The system always defaults to UNAVAILABLE, meaning you will not be available for game assignments unless you specify your availability on the calendar.

You can update your availability easily by altering individual days or with ONE CLICK by using the recurring availability adjuster. A link is located above the calendar that will allow you to set a pattern of availability for up to a year. Want to change ALL your availability to AVAILABLE? Use the recurring availability adjuster for this. You don't have to click every day individually.

Horizon has researched this topic extensively before deciding on a suitable course. When the availability is defaulted to unavailable, the scheduler's job becomes much easier. We understand that this may require a little more work on the part of individual officials. However, a little more work by each official is better than a LOT of work by one scheduler, in our opinion.

If the availability is defaulted to UNAVAILABLE, when the Scheduler views the list of available officials, they know that the officials on this list are, in fact, available because they specifically set it that way.

On the contrary, if we were to default the availability to AVAILABLE, this creates doubt for the scheduler. When viewing the list of available officials, the scheduler cannot tell whether an official is actually available or if they simply FORGOT to update their calendar. In this instance, the chance of turnbacks and declined assignments increases enormously, as at least 85% of users have forgotten to update their calendars at one time or another.

We choose to set the system to default as unavailable so that the schedulers may reward officials who help make their job easier by keeping their calendars up to date. Officials who keep their calendars up to date will generally be given first priority when receiving assignments. In our study, 45% of assignments were turned back or declined when availability was defaulted to available. Conversely, less than 5% were turned back or declined when the system was defaulted to unavailable.

We hope this clears up some questions.