1. Quick Overview
Welcome to the Rākete Player Guide. Rākete is designed to give pickleball players a seamless tournament and league experience from your mobile device. With Rākete, you can:
- View your upcoming matches, court assignments, and opponent pairings in real time.
- Check yourself in on game day directly from the app so organizers know you are ready to play.
- Enter and verify live game scores directly from the court without paper score sheets.
- Compete in Up & Down the River ladder leagues with weekly partner rotations, automatic court promotions, and season leaderboards.
- Track live tournament standings, match win-loss records, and point tiebreakers.
- Receive instant push alerts for match callouts, court reassignments, and weather delays.
Navigation Tip: You can access all your active tournaments, profile settings, and this User Guide anytime using the slide-out navigation menu (tap the hamburger menu icon ☰ in the top-right corner of the app bar).
2. Account & Profile Setup
Setting up your player profile ensures tournament organizers can seed brackets accurately and link your event registrations automatically.
Create Your Account & Verify Email
Sign up with your email address and password. Check your inbox for a verification email from Rākete and tap the confirmation link to verify your email address.
Accepting Tournament Invitations
If an organizer invited you to a tournament by email before you joined Rākete, simply sign up using that exact same email address. Rākete will automatically link all pending invitations, rosters, and scheduled match slots to your new account immediately upon registration!
Complete Your Profile & DUPR Rating
Open the side menu → tap Profile:
- Full Name / Display Name: Enter your real name as you want it shown on match scoreboards and brackets.
- DUPR Rating: Enter your official DUPR rating (e.g., 3.65). Organizers use this rating to verify division eligibility and balance ladder league courts.
- Phone Number & Skill Level: Optional contact and skill details to assist organizers.
3. Viewing Your Tournaments & Leagues
Your Home screen serves as your personal tournament hub, keeping all your events neatly organized in one place.
Browse Active & Upcoming Leagues
On the Home screen, your enrolled events appear under My Tournaments. Tap any tournament card to open the Tournament Details hub.
Inspect Tournament Information
In Tournament Details, you can review:
- Format: Round Robin, Single Elimination, or Up & Down the River ladder.
- Dates & Location: Event start and end dates along with the hosting facility name.
- Skill Level: Minimum and maximum DUPR rating bounds.
- Rosters & Teams: View registered competitors and doubles pairings.
4. Game Day: Today's Match & Directions
When you have matches scheduled on a given day, Rākete highlights everything you need to know directly at the top of your Home screen.
The "Today's Match" Card
On the day of a scheduled round, a prominent Today's Match card appears right at the top of your Home screen. It displays:
- Your scheduled round start time (localized to the venue's timezone).
- Your assigned Court Number (e.g., Court 3).
- Your partner's name and your opponents' names.
- The current match status (Scheduled, In Progress, or Completed).
One-Tap Venue Navigation
Need driving directions? Tap the venue address listed on the match card or in Tournament Details. Rākete will automatically open the facility location in Apple Maps (on iOS) or Google Maps (on Android) for instant GPS navigation.
Full Player Schedule View
To preview your future rounds and opponents across the entire season or tournament day, tap Schedule in Tournament Details. Rounds are ordered chronologically so you know when you play and when you have bye rounds.
5. Day-of Tournament Check-In
For tournaments that require check-in, confirming your arrival on-site lets the tournament director know that both you and your partner are present and ready for court assignment.
Check-In Window Opens 10 Minutes Before Round 1
A Check In action appears alongside your match card. Prior to 10 minutes before the first scheduled match of the day, the button remains disabled with a message indicating when check-in opens. Exactly 10 minutes prior to start time, the button automatically unlocks and becomes tappable.
Tap to Check In
Once you arrive at the facility, tap the Check In button. The app sends your check-in timestamp to the organizer desk and updates your status to Checked In at [Time].
Daily Check-In for Multi-Day Events
Check-in is required once per calendar day. In a multi-week league or multi-day tournament, you simply check in once each day you have matches scheduled.
6. Entering Live Match Scores
Rākete allows players to submit game scores directly from the court, keeping leaderboards and standings updated in real time.
Open the Match Scoring Screen
Tap on your match from the Today's Match card on Home, or locate your matchup on the tournament Schedule screen. Tap on the game you are playing (e.g., Game 1) to open the scoreboard.
Enter Numerical Scores
Use the score counter or text fields to enter the final score for Team 1 and Team 2. In standard tournament play, games must meet the win-by-2 condition (e.g., 11-9, 12-10). In ladder leagues, timed games and tie scores are permitted.
Submit Score
Tap Submit Score. Both teams can view the recorded result instantly. Once submitted, the game is marked completed and the overall match standings and tiebreaker metrics update immediately across the entire league.
Score Disputes: If a score was submitted incorrectly by mistake, notify the tournament organizer or desk staff. Tournament administrators have override access to edit completed game scores and recalculate standings.
7. Playing in Up & Down the River (Ladder Leagues)
Up & Down the River is a fast-paced, highly social ladder format where every court features 4 players competing in an Americano partner rotation, followed by weekly promotions and relegations.
Understanding the Ladder Courts
Courts are ranked sequentially:
- Court 1 ("King of the Court"): The top court featuring the highest-seeded players.
- Courts 2 to N-1: Middle tier ladder courts.
- Court N ("The River"): The entry court at the base of the ladder.
Your goal each week is to win points on your court to earn a promotion up toward Court 1!
Check "My Court" & Rotation Rounds
Open your ladder league and tap the My Court tab:
- See which court you are assigned to for that session (e.g., Court 2).
- View the other 3 players in your 4-player pod.
- Each session consists of 3 rotation rounds. You will partner with every other player on your court once (Round 1: Player A & B vs C & D; Round 2: Player A & C vs B & D; Round 3: Player A & D vs B & C).
Weekly Promotions & Relegations
At the end of the session, the organizer locks the week:
- Top Finishers (Promoted): The top 1 or 2 players with the highest points on your court move UP one court for next week (e.g., from Court 3 to Court 2).
- Bottom Finishers (Relegated): The bottom 1 or 2 players move DOWN one court (e.g., from Court 2 to Court 3).
- Middle Finishers: Remain on their current court.
- On Court 1, winners defend the King of the Court position! On the River court, players cannot fall lower and fight for promotion.
Season Leaderboard
Every point scored during your rotation games accumulates toward the overall Season Ladder Standings, crowning the season champion at the end of the league!
8. Team Naming & Doubles Partners
In doubles tournaments, you and your partner can showcase your personality with custom team nicknames.
Set Your Custom Team Name
Open your tournament → find your team in the team list or on your match card → tap Set Team Name (or tap the edit pencil icon).
Naming Rules & Profanity Filter
Enter your creative nickname (e.g., Dink Positive, Kitchen Patrol). Rākete features a built-in profanity filter to ensure names remain respectful and family-friendly for public brackets and scoreboards.
9. Standings, Leaderboards & Tiebreakers
Rākete uses standardized pickleball tiebreaker hierarchies to compute tournament standings with complete mathematical accuracy.
Tournament Standings Hierarchy
Standings in Round Robin and team events are calculated in this precise order:
- 1. Match Record (Win %): Total matches won divided by matches played.
- 2. Game Differential: Total games won minus total games lost.
- 3. Point Differential: Total points scored minus total points conceded.
- 4. Total Points Scored: High-scoring teams win the tiebreak.
Ladder League Standings
In Up & Down the River leagues, the standings tab offers two views:
- Weekly Session Standings: Points and games won within each court pod for that specific night.
- Season Standings: Cumulative points earned across all weeks played, establishing individual player rankings.
10. Push Notifications & Player Alerts
Never miss a match call. Rākete sends real-time push notifications to your mobile device for critical tournament events.
Enable Push Notifications
When prompted during app installation or login, tap Allow Notifications. This ensures you receive alerts even when your phone is locked or in your pocket between games.
Types of Alerts You Will Receive
Rākete delivers alerts for:
- Match Callouts & Reminders: Alerts when your round start time is approaching and your court is ready.
- Court Relocations: Instant updates if the tournament director moves your match to a different court.
- Weather Delays & Rescheduling: Official announcements about rain delays, schedule shifts, or resumption times.
- Tournament Broadcasts: Announcements regarding medal presentations, desk check-in, or playoff announcements.
11. Frequently Asked Questions & Support
Running Late?
Notify your tournament organizer immediately. In ladder leagues, organizers can use the Admit Late Arrival feature to integrate you into remaining rounds.
Entered the Wrong Score?
Don't panic! Speak to the tournament director or court monitor. Organizers have admin override tools to edit scores and auto-update the standings.
Updating Your DUPR?
Go to Profile → tap Edit Profile → update your DUPR rating. Organizers will see your updated rating for upcoming events.
Doubles Partner Cancelled?
Organizers can reassign free agents or swap players directly on the tournament roster without having to recreate the bracket.
Need Help or Have Questions?
If you experience any issues with your account, tournament registration, or mobile app features, our player support team is ready to help.
Support Email: rallypointteam@gmail.com
Contact Player Support