More playing. Less figuring it out.

Your first league and game

1. Choose Start a new league. Pick its sport, name, admin password, and separate scorekeeper PIN. Keep the password with your organizers and share the PIN only with people keeping stats. The sport is fixed for that league.
2. Open Roster & teams with admin access. Add players once; their identities and game history stay with the league. Admins and full-league scorekeepers can save and edit teams; team-only or player-only helpers cannot. For fixed teams, save two teams and choose team standings on Admin. Rotating pickup groups can use player win/loss records.
3. On Home, start a session for your pickup night, then create a game. Session setup lets you keep existing teams or preview and reshuffle random teams before starting with those teams. Starting with random teams saves them and checks in the selected players together; choose the saved team names for later games. Choose players, sides, and the game format. A player already in another live game is unavailable until it finishes. Fixed-team mode requires two different saved teams.
4. Start the game and record the action. Share the exact live game link with spectators. Finish the game when it is over; its result and box score stay in History. Start another game in the same session for the next matchup.

Attendance on Home is an RSVP. “Here tonight” in the session tracks arrivals. Neither enters player stats for you.

Record and correct stats

1. Open Live and choose the correct game. Unlock scorekeeping with the league PIN, then take control, or wait for approval as a helper.
2. Find the player and tap the stat for that play once. Check the latest saved action and player totals before entering it again.
3. For the latest mistake, choose Undo. Helpers can undo their own entries. For another adjustment, the controller opens Correct score / stats, corrects the affected value, and reviews the box score.
4. Follow the scoring-mode notice in your game. In new basketball, soccer and hockey games, scoring stats add to the official score, including approved helper entries. Do not add those points again with a score correction. Older games keep their original scoring mode; a score correction never invents player points or attempts.
5. When finished, the controller reviews the score and box score, then finishes the game. Find the saved result in History; historical corrections require admin access.

Share a spectator link

1. Open the league and select the game spectators should follow.
2. Choose Share live scoreboard for that game, or Share league / QR for the group.
3. Use your device share menu, copy the public link, or let spectators scan the QR code. Never include the PIN or admin password.
4. Ask the spectator to open the link. Watching does not require unlocking scorekeeping; the exact game link continues to show its final result.

Reconnect safely

1. Pause stat entry when the page reports delayed updates or an offline connection. A running clock may be an estimate.
2. Restore your connection and wait for fresh access and confirmed state. Use the page's refresh control if needed.
3. If a response was interrupted, use Retry same action when offered. Do not re-enter the play as a new action; it may already be saved.
4. Check the latest activity and totals before continuing. If your access changed, unlock again or ask the controller to approve your helper request.

Offline actions are not queued for automatic replay. If you leave the page, check Live or History before trying again.

One controller. Extra hands when you need them.

The controller manages the official scoreboard, clock, game transitions, and finish. Alone, the controller can record everyone’s stats. Take over whole-game control transfers control from the previous controller; it is not the way to join as a helper.

1. A helper opens the exact live game and expands Help track stats.
2. Unlock with the league PIN, choose a whole team or one player, and enter a recognizable label.
3. The controller approves the request. Wait for approval before entering stats, and record only your assigned players. A helper’s Undo removes their own entries.

Approving a whole team replaces its existing team and player helpers. Approving one player replaces that player’s helper or the whole-team helper. Other player helpers remain assigned.

New basketball, soccer and hockey games keep scoring stats linked to the official score when helpers join. Older games retain their original controller-managed scoring notice. Compare the official score with player totals before finishing. The app cannot detect two people recording the same real-world play.

New volleyball and pickleball games use simple point entry: the controller taps +1 for either team. Optional player stats never add points, and helpers can undo their own stats. No player selection, rally advancement or serve tracking is needed to enter points. Existing games keep the rules shown on their scoreboard, including shared-rally controls where applicable.

Leaving or passing control

As a helper, choose Leave scorekeeping in your keeper panel. Your entries stay saved, other helpers keep their assignments, and the controller can record your players again.

As controller, choose Pass control and leave, select an approved helper, and confirm. Ask that helper to keep the game open and confirm they are ready. Their access is checked when you transfer; if it has expired, you keep control. The new controller receives the entire game and all player stats, so every helper assignment in that game ends. The score, clock, and other games are preserved. Both devices remain signed in to the league.

Signing out with Return to viewing releases control without choosing a replacement. Use the game’s handoff first when another keeper is ready to continue.

Just here to watch?

Open the shared league or game link. No account, password, or PIN is needed to watch. Choose Live to follow games, or History for completed results. A link to a specific game continues to show its final result after it ends.

Use Share league / QR or Share live scoreboard. Share through your device when available, copy the link, or let someone scan the QR code. A league link helps people find the group; an exact game link takes them straight to that court.

Waiting for the next game is normal. Scores appear when a keeper starts one. Visible live games check for updates about every second; idle public pages check about every ten seconds. Hidden public tabs pause polling and refresh when you return. Save league keeps a shortcut in this browser only, with no cross-device sync.

Enter a completed game

Admins can choose Add a past result beside the start controls on Home or Live, or open it from History. Choose when it was played, the sides and the winner (or a supported draw). Final scores and individual stats are optional. This never starts a live scoreboard.

Select only players who actually participated. With two saved teams, leave players unselected if participation is unknown; only team records change. Blank stats stay unknown, while an entered 0 is a recorded zero. Each stat average uses only games where that stat was recorded, and automatic awards require enough recorded samples.

Open a manually entered result and choose Edit manual result to correct it. Corrections replace the saved result and recalculate records without adding another game. Volleyball and pickleball can include optional set or game scores; their match outcome must have a winner.

Seasons and earlier results

Admins can create and rename seasons in Admin and choose the current season for new live games. This preserves the roster and all existing results. Games already live keep their starting season. Dates do not assign games automatically.

Use Results season on Home, Stats or History to choose a named season, All-time, or Unassigned / before seasons. The selection filters standings, player statistics and exported CSVs. It does not change the season used for a new live game.

When seasons exist, Add a past result requires a season choice or explicit Unassigned. In History, admins can open a result’s Season control to move that completed result without changing its score, participants or stats. Earlier games stay unassigned until explicitly moved.

Nightly schedules

Open the league Schedule tab to see matchup times, locations, opponents and selected players. Times use the displayed league timezone; All upcoming games is the default. Choose One night, One week (Monday–Sunday), or All dates to include past bookings. Plans do not count toward standings.

Admins can Schedule a matchup from the Schedule tab. Choose a named season or Unassigned, both sides, start/end times and a court, field, rink or location. Use an IANA timezone such as America/Toronto. Repeated daylight-saving hours require choosing the first or second occurrence; skipped times cannot be saved. Changing the display timezone keeps existing matchups at the same instant.

Overlapping locations, players or saved teams are rejected. Use consistent location names. For saved teams without a confirmed lineup, conflict checks use their current roster. Edit or cancel an unlinked matchup; cancellation leaves standings untouched.

Scorekeepers choose Set up live game to confirm the actual lineup and format. Admins can choose Add this result for an already played matchup. Review the actual played date in your device timezone before saving. Always use these schedule actions to retain the link. A single-game matchup links to one game, then becomes read-only; corrections belong in History. Include linked games and cancellations shows the existing game link.

Schedule a matchup guides admins through Single game or Multi-game session, existing teams, making teams manually, random teams, or individual players when available. Random teams have editable names and lineups. New teams and the schedule save together only after Review and save; cancelling saves nothing.

For a multi-game session, choose several matchups or the same two sides in one time block. Finish each game separately, then use Set up next game. Booking times never finish a live game; cancellation preserves recorded results.

With more than two sides, choose each matchup yourself, everyone plays everyone once, or one round with similar season records. Review resting sides, lineups, times and locations before saving. Similar records uses wins divided by games, then wins and name, with unplayed sides last. Resting never awards a result. Tournaments are not included.

Division standings

In Admin → Divisions, choose a named season, create divisions and assign saved teams or players. Home groups standings by those assignments when that season is selected. Every season game counts, including games against other divisions and games played before assignment.

Division selections save automatically, with saving, saved or error feedback. A failed change returns to the last confirmed assignment. Random division assignments let you choose an active player or team pool and destination divisions, preview a balanced distribution, edit it, then explicitly Apply. Unselected assignments and historical game labels stay unchanged. Moving an assignment regroups that team's or player's full season record. Team and player assignments are separate; the existing standings mode decides which records are shown. All-time and unassigned-season views remain ungrouped. Stats and History still show all results in the selected season.

New live games retain division labels captured at their start. Manual results label assignments captured when the result was entered, without inferring the historical division from the played date. Earlier games remain unrecorded, and later membership changes or division renames do not rewrite those game labels.

Finish early or resume an inactive game

The current controller can finish any game at any time. Review the confirmation before saving. For an incomplete volleyball or pickleball match, explicitly choose the agreed winner or draw. Recorded points and sets stay unchanged; the agreed result determines standings. An admin can correct that result later, and Undo restores the previous correction.

After one hour without a recorded action, an unfinished game moves to Inactive games on Live. Polling and the displayed clock do not count as play. Nothing is deleted and no winner is awarded. Open the game to finish it, or have its controller choose Resume game. Resuming pauses its clock and requires its players and location to be free of other active games.

Mistakes and interrupted connections

Use Undo for a mistaken entry, or the controller’s correction controls for the official score or clock. A score correction does not invent player points or shot attempts. Admin access allows corrections to completed games; review the box score afterwards.

When updates are delayed or offline, the page identifies the last confirmed state. A displayed running clock may be an estimate until the next confirmation. Wait for fresh access and state before entering more actions.

If a submission’s response is interrupted, it may already be saved. Use Retry same action when offered and check the confirmed result. Do not repeatedly enter the play as a new action. Offline actions are not queued for automatic replay. If you leave the page, check Live or History before trying again.

Your unfinished game setup

Your court name, lineup, team choices, and format stay in memory while you browse within the same tab. Return to the league and choose Resume setup. Cancel or Discard setup asks before removing your draft.

Reloading, closing the tab, or opening another tab does not carry the draft over. Your browser may warn before leaving. A changed session, sport, or loss of scorekeeper access clears the draft. This protection covers game setup, not every form.

A submitted setup is not automatically submitted again. If its outcome is uncertain, check Live and the retry notice first. Discarding its draft does not cancel or undo a saved game. Drafts contain no passwords or PINs and are not saved to browser storage.

Five sports, pickup rules

Admin password and scorekeeper PIN

The admin password manages the roster, league settings, and historical corrections. The separate PIN unlocks live scorekeeping. A full-league scorekeeper can also create and edit saved teams. Entering as a team or player helper does not grant team editing. If you were already signed in before this feature, unlock full scorekeeping again to gain team editing. Watching needs neither. Use Return to viewing when finished on a shared device.

With admin access, open Admin → Password & PIN settings. Changing either credential requires the current admin password and confirmation of the new value. Passwords use 10–128 characters; PINs use 4–8 digits, including leading zeros.

• Changing the admin password signs out other admin and scorekeeper devices. The current admin device stays signed in; the PIN stays unchanged.
• Changing the PIN signs out PIN-only scorekeepers. Admin devices stay signed in.
• Game scores and clocks continue. Affected keepers must unlock again before entering stats.

If you do not know the credential, ask your league organizer. There is no email-account recovery flow, and an unlocked device does not bypass the current-password requirement.

A shortcut for game night

Add PickupStat to your Home Screen

Keep your pickup leagues a tap away. PickupStat can open in its own window on supported devices. You can also keep using it in your browser—watching never requires installation.

Live scores and stat entry need an internet connection. Adding PickupStat does not make it work offline. If a connection drops while a game is open, check the connection notice and wait for fresh state before entering another play.

The app icon opens the league directory. Use Save league to keep a league handy on that device. Shared league and game links still open directly in a browser. A new app window may use separate browser storage, so you may need to save your league or unlock scorekeeping again. Installation never grants access.

Still need help?

Prepare an email to support@pickupstat.com. You review and send it from your own email app.