Running Club Sessions

Club Session is your digital peg board for managing live badminton sessions. It tracks who's waiting to play, who's on court, and records game results for statistics.

Starting a Session

Navigate to Admin > Club Session
Click Start Session
Configure the session:

- Session Name (optional) - Give your session a name like "Tuesday Evening Session"

- Number of Courts - How many courts are available (1-8)

- Points to Win - Choose the default scoring target: 21 (standard), 15, or 11 points

- Session Password (optional) - Set a password to protect the session

Click Start Session to begin

Tip: Use 15 or 11 points for shorter games when you have lots of players waiting, or for junior sessions where shorter games keep things moving.

Session Password & Fullscreen Protection

You can set a password when starting a session to protect the fullscreen display:

Enter any password you choose (no restrictions on format)
Share the password only with trusted committee members
If no password is set, anyone can exit fullscreen mode

Fullscreen lock behaviour:

When a session password is set and the session is in fullscreen mode:

The display is locked — pressing Escape or attempting to exit fullscreen will automatically re-enter fullscreen and show the unlock dialog
To exit fullscreen, you must enter either the session password or your account password
This prevents players from accidentally (or intentionally) closing the peg board display during a busy session

How to unlock fullscreen:

Press Escape or attempt to exit fullscreen
The Fullscreen Locked dialog appears
Enter either the session password or your own account password
Click Unlock to exit fullscreen

Tip: Using your account password as a backup means you can unlock the screen even if you've forgotten the session password.

This is ideal when running the peg board on a shared tablet or large screen at the courts — the display stays locked so players can see the queue without anyone closing the app.

Linking to Calendar Events

If you have events scheduled for today, you can link the session to a calendar event:

When starting a session, today's calendar events are shown
Click on an event to select it
The session will be linked to that event for tracking purposes

Note: Only real calendar events can be linked - not auto-generated recurring events.

Resuming an Active Session

If a session is already active, you'll see a notification and can click Continue Session to resume where you left off. Only one session can be active at a time.

The Session Interface

Live Statistics

At the top of the session page, you'll see real-time stats:

In Queue - Players waiting for a game
On Court - Players currently playing
Games Played - Total completed games this session
Courts - Number of available courts

The Peg Board (Queue)

The left panel shows players waiting to play.

Adding Players:

Click Add to open the player search dialog
Search for active members by name
Select from invited applicants being evaluated
Add ad-hoc guests by typing their name

Queue Order:

Drag and drop to reorder the queue
Position numbers show who plays next (1 = next to play)
New players join at the back of the queue

Player Cards Show:

Profile photo (if available) with gender indicator ring (blue for male, pink for female)
Name
Skill level badge (colored by level)
Games played this session
Win/loss record for the session

Gender Indicators:

Player avatars display a colored ring to indicate gender:

Blue ring - Male
Pink ring - Female
No ring - Gender not set

This helps when organizing mixed doubles or gender-balanced games at a glance.

Removing Players:

Click the remove button on a player's card
The player is removed from the queue immediately

Duplicate Prevention:

The system prevents adding the same player twice - you cannot have a player appear in multiple queue positions.

Player Types

The peg board supports three types of players:

Members - Active club members

- Shown with their profile photo

- Display their assigned skill level badge

- Full statistics tracked

Applicants - Invited applicants being evaluated

- Shown with "Applicant" label

- Ability level displayed if set

- Useful for trial sessions

Guests - Ad-hoc visitors

- Shown with orange "Guest" label

- Added by name only

- Good for one-off visitors or pay-and-play sessions

Courts View

The right panel shows your courts and games in progress.

Game Type Toggle

Above the courts, use the Singles/Doubles toggle to switch game types:

Doubles (default) - 4 players per game (2 per team)
Singles - 2 players per game (1 per team)

Half-Court Games

When in Singles mode, a Half court checkbox appears below the game type toggle. Tick this to mark a singles game as being played on half a court.

Half-court games are useful when:

You have more players than full courts available
Running training drills or warm-up games on a shared court
Accommodating beginners or younger players alongside regular play

Half-court games are tracked separately in statistics and appear with a ½ indicator in session results. You can filter by half-court games in the Player Stats analytics.

Court Layout

Each court displays:

Team A - Top positions (left and right for doubles)
Team B - Bottom positions (left and right for doubles)
Court Number - Displayed in the corner
Game Status - Empty, filling, ready to start, or in progress

Assigning Players to Courts

Drag a player from the queue onto a court position
Drop them into Team A or Team B
For doubles, fill all four positions; for singles, fill two positions
When all positions are filled, the Start button becomes active

Tip: Mix skill levels between teams for more balanced games.

Starting a Game

Fill all positions on a court
Click the Start button
A timer begins tracking game duration
The court card shows the game is in progress

Recording Game Results

When a game finishes:

Click on the court to open the score entry dialog
You'll see all players and their team assignments
Enter the final score for Team A
Enter the final score for Team B
Click Save to record the game

What Happens After Saving:

The game is recorded with all details (players, scores, duration)
Winners are placed back in the queue first
Losers are placed behind winners in the queue
The court is cleared for the next game

This winner-first queue behavior encourages fair rotation while giving winners a small advantage.

Managing Skill Levels

Player skill levels help balance games visually:

Go to Admin > Settings > Player Levels
Create levels like "Beginner", "Intermediate", "Advanced"
Assign colors to each level (e.g., green, blue, purple, gold)
Assign levels to members on their profile

Levels appear as colored badges on the peg board, making it easy to create balanced games at a glance.

For detailed instructions, see Managing Player Skill Levels.

Session Settings

During an active session, click Settings to:

Change the number of courts available
Add notes about the session

Court changes take effect immediately - new courts appear or excess courts are hidden.

Ending vs Cancelling a Session

Ending a Session

Click End Session
Optionally add notes about the session (e.g., "Good turnout, 16 players")
Click End Session to confirm

When you end a session:

All game data is preserved
The session is saved to history
Players are removed from the queue
You're redirected to the session results page

Cancelling a Session

If you started a session by mistake:

Click End Session, then click Cancel Session
Confirm the deletion

Warning: Cancelling deletes all data associated with the session including any recorded games. Use this only if the session was started in error.

Session Results

After ending a session, you'll see the results page showing:

Session summary (name, date, duration, courts used)
Total games played
Total unique players
List of all games with scores
Player statistics for the session

Editing or Deleting a Recorded Game

If a score was entered incorrectly, you can fix it from the session results page:

Navigate to the session results page
Find the game you want to correct
Click the pencil icon to edit the score, or the bin icon to delete the game entirely
For edits, update the Team A and Team B scores and click Save
For deletions, confirm in the dialog

Note: Only committee members with the Run Club Night permission can edit or delete recorded games.

You can also access past session results from the Club Session home page.

Viewing Past Sessions

From the Admin > Club Session home page, you can see recent sessions including:

Session name or date
Start time and duration
Number of courts used
Who started the session
Who ended the session
Number of games played

Click on any past session to view its full details and game results.

Session Analytics

For comprehensive statistics across multiple sessions, visit Admin > Analytics > Club Session Analytics.

The analytics dashboard shows:

Player leaderboard with win rates
Session history
Partner and opponent analysis
Date range filtering

See Club Session Analytics for more details.

Offline Functionality

Club Session works even without an internet connection:

Queue management - Add, remove, and reorder players offline
Game recording - Record scores and results offline
Auto-sync - Games sync automatically when connection is restored

An indicator shows your connection status. Pending games are stored locally until they can be synced to the server.

Tip: If you're in a sports hall with poor connectivity, the offline mode ensures you can keep running the session without interruption.

Tips for Running Club Sessions

Before Players Arrive

Start the session early and set up the correct number of courts
Ensure skill levels are up to date
Check that invited applicants are in the system

During the Session

Assign a session manager - One committee member manages the board while others play
Use a tablet or large screen - Position it near the courts for easy viewing
Keep the queue moving - Assign players to courts as soon as games finish
Be consistent with queue rules - Fair rotation keeps everyone happy
Record all games - Even friendly games build useful statistics

For Mixed Ability Sessions

Use skill levels visually to balance teams
Pair higher and lower skilled players together
Consider rotating partnerships to help newer players improve

For Competitive Sessions

Match similar skill levels against each other
Use the leaderboard to track standings
Record accurate scores for meaningful statistics

Troubleshooting

"Cannot start a new session"

Check if a session is already active - only one session can run at a time
End or cancel the existing session first

"Player not appearing in search"

Ensure the member is not archived
Check they have an active or pending membership status
For applicants, ensure they have been invited

"Games not syncing"

Check your internet connection
Wait for the sync indicator to show connected
Games will automatically sync when connection is restored

"Score entry not working"

Ensure all player positions are filled
Check that the game has been started (not just players assigned)
Try refreshing the page if issues persist

"Wrong players returned to queue"

Games record which team won based on scores
The higher-scoring team is placed first in the queue
If scores were entered incorrectly, you can edit the score from the session results page (see below)