New Horizon Experience. This article describes the New Horizon Experience, which is currently available only in the Horizon WebRef mobile apps for Android and iOS. It is coming soon to desktop and laptop.
This article is about the New Horizon Experience itself, not a single page. It applies to every signed-in member: officials, assignors, coaches, observers, League Personnel, and organization administrators.
Use it when you want to understand the change, try the new experience, switch back on a computer, or send feedback. In the Horizon WebRef mobile apps for Android and iOS you already see New Horizon, and those apps cannot switch back. On a computer or laptop in a web browser you still see the older legacy layout unless you choose Try the New Horizon Experience.
Why change something that still works
If legacy Horizon still works for you, you are not alone. It has served officials, assignors, and organizations since 2005, more than twenty years, and long before smartphones were part of everyday work. That is a long run for any tool people depend on every week.
The older Horizon was built for computers. The iPhone did not even exist yet. As phones and tablets became the way many people work, we adapted screens later. That retrofit only goes so far. About 30 percent of the older software works well on a phone. The rest is awkward, incomplete, or simply not there when you are away from a desk.
Legacy Horizon took us as far as it could. It is harder to add the features members ask for, and harder to keep every modern device working well. The New Horizon Experience is a true phone-first Horizon: almost every feature works on a phone, a tablet, and a computer. The trusted tools are the same. The layout is built for the screen in front of you.
On a computer, the same Game Schedule uses the wider layout so more of the day stays in view at once.
We did not wait for the older version to stop working. We started thinking about the next Horizon around 2015 while we were still improving the one you already knew. Serious building began around 2020. The pandemic slowed that work. Early pieces started appearing in the mobile apps in 2024. In 2026 the full system is ready for everyday use.
Horizon runs all year. Someone, somewhere, is always in a busy stretch. There is no quiet month that works for every organization, so the change comes with time to try it, switch back on a computer, and settle in before legacy Horizon retires.
What you gain
On a phone, New Horizon is meant to feel like it belongs there. Common jobs such as checking the Game Schedule, answering an assignment, or opening the Availability Calendar use the same ideas you already know, arranged so they are easier to find and finish with a thumb.
On a computer, the same detailed game card uses the wider layout so teams, location, and Accept and Decline stay in view.
On a tablet or a larger screen, you get the same experience instead of a separate, stripped-down mobile site. We can keep improving one Horizon instead of stretching an older one past its limits.
Your games, memberships, payments, and profile stay yours. Switching experiences does not start you over.
A look around New Horizon
Here is a wider tour of everyday screens. The names stay familiar. The layout is built for a phone first, then opens up on a larger screen.
Filters on the Game Schedule let you narrow the list and choose how games are ordered. Open Filters, pick the leagues or status you want, then tap Apply Filters.
On a computer, Filters opens the same way, with more room for leagues and sort choices.
The Availability Calendar is where you mark days available or unavailable, in month, week, or day view.
On a computer, the Availability Calendar uses the wider month view.
Directory is the people list: search, open a card, and reach someone by message, phone, or email.
On a computer, Directory uses the same search and cards across a wider list.
Assignors get the same phone-first layout when they fill a game. Eligible and ineligible officials sit in one list, with the game details at the top.
On a computer, the same assign list keeps the game details at the top and Eligible and Ineligible in one place.
Travel keeps hotels, rental cars, and flights on one Trip page instead of scattering them.
On a computer, the Trip page keeps hotels, rental cars, and flights together with more room for maps and details.
Personal Profile is still your account home. Your name and photo sit in the header, which is also where the account menu lives.
On a computer, Personal Profile still puts your name and photo in the header, which is also where the account menu lives.
Light Theme and Dark Theme
New Horizon includes both a Light Theme and a Dark Theme. Open your account menu (your name or photo) and choose the one you want. The same pages and tools stay in place. Only the colors change.
Here is the Game Schedule in Light Theme on a phone.
The same Game Schedule on a computer in Light Theme.
The same Game Schedule in Dark Theme on a phone.
The same Game Schedule on a computer in Dark Theme.
The Availability Calendar in Light Theme on a phone.
The same Availability Calendar on a computer in Light Theme.
The same Availability Calendar in Dark Theme on a phone.
The same Availability Calendar on a computer in Dark Theme.
Travel uses the same Light Theme and Dark Theme. You can switch themes whenever you like. Your choice is saved for that account on that device.
How to try it, and how to switch back
You do not need an organization administrator to turn this on for you. When the option is offered, you choose it from your own account.
In the Horizon WebRef mobile apps for Android and iOS, New Horizon is already the experience you see. Those apps cannot switch back to legacy Horizon, now or later. On a computer or laptop, look for a banner that says Try the New Horizon Experience, or open your account menu (your name or photo) and choose that same wording. After you switch, you may see a short welcome, then a practice page that walks you around New Horizon. The first look-around on that practice page is required. You finish the steps before you go to Home.
On a computer, you can return from the same account menu with Switch to legacy Horizon when that item is shown. We will ask for a short reason and a few details so we know what to improve. That is Share Feedback on New Horizon when you want to send feedback without switching. The Horizon WebRef mobile apps for Android and iOS always stay on the New Horizon Experience. They cannot switch back.
Some newer memberships already start on New Horizon and do not show a switch back, even on a computer. If you do not see those menu items, you are already on the experience that membership uses.
Common questions
Can I switch back to legacy Horizon on the Android, iPhone (iOS), or iPad (iPadOS) mobile apps?
No. The Horizon WebRef mobile apps for Android and iOS stay on the New Horizon Experience. That includes Android phones and tablets, iPhone (iOS), and iPad (iPadOS). Those apps are set on New Horizon and cannot switch back to legacy Horizon.
It was not broken, so why change it
Working is not the same as being ready for the next twenty years. Legacy Horizon still does the job it was built for. The limit is the foundation underneath: it is harder to support every phone and tablet, and harder to keep adding the tools people ask for. We are changing it because members now work on devices that did not exist in 2005, and because we want one Horizon we can keep improving.
I liked the old version better
That reaction is common when a tool you have used for years looks new. Muscle memory is real. Give the new layout a few real tasks, not just a glance. If you need the older screens during a busy week, switch back on a computer until legacy retires. The mobile apps cannot switch back. Tell us what you miss with Share Feedback on New Horizon. Specific notes (the page, the job, what took longer) help more than a general dislike.
The new version is worse
If something is harder, slower, or missing, we want that in your words. Open Share Feedback on New Horizon from the account menu, pick a reason, and describe what you were trying to do. We read that feedback and use it to decide what to fix next. A vague "it is worse" does not tell us which job to repair first.
The new version is slower
New Horizon is not designed to be slower. We watch how fast the New Horizon Experience runs and keep working so pages stay quick. In everyday use it should feel as quick as the older screens, and often quicker once you know where things live. If a page feels slow on your device, send feedback and name the page and what you tapped. A one-time pause after you switch is often just the new layout loading the first time.
It takes more clicks
We designed common jobs to take the same number of taps or clicks, and often fewer. A few tasks take one or two extra steps where we had to make a tradeoff, usually so the same flow works on a phone and a large screen. If a job you do every week now takes more steps, say which job it is. That is the kind of note that changes the product.
The old version worked fine
It did, for a long time, on the devices it was built for. Fine on a desktop in 2010 is not the same as fine on the phone in your pocket today. About 30 percent of the older software works well on a phone. New Horizon is built so almost every feature does.
Why now, this is my busy season
Horizon does not have an off-season that works for everyone. Someone is always assigning, accepting, or traveling. That is why you can try New Horizon and still switch back on a computer until legacy retires. The mobile apps stay on New Horizon. Learning it in small pieces now is easier than meeting a last-minute change later.
Will I lose my games or my history
No. Your assignments, schedule, payments, profile, and organization membership stay the same. You are changing how Horizon looks and how you move through it, not starting a new account.
Where did a button go
Most tools are still there. The name in the menu or the place on the page may have moved so the same action fits a phone and a computer. Search this Help Center for the job you are doing (for example accepting a game or opening the Availability Calendar). If you still cannot find it, send feedback and name the old wording you remember.
Do I have to relearn everything
No. You still accept and decline games, mark availability, assign, publish, and get paid. The ideas are the same. What changes is the layout, the menus, and how pages adapt to a smaller screen.
Can I stay on the old version forever
Not forever. Legacy Horizon will retire. Until that date you can switch back from your account menu on a computer when that option is shown. The Horizon WebRef mobile apps for Android and iOS cannot switch back. After retirement, New Horizon is Horizon.
Is this a different product or an extra fee
No. It is the next Horizon for the same membership. You do not buy a second product to use it.
I already tried it and went back
That is expected during the transition on a computer. Try it again when you have ten quiet minutes, or after we have had time to act on feedback. You can switch from the account menu on a computer whenever the option is offered. The mobile apps stay on New Horizon.
Can I use a dark screen
Yes. Open your account menu and choose Dark Theme or Light Theme. The pages stay the same. Only the colors change.
If you still see the older legacy desktop or laptop layout
On a computer or laptop in a web browser you still see the older legacy layout unless you choose Try the New Horizon Experience. The banner at the top of the page uses that wording. Your account menu can show the same action.
Menus, buttons, and page titles on that older layout can differ from the New Horizon steps above. Use the English words on your screen. When you are in the mobile apps, follow the New Horizon Experience. When you are on a desktop or laptop and have not switched, follow this older-layout section.