Run a session

• You need to be an Administrator of an organization on LADER. Sessions are hosted by an organization. If you don't have one yet, click Create in the top bar and choose Start with an organization.
• Players can't sign up for a session themselves. You add every player.

1Create the session

Click Create in the top bar and choose Session ("A single play session"). The New Session form opens.

• Host: the organization that runs the session. If you manage more than one, pick it under Select an organization you manage.
• Session name and Location. The location starts as your organization's. To play somewhere else, start typing and pick the place from the list. The session's time zone comes from its location.
• Start date, Start time, End date and End time. A new session starts today, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. A session can run over more than one day.
• Media: an optional Cover Image (1.91:1). It shows on the session page and when you share the session's link.
• Description: optional text for your players.
• Contact: your email is filled in. Use Add Email or Add Phone to add more (up to three of each).
• Session is listed: on by default. A listed session shows in search results on LADER and on search engines. Turn it off and only people with the link can open it.
• Players can submit scores for matches they play in: on by default. Leave it on to let players enter their own scores.

Click Create Session. The session's Session Details page opens. This is the page your players see: the date, time, location, player list and your contact details.

There's no share button. To send the session to your players, copy the link from your browser's address bar.

2Add your players

Open Session Players in the sidebar, click Add Player/Pair, and choose Player.

• Someone who has played with your organization before: start typing their name in First name (or their email in Email), and pick them from the list.
• Someone new: type their First name and Last name. Add their Email if you want to invite them: LADER emails them an invitation to join LADER and your session.

Tick Stay on page after submission to add more players to add several in a row, then click Add Player for each one.

Back on Session Players, each player's Actions menu lets you Replace player or Remove player.

More help: other ways to add players

The Add Player/Pair menu also has:

• Doubles pair: two players who play together all session, for the Groups format.
• Placeholder players/pairs: stand-ins named Player A, Player B and so on, for people you don't know yet.
• Players/pairs from a league: import players or pairs from a league you run.

3Choose a format

Open Matches Setup in the sidebar. Session Setup asks two quick questions.

Who plays together?

Choice	What it means	Formats you can pick
Singles	One player per side	Groups
Fixed pairs	Same partner all session	Groups
Rotating partners	A new partner each round	Ladder, Random Matchups

Choose a format, then click Continue. Each format has a Learn more link that explains it. A session runs one format. For Groups, see Run Groups (singles or fixed pairs).

4Run Random Matchups

Random Matchups gives everyone a new partner and new opponents every rotation, and evens out playing time.

1. Set Courts, Rotations and the Match type. The pencil in Courts lets you name the courts.
2. Include all N players is on, so everyone in the session plays. Turn it off to choose who's Playing and who's Not Playing.
3. Check the summary ("With 16 players, 4 courts and 4 rotations…"). It tells you how many players sit out each rotation and how many matches each player plays.
4. Click Generate Matches. The matches are created in preview: only your administrators and moderators can see them.
5. Check the matches, then click Publish Matches. Your players can now see them.

To keep playing, click Add Rotation at the bottom of the matches. When there are more players than places on court, each rotation shows who's Sitting out.

5Run a Ladder

In a Ladder, the courts are rungs. After each round, winners move up a court and losers move down.

1. Click Add Court once for each court you're using. Courts are named Court A, Court B and so on (the pencil renames a court). Then drag players from Players onto a court. To give the board more room, collapse the sidebar with the arrow on its edge.
2. To place players by level, click Manage Seeds. Under Use seeding from, seeds start from DUPR ratings when your players have them; you can also choose Alphabetical. Drag players to change the order, and click Save Seeds.
3. Back on the board, open Auto-Placement and choose Place Players by Seed (the top seeds start on Court A), or Randomize.
4. Under Promotions per round, choose how many players move up from each court. How promotions work explains the rules.
5. Click Preview Matches (every court needs at least four players), check the round, then click Publish Matches.
6. When every match has a score, Round complete appears. Click Add Round. The new round's board shows who moved up and down. Drag anyone to adjust it, or click Reset Changes to undo your moves. Then preview and publish the round.

The Round tabs at the top switch between rounds.

On a computer

Open Matches & Standings. Click a match card (for example Match 1, with its court beside it), type each side's score, and click Save Score. The standings beside the matches update straight away for everyone who has the session open. To fix a score, open the match and save the right score.

Use the Player, Status and Rotation filters to find a match.

On a phone

Tap Menu, then Matches. Matches and Standings each have a tab. Tap a match, enter the scores, and tap Save Score.

Lock the matches

When play is over, open the settings menu (the gear next to Matches) and choose Lock matches, then click Lock Matches to confirm. When matches are locked, only administrators and moderators can edit scores, and the matches show Matches Are Locked. To reopen them, click Unlock Matches there, or choose Unlock matches from the same menu. This works the same on a phone.

Once every match on the page has a score (in a Ladder, every match in the round), administrators and moderators also see a Lock Matches? prompt above the matches, with a Lock Matches button.

A player can enter the score of a match they play in when all of these are true:

• Players can submit scores for matches they play in is on (on the creation form, or under Management → Session Roles).
• They're signed in to LADER, and their player profile is linked to their account. A player is linked once they accept your invitation: add their Email when you add them, or, after picking someone from the search list, click Invite Player under Invite a player to claim this profile and send the invitation.
• The matches aren't locked.

You can also give people a role under Management → Session Roles: type a name in Find a user, pick the person, choose a Role and click Add Role. Role Descriptions explains each role:

• Administrator: can view and edit everything, and can assign roles.
• Moderator: can manage participants, the session format and matches.
• Scorekeeper: can report scores for any match.

Role holders need a LADER account. Everyone with a role in your organization starts as an Administrator of the session.

Under Management → DUPR, administrators can send the session's matches to DUPR. The page lists the Match Requirements for DUPR Sync: every player in the match has connected their DUPR account to LADER, the match has a decisive score (no draws), and the winning score of each game is at least 6.

Send Matches to DUPR sends every match in the session. Matches that don't meet the requirements yet stay pending, and are sent automatically once they do.

Open Management → Session Settings to change the host, name, location, time zone, dates, cover image, description, contact details or listing. Each section has its own Save Changes button.

To delete the session, go to Delete Session at the bottom of Session Settings. Tick I acknowledge that all data associated with the session will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered., click Delete Session, then click Delete Session again to confirm. Everything in the session is deleted for good.