Frequently asked questions
The short answers. Longer guides live in Guides.
What does DinkBoard cost?
$5 per player for a single event, or unlimited events at $20 a month or $120 a year. Every plan includes every feature - plans price how much you run, never what you get. The organizer pays; players never pay to compete, and we take no percentage of player payments. During early access billing is not switched on yet, so events run at no charge today and nothing is ever charged without a checkout you complete.
Do players need an account or an app?
No. Players register through a link, and on event day they scan their QR and claim their spot in the browser. There is nothing to install and no password to forget. Organizers sign in with an emailed link, because they own the event and the draw - no password there either.
How does the court board work?
Every match that's been assigned shows up on a live board: which sides, which court, and what's up next. Players watch it on their phones, and the venue puts the same board on a TV in fullscreen - no casting hardware, just a browser URL. It replaces the printed bracket everyone crowds around.
Can a player enter more than one bracket?
Yes, and this is the part most software handles badly. DinkBoard's scheduler knows every bracket a person is in and will not put them on two courts at once or start their next match before their rest time is up. That constraint is the reason draws get built by hand at 6am, and it's the thing we automate.
What formats do you support?
Round robin, pool play into a bracket, single elimination, and double elimination - with configurable games-to, win-by, best-of, and a deciding-game target. The default game is to 11, win by 2, and each bracket freezes its rules into the draw when it is created, so a mid-event change can not rewrite a finished pool. Tiebreakers run head-to-head, then point differential, then points allowed.
What about DUPR ratings?
Bring ratings in with your roster: the entry importer reads a rating column from any CSV, so a DUPR export or a club roster imports as it is. Seeds and skill labels stay yours to set on each bracket. Direct two-way DUPR sync requires their partner program; the posture is to import what you can already export today rather than wait on an integration.
Does scoring work when the venue wifi doesn't?
Yes. Scores save on the device first and sync when the connection returns, and the score-desk screen keeps working through a dead spot - even after a refresh. A status chip shows exactly what's still waiting to send. Outdoor courts and gym dead zones have the worst wifi, so this is built in rather than bolted on.
Who can enter scores?
Whoever you want. The score desk enters results on a tablet, players can self-report with their opponent confirming, or both. Every entry is kept - a correction is a new entry, never an overwrite - so a disputed score has a full audit trail instead of a shouting match.
Can I hand the score desk to a volunteer?
Yes. A score-desk volunteer is a real role with day-of access only: they can run courts and enter scores, but they cannot edit the draw or touch registration and money. It's a separate permission, not a shared password.
Can DinkBoard run open play night?
Yes. Create an open play night, check players in as they arrive, and deal a round on a click: Mixer rotates partners and opponents, King of the court moves winners up and losers down. When there are more players than court seats, the sit-out rotation guarantees nobody sits twice before everyone has sat once. Walk-ups can check in at any time, and the same board and score desk run the night.
Do you run leagues too?
Yes. A weekly league or a recurring open play night runs as a program: sessions generate on a click, each session is a full event, and season standings fold across sessions with a points scheme you set, best-N counting, and absences scored as zero. Ladders are next on the same engine; if a ladder is what you need first, say so on the contact page.
Do I need an account to use the bracket generator?
No. The free generator at /generator takes a pasted list of teams or players and produces a round robin or a bracket with court assignments and time slots, right on the page. Nothing is saved and no account is involved. It runs on the same draw engine as real events, so when you want live scoring and a court board, the step up is one click.