Digital Scoreboards + DUPR

Have you ever watched your customers argue with each other over whether the score is 8-7 or 9-7? You watch in dismay as they question their playing partners’ memory or integrity when really it is simply difficult to play hard and keep track of the score. There must be a better way, right?

Struggle no more! PodPlay digital scoreboards make it easy for your customers to:

• Keep track of who is serving and what the score is

• Review score progression from games in the past 

• See scores on other courts (particularly useful for tournaments)

• Submit scores to DUPR for challenge matches (coming in 2024)

• Order replays of certain points (or matchpoints) after the game

The PodPlay Pro Tier standard installation comes with the following hardware on each court: iPad, wristbands with bluetooth enabled buttons, replay camera, and a big screen monitor. 

When a party arrives at your venue, all customers who have accepted the invitation to the reservation will be listed on the iPad. On the iPad they choose rally or side out scoring, assign players to teams, pair scoring buttons automatically to each team, and place the players on the court. 

One player on either team wears the bluetooth enabled wristband. When a point is scored, they press the button and the score updates on the monitor. 

Make a mistake? Double press the button to subtract a point. 

When the game is done, your customers will be able to see the final score and a graph of the score progression in app.

PodPlay recently announced an integration with DUPR, the most widely used pickleball rating system, enabling precise programming and making reporting scores to DUPR frictionless. In the near term, this integration will allow customers to link their DUPR to their profile in app, and clubs to create DUPR validated events targeting specific skill levels. Longer term, PodPlay will link digital scoreboards to DUPR, allowing customers to submit match scores to DUPR with the press of a single button on the iPad.

What clubs can expect in the near term:

Data Rich Player Profiles: Customers will be able to link their DUPR to their profile. Their DUPR rating will then be visible on the profile page. 

Precise Programming: Clubs will now be able to create programming for specific skill levels and require a DUPR rating to participate, eliminating the issue of matching players with very different skill levels. 

What clubs can expect longer term:

Frictionless Score Reporting: No more deciding after the fact that a match was not a DUPR challenge match. Using PodPlay’s digital scoreboards, customers can agree in advance that a match will be a DUPR challenge match and easily submit match scores to DUPR with the press of a single button and confirmation from each participating player. 

By combining hardware and software, technology can create new experiences for players that would otherwise be impossible. But, technology should never be a substitute for playing the game. Non-integrated systems with stand alone hardware elements and/or multiple logins put technology ahead of the playing experience, creating new points of friction that take players out of the flow of the game.

PodPlay is the only solution in the market that seamlessly integrates hardware-enabled features like digital scoreboards and video replay with core booking and club management software. The goal is to enhance the playing experience without distracting from it. 

Digital scoreboards are one of several sought-after features of the PodPlay SaaS offering. PodPlay gives venue operators all the tools they need to digitally manage a physical space - integrating video replays, digital scoreboards, and autonomous functionality with a reservation engine, event management, coach connect, membership module, and payments. 

Originally built to power PingPod, the network of futuristic autonomous ping pong clubs, PodPlay is now being used to manage venues across pickleball, padel, ping pong, and pool, with more experience verticals to come in the future.

If you’re interested in learning more about PodPlay's digital scoreboards, head over to our website and request a demo.

*Originally published by Ben Borton, Jan 23rd, 2024. The article is on PodPlay's blog.