> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.time2.bike/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Start a team

> Create a team and get your riders on the roster — about ten minutes, start to finish.

This is the whole setup, in order, with nothing optional in it. Everything else
in this section is detail you can come back for.

<Note>
  You don't need an organization, a Stripe account, or anything else first.
  Anyone with a Time2Bike account can create a team.
</Note>

## 1. Create the team

Go to [time2.bike/teams](https://time2.bike/teams) and click **Create Team**.

> !!-IMAGE-NEEDED-!! — The **Create Team** form at `/teams/create`.

| Field             | What to put                                                                                             |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Team Name**     | What people call you. `Coldwater Composite`.                                                            |
| **URL Slug**      | Lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens. Becomes `time2.bike/team/your-slug`. Auto-filled from the name.    |
| **Short Bio**     | One or two sentences, 280 characters. Shown on your public page and to anyone redeeming your join code. |
| **Website**       | Optional.                                                                                               |
| **Visibility**    | **Public** (listed and discoverable), **Unlisted** (link only), or **Private** (members only).          |
| **Join Policy**   | **Invite Only**, **Application**, or **Open**. See below.                                               |
| **Logo**          | PNG, JPG, or SVG up to 5 MB. Square works best — 500×500 is plenty.                                     |
| **Primary Color** | The accent color on your pages.                                                                         |

You become the team's **owner**. You land on the team management area straight
away.

<Tip>
  **Which join policy?** Pick **Invite Only** if you're not sure — the join code
  in step 2 works regardless of this setting, so invite-only is not as
  restrictive as it sounds. Choose **Application** only if you genuinely want to
  read something about each person before they're on the roster.
</Tip>

## 2. Turn on a join code

This is the step that saves you an evening. Thirty individual email invitations
is how a coach loses a night; a code read off a whiteboard at the first practice
is how they don't.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Settings">
    From the team, click **Settings** in the tab bar.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Find the Join code card and click Generate a join code">
    You get a code like `ABCD-1234` and a link, `time2.bike/join/ABCD-1234`.

    > !!-IMAGE-NEEDED-!! — Team **Settings** with a live join code, the share link, and the Copy buttons.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Leave 'People who use it join as' set to Athletes">
    This is your rider code. Don't switch it to Coaches — every rider who used
    it would become a coach. Coaches get their own code, below.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Share it">
    Read the code out at practice, print it on a flyer, or paste the link into
    your team's group chat. Once a parent has the link they can forward it to
    anyone.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Riders (and parents signing up several kids at once) redeem it at
[time2.bike/join](https://time2.bike/join). See
[Join a team](/teams/join-a-team) for what they'll see.

## 3. Add your coaches

Directly under the rider code is the **Staff join code** card. It's a separate
code, off by default, and it makes whoever uses it a coach or manager straight
away.

* **Generate a staff code** and hand it to your coaching staff directly. Don't
  paste it in a group chat.
* Or leave it off, turn on [applications](/teams/applications) with staff
  applications enabled, and vet each coach yourself.

<Warning>
  A staff code makes an adult staff on your roster with no approval step. Treat
  it like a key, not an announcement. Rotate it the moment it escapes.
</Warning>

If someone joined with the *rider* code but said they were a coach, they'll be
sitting on your roster as **invited** with a **Confirm as coach** button next to
them. Nothing about that claim takes effect until you press it.

## 4. Check the roster

Open **Members**. You should see everyone who has joined, with their roster role
and their status.

> !!-IMAGE-NEEDED-!! — The team **Members** roster with a mix of athletes and coaches.

Three things worth doing here:

* Fix anyone's role with the dropdown on their row.
* Turn on **Consent** for members who are happy for you to register them for
  races. See [Racing together](/teams/racing-together).
* Click a rider's name to see (and fill in) their emergency contact.
  See [Emergency & medical info](/teams/emergency-info).

## 5. Schedule your first practice

Open **Practices** → **New practice**.

Give it a name and a time, add at least one activity (a time trial, an endurance
lap ride, a dual slalom bracket, a group ride, or short track), and create it.
Your entire active roster is entered automatically — you don't enter anyone.

On the day, hit **Time it** and you're on the operator screen.

Full detail in [Practices](/teams/practices).

## 6. Tidy up the public page

Optional, but it's the page people land on when they search for your club.
Open **Public Page** to set a header image, an about section, and whether to
show the roster.

See [Your public page](/teams/public-page).

## What you can ignore for now

* **League** — only relevant if your team races under a governing body. It'll
  tell you when it matters.
* **Applications** — only if you set the join policy to Application.
* **Results** — fills itself in once you've timed a practice.

## Next

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Invites & join codes" icon="key" href="/teams/invites-and-codes">
    Rotating codes, staff codes, and email invites in full.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Practices" icon="stopwatch" href="/teams/practices">
    Scheduling and timing your own sessions.
  </Card>
</Columns>