Who this is for: administrators and membership coordinators who set up the club's groups. Permission required: Manage Groups. Any member can view and join groups from Groups → My Groups.
Groups are how Boathouse Connect organizes the people in your organization. Each group can carry permissions, equipment checkout privileges and fees, and groups decide who receives a message, who may attend a practice and who can answer a survey. A person gets everything granted by every group they belong to, so most of the work of running a club is putting the right people in the right groups.
Plan two kinds of groups: "rowing" groups such as Varsity, Novice or Masters, and "job" groups such as Coaches or Treasurer. See Roles & permissions for a suggested setup and the full list of permissions.
Create a group
- Go to Groups → Manage Groups.
- On the Active Groups tab, click + in the All Groups panel to open Add a New Group.
- Fill in the form:
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Group Name | The name members see on My Groups, rosters, practices and messages. |
| Group Description | Tells members what the group is for and who should join. |
| Select Maximum Allowed Members | Unlimited, or the most people the group can hold. |
| Can users self-join this group? | No (the default) means people must request to join or be added. Yes lets any member join on their own. |
- Click Create Group.
Every setting can be changed later. Select the group in the All Groups panel to see its details on the right (or below, on a phone).
Rename or describe a group
- Go to Groups → Manage Groups and select the group.
- Click the edit icon next to the group's name.
- Change Group Name and/or Group Description and click Save.
Self-join or approval required
The Allow Self-Join row shows the current setting. Click Change to switch between Yes and No.
- Yes: members see a Join Group button on Groups → My Groups and are added immediately (after signing any required documents and paying any join fee).
- No: members see Request To Join instead. Everyone with Manage Groups is notified and can approve or decline the request on Groups → Join Requests. See Join requests.
Set self-join to No for any group that grants permissions or equipment checkout privileges. Otherwise anyone could give themselves that access by joining.
Full groups
Click Modify on the Maximum Members row, pick a new Maximum Number of Members (or Unlimited) and click Save. When a group reaches its limit, members see Group Full instead of a join button, and pending requests for it show a disabled Group Full button. A spot opens when you raise the limit, set it to Unlimited, or a member leaves.
Join constraints
Click Modify on the Join Constraints row to limit who is eligible to join:
| Constraint | Effect |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite Group | Only members of one of the listed groups may join this group. |
| Restricted Group | Members of any listed group may not join this group. |
Members who do not qualify see Not eligible to join with the reason on My Groups. For example, make Novice a restricted group for Varsity Launch Drivers, or require Certified Scullers before someone can join Single Sculling.
Add and remove members
- Select the group and click Add Member.
- Pick the person under Select user to add to group. If the group grants permissions they do not already have, those permissions are listed so you can double-check.
- Select amount to charge for join fee is filled in with the group's fee. Change it if this person should be charged a different amount (or 0), then click Add Member.
To take someone out, click Remove Member, choose them under Select user to remove from the group. and click Remove Member. Removing someone also removes their future recurring charges for that group and takes them out of the group's chat. If the person had been added by someone else (rather than joining on their own), they get a notification that they were removed.
Members can leave a group themselves from Groups → My Groups with Leave Group.
Group permissions
The Group Permissions list under the group's details shows what membership grants. Click Add Permission to grant another one, or Remove next to a permission to take it away. Changes apply to every member of the group. You can also review permissions one at a time on Groups → Permissions, which shows every group and person holding each permission.
Equipment permissions
Equipment permissions decide which boats a group's members may check out for private use. Click Modify on the Equipment Permissions row, then choose boats from Add Boat To Checkout Permission. As with permissions, a person can check out every boat allowed by any of their groups.
Give your Coaches group checkout permission for every boat used at practice so coaches can put those boats in lineups.
A common pattern: a club that requires a flip test before anyone takes out a single creates a Certified Scullers group with self-join set to No and gives it the club singles. See Reservations for how members book boats.
Who can see group members
At the top of Groups → Manage Groups, Allow other users to see the members of each group controls whether ordinary members can open a group's member list on My Groups and Rosters. Contact details are controlled separately. See Rosters & contact visibility.
Archive a group
When a group is no longer needed (last season's squad, a finished program), archive it instead of leaving it active.
- Select the group and click Archive Group.
- Confirm with Archive Group.
Archiving removes all of the group's permissions and equipment checkout privileges and deletes upcoming scheduled charges for its members. Members stay in the group, but they no longer see it, and nobody can join or leave it.
Archived groups are listed on the Archived Groups tab of Groups → Manage Groups, where you can still view the members. Click Unarchive Group to bring one back. Its members are still there, but the old permissions, equipment privileges and charges are not restored. Add them again if you need them.
FAQ
Can I delete a group? Manage Groups does not have a delete button. Archive the group instead: it strips all access and charges and hides it from members, while keeping a record of who was in it.
Can I give one person a permission without a group? No. Permissions only come from group membership. Create a one-person group if you need to. See Roles & permissions.
We archived or reorganized groups and now nobody can manage groups. Keep Manage Groups on at least one active group with two or more people in it. If everyone loses it, email [email protected].
Does removing someone from a group remove them from the organization? No. They stay in the organization with the access of their other groups. Removing someone from the organization is done from Groups → Rosters.
Can I see who joined or left a group over time? No. Boathouse Connect does not keep a history of group membership changes. The Groups and Group Membership report on Org Settings → Data Export lists everyone currently in each group with their join date; download a copy each season if you need a record. See Data export.