Belt Promotions

Overview

Once a program has a rank system, you can promote members through it. A promotion awards a member a new rank, optionally with stripes, and records who promoted them and when. Every promotion is kept in a permanent history on the member's profile.

This article covers running and reviewing promotions. To set up the rank system itself, see Ranks & Belt Systems. To track individual techniques, see Skill Tracking & Curriculum.

Before You Promote

A member can only be promoted within a rank system that is attached to a program. If no rank systems are configured, the promotion screen will tell you to create one first under Schedule > Programs. Set up the program, its rank system, and its rank levels before promoting anyone.

Promoting a Member

1. Open the member's profile.
2. Go to the Ranks tab.
3. Click Promote Member.
4. Choose the Rank System for the discipline you are promoting in.
5. Choose the New Rank to award. Each rank shows its belt color.
6. Optionally set the number of stripes by clicking the stripe markers. Click a stripe again to clear back to that count. The maximum number of stripes is set by the rank system.
7. Optionally add notes about the promotion, such as the grading event or instructor feedback.
8. Click Promote.

The member's current rank updates immediately, and the promotion is added to their history.

Promotion Readiness

The Ranks tab helps you decide when a member is ready. Each rank card shows a progress ring and progress bars toward the next rank, based on the criteria defined for that rank system:

• Classes attended since the last promotion, measured against the minimum required for the next rank.
• Days at rank, measured against the minimum time required.

When a member meets the criteria, the card shows a Ready to promote banner with the next rank name and is highlighted with a colored border. This is a prompt, not an automatic promotion — you still run the promotion manually so an instructor stays in control.

You can also review the member's skill curriculum scores on the same tab to confirm they have covered the required techniques before promoting.

Viewing Promotion History

The Promotion History section on the Ranks tab is a timeline of every rank the member has earned. Each entry shows:

• The rank name and stripe count.
• The date the rank was awarded.
• The staff member who awarded it.
• Any notes recorded at the time of the promotion.

The timeline shows the three most recent promotions by default. Use Show more to expand the full history.

Members can see their own promotion history on the Progression page of the member portal.

Tips

• Use the readiness banner as a checklist trigger, then confirm with attendance, time at rank, and curriculum scores before awarding the promotion.
• Always add a note when promoting, especially for grading events. Notes appear in the history and explain the promotion to anyone who reviews it later.
• Award stripes between full belt promotions to give members intermediate milestones, particularly in kids' programs.
• After a group grading, promote each member individually from their profile so every promotion is recorded with accurate stripes and notes.