Tournament Doctor

What's New

Recent updates and improvements to Tournament Doctor.

Early May 2026

Pin Today's Tournament to the Top of Your Dashboard

A new toggle in your Profile under Dashboard Preferences brings any tournament happening today to a highlighted card at the top of "Your Tournaments" so you can jump straight to it on tournament day. Multi-day tournaments stay pinned for every day of the event (start through end date), not just the start date. The pinned card has quick-action buttons for Bowlers, Brackets, and Report so you don't need to scroll your full tournament list to find what you're running today. When you don't have a tournament today, the pinned card just doesn't appear — the dashboard looks normal.

Pool Summary — More Accurate Reconciliation

The Balance line at the bottom of the Pool Summary now reconciles to $0.00 in more situations — side event profits and bracket refunds are properly accounted for as cash disbursed, instead of showing up as phantom variances. When the Balance is off, a new "Where to look" block appears underneath with a plain-English list of the most common causes (e.g. unpaid entries, unrecorded payouts, brackets not yet paid out). The Total Cash Collected breakdown now shows the gross collected for each side event (count × fee), matching the headline total. The Cash Disbursement Breakdown lists every enabled side event — including ones zeroed out by profit settings. Brackets with a round-1 bye now have their 1st place payout reduced by $5 in the totals, matching how the Bracket Payouts page actually pays them. Bracket refunds now show as a separate "Bracket Refunds" line and are correctly subtracted from Bracket Profit (refund money goes back to the bowler, not the TD).

Sidepot Rounding & Running Totals on the Tournament Report

A new "Round per-game payouts down to whole dollars" option in Report Settings rounds sidepot per-game amounts down so you're not handing out pennies or change. Any unpaid remainder is shown explicitly as a separate line. Each sidepot column on the Financial Summary now shows a running total under the pool: Paid / Pool / Remainder, with a green check when everything reconciles and an orange warning when there's a remainder. Easy way to spot rounding gaps at a glance. The Custom Payout Amounts editor on the Financial Summary now fits 8–10 places on a single row instead of stacking 3 per row.

Eliminator Winner — Now Matches the Payout Sheet

The eliminator winner shown on the Pool Summary now matches what's shown on the Payout Sheet, the Tournament Report, and other places the winner appears. The two pages were using slightly different elimination logic, which could pick a different bowler when scores were close or a bowler missed a game. The number of places paid out for eliminators now follows the eliminator ratio you configured for the tournament, instead of always assuming 2 places.

Reverse Brackets — "3-3" Naming Bug Fixed

Editing a tournament with reverse brackets no longer corrupts the bracket's game range. Previously, opening Edit Tournament and saving without changes could turn a "3-1" reverse bracket into "3-3" because the End Game dropdown didn't include the right values for reverse brackets. The Edit Tournament page now uses range-aware Start Game and End Game dropdowns based on the bracket type. Changing the Start Game or Type on an existing bracket auto-updates the End Game to a valid 3-game span, just like the new-bracket flow does.

Trial Upgrade & Renewal Payment Flow

Trial users clicking "Upgrade to the full version" now go straight to the payment screen and convert to Premium when they pay, instead of getting stuck or routed back to the dashboard. After upgrading, the trial banner and the 3-game tournament limit clear automatically on the next dashboard load — no need to log out and back in. The renewal flow now uses the modern subscription payment process so renewals automatically renew the following year, just like new signups.

End of April 2026

"Enter All Brackets" Subscriptions — No Up-Front Pay

Bowlers who want to be in every instance of a bracket without knowing how many it'll end up running can now check a new "All" box on each bracket column. Nothing is charged at registration. When you click Run Brackets, subscribed bowlers are automatically enrolled in every instance generated, and their outstanding amount (placement count times entry fee) shows up on the payout sheet, on the bowler's row on Register Bowlers, and on a new standalone Bracket Collection Sheet for collecting at the event. The amount-due badge next to a bowler's name turns from red to green the moment you mark them paid — one click, with the app's confirmation modal. Payout sheets get a new "All Brackets Due" column (highlighted yellow) with a toggle that picks between two collection modes: Collect Separately keeps winnings whole and collects bracket dues in cash; Subtract from Winnings nets the bracket due against payouts. See All-Brackets Subscriptions.

Bracket Header Direction & Entry Type

Bracket section labels and column headers now show both the entry type (Singles, Team, Doubles, or Trios) and the direction. So a team reverse bracket on games 1 through 3 reads "Games 3-1 (Team, Reverse)" instead of just "Games 1-3 Reverse". Reverse brackets always read high-to-low regardless of how the games are stored in the database, so labels stay consistent across the registration tables, the public standings, the Print All Brackets header, and the Manage Brackets section headers. The "Run All Brackets" button list shows entry type for each open group too.

Elimination Bracket — Visuals & Scheduling

Match labels (M1 through M16, L1 through L15, LB1 through LBn, GF, GF2) now appear on every match box so bowlers know exactly which match to head to. Match-box vertical alignment was rewritten so each round's matches sit at the midpoint of their two feeder matches in the previous round, with no drift on tall brackets. Losers-bracket spans use actual match counts now instead of an exponential formula, so deep losers brackets no longer stretch the page off-screen. The Schedule and Lane Assignments cards are collapsible to reduce noise once you're running rounds. Lane Assignments gained two new fields: a Finals Pair (the show pair reserved for the championship match) and a Broken Pairs list (out-of-service pairs the algorithm reroutes around). Both are picked from a dropdown of valid pairs so you can't typo a number. The lane algorithm now avoids back-to-back same-pair repeats and never assigns the winners and losers brackets to overlapping pairs at the same scheduled time. Save-score now uses a Post-Redirect-Get pattern, so a browser refresh after saving no longer triggers a "match already complete" double-submit error.

"Proceed to Bracket" Buttons & Bracket Workflow

Register Bowlers, Doubles, and Teams pages now show a green Elimination Bracket button in the top toolbar whenever the tournament has elimination enabled or a bracket already exists, so you can jump straight there without going through the dashboard. The Save All Scores redirect now points to the Manage Brackets page (the current bracket page) instead of the older run_brackets page. The Quick Entry form's bowler-name search field was shrunk to give the Class and Lane fields enough room to display their full text. Score-entry on the Elimination Bracket page now keeps you anchored on the saved match after submit, so you can roll through entries without scrolling back each time.

All-Events Tournaments BETA

Run a single tournament that bundles three sub-events — Team, Doubles, and Singles — with one shared bowler roster. Add a bowler once and they're automatically registered in each sub-event based on per-bowler checkboxes. The combined All-Events standing ranks every bowler by their total across all 9+ games, with optional side events (AEH, AES, 6-Game Combined). Supports 5-bowler teams (typical) or 6-bowler teams with a "Doubles/Singles only" 6th slot (USBC Open style), plus configurable 1–3 doubles sets per team. Each sub-event uses the existing register / score / report pages unchanged. See Section 27: All-Events Tournaments for the full workflow.

Offline Score Entry — Improved

Multi-round score entry now keeps working when the internet drops at the bowling center, joining the registration pages that already had this feature. Scores save locally and upload automatically once the connection comes back. New under the hood: each queued save carries a unique key so a flaky reconnect can't double-apply the same score; the app pings the server directly to confirm it's reachable instead of trusting the WiFi indicator; queued items under 48 hours old sync silently, while older ones hold for one-tap review so a forgotten device can't quietly overwrite a finished tournament. See Offline Score Entry.

Elimination Bracket Scheduling

Set a tournament start time and match duration on the Elimination Bracket page and Tournament Doctor calculates the start time for every round automatically. A configurable between-rounds gap (defaults to 30 minutes) leaves time for crossover and lineup changes, and you can insert reoil breaks after any round with a custom duration and note. Need to adjust on the fly? Override any round's start time by hand — overrides survive auto-recalculation. Each match box now displays its scheduled time alongside its lane pair, and the Schedule card appears at the top of the page so it's the first thing you see. See Elimination Bracket Scheduling.

Public Tournament Hub — Bracket Tree & Eliminator

The public tournament hub (the page bowlers reach via your QR flyer) now shows the full elimination bracket tree — complete with match scores, winners, lane pairs, and scheduled times. Side pots, eliminator standings, and big dog stay in sync with the live tournament report and the page auto-refreshes every 60 seconds, so bowlers can follow the action on their phones without a refresh.

Multi-Place Sidepot Payouts

Sidepots can now pay multiple places using a weighted schedule. Choose how many places to pay (1, 2, 3, etc.) on the tournament setup form, and the sidepot pool splits by the configured weights (e.g., 60/40, 50/30/20). Currently available on singles handicap and scratch sidepots.

Bowler Category (M / F / S / Y)

Each bowler now carries a category — Male, Female, Senior, or Youth — stored on the bowler record. Category badges appear next to bowler names on standings reports and the public tournament hub, making divisions visible at a glance. The public signup form collects date of birth and automatically derives Senior or Youth status.

Print All Brackets — 6 and 9 Per Page

The bracket print sheet now offers 6-up and 9-up density options in addition to the existing 1, 2, and 4 per page layouts. A welcome paper-saver at large tournaments where dozens of brackets need to be printed.

Blind Doubles — Odd Bowler Default

When total entries are odd, the odd bowler now uses a configurable default average for their imaginary partner. Set the toggle on the tournament setup form so the odd-rule applies consistently across rounds.

Bug Fixes

• Reverse brackets complete properly — Reverse brackets (where games are bowled in the order 3, 2, 1) sometimes got stuck and would not finish. They now run all the way to the end. The header also correctly shows "Games 3→1" instead of "Games 1→3".
• Team registration totals — Total Due on Register Teams now correctly multiplies blind doubles and big dog fees by the number of games per bowler. Team handicap also refreshes automatically when a bowler's average is changed.
• Online payment stability — Online entry payments process correctly when an admin is viewing the site as another user, your username displays properly after Stripe checkout, subscription renewals no longer create duplicate billing records, and duplicate signups are caught right away.

April 23, 2026

Bracket Readiness Check Modal

A new Readiness button in the Manage Brackets Quick Actions row shows, at a glance, which bracket groups can run and which are short on entries. The modal color-codes the button (green = ready, red = short) and lists every group with a plain-English status: "Current entries will build 1 bracket. Add 4 more entries to get bracket #2." Accounts for the 7-distinct-bowler minimum and uses the app's real 8/7 optimal mix math. See Bracket Readiness.

Per-Bowler Pot Opt-Ins on Doubles

Doubles tournaments now treat every sidepot/eliminator as per-bowler (same as team tournaments) instead of pair-level. Each bowler on a doubles team has their own checkbox column for HS, SS, HE, SE, BDH, BDS, BgH, BgS. Existing pair-level opt-ins are auto-migrated to both bowlers on first load. Matches the team-tournament model exactly.

Optional Singles Event on Doubles

The Optional Singles Event (Handicap + Scratch variants) is now available on doubles tournaments in addition to team tournaments. Set the fees in Setup/Edit Tournament, then toggle per-bowler opt-ins in the 1SH / 1SS columns on the register page.

Brackets Alive — Compact View

The Brackets Alive report now shows one row per bowler/team with bracket numbers grouped and comma-separated ("Games 1-3 Forward: 1, 6, 8, 10, 12, 18") instead of a card per bowler. Added a Total Entered column, a Hide Eliminated toggle to narrow the page, and team entries collapse into a single row by team name. Roughly 3× more bowlers visible per screen.

Polished Reports — Fewer Printed Pages

The Team, Doubles, and Singles report pages got a professional polish pass: tighter card padding, compact headers with inline metadata, a Reports Center link in every report, and aggressive print CSS. Settings panels are hidden in print, the print-only header is a single horizontal strip instead of a four-line centered block, and page-break-inside: avoid keeps tables intact. Typical reports print one to two pages shorter.

Team Captain / Teammate Join Flow

Team tournaments now support a two-form online signup: the captain registers first and receives a team code and a sharable link. Teammates use the link to join the captain's team. Captains can also pick the team payment mode (pay for whole team vs. each pays their own share). The default is set in your Profile.

April 2026

Online Entry Payments

Bowlers can now pay their tournament entry fee online with a credit or debit card when they register through your public signup link. Entry fees deposit directly into your bank account — a small 4% convenience fee is added to the bowler's total to cover payment processing. Setup takes about 5 minutes (one-time, per tournament director) — verify your identity and connect your bank account through Stripe's secure onboarding. Each paid entry gets a unique confirmation number, auto-generated receipt emails, and the entry is automatically marked as paid. Full and partial refunds are supported. See Section 23 for full details.

Multi-Round Tournaments

Structure tournaments into distinct rounds — Qualifying, Semifinals, Finals — each with its own game count, format (Standard or Baker), carry-over settings, and advancement cuts. Scores entered on the registration page automatically count as Round 1. After completing each round, you're prompted to continue to the next round. The report shows a Round-by-Round Breakdown at the top with per-round standings. Existing scores automatically migrate to Round 1 when enabling multi-round format. See Section 26 for full details.

Bracket Management Improvements

Brackets on the Edit Tournament page now have a visible Delete button (red with trash icon) for easy removal. Brackets with existing participants are protected from accidental deletion — the button is disabled and shows the participant count.

Edit Tournament Layout Updates

The Number of Lanes field has been moved from the Entry Fees section to the General Information card, alongside Starting Lane, Lane Rotation, and Pairs in Play, where it logically belongs.

Single & Double Elimination Brackets

Add elimination brackets to any tournament as a core feature — either standalone or after qualifying games. Supports single and double elimination, bracket sizes of 8 to 64, configurable byes, bowling score or win/loss match scoring, and Baker format for doubles. Double elimination includes a full winners bracket, losers bracket, and grand finals with optional reset. Includes lane assignments that automatically avoid repeat pairs, printable bracket charts with logo, and bracket sections on standings reports. See Section 8b for full details.

Eliminator Cut Scores

Tournament standings reports now display per-game eliminator cut scores showing the score needed to stay alive in each elimination round, with remaining and eliminated bowler counts.

Online Registration

Generate a public signup link for any singles tournament and share it with bowlers. They can register online with their name, average, side event selections, and more — no login required. Choose between auto-accept (instant registration) or pending approval (you review each entry). Includes anti-spam protection, duplicate detection, and waitlist support. See Section 22 for full details.

Push Listings to iBowlTournaments

Push your tournament listing directly to iBowlTournaments.com from the Edit Tournament page. If online registration is enabled, the iBT listing includes a "Register Online" button that links bowlers back to your signup form. See iBowlTournaments Listing for details.

March 2026

Payout Rounding

Round all payouts to the nearest $5 or $10 with no cents. Found in the Report Settings panel on the Tournament Report page. The full prize fund is always distributed — rounding adjustments are applied top-down starting from 1st place.

Improved Payout Formula

Prize distribution now uses a geometric decay formula that produces smoother, more natural payout curves. First place receives a premium (approximately 1.5x second place), and each subsequent place receives roughly 90% of the place above it. The formula automatically adjusts to ensure the last paid position always receives at least 1.5x the entry fee.

Report Settings Panel

The Tournament Report page now includes a configurable Report Settings panel where you can adjust:

• Payout Percentage — What portion of the prize fund to pay out (default 100%)
• Places Paid Ratio — Override the default 1-in-X ratio
• Places Override — Set an exact number of places to pay
• Rounding — None, nearest $5, or nearest $10

Settings are saved per tournament and persist between sessions.

Custom Payouts

Manually override individual place amounts on the Tournament Report page. Click on any payout amount to edit it directly. Custom payouts are saved per tournament and override the formula-generated amounts.

Clone Tournament — Keep Bowlers Option

When cloning a tournament, you can now optionally keep bowlers by enabling the toggle in the clone dialog. Copied bowlers appear in the new tournament with:

• Names and lane assignments preserved
• All scores reset (blank slate)
• All side action zeroed out (sidepots, eliminators, brackets, Big Dog, blind doubles)
• Payment status reset

This is useful for recurring events with the same field of bowlers.

Bracket Display Improvements

• Sub-grouped by bracket name — Bracket instances are now organized under their bracket type heading (e.g., "Senior", "Super Senior") rather than a flat list. Each sub-group shows its own entry count and bracket size breakdown (e.g., "7 x 8-person, 2 x 7-person").
• Consistent ordering — Bracket groups maintain the same order on page refresh (Senior always appears before Super Senior, etc.).
• Reports Center counts — The Bracket Results link now shows both total brackets and bracket sets (e.g., "70 brackets in 11 sets").

Bracket Status Report

A new report showing which bowlers are still alive, cashed (won 1st or 2nd), or eliminated across all bracket instances. Access it from the Reports Center under Side Events.

Side Action Toggle View

When the Side Action view is toggled on the registration page, the side action columns now display close to the bowler names (matching the compact layout used by the Scores toggle) instead of spreading across the full table width.

Performance Improvements

• Database schema checks are now session-cached — migration queries run once per session instead of on every page load
• Bracket entry lookups use a single batch query instead of per-bowler queries, significantly reducing load time for tournaments with many entries
• Added database indexes on frequently queried columns for faster page loads

1. Getting Started

After logging in, you'll land on the Dashboard — your home base for everything in Tournament Doctor.

Dashboard Overview

The dashboard gives you at-a-glance access to all your tournaments and key actions.

Quick Actions

Tournament Cards

Each tournament on the dashboard shows the event name, date, type badge, entry count (or team count for doubles), payout estimate, and a scores indicator badge when scores have been entered.

Each card has streamlined action buttons:

Actions Dropdown Menu

The Actions dropdown consolidates all tournament tools into one menu:

• Brackets — Manage bracket settings and entries
• Signup Sheet — Print signup sheets
• Final Standings — View standings and results report
• Payout Sheet — View prize distribution (only appears when scores are entered)
• Financials — Revenue, expenses, and financial summary
• Eliminator — Manage eliminator draws (only if enabled)
• Copy Public Link — Copy the live standings URL to share with bowlers
• Publish — Upload results online
• Clone Tournament — Duplicate tournament settings for a new event

Tournament Grouping

Use the grouping toggle at the top of the dashboard to organize your tournaments by Year, Month, or view All at once. Your selection is remembered between sessions.

2. Creating a Tournament

Click New Tournament from the dashboard to get started. This is where you configure everything about your event.

Basic Information

1. Tournament Name — Give your event a name (e.g., "January Scratch Masters")
2. Tournament Date — Select the date of the event
3. Bowling Center — Choose from your saved centers, or add a new one

Tournament Type

Choose the format for your event:

Game Configuration

• Number of Games — How many qualifying games bowlers will bowl (1–8)
• Starting Lane — First lane number for lane assignments
• Lane Rotation — How lanes rotate between games
• Pairs in Play — Number of lane pairs in use
• Number of Lanes — Total lane pairs available at the center

Handicap Settings

Entry Fee Structure

Places Paid

Set how many finishing positions receive prize money:

• Fixed — "Pay 10 places"
• Ratio — "1 in 5" (50 bowlers ÷ 5 = 10 places paid)

Optional Add-Ons

These are configured during tournament setup. Bowlers opt in during registration.

Each add-on has its own entry fee. See sections 5, 6, and 7 for details on how they work.

Max Entries & Waiting List

Set a Max Entries limit to cap the number of bowlers in a tournament. Set to 0 for unlimited entries.

When the max is reached, additional registrations are automatically placed on a waiting list. If an active bowler is removed, the next person on the waiting list is automatically promoted to an active entry.

Squads (Optional)

• Enable Squads — Toggle to allow multiple shifts/time slots
• Standings Mode — Combined (one leaderboard) or Separate (independent per squad)
• Add Squads — Define each squad's name, time, starting lane, lane count, and max capacity

See Section 19: Squads for full details on setting up and managing squads.

Multi-Round Format (Optional)

• Enable Rounds — Toggle to enable multi-round scoring (e.g., Qualifying → Semifinals → Finals)
• Round Template — Choose a preset template or configure rounds manually

When enabled, the system creates separate scoring rounds with independent game counts, formats, carry-over settings, and advancement cuts. Existing scores are automatically migrated to Round 1. See Section 25: Multi-Round Tournaments for full details.

Stepladder Finals

• Enable Stepladder — Adds a match-play finals round
• Number of Players — How many top qualifiers advance (typically 4 or 5)

Points System

• Enable Points — Awards series points for this tournament
• Series — Assign to a tournament series
• Major Event — Awards bonus points

3. Registering Bowlers

From the dashboard, click Register on the tournament card.

Adding Bowlers

1. Search your existing bowler database by name
2. If the bowler isn't found, click Add New Bowler and enter their name, average, and optional details (USBC#, email, phone)
3. Select the bowler to add them to the tournament

Registration Details

For each registered bowler, set:

• Average — Their entering average for handicap calculation
• Lane Assignment — Which pair they'll bowl on
• Category — Male, Female, Senior, or Youth. Drives the M/F/S/Y badges shown on standings reports and the public tournament hub. Public-signup forms collect date of birth and derive Senior or Youth automatically.
• Entry Fee Paid — Toggle to mark payment received
• Sidepot Entries — Check which optional pots they're entering
• Eliminator Entries — Check if entering handicap/scratch eliminator
• Big Dog — Check to enter handicap and/or scratch Big Dog
• Blind Draw Doubles — Check to enter handicap and/or scratch blind doubles

Waiting List

If the tournament has a Max Entries limit set and the tournament is full, new registrations are automatically placed on a waiting list.

• Waitlisted bowlers appear in a separate section below the main entries table
• Each waitlisted bowler is assigned a position number (first come, first served)
• When an active bowler is removed, the next waitlisted bowler is automatically promoted to active status
• You can also manually promote a waitlisted bowler using the Promote button (this overrides the capacity limit)
• The stats bar shows the entry count as "X / Y" (e.g., "48 / 60") when a max is set

USBC Number Lookup

When adding or editing a bowler, you can look up their USBC number directly from the registration page:

1. Enter the bowler's first name and last name in the search fields
2. Click the USBC Lookup button
3. The system searches the USBC database and displays matching results including:
   • USBC Number
   • Full Name
   • Active/Inactive Status
   • Association
4. Click Select on the correct bowler to auto-fill their USBC number

Lane Assignments

Tournament Doctor provides tools to assign bowlers to lane pairs efficiently.

Lane Settings

Configure your lane layout using the Lane Settings panel:

• Starting Lane — The first lane pair number (e.g., 1 for lanes 1-2)
• Number of Lanes — Total lane pairs available
• Bowlers Per Lane — Maximum bowlers assigned to each pair (default: 4)
• Skip Lanes/Pairs — Lane pairs to leave empty (comma-separated, e.g., "3,7")

Auto-Assign

Click Auto-Assign Lanes to automatically distribute bowlers across available lane pairs. The algorithm:

• Fills lane pairs sequentially up to the bowlers-per-lane limit
• Skips any lane pairs specified in the skip list
• Keeps grouped bowlers together on the same lane pair (see Lane Grouping below)
• You can also manually set a lane assignment for any bowler using the lane input field in the entries table

Lane Grouping

Lane grouping lets you ensure specific bowlers are assigned to the same lane pair during auto-assignment. This is useful for friends, family members, or teams who want to bowl together.

1. Select a group number (1–10) from the dropdown next to a bowler's name
2. Assign the same group number to all bowlers who should bowl together
3. Each group is shown with a color-coded badge for easy identification
4. When you run Auto-Assign Lanes, bowlers in the same group are placed on the same lane pair

Lane Crossing / Rotation

Lane crossing (also called lane rotation) moves bowlers to different lane pairs between games to ensure fairness across varying lane conditions.

How It Works

• The Lane Skip setting determines how many lane pairs bowlers move after each game
• For example, a skip of 2 means bowlers on pair 1 move to pair 3 for the next game, pair 2 moves to pair 4, etc.
• Bowlers wrap around when they reach the last pair

Lane Crossing Simulator

Use the built-in simulator to preview and verify your crossing pattern before saving:

1. Set the desired skip pattern (number of pairs to skip)
2. Click Preview to see a visual table showing where each lane pair moves for every game
3. The simulator automatically checks for duplicate lane assignments (two groups on the same pair) and warns you if the pattern creates conflicts
4. Once satisfied, click Save Rotation to apply the crossing pattern to the tournament

4. Entering Scores

From the dashboard, click Scores on the tournament card.

Standard Score Entry

1. Select a bowler from the list
2. Enter their score for each game (Game 1 through Game X)
3. The system automatically calculates scratch total, handicap, and handicap total
4. Click Save

Multi-Round Score Entry

When multi-round format is enabled, score entry works differently:

1. Registration page scores count as Round 1 — Scores entered on the Register Bowlers (or Register Doubles) page are automatically synced to Round 1
2. After saving all Round 1 scores, you'll be prompted to continue to the next round
3. Use the Enter Round Scores page for Round 2 and beyond — round tabs let you switch between rounds
4. Scores auto-save when you leave a field — use Tab to move between fields
5. A score counter shows progress (e.g., "8 / 12 scores entered")
6. After all scores for a round are entered, a completion banner offers options to perform the cut, enter next round scores, or view standings

See Section 25: Multi-Round Tournaments for the full workflow.

Offline Score Entry

Tournament Doctor keeps working when the bowling center's internet drops. The score entry pages (Register Bowlers, Register Teams, Register Doubles, and Enter Round Scores) all detect connectivity loss and switch into offline mode automatically — you can keep entering scores as if nothing happened.

What you'll see when offline:

• A yellow banner appears at the bottom of the page: "You're offline. Scores are being saved locally. They'll sync automatically when your connection returns."
• Score inputs still turn green when you save them — the score is stored on your device.
• A queue badge shows how many saves are waiting to upload.

What happens when you're back online:

• Within 30 seconds the app pings the server, confirms it's reachable, and starts uploading queued scores in order.
• The banner switches to a blue progress indicator: "Syncing N queued saves..."
• When done, the banner disappears and a toast confirms "Synced N saves to server."
• Each queued save carries a unique key so a flaky reconnect can't double-apply the same score on the server.

Age cap: Scores queued under 48 hours old sync silently. Items 48 hours–5 days old hold for a one-tap review (the banner asks you to confirm). Items over 5 days old are blocked from auto-sync — the banner offers Sync anyway or Discard so a forgotten device can't quietly overwrite a finished tournament.

Session expiry: If your login session timed out while you were offline, the queue stays put. The banner shows "Session expired — log in to sync N queued saves" with a login link. After you log back in, sync resumes automatically.

5. Side Events & Sidepots

Side events are optional competitions that run alongside the main tournament. Bowlers opt in during registration and pay a separate fee. All side events use the same scores from the main tournament — no extra bowling required.

Handicap Sidepot

Uses the bowler's handicap total (same calculation as main tournament). Only sidepot entrants are eligible for the separate prize fund.

Scratch Sidepot

Uses only scratch scores (no handicap). Popular with higher-average bowlers who want a separate scratch competition.

How Sidepots Work

1. Setup — Enable sidepots and set entry fees when creating the tournament
2. Registration — Bowlers check which sidepots they want to enter and pay the fee
3. Scoring — No extra scoring needed — the system uses main tournament scores
4. Results — Sidepot standings appear as a separate section in the tournament report
5. Payouts — Prize money calculated separately from the main prize fund

Big Dog

Big Dog is a per-game high score competition. The bowler with the highest score each game wins that game's share of the Big Dog pool. Available in handicap and/or scratch formats.

How Big Dog Works

1. Setup — Enable Big Dog (handicap and/or scratch) and set the per-game entry fee
2. Registration — Bowlers opt in during registration and pay the fee
3. Each Game — The highest scorer among Big Dog entrants wins that game's prize
4. Ties — If multiple bowlers tie for the high score, the prize for that game is split evenly

Blind Draw Doubles

Blind Draw Doubles randomly pairs bowlers each game. The pair with the highest combined score wins that game's share of the pool. Available in handicap and/or scratch formats.

How Blind Draw Doubles Work

1. Setup — Enable Blind Draw Doubles (handicap and/or scratch) and set the per-game entry fee
2. Registration — Bowlers opt in during registration and pay the fee
3. Each Game — The system randomly pairs all entrants. Each pair's scores are combined. The pair with the highest combined score wins that game's prize
4. New Pairings Every Game — Partners change each game, so everyone gets different partners
5. Odd Number of Entrants — If there is an odd number of entrants, one bowler sits out each game (rotated)

6. Brackets

Brackets are 8-person single-elimination competitions that run alongside the main tournament, using actual game scores for head-to-head matchups. Brackets support individual bowlers (singles), doubles pairs, trios, and full teams competing as a unit.

Setting Up Brackets

You can create brackets during tournament setup or later from the Manage Brackets page. Each bracket has these options:

Use Batch Update All Brackets to apply the same entry fee, payouts, or profit across all brackets at once.

Deleting Brackets

On the Edit Tournament page, each bracket in the Brackets section has a Delete button:

• Empty brackets (no participants) — Click the red Delete button and confirm to remove the bracket
• Brackets with participants — Cannot be deleted from the Edit Tournament page. The button is disabled and shows the participant count. To remove these, go to Manage Brackets and use the Unlock & Re-Run tools first.

How Brackets Work

The complete bracket workflow from start to finish:

1. Create Brackets — Define your bracket types in tournament setup or Manage Brackets. You can mix Singles and Team brackets, different game ranges, and different age groups in the same tournament.
2. Add Entries — Entries can be added from three places:
   • Registration page — Per-bowler inputs for singles brackets; per-team row for team brackets. Auto-saves as you type.
   • Manage Entries page — Separate tables for individual bracket entries and team bracket entries. Click "Update All Entries" to save.
   • Spread feature — Enter a total and click the spread button to distribute evenly across all open bracket types.
3. Generate Brackets — On the Manage Brackets page, click "Generate All Open Groups". The system:
   • Finds the optimal mix of 8-person and 7-person brackets to minimize refunds
   • Ensures the same team or bowler never plays against themselves
   • Randomizes seeding with up to 10,000 shuffle attempts to avoid repeat first-round matchups
   • Runs rollover (if enabled) to move leftover entries to other brackets
4. Score Automatically — Once scores are entered on the registration page, bracket matches are resolved automatically:
   • Round 1 (Quarterfinals) — Uses the first game's scores (4 matches, 8 → 4)
   • Round 2 (Semifinals) — Uses the second game's scores (2 matches, 4 → 2)
   • Round 3 (Finals) — Uses the third game's scores (1 match, determines 1st and 2nd)
5. View Results — Brackets display in a tournament-style visual with Round 1 on the left feeding into Semis and Finals on the right. Use the expand button on each bracket group to switch between 2-per-row and 1-per-row for easier reading.
6. Pay Out — View Payouts shows every bowler/team's 1st place wins, 2nd place wins, refunds, and total due.

Bracket Readiness Check

Before generating brackets, click the Readiness button in the Quick Actions row of Manage Brackets to see whether each group has enough entries. The button is color-coded at a glance:

• Ready — one or more groups can generate brackets right now
• Short — at least one group is below the minimum
• Info — no bracket groups set up yet

The modal lists every bracket group with plain-English status:

Bracket Entries & Spread

There are two places to manage bracket entries:

From the Registration Page

• Each bowler row shows inputs for singles brackets only
• For team/doubles tournaments, a "Team Brackets" row appears below each team for team-type brackets
• Entries auto-save as you type or change values
• Use the Spread button to distribute a total evenly across all open bracket types

From the Manage Entries Page

• Shows separate tables: "Individual Bracket Entries" for singles and "Team Bracket Entries" for team/doubles/trios
• Team entries show the team name and members
• Enter quantities and click "Update All Entries" to save all changes at once

Entry Types: Singles, Doubles, Trios & Team Brackets

Each bracket has an Entry Type that determines who competes in it:

How Team Bracket Scoring Works

For each round of a team bracket match, all team members' individual game scores are added together. In handicap brackets, each member's individual handicap is included in their score. The team with the higher combined total wins that round.

Team Bracket Limits

• Each bracket instance has 8 slots — each team occupies one slot
• A team can buy multiple entries (e.g., 50 entries), appearing in up to 50 different bracket instances
• The system ensures a team never plays against itself in the same bracket instance
• The maximum number of bracket instances equals the team with the fewest entries (since every bracket needs 7–8 unique teams)

Age Groups

Age groups let you create separate bracket divisions based on bowler age (e.g., Youth, Adult, Senior). Each group can have its own brackets with optional handicap overrides.

Setting Up Age Groups

1. In tournament settings, toggle Enable Age Groups on
2. Define your age groups (defaults: Youth 0–17, Adult 18–54, Senior 55+):
   • Group Name — e.g., "Youth", "Adult", "Senior", "Super Senior"
   • Min / Max Age — The age range (leave blank for no limit)
   • Hdcp % Override — Optional: different handicap percentage for this group
   • Max Hdcp Override — Optional: different maximum handicap
3. When creating brackets, assign each bracket to an age group or leave as "All Ages (Open)"

How Age Groups Work

• Age is calculated automatically from Date of Birth relative to the tournament date
• On the registration page, bracket inputs are disabled for bowlers outside the bracket's age group
• "All Ages" brackets are available to everyone
• If a bowler has no DOB, all brackets are shown (no filtering)

Adding Date of Birth

• During registration — DOB field appears when age groups are enabled
• CSV import — Include a "Date of Birth" or "DOB" column (accepts YYYY-MM-DD, MM/DD/YYYY, etc.)
• Manage Bowlers — Add/Edit bowler pages include a DOB field
• Age stats — The Manage Bowlers page shows an age distribution chart (Under 17, 18–39, 40–49, 50–54, 55–59, 60+) when bowlers have DOB data

Bracket Rollover

Bracket Rollover automatically moves excess entries from brackets that don't have enough to fill into other compatible brackets that still need more entries. This minimizes refunds while keeping bowlers in the action.

Enabling Rollover

1. In tournament settings, toggle Enable Bracket Rollover on
2. Choose the Rollover Mode:
   • Automatic — Entries are moved during bracket generation. You see a log of all moves afterward.
   • Review First — Proposed moves are shown for your approval before being applied.
3. Optionally enable Allow cross-age-group rollover to let entries move between different age groups (e.g., Senior entries can fill Open brackets). When disabled, entries only roll over within the same age group.

Rollover Compatibility Rules

An entry can only roll over to a target bracket if:

• Same entry type (singles ↔ singles, team ↔ team)
• Same age group (unless cross-age rollover is enabled)
• The bowler/team is not already in the target bracket
• The target bracket hasn't been generated yet
• If Rollover Groups are configured, both brackets must be in the same group

Rollover Groups (Advanced)

By default, rollover considers all compatible brackets. For finer control, define Rollover Groups on the Manage Brackets page:

1. Expand the Bracket Rollover Groups section
2. Create a group and check which brackets belong to it
3. Only brackets in the same group can share entries

Review Mode Workflow

1. Generate brackets as normal — proposed moves appear in the results summary
2. Review each proposed move: bowler/team name, source bracket, target bracket
3. Click Approve All to apply or Reject All to discard
4. After approving, run brackets again to create instances with the rolled-over entries

Unlocking & Re-Running Brackets

Once brackets are generated and scored, they become locked. The Unlock dropdown provides two options:

Bracket Display & Organization

• Tournament-style visual — Brackets display with Round 1 on the left, Semifinals centered, and Finals on the right, showing the bracket flow
• 2 brackets per row — Default layout shows two brackets side by side for readability
• Expand toggle — Click the button in the bracket group header to switch to 1 per row for full-width viewing (great for team brackets with longer names)
• Color coding — Winners shown in green, losers in red, byes in gray. Entry type and age group badges displayed on each bracket.
• Print view — Use Print Brackets for a print-optimized layout. Choose 1, 2, or 4 brackets per page.

Brackets Alive Report

From the Reports Center, Brackets Alive shows every bowler/team and which bracket instances they're still competing in. The report is a compact one-row-per-bowler table:

Toggles

• Still Alive / Show All — Hide bowlers who are out of every bracket, or show everyone.
• Hide Eliminated — Collapse the Out + Eliminated Brackets columns to make the page even narrower.

Print uses the same compact table with thead repeated on each page.

Bracket Payouts & Printing

The View Payouts page shows a complete summary:

• 1st place wins, 2nd place wins, and total payout per bowler/team
• Refund amounts for entries that couldn't be placed
• Rollover log showing entries moved between brackets
• 7-person bracket note: 1st place payout is reduced by the entry fee amount (one fewer entry in the pool)
• Signature line for payment confirmation

The Signup Sheet and Entry Form printouts show separate sections for individual and team brackets, with entry type badges and team name fields.

All bracket pages are print-optimized. Use Ctrl+P to print.

"Enter All Brackets" Subscriptions

Some bowlers want to be in every instance of a bracket but don't know up front how many there will end up being. The "All" checkbox on each bracket column on the Register Bowlers (and Doubles and Teams) page handles this without requiring a guess at registration time.

How it works

1. Subscribe — In the bracket column for that bowler, tick the small "All" checkbox below the count input. The count input disables and clears (you can't have both a count and an All subscription on the same bracket). Nothing is charged yet.
2. Run Brackets — When you click Generate All Open Groups on Manage Brackets, every subscriber is automatically enrolled in every instance the algorithm creates for that bracket. If 12 brackets get generated, the subscriber is in all 12.
3. See what's owed — A red badge with the dollar amount appears next to the bowler's name on Register Bowlers showing their outstanding total (placement count times entry fee). The stats row at the top of the page also gets a "Bracket Collection (ALL)" tile summarizing the total to collect.
4. Collect at the event — Click the red badge to mark the full amount paid. The app's confirmation modal asks first, then the badge flips green to confirm. Click the green badge again to unmark.

The "All" row button

The green double-check button at the end of each bowler's row (next to Spread) now subscribes them to every bracket in the row at once — one click and they're in for everything. It skips brackets they're already subscribed to and shows a toast with how many were added.

Locked brackets

Once a bracket has been run (locked), you can no longer toggle the All checkbox. Subscribed bowlers' cells display a yellow "All" tag with a lock icon so you can spot at a glance who was in for everything — useful when reconciling at the event.

Bracket Collection Sheet

The standalone Bracket Collection Sheet page (linked from the Brackets payout page and from the new tile on Register Bowlers) lists every All-subscriber with:

• Per-bracket breakdown (for example, "Games 1-3 (F): 4 × $5 = $20.00")
• Total Due, Collected, and Outstanding columns
• Inline pay input with a $ prefix and a check button to record full or partial payments
• Status badges — Owed, Partial, or Paid — for fast scanning
• Print-optimized layout for a clipboard walk-around

Payout sheet integration

The bracket payout sheet and the main tournament payout sheets all show an "All Brackets Due" column (or section, on the team and doubles payout sheets) highlighted in yellow. A toggle at the top of the page switches between two collection modes:

• Collect Separately (default) — Bowlers receive their full winnings, and outstanding bracket dues are collected in cash separately at the event.
• Subtract from Winnings — Outstanding due is deducted from each bowler's winnings. A negative TOTAL means the bowler still owes after their winnings; a positive TOTAL means you pay them the difference. Useful for events where you want a single net settlement per bowler.

All four pages (singles payout, team payout, doubles payout, and bracket payouts) share the same calculation — payments marked from any of them are reflected everywhere consistently.

7. Eliminators

The Eliminator is a progressive elimination format where the lowest scorers are knocked out after each game. Only the survivors after the final game split the prize money.

How Eliminators Work

1. Entry — Bowlers pay the eliminator fee during registration
2. Game 1 — All eliminator entrants bowl. The lowest scorer(s) are eliminated
3. Games 2, 3, etc. — Remaining bowlers continue. More are eliminated each game
4. Final Game — Surviving bowlers are ranked by their final game score
5. Payouts — Survivors split the eliminator prize fund based on finishing position

Elimination Math

The system eliminates bowlers each game to narrow the field to the payout positions by the final game.

Handicap vs. Scratch Eliminator

8. Stepladder Finals

A stepladder is a head-to-head match play format used to determine the final standings among the top qualifiers. It's the format used on PBA telecasts.

How the Stepladder Works

With 5 Players

With 4 Players

Match Format — Classic 1v1 vs. Shootout

The Stepladder Finals card on Setup / Edit Tournament has a Match Format dropdown:

• Classic 1v1 (default) — the traditional head-to-head ladder shown above. Lowest seed plays the next seed up, winner advances.
• Shootout — three bowlers compete in each non-championship match, and the highest score advances. The championship match stays 1v1 against the #1 seed.

Shootout supports 4, 6, 8, or 10 finalists (the math requires the count to fit a clean shootout structure). Example with 8 finalists:

Score entry, the bracket-style display, and the champion banner all use the same Stepladder Finals page — the only difference is each non-championship match shows three score inputs instead of two.

Entering Stepladder Scores

1. Navigate to the Stepladder section from the tournament
2. Players are automatically seeded based on qualifying standings
3. For each match, enter both bowlers' scores — the higher score wins
4. Continue through all matches until the champion is determined

8b. Elimination Brackets

Elimination brackets are a core tournament feature that adds single or double elimination match play to your event. Use them as a standalone bracket tournament or as a finals format after qualifying games. Both singles and doubles (Baker format) tournaments are supported.

Setup & Settings

Enable elimination brackets during tournament setup or by editing an existing tournament. The settings are in the Elimination Bracket card:

Seeding & Match Play

1. Navigate to the Elimination Bracket page from the Actions dropdown on the dashboard.
2. Click Generate Bracket Structure to create all match slots.
3. Qualifying + Bracket mode: Click Seed from Qualifying to automatically seed from standings. The top bowlers are placed using standard bracket seeding (1 vs. lowest, 2 vs. second-lowest, on opposite halves).
4. Bracket Only mode: Use the manual seeding form to assign entries to each seed position.
5. Click Enter Score on any match to enter game scores or select a winner. The winner automatically advances to the next round.
6. The bracket tree updates in real time as matches are completed. A champion banner appears when the bracket is finished.

Byes: If byes are configured, the top seeds automatically advance past round 1 without playing. For example, with 16 entries and 4 byes, seeds 1–4 skip round 1 and seeds 5–12 play in round 1.

Double Elimination

In double elimination, a bowler must lose twice to be eliminated. The bracket has three sections:

You can run matches in the winners and losers brackets simultaneously — as soon as a loser is determined in the winners bracket, they immediately appear in their losers bracket match.

Doubles (Baker Format)

For doubles tournaments, teams compete in Baker format where both bowlers share one game score (alternating frames). Each match uses one combined team score per game, and handicap is calculated using a doubled basis (e.g., 80% of 440 for a 220 basis).

Lane Assignments

You can assign lane pairs to bracket matches to ensure bowlers don't repeat the same pair:

1. On the bracket page, scroll down to the Lane Assignments card.
2. Enter the number of Pairs in Play and the Starting Lane number.
3. Click Save, then click Generate Lane Assignments.
4. The system assigns lane pairs to each match using an algorithm that avoids repeat pairs for each bowler across rounds.
5. Lane pair badges (e.g., "Lanes 3-4") appear on each match box in the bracket tree.
6. Click Print Lane Sheet for a printable per-round table of all lane assignments.

Scheduling

The Schedule card sits at the top of the Elimination Bracket page so it's the first thing you see. Tournament Doctor calculates a start time for every round once you set the basics:

The round times table lists each round's calculated start time. To pin a round to a specific time (for example, after a delay), enter a new time and save — the override is highlighted and survives auto-recalculation. Click Clear Override on any row to return that round to auto-computed timing.

Reoil Breaks

Insert a maintenance window between any two rounds with the Add Reoil Break form: pick the round it follows, set a duration in minutes, and optionally add a note (e.g., "Lane maintenance"). All later rounds automatically shift to accommodate the break. Remove a break with the trash button next to it.

Per-Match Time Display

Once the schedule is set, each match box on the bracket tree shows its scheduled time alongside its lane pair. Bowlers and printable bracket charts pick up the same times so everyone is on the same page about when matches go off.

Printing & Reports

• Print Bracket — Full bracket tree with Tournament Doctor logo, landscape layout, champion banner.
• Print Lane Sheet — Per-round tables showing match, lane pair, and participants.
• The bracket tree also appears on the tournament standings report, the doubles report, and the public tournament hub (the page bowlers reach via your QR flyer) when enabled.

9. Viewing Standings & Results

Click Report on any tournament card to see the full tournament report.

Round-by-Round Breakdown

When multi-round format is enabled, the report shows a Round-by-Round Breakdown at the top of the page, before the overall standings. Each round displays per-bowler or per-team scores, scratch totals, and handicap totals. Rounds with no scores show an Enter Scores button that links directly to that round's score entry page.

Report Sections

Standings Badges

The standings table displays small colored badges next to each bowler's name to show which side events they've entered. This gives a quick visual overview of participation.

A legend is displayed above the standings table explaining each badge. Badges and legend entries only appear for events that have at least one bowler entered. The M/F/S/Y category badges come from each bowler's Category field.

Reports Center

The Reports Center is a hub page that provides quick access to all tournament reports from a single location. Access it by clicking the Reports link on any tournament.

Print All Reports

The Print All Reports button combines standings, eliminators, and brackets into a single print job. Instead of printing each report separately, all reports are fetched, combined with page breaks, and sent to your printer in one action.

10. Prize Distribution & Payouts

How the Prize Fund is Calculated

Payout Distribution

Tournament Doctor uses a geometric decay formula to distribute prize money. First place receives a premium (approximately 1.5x second place), and each subsequent position receives roughly 90% of the position above it. The formula automatically adjusts to guarantee the last paid position receives at least 1.5x the entry fee.

Report Settings

Adjust payout settings directly on the Tournament Report page using the Report Settings panel:

Custom Payouts

Click on any payout amount in the standings to manually override it. Custom payouts are saved per tournament and take priority over the formula.

Multiple Payout Sources

A single bowler can win money from multiple sources:

The Payout Sheet shows a complete per-bowler breakdown with all sources totaled.

Tournament Financials

The financials page shows the complete money picture: total revenue (entries + sidepots + brackets + eliminators), expenses (lineage + operational costs), and prize fund breakdown by category.

11. Points System & Series

Track bowler performance across multiple tournaments in a series or season.

Setting Up a Series

1. Create a Tournament Series (e.g., "2026 Winter Championship Series")
2. When creating each tournament, assign it to the series and enable points

Points Configuration

Bonus Points

Viewing the Points Report

Click Points Report from the dashboard. Select the series or date range to view cumulative standings: each bowler's points per tournament, total accumulated points, and current series ranking.

12. Publishing Results

Tournament Doctor offers multiple ways to share results: a built-in live public standings link, iBowlTournaments integration, and FTP upload to your own website.

Option A: iBowlTournaments (Recommended)

Publish directly to iBowlTournaments.com where bowlers can view standings online.

First-Time Setup

1. Create an account at iruntournaments.com
2. Get your API Key from your coordinator account settings
3. In Tournament Doctor, go to Publish Results on any tournament
4. Enter your API Key in Step 1 — it saves to your account (enter once, use for all tournaments)

Publishing

1. Click Fetch My Tournaments to load your iBowlTournaments event list
2. Use the search box to find the matching event
3. Select the tournament to link it
4. Click Publish to iBowlTournaments

Option B: FTP Upload to Your Website

Upload tournament report files (PDF, PNG, or JPG) directly to your own website via FTP.

Setup

1. Go to FTP Profiles from the dashboard
2. Create a profile with your FTP credentials (server, username, password, directory)
3. Test the connection to verify it works

Uploading

1. Go to Publish Results on the tournament
2. Select your FTP profile from the dropdown
3. Choose the export format (PDF, PNG, or JPG)
4. Click Generate & Upload Now

13. Bowling Center Management

Manage all the venues where you run tournaments.

Adding a Center

1. Go to Bowling Centers from the dashboard
2. Click Add New Center
3. Fill in the details: name, address, phone, email, website, number of lanes, lane surface type, oil pattern, and any notes

When creating a tournament, you'll select a center from your saved list. The center info appears on entry forms and reports.

14. Doubles Tournaments

Setup

Select Doubles as the tournament type during creation. Handicap is calculated per team — each bowler's individual handicap is computed, then summed for the team total.

Registering Doubles Teams

1. Register two bowlers as a team
2. Enter each bowler's individual average
3. The system calculates combined team handicap automatically

Scoring

Enter each bowler's individual game scores. The system combines scores for team totals and displays team standings with combined scratch + combined handicap.

Multi-Round Doubles

When multi-round format is enabled on a doubles tournament:

• Scores entered on the Register Doubles page automatically count as Round 1 (Qualifying)
• An info banner at the top of the registration page shows which round you're entering scores for
• After saving all scores, a modal prompts you to continue to the next round's score entry page
• The Doubles Report shows a Round-by-Round Breakdown at the top with per-round team standings
• Rounds with no scores display an Enter Scores button linking to that round's entry page
• Each round can have different game counts, formats (Standard or Baker), carry-over settings, and advancement cuts

Per-Bowler Pot Opt-Ins

Every side event (sidepots, eliminators, Blind Doubles, Big Dog, Optional Singles Event) is opted-in per bowler, not per pair. On the Register Doubles page, each bowler gets their own checkbox column for:

• HS / SS — Handicap / Scratch Sidepot
• HE / SE — Handicap / Scratch Eliminator
• BDH / BDS — Blind Doubles Handicap / Scratch
• BgH / BgS — Big Dog Handicap / Scratch
• 1SH / 1SS — Optional Singles Event Handicap / Scratch

Toggle a pot for one bowler and just their fee is added. Both partners opted in? Both fees. Team total due on the row updates live, and the stats tiles at the top of the page re-tally the counts.

Optional Singles Event (Doubles)

Doubles tournaments can now offer the Optional Singles Event (previously team-only), split into independent Handicap and Scratch variants:

1. On Setup/Edit Tournament, scroll to Optional Singles Event and toggle Handicap, Scratch, or both.
2. Set the entry fee per event (one-time fee per bowler, not per game).
3. Set the profit (deducted from the event's prize pool).
4. On Register Doubles, check 1SH / 1SS for each bowler who wants in.
5. Results show as Optional Singles Event Standings (Handicap) and (Scratch) sections on the Doubles Report.

15. Team & Trios Tournaments

Setup

Select Team as the tournament type and set the Team Size (3 for trios, 4 for quads, etc.). You also choose how handicap and fees are handled:

Registering Teams

1. Create a team and add the required number of bowlers (e.g., 3 for trios)
2. Enter each bowler's individual average
3. The system calculates handicap based on the mode you selected
4. Mark the team as paid and assign sidepots, eliminators, or brackets

Scoring

Enter each bowler's individual game scores. The system combines them for team totals and ranks teams by combined scratch + combined handicap.

16. Social Media Sharing

Share tournament results on social media platforms.

Supported Platforms

Posting Results

Select the tournament and platform, then post. The system generates a summary with the tournament name, date, location, winner, top finishers, and high game/series highlights.

17. FTP Profiles

Manage reusable FTP connections so you don't have to re-enter credentials for every tournament.

Creating a Profile

1. Go to FTP Profiles from the dashboard
2. Enter a Profile Name (e.g., "My League Website"), server, username, password, and upload directory
3. Click Test Connection to verify it works
4. Click Save Profile

Managing Profiles

• Create multiple profiles for different websites or directories
• Set one as the default (auto-selected on the publish page)
• Edit, test, or delete profiles anytime
• Your first profile is automatically set as the default

18. Signup Sheet & Printouts

Print professional signup sheets for tournament day.

Signup Sheet

A printable signup sheet showing the tournament details, fee breakdown, and available options. The sheet includes:

• Main event items — Entry fee, sidepots, and eliminators with checkmarks
• Squad information — Available squads with times listed in the header, plus a Squad field for each bowler (if squads are enabled)
• Bracket section — Lists each bracket type (forward/reverse) with game range, payouts, entry fee, and a quantity column
• Total Brackets option — A bowler can enter a total number of brackets instead of specifying each type individually. The total is spread evenly across all available bracket types.
• Grand Total — Calculated total amount due

Bracket Signup Sheet

A printable sheet for bracket entries showing available brackets (game ranges and types), entry fees, and spaces for bowler names.

Bowler Lane Sheet

Individual printable score cards for each bowler showing their lane assignments per game (based on the lane rotation/skip procedure), with columns for score, handicap, total, and +/−.

How to Print

1. Click Signup Sheet in the Actions dropdown on the tournament card
2. Select which form type to print
3. Choose the number of copies (1–50)
4. Use your browser's print function (Ctrl+P or Cmd+P)

19. Squads (Multi-Squad / Shifts)

Squads let you run multiple shifts or time slots within a single tournament. This is ideal for larger events where not all bowlers can bowl at the same time. The tournament director chooses whether squads compete in combined or separate standings.

Setting Up Squads

During tournament creation or editing:

1. Enable Squads — Toggle the "Enable Squads" switch in the Squads section
2. Choose Standings Mode:
   • Combined — All bowlers across all squads are ranked in one leaderboard (squads are just scheduling)
   • Separate — Each squad has its own independent standings and payouts
3. Add Squads — Click "Add Squad" and configure each one:

   Field	Description
   Squad Name	e.g., "10:00 AM Squad", "Afternoon Shift", "Squad A"
   Squad Time	Start time for this squad (optional but recommended)
   Starting Lane	First lane pair number for this squad
   Lane Count	How many lane pairs this squad uses
   Max Bowlers	Capacity limit for this squad (0 = unlimited)

You can add as many squads as needed and remove them with the trash icon.

Registering Bowlers to Squads

Once squads are configured, the registration page shows:

• A Squad filter dropdown to view bowlers by squad
• A Squad column in the bowler table with a dropdown to assign each bowler
• Bowlers with no squad assigned appear as "Unassigned"

Squad assignments happen instantly via AJAX — no page reload needed.

Squad-Aware Features

Combined vs. Separate Standings

20. Clone Tournament

Clone Tournament lets you quickly duplicate a tournament's entire configuration to create a new event, saving time when running recurring tournaments.

How to Clone

1. On the Dashboard, find the tournament you want to copy
2. Open the Actions dropdown on the tournament card
3. Click Clone Tournament
4. In the clone dialog, optionally enable Keep Bowlers to copy registered bowlers into the new tournament
5. Confirm the action
6. You'll be redirected to the Edit Tournament page for the new copy

What Gets Cloned

Everything about the tournament's settings is copied:

• Tournament name (with "(Copy)" appended)
• Handicap settings, number of games, fee structure
• All sidepot, eliminator, Big Dog, and blind doubles settings
• All bracket definitions and their settings
• Stepladder configuration
• Custom payout tables
• Squad definitions (names, times, lane assignments)
• Points system configuration

Keep Bowlers Option

When the Keep Bowlers toggle is enabled, registered bowlers are copied to the new tournament with:

• Names and lane assignments preserved
• All scores reset to blank
• All side action zeroed out (sidepots, eliminators, Big Dog, blind doubles)
• Bracket entries cleared (blank slate for new tournament)
• Payment status reset to unpaid

This is ideal for recurring events with a consistent field of bowlers.

What Does NOT Get Cloned

The following are never copied regardless of settings:

• Scores and results
• Side action entries (sidepots, eliminators, brackets, Big Dog, blind doubles)
• Bracket instances and matchups
• Export/publish settings and history

21. Live Public Standings

Share a live standings link with bowlers so they can check results in real-time during and after the tournament, without needing a login.

How It Works

Every tournament automatically gets a public token — a unique code that generates a shareable link. This link opens a clean, mobile-friendly standings page that anyone can view without logging in.

Sharing the Link

From the Dashboard

1. Open the Actions dropdown on the tournament card
2. Click Copy Public Link
3. The link is copied to your clipboard — paste it in a text message, email, social media post, or display it on a screen at the bowling center

From the Reports Center

In the Publish & Export section, click Copy Live Standings Link.

What Viewers See

The page is mobile-responsive and works on any device. It uses a clean, minimal design optimized for readability.

After Tournament Completion

When you finalize a tournament:

1. The tournament status is set to "completed"
2. If the tournament has been published to iBowlTournaments, the public link automatically redirects to the iBowlTournaments results page
3. This gives bowlers a seamless experience — the same link works during the event (live standings) and after (permanent results on iBowlTournaments)

If the tournament hasn't been published to iBowlTournaments, the public page continues to show the final standings.

Privacy

• Public standings pages are marked with noindex so search engines won't index them
• The link requires the unique token — it cannot be guessed or browsed to
• Only standings are shown — no payout information, no personal details beyond bowler name, average, and scores

22. Online Registration

Let bowlers register for your tournament online by sharing a public signup link. Bowlers fill out a simple form with their name, average, side event selections, and contact info — no account or login required. They pay when they arrive at the bowling center.

Enabling Online Registration

1. Go to Edit Tournament (or Setup Tournament when creating a new one)
2. Find the Online Registration card at the top of the page
3. Toggle Enable Online Registration to on
4. Choose an Approval Mode:
   • Auto-Accept — Bowlers are immediately registered into the tournament. If the tournament is full, they are automatically placed on the waitlist.
   • Pending Approval — Entries go into a staging queue. You review and approve or reject each one before it appears in the tournament.
5. (Optional) Set a Registration Deadline — the form automatically closes after this date and time
6. (Optional) Add a Custom Message that appears at the top of the signup form (e.g., dress code, parking info, special rules)
7. Save the tournament

Sharing the Signup Link

From the Dashboard

1. Open the Actions dropdown on the tournament card
2. Click Copy Signup Link
3. Paste the link in an email, text message, social media post, or on your website

From the Edit Tournament Page

The signup URL is displayed at the bottom of the Online Registration card. Click the copy button next to it.

What Bowlers See

The signup page is a clean, mobile-friendly form that shows:

Team Tournaments — Captain & Join-Code Flow

For team tournaments, the public signup form automatically switches to a two-step flow:

1. Captain registers first. They fill in their own name/average/email and pick a team payment mode (see below). On submit, they receive a unique team code and a teammate join link to share.
2. Teammates use the link (or enter the team code) to add themselves to the captain's team. The form shows the captain's name and team payment mode so they know what they owe.
3. In Manage Online Entries, captains are flagged with a Captain badge and teammates appear grouped under their captain. Bulk-approve sorts captains first so teams import in the right order.

Team Payment Mode

Set a default for your account in Profile → Default Team Payment Mode. Captains can override the default at signup time.

Managing Online Entries

Access the online entries manager from the Actions dropdown on the dashboard, or from the Online Entries button on the Register Bowlers page.

Entry Statuses

Approving Entries

• Click the green check button to approve and import a single entry
• Click Approve All to bulk-approve all pending entries at once
• When approved, the bowler is automatically added to your bowler database and registered in the tournament with all their side event selections
• If the bowler name already exists in your database, the existing record is updated rather than creating a duplicate

Rejecting Entries

• Click the red X button to reject an entry
• You can optionally provide a rejection reason
• Rejected entries can be deleted permanently using the trash icon

Auto-Accept Mode

In auto-accept mode, entries skip the pending state entirely. When a bowler submits the form:

1. A new bowler record is created in your database (or matched to an existing bowler by name)
2. A tournament entry is created with all side event selections
3. If the tournament is full, the entry is placed on the waitlist with the correct position
4. The bowler sees a confirmation with their entry status and estimated total due

Waitlist Behavior

If your tournament has a Max Entries limit set:

• Once all active spots are filled, new online entries are automatically placed on the waitlist
• The signup page shows "Waitlist open" instead of the number of spots remaining
• Waitlisted bowlers are given a position number and notified of their status
• This works the same way in both auto-accept and pending approval modes

Anti-Spam Protection

The signup form includes multiple layers of protection against spam and abuse:

Dashboard Badge

Tournaments with online registration enabled show a teal Online badge on their card in the dashboard. The Actions dropdown also shows an Online Entries link with a count of pending entries (if any).

iBowlTournaments Listing

You can push your tournament listing directly to iBowlTournaments.com so bowlers searching for events can find yours. If online registration is enabled, the listing will include a "Register Online" button that links bowlers to your signup form.

Prerequisites

• You need an iBowlTournaments coordinator account with an API key
• Set your API key in the Tournament Export Setup page (one-time setup per account)

Pushing a Listing

1. Go to Edit Tournament
2. Find the List on iBowlTournaments.com card (below Online Registration)
3. Click Push to iBowlTournaments
4. Your tournament name, date, entry fees, center, handicap settings, and side event info are sent to iBT
5. A success message will appear with a link to view your listing on iBT

Updating a Listing

If you change tournament details (fees, date, settings), click Update Listing to push the changes to iBT. The same iBT listing is updated — no duplicate is created.

What Gets Pushed

Register Online Button on iBT

When your tournament has online registration enabled, the iBT listing page displays a green "Register Online" button. Clicking it takes bowlers to your Tournament Doctor signup form. If you later disable online registration, push again and the button will be removed from the iBT listing.

Current Limitations

• Online registration is available for singles tournaments only. Doubles and team events require registering at the event.
• Bowlers can now pay their entry fee online when online payments are enabled on the tournament. See Section 23: Online Entry Payments.

23. Online Entry Payments NEW

Let bowlers pay their tournament entry fees with a credit or debit card when they register through your public signup link. Entry fees deposit directly into your bank account through Stripe, our payment partner. A small 4% convenience fee is added to the bowler's total to cover card processing — you receive the full entry fee.

Setting Up Payments (One-Time)

Before you can accept online payments on any tournament, you need to set up a Stripe Express account. This is a one-time process that takes about 5 minutes.

Before You Begin — What You'll Need

• Your Social Security Number (last 4 digits) and date of birth
• Your mailing address and phone number
• A bank account for payouts (routing number and account number)
• If you run tournaments as a business (LLC or corporation): your EIN and business address

Why This Information Is Required

Under U.S. federal law (the Bank Secrecy Act and USA PATRIOT Act), any company that processes payments is legally required to verify the identity of anyone receiving money. This is called "Know Your Customer" (KYC). The same requirement applies to every payment processor — Stripe, PayPal, Square, Venmo for Business, and every bank. There is no legal way to accept online card payments without it. Your information goes directly to Stripe and is protected by their privacy policy — Tournament Doctor never sees or stores your SSN or bank details.

Starting the Setup

1. From your dashboard, click the Online Payments card (with the NEW badge)
2. Review what the feature does, then click Set Up with Stripe
3. You'll be redirected to Stripe's secure onboarding page
4. Fill in your information (takes about 5 minutes)
5. Verify your bank account
6. When complete, you'll be returned to Tournament Doctor with confirmation that your account is active

Enabling Online Payments on a Tournament

Once your Stripe account is set up, turning on online payments for a specific tournament is a single checkbox:

1. Open Edit Tournament (or Setup Tournament for new tournaments)
2. Scroll to the Online Registration section and make sure it's enabled
3. Check the Enable Online Payments box
4. Save the tournament

Now any bowler who registers through your public signup link will be prompted to pay online. Their entry is automatically marked as paid the moment the charge succeeds.

Fees & Payouts

What the Bowler Pays

Bowlers see a breakdown on the signup form:

What You Receive

You receive the full entry fee and side event fees — no deductions. The 4% convenience fee is paid by the bowler on top and covers card processing.

Payout Schedule

Stripe deposits collected funds into your bank account on a rolling 2-day schedule by default (first payout can take 7–14 days while Stripe verifies your first transactions). You can adjust the schedule and view payout details from your Stripe dashboard — the link is available on the Online Payments page.

Refunds

If a bowler needs a refund (tournament cancellation, double entry, etc.), you can issue it two ways:

From Tournament Doctor

1. Open the tournament's Online Entries page
2. Find the paid entry and click the Refund button
3. Choose Full Refund or enter a partial amount
4. Confirm — the refund is processed immediately

Refunds are charged back against your pending payouts. The 4% convenience fee is refunded to the bowler. Stripe's card processing fees are non-refundable, but Tournament Doctor absorbs that cost so you don't have to.

From the Stripe Dashboard

You can also refund directly from your Stripe dashboard. Refunds issued there are automatically reflected in Tournament Doctor the next time the page refreshes.

Tax Reporting

Even though you pay most of the entry fees back out as prizes, the full amount appears as income on the 1099-K. On your tax return, report the entry fees as income and the prize payouts as an expense — this typically nets to zero or close to it, but it still has to be filed.

If you pay a single bowler more than $600 in prizes in a calendar year, you may also be required to issue them a 1099-MISC. Tournament Doctor does not provide tax advice — check with a tax professional if you're unsure.

Email Notifications

When an online payment succeeds, three emails go out automatically:

• Tournament director (you) — details of the new paid entry with a link to the manage entries page
• Bowler — a receipt with confirmation number, amounts, and your contact email for tournament questions
• Tournament Doctor admin — for internal monitoring

24. Quick Reference: Running a Tournament

Before Tournament Day

• Create the tournament with all settings (fees, handicap, games, sidepots, brackets, Big Dog, blind doubles)
• Configure squads if running multiple shifts (set times, lanes, max capacity)
• Set a Max Entries limit if needed (0 = unlimited)
• Set up the bowling center if not already saved
• Set up brackets if using them
• Print signup sheets and bracket signup sheets
• Configure publishing (iBowlTournaments or FTP) if needed
• Copy the public standings link and share it with bowlers for live results
• Enable Online Registration and share the signup link so bowlers can pre-register before the event
• (Optional) Enable Online Entry Payments so bowlers pay by card during signup — requires a one-time Stripe account setup

Tournament Day

• Register bowlers as they arrive and pay (waitlisted automatically if full)
• Assign bowlers to squads if using squads
• Mark entries as paid and check off sidepot/eliminator/bracket/Big Dog/blind doubles entries
• Enter scores game by game as bowlers finish
• Run eliminator cuts after each game (if using eliminators)
• Fill bracket instances as 8-person groups complete

After Qualifying

• Review standings in the Tournament Report (filter by squad if applicable)
• Run stepladder finals if enabled — enter match scores
• Adjust Report Settings (payout %, places, rounding) as needed
• Finalize payouts — review the Payout Sheet
• Check the Bracket Status Report to see who's alive, cashed, or eliminated
• Use Print All Reports from the Reports Center to print everything in one job
• Publish results to iBowlTournaments or your website
• Share on social media if configured

After Tournament Day

• Review financials for accounting
• Check points standings if part of a series
• Clone the tournament for next time — enable Keep Bowlers to carry over names, or clone settings only

25. Test Data Generator

Tournament Doctor includes a built-in test data generator so you can practice using the system without entering real bowler data.

How to Generate Test Data

1. Navigate to the Test Data Generator from the dashboard
2. Choose the tournament type: Singles, Doubles, or Team/Trios
3. Configure the number of bowlers, games, and which features to include (sidepots, eliminators, brackets)
4. Click Generate to create a complete test tournament with randomized bowler names, averages, and scores

What Gets Generated

• Tournament with all configured settings
• Bowlers with randomized names and averages
• Game scores based on bowler averages (realistic distribution)
• Bracket entries and instances (if brackets enabled)
• Sidepot and eliminator entries (if enabled)

Cleaning Up Test Data

Use the Cleanup Test Data page to remove test tournaments. Test tournaments are marked with a [TEST] prefix for easy identification. Cleanup removes all associated entries, scores, brackets, and results.

26. Multi-Round Tournaments

Multi-round format lets you structure a tournament into distinct rounds — for example, Qualifying, Semifinals, and Finals — each with its own game count, format, and settings.

Enabling Multi-Round Format

1. Go to Edit Tournament
2. In the General Information section, toggle Enable Rounds to ON
3. Choose a Round Template to pre-populate rounds (e.g., "3 Rounds: Qualifying, Semifinals, Finals") or leave blank to configure manually
4. Click Save Tournament

Configuring Rounds

After enabling rounds, go to Manage Rounds (accessible from the dashboard Actions dropdown or the Enter Round Scores page):

You can add, edit, reorder, or delete rounds from the Manage Rounds page.

Score Entry Workflow

Round 1 (Qualifying)

Scores entered on the Register Bowlers or Register Doubles page automatically count as Round 1. An info banner at the top confirms:

After saving all scores via Save All, a modal appears with options to:

• Stay Here — Continue working on the registration page
• Enter Next Round Scores — Navigate to the next round's score entry page

Round 2+ (Subsequent Rounds)

Navigate to the Enter Round Scores page. This page features:

• Round tabs at the top — click to switch between rounds
• Round info bar — shows format (Standard/Baker), game count, carry-over status, cut info, and a real-time score progress counter
• Score cards for each eligible bowler/team — enter game scores directly

Scores auto-save when you leave a field (on blur). Use Tab to move between fields and Enter to jump to the next team.

Locked Rounds

If a round has a Cut After setting, the next round's tab appears locked (with a lock icon) until the cut is performed. Go to Manage Rounds to perform the cut before entering scores for the next round.

Completion

After entering all scores for a round, a completion banner appears at the bottom:

• Intermediate rounds: Buttons to "Perform Cut" (if configured) and "Enter Next Round Scores"
• Final round: A "View Standings & Payouts" button links to the full report

Advancement Cuts

Cuts determine which bowlers or teams advance to the next round:

1. Configure Cut After on a round (e.g., "Cut to top 8")
2. After scores are entered, go to Manage Rounds
3. Click Perform Cut to advance the top N bowlers/teams
4. Only advanced bowlers appear as eligible entries in the next round
5. Locked rounds become unlocked after their prerequisite cut is completed

Baker Format

In Baker rounds, the team bowls together with members alternating frames. Instead of entering individual scores, you enter one combined game score per team per game. Baker format is available for doubles and team tournaments.

Pins Carry Over

When Pins Carry Over is enabled on a round, each bowler/team's cumulative total from all previous rounds is displayed alongside their current round scores. This is useful for formats where total pinfall across all rounds determines the final standings.

Round-by-Round Breakdown in Reports

When rounds are enabled, the Tournament Report (or Doubles Report) shows a Round-by-Round Breakdown at the top, before overall standings. Each round displays bowler/team scores, totals, and handicaps. Rounds with no scores show an Enter Scores button linking directly to the score entry page for that round.

27. All-Events Tournaments BETA

An All-Events tournament bundles three sub-events — Team, Doubles, and Singles — under one parent record with a single shared bowler roster. Each bowler bowls in each sub-event (typically 3 games each, 9 total) and competes in a combined All-Events standing alongside their per-event results. Modeled after the USBC Open Championships, the Greater Ozarks Open, and similar multi-event formats.

Creating an All-Events Tournament

1. From the dashboard, click New All-Events Tournament (the orange BETA button next to the regular New Tournament button).
2. Fill in the parent info: name, start/end dates, description.
3. Choose roster format: 5 bowlers per team (standard) or 6 (USBC style with a doubles/singles-only 6th slot).
4. Choose doubles sets per team: 1 (typical), 2, or 3 (USBC). USBC Open uses 3 sets so each bowler bowls doubles with a different partner.
5. Set per-event game counts and entry fees. Defaults match a typical USBC format (3 games each).
6. Choose handicap settings (shared across all 3 sub-events).
7. Toggle optional side events: AEH, AES, 6GC, Scratch Team, All-Women's Team. Each one has its own fee and prize fund.
8. Click Create All-Events Tournament. Behind the scenes, three child tournaments (Team / Doubles / Singles) are created and linked to the parent. Each child appears on your dashboard with an orange AE badge.

Building the Shared Roster

After creating the parent, you land on the Manage Roster page. This is where everything starts:

1. Click Add Team. Each team gets a name and optional hometown / home center fields.
2. Within each team card, use the Add Bowler form to either select an existing bowler or create a new one (first / last / average).
3. For each bowler, check the boxes for which events they're entered in:
   • T — Team event
   • D — Doubles event
   • S — Singles event
   • AEH / AES / 6GC — optional side events (only shown if enabled on the parent)
4. If you're using multiple doubles sets, pick the bowler's doubles set # from the dropdown.
5. Saving a bowler automatically registers them in the Singles and Team sub-events — you don't have to enter them three times.

The 6th roster slot (when using 6-bowler teams) is reserved for a Doubles/Singles only bowler. The team event checkbox is disabled for that slot.

Doubles Pair Sync

Doubles entries are not auto-created when you add bowlers, because doubles requires pair assignment. Once your bowlers are assigned to doubles sets:

1. Scroll to the bottom of the Manage Roster page.
2. Click Sync Doubles Pairs.
3. Each set with exactly 2 bowlers becomes a doubles pair in the doubles sub-event tournament.
4. Sets with only 1 bowler (or more than 2) are flagged as issues so you can fix them.
5. Re-runnable any time — existing pairs aren't duplicated.

Entering Scores

Each sub-event uses the existing register / score / report pages — no new tools to learn. Click any of the three "Sub-events" links at the top of the Manage Roster page (or open the child tournament from the dashboard) and enter scores as you would for a normal tournament. Your bowlers are already registered.

All-Events Combined Report

The Combined Report button on the Manage Roster page (or the print-ready report at all_events_report.php) shows:

• All-Events Handicap (AEH) — combined handicap total across all 3 events, ranked.
• All-Events Scratch (AES) — combined scratch total across all 3 events, ranked.
• 6-Game Combined (6GC) — singles + doubles handicap only.
• Per-bowler breakdown — raw scratch / handicap totals from each sub-event for sanity-checking.

Each side event displays its prize pool and payout breakdown using the same geometric-decay formula the rest of the app uses. Only bowlers who opted in to that side event appear in its standing.

"Part of an All-Events Tournament" Banner

When you open one of the child sub-events directly (e.g., to enter scores or fine-tune sidepots), a small banner at the top reminds you that this tournament is part of a parent and links back to the shared roster. Bowlers added on the child page will not appear on the shared roster — always add bowlers via the Manage Roster page so they end up in all events.

What's Not Yet Supported

Phase 1 of All-Events is intentionally focused. The following features are planned but not yet built:

• Divisions (Regular / Standard / Classified) with cross-event placement rules
• Companion teams (lane-pairing two teams together)
• Per-event squad time / venue cascading (USBC's "11:30am team teams may pick 7am or 3:15pm S&D" logic)
• Average verification workflow with bowl.com lookup
• Per-team processing fee separate from per-bowler entry fees
• Scratch Team and All-Women's Team filters on the combined report (toggles exist on the parent but the standings aren't yet rendered)

If you need any of these for an upcoming tournament, let support know and they can be prioritized.