Admin guide Team Competitions Events only

Run a Team Event without spreadsheets

This guide is for organizers running a one-day Team Competition Event in Ladders. Use it as a practical event-day reference, from initial setup through match operations, standings, finances, and closeout.

What you will do

  1. 1. Create an Event and confirm competition, roster, and match rules.
  2. 2. Add competition players and fill in missing gender or age eligibility.
  3. 3. Create teams, assign captains, and confirm roster health.
  4. 4. Generate matches, assign courts, and monitor scheduled versus queued play.
  5. 5. Start matches, lock lineups, enter scores, and settle ties when required.
  6. 6. Review standings, MVP/MVT, and end the competition cleanly.

Recommended order

Finalize settings first, then add players, build teams, and generate matches. After the first completed match, the event shifts into live operations and settings lock.

Step 1

Create the Event and confirm the rule set

Start from the Teams hub and create an Event. In Ladders, Events are the single-day branch of Team Competitions. After creation, you land directly in settings so the structure can be confirmed before anyone is added.

  • Choose the event date, venue, roster size, and join PIN.
  • Define the competition format: round robin, knockout, or a combination.
  • Define roster rules: size, gender rules, age rules, thresholds, and max games per player.
  • Define the match template: default game count, scoring, tiebreaker behavior, and court management.
  • Expand the monetization plan when the event is paid and choose how seats are covered.

Competition format

Choose whether the event runs as round robin only, knockout only, or a mixed format such as round robin into knockout.

Roster rules

Control roster size, match roster size, gender rule, age rule, age threshold, and max games per player in a match.

Match format

Control game count, per-game disciplines, scoring system, tiebreaker behavior, and whether court management is active.

Monetization options: Events can run with player self-pay, captain coverage for outstanding seats, and organizer-facing finance visibility. Turn this on only when you want fees, balances, and payment health tracked inside the event itself.
Admin tip: If you change roster rules, review the match template right away. Default game slots update from roster logic, so this is the best moment to catch anything you want to customize.
Settings
Overview Players Teams Matches Settings

Competition Settings

Competition format

Controls the overall event structure.

Edit
TypeEvent
FormatRound Robin → Knockout
DateMar 19, 2026
VenueCourtX | Oakville
Roster rules

Validates who can be selected and how often.

Edit
Team rosterOpen
Match roster4 players
Gender ruleMXD equal
Age ruleSplit-age
Threshold50+
Max games/player2
Match format

Defines the copied template used for generated matches.

Edit
Game slots4
ScoringRally to 15
Win by2
Allow match tiesNo
TiebreakerEnabled
Court managementEnabled
Monetization plan

Optional, collapsed by default during creation.

Expand
Player self-payEnabled
Captain coverageEnabled
CurrencyCAD

Settings behavior

Each section is edited independently from the Settings tab or app bar shortcut.

Once the first match is completed, these edit cards are replaced by a locked summary view.

Players
Overview Players Teams Matches Courts
Players Invites Join Requests
Anna Leigh Waters Missing
Gender: F • Age: Unknown
🪪
Ben Johns Eligible
Gender: M • Age: 54
🪪
Tyson McGuffin Missing
Gender: M • Age: Unknown
🪪
+

Step 2

Add players and fix missing eligibility early

In the Players tab, search existing users and add them to the competition. This happens before team assignment. Each competition keeps its own player snapshot, including the age and gender fields used later for roster and lineup validation.

  • Use the add-player action to search the user base and add several players in one session.
  • Review the missing eligibility badge immediately after import.
  • Use Edit eligibility to set age and gender if the profile is incomplete.
  • Review join requests in the same screen when player access is enabled later.
Why this matters: Age and gender rules are enforced later during roster and lineup selection, so unknown values are best resolved before team building begins.

Step 3

Build teams, captains, and rosters

Once the competition player pool is ready, create teams manually or use Quick Setup. Ladders respects roster rules during team assembly, and the first seeded player becomes captain by default.

  • Captains are chosen from already-added competition players.
  • Managers can edit team rosters before play begins.
  • Players already committed to another team do not appear in the selection list.
  • Roster chips show each player’s gender color and age so validation is visible at a glance.
Captain role in Events: Once teams exist, captains can manage their roster where allowed, submit match rosters for their side, set their side’s lineup, and participate in the live scoring workflow instead of routing every action through the organizer.
Payment health at team level: For paid events, organizers and captains can quickly see whether roster seats are settled, partially covered, or still outstanding before match generation begins.
Quick Setup is ideal for testing: It pulls random players from Firestore, fills missing ages when needed, and creates valid teams quickly so you can focus on format and operations testing.
Teams
Overview Players Teams Matches Courts
Team 1
Active • Captains: Catherine Parenteau
Payment health: 3/4 seats settled
Roster
Catherine Parenteau (52) Anna Bright (49) Ben Johns (58) Tyson McGuffin (46)
Team 2
Active • Captains: Jessie Irvine
Payment health: 4/4 seats settled
Roster
JW Johnson (53) Collin Johns (47) Lea Jansen (56) Jessie Irvine (45)
Matches
Overview Players Teams Matches Courts
Generate Matches Manual Match Simulate All

Ladders schedules the first available matches, then promotes queued matches automatically as teams and courts free up.

Team 1 vs Team 4
Round 1 • Mar 19, 2026
Time: 19:10
Courts: 1, 2
Round 1 Scheduled
Team 3 vs Team 5
Round 1 • Mar 19, 2026
Time: 19:10
Courts: 3, 4
Round 1 Scheduled
Team 5 vs Team 1
Round 2 • Mar 19, 2026
Courts: pending
Round 2 Queued
+

Step 4

Generate matches and let courts do the heavy lifting

From the Matches tab, generate the event schedule. When court management is enabled, you first define the event courts, then choose a start time, courts per match, and average match duration during generation.

  • Only the first set of playable matches starts as Scheduled.
  • Any match blocked by team availability stays Queued.
  • Court assignments happen when a match becomes scheduled, preventing double allocation.
  • Managers can still create a manual match if an exception is needed.
Operational note: For Events, the app prioritizes efficient court usage. Round order remains the framework, but scheduling can pull forward any match whose teams and courts are free.
Scheduling and money: Paid events usually run more smoothly when payment health is clean before match generation, because unsettled seats are easier to fix before the live day gets busy.

Step 5

Run the match, lock lineups, then record verified scores

Open any match card to move from roster selection into game-by-game operations. Match rosters are submitted per team first, then each game lineup is set according to its gender and age rules. Once a score is entered, that lineup locks.

  • Matches move through Queued → Scheduled → In Progress → Completed.
  • Lineups follow the round-flip rule so one side does not always reveal first.
  • Duplicate player use in the same round is blocked.
  • Score entry enforces the configured format: no ties in a game, target score, and win-by margin.
  • If match ties are not allowed, the organizer can add a tiebreaker or settle based on total points where appropriate.
Captain live-ops role: Captains can start eligible matches, set lineup for their own side, and submit or update scores until the opposing side confirms or disputes. That keeps the event moving without forcing the organizer to manage every court personally.
Match
🗑

Details

In Progress

Round 1

Date: Mar 19, 2026

Scoring: Rally to 15, win by 2

Courts: 1, 2

Pickle Blues
2 - 1
Midnight Mavericks

Games scored: 3/4

Round 1

Game 1 • MXD • Split-Age
Rally to 15
Scored
Pickle Blues
Anna Leigh Waters • Ben Johns
15-12Final
Midnight
Catherine Parenteau • Tyson McGuffin
Game 2 • Women • Split-Age
Rally to 15
Scored
Pickle Blues
Anna Bright • Lea Jansen
13-15Final
Midnight
Jessie Irvine • Rachel Rohrabacher

Round 2

Game 3 • Men • Split-Age
Rally to 15
Scored
Pickle Blues
Ben Johns • JW Johnson
15-9Final
Midnight
Tyson McGuffin • Collin Johns
Game 4 • MXD • Split-Age
Waiting for home lineup
Pending
No lineup
0-0Pending
No lineup
Overview
Overview Players Teams Matches Courts
Event Completed EDT

Competition

Event date: Mar 19, 2026

Format: Round Robin

End Competition

MVP

Anna Leigh Waters

MVT

Anna Leigh Waters + Ben Johns

Team standings

Team MP W% PD
Pickle Blues 4 75 +24
Midnight Mavericks 4 50 +3
Oakville Aces 4 50 -1

AI insights

Spot streaks, standout pairings, score patterns, and momentum shifts once enough match data is available.

Step 6

Review standings, then close the event cleanly

After the generated matches are finished, the Overview tab becomes the closeout screen. This is where organizers review standings, confirm summary data, and use End Competition when the event is ready to be finalized.

  • Team standings rank by win percentage, not raw wins.
  • Player standings highlight the event MVP.
  • Pairing standings highlight the most valuable team combination.
  • Once the event is ended, editing is locked and the Results view becomes the natural summary destination.
AI insights layer: Team events feed the broader analytics story inside Ladders. As more games are recorded, insight surfaces can highlight trends, standout combinations, and event-level momentum.
Finances view: For monetized events, the organizer also gets a dedicated finance surface to review fees, team balances, seat coverage, and reconciliation before archiving the event.
After-action workflow: Review final standings, confirm finance status if payments were used, and archive the event as a stable reference instead of reopening the result set for edits.

Good habits

A few organizer habits that make events smoother

  • Verify eligibility before team creation if any age or gender rules exist.
  • Use court management for any event where multiple courts run in parallel.
  • Generate matches only after teams are final, because format edits lock once live play begins.
  • Encourage captains to review match rosters before the first start call.
  • Use the built-in checklist from the Overview help button for live event pacing.

Related pages

Run your next event with confidence

Ladders keeps the admin flow structured, visible, and match-day friendly.

If you are still designing your format, start with the setup overview. If the event is already on the calendar, keep this page open as your operating checklist.