Whenever someone completes a blank online form with Sporty or whenever you update personal details on a form, Sporty automatically applies person-matching rules to check if the person already exists in your database. If it is 100% certain of a match, it will update the existing record instead of creating a duplicate. For more information on person-matching rules click here.
Duplicates can still exist in your SuperCRM view for a variety of legitimate reasons, such as people registering with a different Date of Birth or registering to a form with insufficient personal details for the system to automatically match them to an existing person.
Don’t panic - there are some simple steps to reduce duplicates
- Set your default filter in SuperCRM to display only the current season. This will allow you to focus on registrations from just one season, making it easier to identify and deal with true duplicates within a season. To learn how to create and save a filter in SuperCRM, click here.
- Exclude unnecessary forms/databases from your CRM view. Simple untick the checkbox in your form settings to exclude records from that form from your SuperCRM view. This is useful if your form was just for a one-off event, trial, or collection of information that needn’t clutter your CRM view. For instructions, see Step 12 under ‘Advanced Options’ in this article: Building & Editing a Form.
How to reduce new duplicates in the future: use Sporty Magic Links and Profiles
- When clubs use Sporty to email their members a magic link to renew for the new season, each link is unique to each member. When a person clicks the link in their email, it opens their registration form automatically pre-filled with their details for new season. This method means that Sporty knows the identity of each person so there is no need to rely on person matching and duplicates cannot occur.
- In 2026 Sporty is releasing Personal Profiles for some sports such as Football and Rugby League. Personal Profiles allow people to remain in a logged-in state on their phone or computer. This means that when they then renew for a season or sign-up for a program, Sporty knows exactly who they are. This means once again that duplicates cannot occur.
How to identify and resolve duplicates
All databases tend to develop duplicates over time. Duplicates do not degrade or diminish the core functionality of the Sporty platform. However, if you wish to resolve duplicates it is recommended that you do this on a regular schedule (e.g., daily, weekly or monthly) to review and merge potential duplicates by using the following method:
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SuperCRM Duplicates Report
To quickly find potential duplicates, use the Duplicates Report in SuperCRM:- Go to SuperCRM from your Sporty Dashboard.
- Select the “Reports” tab from the top right of the screen.
- Choose the “Potential Duplicates” report. Learn more about Duplicate Reports here.
- How to Merge Duplicate Person Records
If you identify that two records relate to the same person, you can merge them. Follow the instructions here. Be careful – there is no undo. Once you merge records, it is difficult to separate them again.
Need Help?
If you need assistance or believe there's an issue with duplicate detection, feel free to contact Sporty Support.