Who this is for: registrars, head coaches and administrators preparing for a new season or a large intake of new members. Features involved: Org Settings, Groups, Waivers & Docs, Finances, Tasks, Stakeholders, Practices
For the season as a whole, see How clubs use Boathouse Connect.
The problem
Forty novices sign up in the same week, most of them with a parent who wants to know what happens next. The registrar copies names from a form into a spreadsheet, emails out a waiver as a PDF, waits for signed copies to come back, chases a medical form and an emergency contact for each athlete and sends a separate email about dues.
By the first practice the coach still does not know who is coming, who has signed the waiver or who can swim, and the parents are on three different email threads.
How it works in Boathouse Connect
Every athlete and parent creates their own account (there is no shared club login). You decide how they get into the organization — pre-authorized emails, an uploaded roster or a registration link — and which groups they land in. Each group carries what it requires: documents to sign and a join fee to pay. Members complete those steps themselves while joining, so the roster, the signed waivers and the dues all line up without anyone re-typing data.
| Step | Where | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| Get people into the organization | Dashboard Pending Join Requests card, Org Settings → Upload Users or Org Settings → Onboarding | Registrar (Add User to Organization / Manage Organization Settings) |
| Create the season's groups and choose self-join or approval | Groups → Manage Groups | Administrator (Manage Groups) |
| Require documents for the groups | Waivers & Docs → Manage Docs | Registrar (Manage Documents and Waivers) |
| Set the join fee and payment plan | Finances → Fees & Discounts | Treasurer (Assess Fees or Manage Finances) |
| Add profile questions and checklists | Org Settings → User Profiles, Tasks → User Checklists | Registrar |
| Add parents | Groups → Stakeholders, or a Parents group | Administrator (Manage Groups) |
| Schedule the first practice and watch attendance | Practices → Manage | Coach (Create Practices) |
Step by step
Set up the season
- Create the groups. Create a group for the new class (for example Fall Novice) and decide whether members can join it themselves or must request to join. Use a Prerequisite Group or Restricted Group constraint if only some people may join. See Groups.
- Attach the paperwork. Write the waiver and code of conduct on Waivers & Docs → Manage Docs, set the signing window and add the new group on the document's Groups tab. Anyone joining that group signs on screen before they can join. See Documents & waivers.
- Attach the fee. Set the group's Join Fee and, if you offer one, a Payment Plan. See Fees, payment plans & discount codes and Collecting season dues.
- Decide what to ask. Add club-specific questions such as school or graduation year on Org Settings → User Profiles, and create a user checklist for anything handed in outside the app, such as a swim test. See Onboarding workflows & user checklists.
Get people in
- Pick an entry route. Choose one, or combine them:
- Pre-authorize the email addresses you already have, from the Dashboard's Pending Join Requests card. People who register with those addresses join without approval. See Importing members.
- Upload Users from a spreadsheet to create accounts in bulk; each new person is emailed a link to set their password. See Importing members.
- Create a registration link on Org Settings → Onboarding, assign the new group to it and choose its screens (include Payment Method if the group has a fee). Everyone who registers through the link is added to the organization and to its groups. See Onboarding workflows & user checklists.
- Members complete the first-login wizard. Each person answers the Getting Started questions — rowing experience, emergency contact, personal details — plus any onboarding screens you chose. See New member guide.
- Members join their group. On Groups → My Groups they sign the required documents and pay the join fee in the same flow. If the group needs approval, review requests on Groups → Join Requests. See Join requests.
Bring in the parents
- Choose how parents hear from you. Add parents as stakeholders on the group so they can be copied on its emails without an account (Standard and Professional plans), or ask them to create their own account and join a Parents group. Athletes can also add a parent as an additional contact to copy them on everything. See Keeping parents and supporters informed.
First practice
- Schedule the first practices for the new group, with a location and an attendance window. See Creating & managing practices.
- Watch who is coming. Members mark Attending on Practices → My Attendance; coaches see the list on the practice's Attendance tab and in the lineup builder. Check the Compliance tab in the lineup builder for unsigned documents before you go on the water. See Attendance and The lineup builder.
Two weeks before the season
- [ ] Season groups created, with self-join or approval chosen and last season's groups archived.
- [ ] Waiver and code of conduct written, signing window set and assigned to the new groups.
- [ ] Join fee, payment plan and any discount codes on the groups; payment account active.
- [ ] Pre-authorizations entered, roster uploaded or registration link created and tested.
- [ ] Custom profile questions and user checklists ready.
- [ ] Welcome email template assigned to the new group (Communications → Templates).
- [ ] Practice location added and the first two weeks of practices scheduled.
- [ ] Parents added as stakeholders, or a Parents group created.
What each person sees
| Person | What they see |
|---|---|
| Registrar / administrator | Upload Users tabs (uploaded, claimed, unclaimed), the registration link's Registered Users, Join Requests, each document's Users tab and the checklist status for every member. |
| Coach | The group roster, attendance for each practice and compliance in the lineup builder. |
| New member | Their own account, the Getting Started wizard, My Groups with documents to sign and a fee to pay, then their practice schedule. |
| Parent | With an account: the same as any member, in the groups they join. As a stakeholder: only the emails you copy them on. |
Tips
- Use each athlete's own email address when you upload or pre-authorize. Two people cannot share an email, and a parent's address belongs on the parent's account.
- A registration link skips join approval, so only share it with people you expect.
- Required documents are collected when someone joins a group, not when you add them on Groups → Manage Groups. If you add people yourself, chase unsigned documents from the Compliance page.
- Follow up the Unclaimed Accounts tab after an upload — those people have not set a password yet.
FAQ
Can we onboard 40 people without approving each one? Yes. Pre-authorize their addresses, upload them, or send a registration link; all three skip the approval queue.
What if a parent wants to sign the waiver for their child? Signatures are recorded against whoever is signed in, and each person has their own account, so the athlete signs from their own account.
Can we collect medical or swim-test forms? Track a form handed in on paper with a user checklist, or write the form as a club document for members to sign on screen.
Do returning members have to register again? No. Their account is theirs; they simply join the new season's groups.