> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.gymart.org/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.gymart.org/club-management/csv-template-and-format.md).

# CSV template and format

You're on Step 1 of the CSV import and you need to know what goes where. This page covers the columns, the settings, and the small things that trip people up.

## Prerequisites

* You're in the [CSV import wizard](/club-management/import-gymnasts-csv.md), Step 1.

## Recognized columns

The import wizard recognizes the following columns. Column order does not matter — the importer matches by header name (it also accepts common aliases and French equivalents):

| Column            | Required | Example              | Notes                                                           |
| ----------------- | -------- | -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| First name        | Yes      | Jane                 |                                                                 |
| Last name         | Yes      | Smith                |                                                                 |
| Discipline        | Yes      | WAG                  | WAG, MAG, or other sport type                                   |
| Date of birth     | Yes      | 31/01/2012           | See date format setting below                                   |
| Club Name         | Yes      | Sunrise Gymnastics   |                                                                 |
| Level             | No\*     | Level 5              | \*Required for meet registration; optional for club-only import |
| League identifier | No       | ABC-1234             | Federation number, licence, affiliation number, etc.            |
| USAG Number       | No       | 1234567              |                                                                 |
| Coach numbers     | No       | 42,57                | Comma-separated coach IDs                                       |
| Primary email     | No       | <jane@example.com>   |                                                                 |
| Secondary email   | No       | <parent@example.com> |                                                                 |

Any columns with headers not in this list are treated as custom fields automatically. Gym Art Meets reads the header name and creates a matching custom field for each extra column. These map to meet-specific custom fields during registration.

So if your spreadsheet has extra columns called "Allergy Info" and "T-Shirt Size", those become custom fields automatically.

## Import settings

Click the **Settings** gear icon on Step 1 to configure how your file gets read:

| Setting             | Options                                                        | Default          |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- |
| **Delimiter**       | Comma, Tab, Semicolon, Pipe                                    | Comma            |
| **Text Qualifier**  | Double quotes, Single quotes                                   | Double quotes    |
| **Date Format**     | dd/MM/yyyy, MM/dd/yyyy, yyyy-MM-dd, yyyy (year only), and more | dd/MM/yyyy       |
| **Encoding**        | UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, Windows-1252                                | UTF-8            |
| **End of Line**     | LF, CRLF                                                       | Auto-detect      |
| **Skip Empty Rows** | On or Off                                                      | On               |
| **Trim Whitespace** | On or Off                                                      | On               |
| **Data Start Row**  | Row number where data begins                                   | 2 (after header) |

For a deeper dive into each of these settings, see [Advanced import settings](/club-management/advanced-import-settings.md).

## Tips for specific spreadsheet apps

**Excel:** You can upload your `.xlsx` file directly — no need to export to CSV first. If you do export, save as "CSV UTF-8" for the best compatibility.

**Google Sheets:** File, then Download, then CSV. It works out of the box.

**Date problems are the number one import error.** If your dates look right in your spreadsheet but show errors after import, go back to Settings and make sure the date format matches what's actually in your file. For example, if your dates look like "25/01/2012", set the format to dd/MM/yyyy. See [Fix CSV import errors](/club-management/fix-csv-import-errors.md) for more.

## What's next

* [Fix CSV import errors](/club-management/fix-csv-import-errors.md) - If something goes wrong during import

## Related

* [Import gymnasts via CSV](/club-management/import-gymnasts-csv.md)
* [Advanced import settings](/club-management/advanced-import-settings.md)
* [Club management overview](/club-management/index.md)