the list. If the game information you are looking for is not in the drop-down, you will have to add it to your group first and download the template again (with the exception of any new team because the game importer can add new teams).

4. The information you enter on the template needs to match EXACTLY how it is on your ArbiterSports account.  If you have the sport  'Baseball' in ArbiterSports, but on the excel template you enter it as 'BBall,' the system will not recognize this and it will fail to import. There are two ways to avoid this error:
   1. Use the drop-down menu next to the cell and select the correct information (Recommended).

Or

2. Spell the items exactly as they are in your group (as an example: Baseball not BBall, West High School not West HS, etc.).

 

5. In Row 1 of the excel spreadsheet, there will be headers specifying the information to be placed in each column. If you hover your mouse over those column headers, a comment box will explain which columns are required and if there is a required format. These columns are defined below:

 

• Date: (Required) The date of the game must use the format mm/dd/yy (example: 01/14/17). Note that TBA dates are not allowed.

• Time: (Required) The time of the game must use the format h:mm AM/PM (example: 6:00 PM). If you leave this column blank, the game time will import as TBA.

• Game ID: (Not required) If left blank, the system will automatically assign a game number based on the highest game number that currently exists in your group plus 1.

• Sport: (Required) The sport that applies to the game. Note that if the sport is not in the list of Sports from the template drop-down list, then that game will not import.

• Level: (Required) level of the sport that applies to the game.  Note that if the level is not in the list of Levels from the template drop-down list, then that game will not import.

• Home Team: (Not required) The home team on the game. Leave this field blank if you intend for the home team to be TBA. If the team is not in the drop-down list, a new team will be created. Yellow highlighting on the template indicates a new team may be created. If a yellow highlighted team is used multiple times, it will only be created once.

• Away Team: (Not required) The away team on the game. Leave this field blank if you intend for the away team to be TBA. If the team is not in the drop-down list, a new team will be created. Yellow highlighting on the template indicates a new team may be created. If a yellow highlighted team is used multiple times, it will only be created once.

• Site: (Required) The site where the game is played. Note that TBA sites are not allowed.  If the site is not in the list of Sites from the template drop-down list, the game will not import.

• Sub-site: (Required) The sub-site is the specific place at the site where the game is played (gym, field, etc.). If the sub-site is not in the sub-site drop-down list, the game will not import.

• Bill-To: (Not Required) The party that is responsible for paying fees (whoever is being invoiced for the fees).

Importing the Template

Now that we have all of this in mind, we can begin importing games using the Excel file.

1. Open the Excel template that you downloaded from ArbiterSports and click on Enable Editing.
   
    
2. Fill out the template with the game details. Make sure that they match exactly how it is on your group in ArbiterSports.
   1. As you fill out the game information, you will notice the cells under the required columns will turn red, indicating that the required field is missing. If a cell turns red even though you entered a value, this means it is invalid.
   2. If you use the drop-down list to select a team, but the drop-down arrow isn't showing a list, this means you do not have any teams added in your group for the sport and level you selected.

3. When you are done, rename the file and save the file to your computer.
4. Return to the import screen on ArbiterSports.com and drag and drop or click inside the indicated box to choose the file.

 

5. The games will begin importing. It may take a few moments for the importer to process the game data and check for conflicts.
6. The system will display a message if the import was successful or failed. See below for more details:

a. If all games successfully imported, you will receive a green "Successfully imported all games." at the top of the screen.

 

Troubleshooting Issues

If any games fail to import, you will receive a "File Upload Error" message. Click Fix Issues to view the import errors and to correct those issues.

 

1. After you click Fix Issues, a "Game Import - Errors" Excel file will download. Open this file to view the issues.
2. Click Enable Editing.
3. On the errors excel file, scroll to the far right, past the Bill-Tos column, to view the issues. You will also see any errors highlighted in red. Below are possible reasons a game will fail to import:

• Incomplete - Invalid date, time, sport, level, site, or sub-site has been entered. The error file will highlight the information that is invalid.
• Site/Subsite has conflict - The game information you entered conflicts with an existing game.
• Home team does not have a default Site/SubSite - If you selected "Use Home Team Defaults" for the site and sub-site columns, but the home team you selected does not have their default home site and sub-site setup, which can be adjusted in your team settings.

 

To correct these issues:

(repeat the "Importing the Template" steps above)

1. Use a new template. Click on the Template button  located on the far right side to download the excel spreadsheet.

2. Fill out the game information while correcting any issues.
3. When you are done correcting the issues, rename the file, and save the file to your computer.
4. Return to the import screen on ArbiterSports.com and drag and drop or click inside the indicated box to choose the file.

 

5. As long as you have corrected the issues, the games should now import successfully.

End of article content.