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A progression track is a named ladder of skill levels that a member advances through over time: the belt system in a jiu-jitsu academy, the graded levels in a kids swim program, or the skill tiers in a tennis club. Each track belongs to one sport and holds an ordered list of levels (for example White, Blue, Purple, Brown, Black). Members are assigned a current level on any enabled track, optionally with stripes and notes, and every change is kept as a dated history entry. You set up the tracks once, and staff assign and promote members from their member profile.

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When to use it

Use progression tracks when your members work through a graded syllabus and you want each person’s current level, and how they got there, on their profile instead of in a coach’s notebook. Start from a platform template with one toggle, customize a copy, or build your own ladder. Typical uses:
  • Belts and stripes - a jiu-jitsu academy tracks White to Black belt with up to four stripes per belt, and notes each grading in the member’s history.
  • Kids swim levels - a swim school records which level each child has reached, from water confidence to endurance.
  • Knowing who is ready to grade - a Muay Thai gym sets 20 sessions per armband, so students see how close they are and coaches get a list of who is eligible before grading day.
  • Streaming players into groups - a tennis gym uses skill tiers from Beginner to Competition to put members in the right coaching group.
See Worked examples for how to set up each of these, plus a Muay Thai armband track.

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Tracks and levels

A track has:
  • Track name - what members and staff see, for example “Adult BJJ Belts” or “Learn to Swim”.
  • Sport - a short tag used to group tracks (for example jiu-jitsu, swimming, tennis). Pick from the sport list.
  • Description - optional context shown on the track card.
  • Stripes per level - the maximum number of stripes a member can earn within a single level, from 0 to 10. Set it to 0 to turn stripes off entirely; set it to 4 for the classic jiu-jitsu belt system.
Which classes count toward a track is set on the class type, not the track: a class type’s Counts toward field links it to one track. Each track card shows the class types linked to it, or “All sessions count toward this track” when none are. A level has:
  • Skill - the primary label for the rung, for example “White belt”, “Level 2”, or “Intermediate”.
  • Level - an optional secondary label shown as a colored chip next to the skill (for example a degree, grade number, or short code).
  • Color - an optional hex color used for the level’s chip and the belt/line visual on member cards.
  • Order - levels are ordered; drag to reorder them into progression sequence.
  • Sessions - optional. How many sessions a member needs at the level below before they are eligible for this one. The first level has no Sessions field, because there is no level below it to count at.

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Global templates vs org-owned tracks

You manage tracks and levels under Settings > Members > Progression Levels in the admin. The Progression settings page shows every track visible to your organization as a card:
  • Global templates are platform-wide and shared across organizations. They are read-only: you cannot edit their levels directly. Each global card has an enable/disable toggle and a Customize action.
  • Org-owned (custom) tracks belong only to your organization. They carry a Custom chip, are fully editable, and can be deleted. You get these either by creating a new track or by customizing (forking) a global template.

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Enable a global template

Flip the toggle on a global template’s card to enable it for your organization. Enabled tracks become available for member assignment and show a highlighted card border. To turn one off, flip the toggle again. You are asked to confirm, because disabling a track stops new level assignments on it. Existing member assignments are kept but hidden. Class types linked to the track keep their link, so turning it back on restores the same counting; their form shows the track as disabled until you do. A track that still has active member assignments cannot be disabled - you see “Cannot disable track: there are active member assignments” and must clear those assignments first.

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Customize (fork) a template

Click Customize on a global template to open its levels in an editable copy. The dialog shows the hint “Editing a copy of this template. Nothing is saved until you click Save.” Make your changes, then Save. At that point 1Club:
  1. Creates an org-owned copy of the track and all its levels.
  2. Disables the original global template for your organization (so you do not end up with two parallel ladders).
  3. Re-points any existing member assignments from the template’s levels to the matching levels on your new copy.
  4. Moves any class types that counted toward the template over to your new copy, so the same sessions keep counting.
The result is a Custom track you fully control, seeded from the template so you keep everything you had.

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Creating a track from scratch

  1. Go to Settings > Members > Progression Levels.
  2. Click Create track.
  3. Fill in Track name and Sport (both required), an optional Description, and Stripes per level (0 to disable stripes).
  4. Save. The levels editor opens automatically so you can author the ladder.

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Authoring levels

Open a custom track (or a global template’s Customize view) to edit its levels.
  • Click Add level to append a row.
  • For each row, fill in the Skill, an optional Level label, and pick a Color.
  • Enter Sessions on any level after the first to set how many sessions it takes (see Sessions to the next level). Leave it empty for no requirement.
  • Drag the handle to reorder rows into the correct progression sequence - order is the ladder.
  • Use the delete icon to remove a row. A level cannot be deleted while a member is currently assigned to it; remove or reassign those members first.
  • Set Stripes per level for the whole track at the bottom of the dialog.
  • Click Save to persist all additions, edits, reorders, and deletions together.

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Assigning and promoting a member

Progression is managed from the member profile, not the settings page. A member (contact) does not need a linked user account to be assigned a level.
  1. Open the member’s profile and go to the progression section (Current progression levels).
  2. Click Manage progression (or click an existing track card to focus it).
  3. In the dialog, click Assign level, then:
    • Pick a Track (skipped automatically when only one track is enabled).
    • Pick a Level - the picker shows each level’s skill, its color, and its level chip.
    • If the track allows stripes, choose the number of Stripes (0 up to the track’s stripes-per-level cap).
    • Add optional Notes (for example “Promoted at winter grading”).
  4. Save.
Promoting a member is the same flow: pick the new level (and stripes) and save. Only tracks enabled for your organization can be assigned.

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Progression history

Every save appends a dated entry to the member’s progression timeline - level changes, stripe-only changes, and note edits all create a history row. The row is the event: a member’s current level on a track is simply the most recent entry for that track. The history list under the assign form shows each entry’s date, track, level (with belt/line and stripes), and notes, newest first. Delete an individual entry with its trash icon; if you delete the most recent entry, the next-most-recent one becomes the member’s current level automatically.

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Sessions to the next level

Set Sessions on a level and 1Club counts how many sessions each member has attended toward it.
  • Per level, not a running total. “Blue belt: 20” means 20 sessions at the level below Blue. The count starts again at every new level, so a later “Black belt: 60” means 60 sessions at the level just below it, not 60 since the member joined.
  • What counts as a session. A check-in, or a completed booking - the same count as the member’s week streak on their account page, so the two never disagree. Cancelled bookings and no-shows never count. If your gym does not require check-in, a booking counts once the day is over even when the member did not show up, unless you mark it a no-show. Require check-in for an accurate grading count.
  • When counting starts. At midnight on your gym’s clock, the day after the member earned their current level. The session where a belt is awarded belongs to the level it was earned at. Backdating a level, or correcting its date, recounts automatically.
  • Which sessions count depends on the track’s class types. A track with no class types linked counts every session, so if you teach two disciplines a session in one counts toward both. Once you link class types to a track (with Counts toward on the class type), only sessions of those types count toward it. Private lessons and court bookings have no class type, so they don’t count toward a track that has class types linked.

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Where the count shows

  • Member profile - the Progress tile shows the count with a bar in the next level’s color, for example “13 / 20 sessions to Blue belt”, or Eligible for promotion to Blue belt once the member reaches it.
  • Member account (portal and website) - the Your progression card on My account > Overview, next to the week streak, and the progression section of the member’s Profile show the same count and bar.

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Eligible is a signal, not a promotion

Reaching the number changes nothing on its own: no level changes and no message is sent. You still promote the member yourself (see Assigning and promoting a member). For a list of who is eligible, close, stalled or just promoted, turn on the Progression category in Smart tagging.

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Worked examples

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Adult jiu-jitsu belt system (martial arts)

Enable or fork the BJJ belt template, or create a track named “Adult BJJ Belts” with sport jiu-jitsu. Author five levels in order, each with a matching color: Set Stripes per level to 4 to match the IBJJF four-stripe system. When you promote a student, pick the belt and set stripes 0-4; a note like “3rd stripe awarded at May grading” is stored in history. To show students how close they are, enter Sessions on each belt from Blue up and require check-in, so only attended classes count. Turn on the Progression smart tags to see who is eligible before your next grading. If you also run other classes, set Counts toward to this track on your BJJ class types so only BJJ sessions count.

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Learn to swim, kids levels (swimming)

Create a track “Learn to Swim” with sport swimming and Stripes per level 0 (no stripes). Author sequential levels such as Level 1 (Water confidence), Level 2 (Floating and gliding), Level 3 (Freestyle and backstroke), Level 4 (All four strokes), Level 5 (Endurance). Assign each child their current level; parents can see the belt/line progress on the member card.

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Tennis skill tiers (racket sports)

Create a track “Tennis skill tiers” with sport tennis and no stripes. Author tiers like Beginner, Improver, Intermediate, Advanced, Competition, using increasingly warm colors. Use it to stream members into the right coaching group, and pair it with the 1club Rating on Matches for objective match-based ranking.

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Muay Thai armbands (martial arts)

For a muay-thai program, author levels mirroring the prajioud armband colors (White, Yellow, Green, Blue, Brown, Red) with stripes disabled, and record gradings in the notes field.

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Tips & best practices

  • Prefer enable over fork. If a global template matches your syllabus, just toggle it on. Fork only when you need to rename, recolor, reorder, or add and remove levels.
  • Order is the ladder. Levels are assigned in the order you arrange them, so drag them into true progression sequence before you start promoting members.
  • Use stripes for intra-level progress. Set stripes per level only where a level is earned incrementally (belts). Leave it at 0 for graded or tiered programs where you jump level to level.
  • Write promotion notes. Notes are stored per history entry and make the timeline a real grading record - capture the date, event, or assessor.
  • Color consistently. Reuse the real-world colors of your ladder so the member card belt/line reads at a glance.
  • Set sessions where attendance drives grading. Members see exactly how far they are from the next level, which keeps them coming. Require check-in so the count reflects real attendance.
  • One track per program, not per class. A track is a syllabus (Adult BJJ, Kids Swim), not a schedule; keep the ladder stable and manage attendance elsewhere.
  • Link the classes that train for a track. If your gym runs more than one discipline, set Counts toward on each class type so a strength class doesn’t move anyone toward a belt. Linking or unlinking a class type recounts every member on the track straight away.

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Troubleshooting

  • Member profiles - where you assign, promote, and review a member’s progression and history.
  • Members analytics - reporting across your member base, including progression.
  • Matches - the 1club Rating system for objective, match-based skill ranking alongside progression tracks.
  • Smart tagging - tag members who are eligible for promotion, close to it, stalled at their level or recently promoted.