SportsEngine team carpools

The short answer: yes. Copy your team's calendar feed (iCal) link from SportsEngine and paste it into a carpool app that can subscribe to it. Practices fill in automatically, and when the club moves or cancels one, the carpool updates and drivers are told.

Why use the club's schedule

Most carpool mix-ups aren't about who's driving. They're about when: a practice moved from 5:00 to 6:30, a field changed, a session got rained out. If the carpool has its own copy of the schedule, someone has to notice each change and retype it. If it reads the club's calendar, the change arrives on its own.

Find your team's calendar link

SportsEngine lets you subscribe to a team's schedule from a calendar app. The exact menus change from time to time, but in general:

1. Open your team's page or schedule on SportsEngine (on the web or in the app).
2. Look for Subscribe, Sync calendar or Export on the schedule.
3. Copy the link it gives you. It usually starts with webcal:// or https:// and ends in .ics.

Tip: If you can't find it, ask your team manager. They can usually get the team's calendar link in a minute.

Paste it into your carpool

In a carpool app that supports calendar feeds:

• Paste the link when you set up the carpool's schedule.
• Choose which events count. Most families carpool to practices; games often have different arrangements.
• Check the first week looks right: days, times and locations.

From then on the app checks the feed regularly. New practices appear, moved ones shift, and cancelled ones are taken off, with a note to anyone who'd claimed a ride.

What still needs a person

A calendar feed gives you the when and where. People still decide:

• who's driving each drop-off and pick-up,
• which kids are going each day, and
• anything the club didn't put in the calendar (an extra session the coach texted about, say).

How Koinoda works with SportsEngine

Koinoda can take your team's SportsEngine calendar link when you set up a carpool. It checks the feed throughout the day, so moved practices, new times and cancellations flow in, and parents who were driving get told. Koinoda isn't affiliated with SportsEngine; it reads the same public calendar link your phone's calendar app would.

Start a carpool from your schedule.

Questions

Does SportsEngine have a carpool feature?

SportsEngine is built for schedules, rosters and registration. For carpools, teams often use a separate tool that reads the SportsEngine schedule, so the rides stay in step with practice times.

Where do I find my team's SportsEngine calendar link?

On your team's schedule in SportsEngine, look for an option to subscribe, sync or export the calendar, and copy the link it gives you. Your team manager can also get it for you.

What happens when a practice is cancelled in SportsEngine?

If the carpool reads the team's calendar feed, the cancelled practice is taken off at its next check and anyone who had claimed a ride is told.

Will games show up too?

The feed usually includes games and events as well as practices. A good carpool app lets you choose which ones to carpool for.