Keep Classes, Leagues, and Bookings on One Calendar

Court collisions happen when different activities are planned in different places. A class spreadsheet, a league chat, and a booking calendar may each be accurate alone while assigning the same court to three groups.

The fix is one rule: anything that uses a court must reserve that time in the same availability record before it is sold or promoted.

Make one schedule authoritative

Put player bookings, coaching, leagues, events, maintenance, and court conversions on the same court timeline. Other documents can hold rosters or lesson plans, but they cannot independently declare a court free.

Tell staff where the final answer lives and who may change it.

Use named holds

A hold should say what it is for, which court it uses, when it ends, and who owns it. "Intermediate clinic" or "net repair" gives the next shift useful context. "Busy" does not.

Review recurring holds. If a program stops or uses fewer courts, release the remaining time rather than allowing a permanent block to survive by habit.

Confirm capacity before promotion

Do not publish a league, camp, or tournament until the court plan fits around existing bookings. Include setup, changeover, and overrun time where the activity needs it.

When the plan changes, update availability before sending a revised message to players.

Give changes one owner

Coaches and event organizers should know how to request time, but one role should approve the final court assignment. Otherwise a shared calendar becomes another collection of conflicting promises.

Smash can place bookings, named blocks, and scheduled tournament matches on the same availability grid. A different booking system can work just as well if every court use follows the same rule.

Before trying to fill an apparently quiet period, check whether the court was genuinely bookable. A full calendar of vague holds is not proof of demand. It is a reason to clean the schedule.