MY LEAGUES | How to setup and manage tennis leagues

Tenniscall gives you the ability to setup a tennis group and add a tennis league to it (view a sample league here).

The main features of tenniscall group/leagues are:

  • invite tenniscall users to join the competition (friends or new people);
  • manage group/leagues from min. 4 to max. 50 players;
  • the league has a round-robin format (every group member must challenge all other players at least one or two times);
  • every group/league gets a page on tenniscall where users can view leaderboard and matches online in real time;
  • match updates feeds (the system automatically sends push notifications or emails to all players when a match is completed);
  • founder / admin users can fully manage the group (edit the group's info, photos and contact details, add/remove users, configure league settings, etc.);
  • founder / admin users can input the score of league matches (without score validation from players);
  • founder / admin users can opt out from active play (in this case, just act as event organizers);
  • all group users get access to a the a group-chat (similar to WhatsApp chat: post messages, use mentions, upload photos/videos, use emojis, etc.). Group chat is used to quickly broadcast announcements addressed to all group players (ie. info regarding the league, etc.).

Tennicall groups don't entail any obligation whatsoever (players can leave the group any time; founder can terminate the group any time).

Click here to setup a tennis league.

SCHEDULING A LEAGUE

Founder / admin can publish a tennis league by switching ON the league_status toggle in the Manage-Group page. When the league toggle is ON, founder/admin users can define the league-settings:

  • you_play_the_league (admin choses whether to play matches or not; in this latter case, user will just act as event organizer);
  • allow_users_post_score (admin choses whether to let players post the score of their matches or restrict this function to admins only);
  • match_type (at this time, only Singles matches are supported);
  • score_type (Timed Game, 1 set match, 3 sets match where the 3rd set is a long tie-break);
  • number_of_matches, that is, the number of times a player should challenge any other group member to complete the league (one time or two times);
  • league_start_date (when league gets started);
  • league_end_date (when the league ends);
  • membership_fee (either free or paid with admission fee);
    NOTE: if you are a professional event organizer, you may want to charge something. In this case, you've got to turn on membership_fee and set the amount to be paid for playing your competition (and currency). Please mind that tenniscall does not offer payment system integration yet, so you'll have to collect admission fee through other channels (cash, paypal, etc.);
  • players_requirement (this is the min/max number of players required for the league to get started; for example, some organizers may want to run a league only if a minimum number of players is reached. When the max number is reached, founder/admin cannot add new users to the group).

When the league_status toggle is ON, your league status will appear as SCHEDULED so that other users in your city may see it and request to join, if interested.

Click here to setup a tennis league.

LEAGUE GETTING STARTED

On the start_date, one of these events may occur:

  • the league gets started if your group has reached the minimum players requirement (group members will be notified, tennis challenges will be automatically generated and added to every user's account);
  • the league gets cancelled if your group has NOT reached the minimum players requirement (group members will receive a notification).

When the league gets started, group members will see league matches automatically added to their account in the SCHEDULED CHALLENGES page. The league status will change from SCHEDULED to IN PROGRESS.

When a league is in progress, founder/admin cannot add nor remove users to the group (the group gets locked).

Click here to setup a tennis league.

ENTERING MATCH SCORE IN THE SYSTEM

At this point, players can challenge each other, meet on court and input the score of the match in the app after play. They can do this independently through the app (send challenge, accept challenge, enter match score, validate match score). Players should play all matches before the league_end_date.

IMPORTANT: the founder/admin can enter the match score on behalf of players at any time. This turns out to be useful when players are not familiar with smartphones and are not able to use the tenniscall app properly.

Click here to setup a tennis league.

POINTS, LEADERBOARD AND RANKINGS

Players get points for every league match played. Match winners get more points than losers. Points are adjusted based on the actual score so that a player losing a match 6-7 will get more points than a player losing a match 0-6. This is calculated automatically by the tenniscall algorithm.

The league leaderboard is built on "tenniscall" points, so that the top ranking player is the one with the highest number of points. The winner of the league is the player ranked #1 at the end of the competition.

Click here to setup a tennis league.

PLAYER WITHDRAWING, CANCELLING, DECLINING A MATCH

The player who cancels, declines or withdraws from a league match automatically loses the match and gets 0 "tenniscall" points. The opponent player wins the match by walk-over (score: W.O.) and gets points as if the match was actually played.

Click here to setup a tennis league.

PLAYER LEAVING THE GROUP

If a player abandons the group while a league is IN PROGRESS, then the player automatically loses the matches not yet played and gets 0 "tenniscall" points. The opponent player wins the match by walk-over (score: W.O.) and gets points as if the match was actually played.

Click here to setup a tennis league.

PAUSING / RESTARTING THE LEAGUE

Founder/admin can pause and restart the league at any time by switching the league_status toggle to ON or OFF after the league_start_date. This is useful in case players need to take a break due to holidays, health emergencies, etc.

When a league is paused, pending challenges will be temporarily removed from the players' dashboard (they won't be able to take any actions like sending challenges, entering match score, etc.). Pending challenges will reappear in the user's dashboard when the league gets restarted.

Click here to setup a tennis league.

POSTPONING THE END DATE

While the league is IN PROGRESS, founder/admin can still change the league's end_date. This is useful in case players need more time to complete their round of league matches.

Click here to setup a tennis league.

TERMINATING GROUP WHILE LEAGUE IS IN PROGRESS

If the group founder terminates the group while a tennis league is IN PROGRESS, all pending matches will be terminated as well and players won't be able to complete the competition. The leaderboard and rankings become final at the moment the group is terminated.

Click here to setup a tennis league.

LEAGUE COMPLETED

A tennis league is considered to be completed when one of these two events occur:

  • all matches are played and score is validated (by user or group admin) before the league_end_date;
  • upon the league_end_date (even if some matches are still pending)
    NOTE: in this case, pending matches will be automatically closed, and both players will get no "tenniscall" points.

When a league is completed, leaderboard becomes final and the winner of the competition is the player ranked on top. The group/league page will now show a new red colored "ENDED" label.

Click here to setup a tennis league.

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