Admin How-To Guide

Open Venue Management

Open the slide-out menu → tap Venue Management under the ADMIN heading.

Tap the Add Button

Tap the floating + button (or Add Venue) in the top bar.

Enter Facility Details & Timezone

Fill out the venue creation form:

• Venue Name: E.g., Sunset Pickleball Center.
• Address: Full street address, city, state, and zip code. Players can tap this address inside the app to launch turn-by-turn directions in Apple Maps or Google Maps.
• Number of Courts: Total playable courts available for match scheduling (e.g., 8). Rākete uses this to balance court capacity per round.
• Timezone: Select the facility's local IANA timezone (e.g., America/New_York, America/Chicago, America/Denver, America/Los_Angeles). This ensures notification reminders and player schedules display accurate local times regardless of where players are when viewing the app.

Save & Update Facilities

Tap Create Venue. You can update court counts or addresses at any time by tapping any venue card in the Venue Management directory.

Navigate to Create League

Open the side navigation menu and tap Create League under the ADMIN group.

Select Tournament Format & Basic Info

Configure the foundational parameters:

• Tournament Name: E.g., Metro Spring Doubles League.
• Format: Choose your competitive structure:
  • Round Robin: Fixed doubles teams play scheduled matchups across all rounds.
  • Round Robin (4-Player): Individual players rotate partners for each game within 4-player pods.
  • Single Elimination: Traditional knockout tournament bracket where winners advance to the finals.
  • Up & Down the River: Dynamic ladder league where players rotate partners weekly and move up or down courts based on performance.
• Dates: Select Start Date and End Date.
• Venue: Select the pre-configured venue hosting the event.
• Skill Level (DUPR): Optional minimum and maximum DUPR rating bounds (e.g., 3.00 to 4.50) to ensure balanced competition.
• Capacity: Set the maximum number of teams or players allowed to enroll.

Configure Schedule & Day-of Check-In

Customize the scheduling wizard:

• Schedule Mode: Select Same Day (for single-day tournaments) or Weekly / Multi-Day (for multi-week recurring league nights).
• Round Start Times & Duration: Specify match start times and expected duration per round (e.g., 45 minutes).
• Require Check-In Toggle: Enable the Require Check-In switch if you want players to check in on-site 10 minutes before round 1 begins.
• Scoring Rules per Round: Set points to win (default 11, win by 2) or customized scoring (such as 15 or 21-point finals).

Save in Draft Status

Tap Create League. The tournament is saved in Draft status. While in Draft, players cannot see brackets or matches until you finalize rosters and publish the schedule.

Configure Ladder Settings

When choosing Up & Down the River in the Create League form, the Ladder Settings panel unlocks:

• Courts (Groups): Total simultaneous courts in use (e.g., 4 courts).
• Players per Court: Standard 4 players per court (for rotating doubles).
• Promotion / Relegation Count: Number of players who move up to the higher court and down to the lower court each week (typically 1 or 2 players).
• Rounds per Session: Number of rotation rounds per weekly session (typically 3 rounds so every player partners with everyone on their court once).
• Game Duration & Scoring: Timed games (e.g., 15 minutes) or point caps with rally scoring or side-out scoring. Ties are supported in ladder games.

Seed Courts & Manual Adjustments

Navigate to Manage Leagues → select the league → open Ladder Management:

• Auto-Seed by Rating: Tap Seed Ladder Groups to place players onto courts automatically based on their DUPR ratings (highest DUPR on Court 1).
• Manual Player Moves: Tap Move Player on any court card to swap players between courts before the session begins.

Start Session & Admit Late Arrivals

Tap Start Session. The session transitions from Scheduled to In Progress, automatically generating round-by-round partner rotation pairings for all courts.

Lock Session & Automatic Court Movements

Once all court games are completed and scores are entered:

• Tap Lock Week (or Lock Session).
• Rākete automatically tallies points, calculates weekly court standings, and applies promotions and relegations: top finishers move up a court, while bottom finishers move down a court for next week.
• The Court Movement Summary dialog appears, displaying exactly who moved up, who stayed, and who moved down.
• The draw and court placements for the next week's session are automatically prepared!
• If a score mistake occurred, organizers can tap Unlock Week to make corrections and re-lock.

Email Invitations (Brevo Integration)

In Tournament Details, tap Invite Players:

• Enter one or multiple email addresses separated by commas.
• Tap Send Invitations. Official branded email invitations are dispatched with direct links to download the app and confirm their entry.
• Track live RSVP statuses: Pending, Accepted, or Declined.

Placeholder Roster Members

You don't have to wait for players to sign up before scheduling. When an email invite is sent, Rākete creates a placeholder roster member (pending:inviteId). You can place placeholders into teams, seed brackets, and assign courts right away.

Pair Free Agents & Rename Teams

From the tournament roster screen:

• Assign Unteamed Players: Pair solo registrants into doubles teams by tapping Assign Player.
• Move / Reassign Players: Transfer players between teams or swap partners using Move Player.
• Custom Team Names: Set custom team nicknames (e.g., The Kitchen Kings) via Rename Team. Custom names are preserved even if brackets are re-generated.

Generate Bracket & Matchups

In Tournament Details, tap Generate Schedule (or Generate Bracket). The engine computes all matchups, sequences rounds, and assigns court numbers.

Inspect the Full Admin Schedule

Tap Admin Schedule from the side menu or from Tournament Details. This specialized view displays:

• All rounds, match times, court allocations, and live game scores across the entire facility.
• Direct indicators of which matches are pending, currently playing, or completed.

Reschedule Matches & Adjust Courts

Need to move a match due to court delays or weather? Tap the match card in Admin Schedule → select Reschedule Match → adjust the scheduled start time or court assignment.

Publish the Tournament

When ready, tap Publish Tournament. The tournament transitions from Draft to Published. Registered players immediately receive schedule visibility and court assignments in their app.

How Player Check-In Works

When Require Check-In is enabled, a Check In button appears on players' Home screens 10 minutes prior to their day's first scheduled match. Tapping it records their attendance with an exact timestamp.

Review the Check-In Status Report

Open your tournament in Manage Leagues and tap Check-In Status:

• View players grouped by round, court, and team.
• See clear visual badges indicating who is Checked In (with time) vs. Not Checked In.
• Quickly identify absent players before calling matches or starting ladder rotations.

Select Match & Game to Edit

Locate the match in Admin Schedule or Tournament Details → tap the match card → tap the specific game (e.g., Game 1).

Correct Scores & Submit

Enter the corrected numerical scores for each side. Unlike player accounts which are locked once a game is marked final, admins can edit scores on completed games at any time.

Handling Match & Game Forfeits

If a team or player is unable to play or withdraws, tap Forfeit Match (or Forfeit Game). Select the forfeiting team. Rākete records the match as a forfeit win for the opposing team and updates standings tiebreakers accordingly.

Instant Standings Recalculation

Submitting an edit instantly re-evaluates:

• Match Win / Loss records
• Games won / lost differential
• Total points scored and net point differential
• Live Tournament Standings table and ladder season rankings

Open Broadcast Sheet

From Tournament Details, tap the Send Notification button (indicated with the 🔔 Bell icon).

Compose & Send Alert

Type your announcement in the message box. E.g.: "Rain delay: Play suspended for 20 minutes. Matches will resume at 10:45 AM."

Instant Delivery Verification

Tap Send Notification. Rākete sends the alert via Firebase Cloud Messaging and displays the total delivered recipient count (e.g., "Delivered to 32 players").

Archiving Completed Leagues

When a tournament or season concludes, open the tournament → tap Archive League. The event is moved out of active lists to keep your dashboard focused on ongoing tournaments.

Viewing Historical Results

Tap Archived Leagues in the side menu under ADMIN to review past brackets, completed match scores, and championship standings at any time.

Delegating Roles & Permissions

Tap Manage Permissions in the side navigation menu. Search for a player by name or email to grant them Organizer or Admin privileges.