This can only happen for activities and courses where there is a fee. We automated the waitlist-to-roster functionality for activities and courses that are free (i.e. if a leader adds a person with the “waitlisted” status and there is space for them to be “registered,” the person being added is automatically changed to “registered” when the record is saved). And the definition of a waitlist is list of people who want to participate if space becomes available, so there should never be anyone on a waitlist if there is space on the activity or course for them.

We considered automating automated the waitlist-to-roster functionality for activities and courses with a fee, but decided not to, because the fee adds some nuances, chief among them is an accidental cancellation request. If a person requests a cancellation (or a leader does so for them), and that space is not automatically filled, we have time to add them back before it’s too late and without lots of extra work and likely removing the person who was automatically added in the canceled person’s place. Typically, if an activity or course has a fee, the investment of both money and time is significant for the participant and we want to be sure that we respect that and minimize the risk and consequences of a mistake.