Adding a New Contact

You can add new contacts to your organization to assign them roles, add them to custom lists, or track their information.

Before You Begin

• You must have the Contacts permission to add contacts
• Contacts are typically added automatically when someone joins a group, becomes a judge, or is given organizational access
• Use manual contact creation when you need to pre-add someone before they take an action

Adding a Contact

1. Navigate to People in your organization
2. Click Create a New Contact (button appears in the upper right when viewing a list, or centered if the list is empty)
3. Enter the contact's email address
4. Click Create Contact

The contact is created and their profile opens automatically so you can assign roles or update their information.

Contacts Without Email Addresses

If you need to add a contact but don't know their email address:

1. Click Create a New Contact
2. Check the box I don't know their email address
3. Click Create Contact

This creates a placeholder contact without a real email address. These contacts:

• Appear with "Unknown Contact" as their display name
• Cannot log in to CompetitionSuite
• Can only be assigned to Judging roles (for anonymous or placeholder judges)
• Should be updated with a real email address when known

What Happens When You Create a Contact

When you create a contact with an email address:

1. Existing Account: If the email matches an existing CompetitionSuite account, that person is linked to your organization
2. New Account: If no account exists, a new CompetitionSuite account is created and a welcome email is sent to that address

Either way, the contact is added to your organization's People list and can be assigned roles.

After Adding a Contact

After creating a contact, you'll typically want to:

• Assign organization or event roles
• Add them to custom lists
• Update their first and last name if needed

Bulk Adding Contacts

CompetitionSuite doesn't currently support bulk importing contacts. To add multiple contacts, create them one at a time or:

• Invite them to join your organization by sharing your membership signup link
• Add them as judges through the judge management workflow
• Have them request staff access through the group interface

Tips

• Double-check the email address before creating a contact. Typos can create orphan accounts.
• If someone already exists in your organization, creating a duplicate will fail gracefully.
• Use "Unknown Email" sparingly - real email addresses enable communication and account management.