Competition structures
Parful runs thisSelf-scheduled matches and deadlines
Also called Play by date, Match deadline, Arranging a knockout match, Play-by deadline.
In a knockout played over a season the two players arrange each match themselves before a play-by deadline. On Parful one player proposes an outing date, the other accepts, counters or declines, and the deadline reminds both at seven days and two days before it lapses. Deadlines nag; they never block scoring.
- Proposal statuses
- Proposed, countered, agreed, declined, expired
- Default deadline
- 14 days per round, set by the admin
- Reminders
- At 7 days and 2 days before, then overdue
- Extension
- Once per match, 7 days, by default
- Deadlines
- Nag; never block scoring or advancement
- Unplayed at finalization
- Leave open, walkover to the present player, or void
How players arrange a match
A season-long knockout cannot be played on one day, so each round carries a play-by deadline and the two players find a date between them. On Parful the dates on offer are the club's outings. Either player proposes an outing; the proposal is then open to the other side, who can accept it, counter with a different outing or decline. A player cannot accept their own offer, only the other side's. Accepting attaches the match to that outing, where it is grouped and scored like any other match. A manager can act on any proposal at any time.
A proposal moves through five statuses. Proposed and countered are open; agreed, declined and expired are settled and take no further player action. A counter replaces the previous offer, so at any moment there is exactly one live offer and one side who can accept it.
The deadline and the reminders
The admin sets a deadline on each round of the bracket; the club default is 14 days. A nightly sweep checks every open match against it. With seven days or fewer to go both players get a reminder; with two days or fewer a second one; past the deadline the match is overdue and the admin sees it flagged as needing attention. Each stage is nagged once per deadline value, so moving the deadline re-arms the reminder and leaving it alone keeps things quiet.
A deadline on Parful is metadata. Nothing is forfeited, voided or locked because a date passed. A match played a day late scores normally, and the admin decides what to do about matches that were not: extend the round, record a walkover or void the fixture.
Extensions and unanswered proposals
A player may extend a lapsed proposal deadline once, by seven days, unless the club has chosen otherwise. The club policy is one of none, once per match or unlimited, and the number of days is a club setting between 1 and 60. The extension runs from the existing deadline if it is still in the future, otherwise from today.
When a proposal is still unanswered at the deadline, the player who made the offer is treated as the side that tried. They are told the deadline lapsed and offered the choice: extend once and keep trying, or take the walkover. If they do neither, the walkover offer stands for 48 hours and the next sweep records the walkover to them. If neither player ever proposed anything, nobody tried, and the match is left for the admin to rule on.
How Parful runs it
Players propose, counter and accept from the competition page in the member portal; each proposal names an outing and the outing's date. The admin sees every open match in the bracket with its proposal state and deadline, and the overdue ones in the competition's attention list: "3 matches past the Quarter-Finals deadline". A decided match is never offered for scheduling again, and a bye is not a match to schedule.
When the admin finalizes a competition that still has an unrecorded match, the club's policy decides the outcome: leave the match open (the default), award a walkover to the player who was present, or void it. The policy is set in the club defaults and copied into the competition when it is created.
Worked example
A worked example: a quarter-final that Ben never answers
The quarter-finals are published on September 16 with a 14-day deadline, so the play-by date is September 30. Ana proposes; Ben does nothing. The club uses the default extension policy of one extension of 7 days.
| Date | Days to deadline | What happens | Proposal status | What Parful does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 16 | 14 | Round published, deadline Sep 30 | None | Match listed as open for scheduling |
| Sep 18 | 12 | Ana proposes the Sep 27 outing | Proposed | Ben can accept, counter or decline |
| Sep 23 | 7 | Nightly sweep | Proposed | Seven-day reminder to Ana and Ben |
| Sep 28 | 2 | Nightly sweep | Proposed | Two-day reminder to Ana and Ben |
| Sep 30 | 0 | Deadline lapses, still unanswered | Expired | Walkover offered to Ana; she may extend once by 7 days |
| Oct 1 | Overdue | Ana does not extend | Expired | Offer stands; admin sees the match flagged |
| Oct 2 | Overdue | 48 hours since the offer | Expired | Walkover recorded to Ana; Ana advances |
- If Ben had countered with the September 24 outing on September 20 and Ana had accepted on September 21, the status would have gone proposed, countered, agreed, and the match would have been attached to September 24.
- If neither player had proposed anything by September 30, nobody would have been offered a walkover; the match would simply be overdue for the admin to rule on.
Common variants
- Fixed match days
- Some clubs play every round of a knockout on a set day, with no self-scheduling. Parful supports that too: the admin assigns the match to the outing directly.
- Automatic forfeit at the deadline
- Leagues that forfeit any match unplayed by the date. Parful does not forfeit on a date; only an unanswered proposal leads to a walkover, and only after the 48-hour offer.
- Coin toss for an unplayed match
- A committee deciding an unplayed match by lot. Parful records the outcome the committee chooses but does not toss the coin.