Getting started on LADER: from sign-up to your first tournament

Welcome to LADER. In this video we'll go from a brand new account to a tournament that's ready for players to register. We'll sign up, create an organization, and set up a tournament with every registration feature turned on.

First, create your LADER account. All you need is an email address you can check.

Go to the LADER sign-up page, enter your email address, and click Submit.

LADER emails you a six-character verification code. Type it in, and click Submit.

Next, tell us a little about yourself: your first and last name, gender, and date of birth.

Start typing your city, and pick it from the list. It's used to show you events near you.

Choose a password, confirm it, agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and click Create Account.

And that's it. You're signed in to your new LADER account.

Your home page shows upcoming tournaments and organizations near you, so you can see what's on.

Every tournament on LADER is hosted by an organization: your club, association or business. So before you can create a tournament, you need an organization.

Click Create in the top bar. Tournaments, leagues and sessions stay locked until you have an organization, so choose Start with an organization.

Enter your organization's name. LADER suggests a page URL from it. Then find your city and pick it from the list, choose the sports you support, and click Continue.

Answer three quick questions: what kind of organization it is, its main role, and the area it serves. Then click Continue to Your Page.

Now build your organization's page. Upload your logo; the live preview shows how it will look.

Add a wide cover image for the top of your page. You can skip any of these steps, and add them later.

Write a one-line tagline that appears under your name, then click Continue.

Add links to your website or social pages if you like. Then continue to choose your plan.

Every plan includes unlimited tournaments. Tournament Only is free: players pay a small platform fee when they register. Paid plans add leagues and sessions. We'll continue with Tournament Only.

Next, LADER asks for a card. Nothing is charged today. Without one, your tournaments stay in preview, with up to 32 players, and matches can't be published. You can add a card any time, so we'll skip this for now and click Continue Without a Card.

Your organization is created, and its page is live.

Before players can register for your tournament, your organization needs a connected payment account. This is required even for free events.

Click Visit Page to open your organization's page.

Then open the Admin menu, and choose Payment Account.

LADER uses Stripe to take payments and pay out to your bank account. Only a Super Admin of your organization can connect it. Choose your bank account's country, and click Connect Stripe.

Stripe then walks you through verifying your details and adding your bank account, and brings you back here when you're done.

Once Stripe has everything it needs, your payment account shows as connected, and payments are enabled.

Now for the fun part: creating your first tournament.

Click Create in the top bar, and choose Tournament.

Your organization is already selected as the host. Enter the tournament's name. LADER fills in the tournament's web address for you, and the location defaults to your organization's city.

Set the start and end dates, and change the times if you need to.

Add a square thumbnail; LADER lets you crop it to fit.

Then add a wide cover image, and crop it the same way.

Then write a description for your tournament page. It's the first thing players read.

Contact details are shown publicly, and your account email is filled in for you. Listed tournaments appear in search on LADER and search engines, and players can submit scores for their own matches. Both are on by default. Click Create Tournament.

Your tournament is created. Registrations start turned off, so nobody can register until you're ready.

Next, add your divisions: the events players enter, like Mixed Doubles, 3.5 to 4.0.

In the tournament menu, open Setup, then Divisions, and click New Division.

Choose the division type and gender. We'll make a Mixed Doubles division.

Set the skill level: a minimum, a maximum, a custom name, or any combination. This only describes the division to players. Then set how many spots are available, or leave it empty for unlimited, and click Create Division.

Add as many divisions as you need. Here's a Women's Singles division too: we'll call it Open, with 16 spots, and click Create Division.

Now set up how players register: pricing, the registration form, and optional add-ons like waitlists, waivers, DUPR, coupons and memberships.

Open Registration Settings, under Management. The banner at the top tells you whether you're accepting registrations, and if not, what's left to do.

Availability and Pricing are required. Everything under Optional Add-ons is extra. We'll turn on every one of them.

Start with Pricing. Choose your currency, and set the registration fee players pay for each division they enter. You can also set different fees for specific divisions, and add early bird and multi-division discounts. Click Save Changes.

Pricing now shows as configured, and the banner says registrations are turned off. We'll turn them on at the very end.

The Registration Form is the set of questions players answer when they register. New tournaments start with email, phone number and date of birth. Click Edit to add more. We'll add the built-in Emergency Contact section, and save.

Now the add-ons. Waitlists let players join a queue when a division is full. Turn on Enable Waitlist.

When a spot opens up, the next player gets a limited-time offer to claim it. Choose whether offers go out automatically or manually, set how long players have to claim a spot, and click Save Changes.

Waivers. Players must accept every waiver you add before their registration is complete. Click Add Waiver, then Create New Waiver.

Give it a name, paste in your waiver text, and click Create. The waiver is saved to your organization, so you can reuse it at future events.

DUPR. Turn on Require DUPR Connection, and players connect their DUPR account as part of registering. Turn on Enforce DUPR rating ranges, and players can only enter divisions that match their rating. Both switches save straight away.

With rating ranges on, set the DUPR range each division allows. LADER can suggest them from each division's skill level: choose a tolerance, click Apply to, and pick the divisions without a range. You can still edit any range by hand.

Coupons are discount codes players enter at checkout. Click Create Coupon.

Give the coupon an internal name, add one or more codes, and set the discount: a percentage or a fixed amount. You can limit it to certain divisions, set usage limits, and an expiration date. Click Create Coupon.

You can also accept your organization's own coupons here, with the Organization coupons switch.

The last add-on is Memberships: players need an active membership with your organization to register. Click Add Membership Requirement.

A requirement needs a published membership tier, and our organization doesn't have one yet. So let's create one first.

To get to your organization's page, click Home in the tournament menu, then your organization's name under the tournament title.

Then open the Admin menu, and choose Memberships.

Click Create Tier.

Name the tier and describe what members get. The preview on the right shows how it will look on your public memberships page.

Under Periods and Pricing, set the price and the dates the membership is valid for, then click Publish Tier.

Now back in the tournament's Registration Settings, add the requirement: choose your organization, click Continue, pick the tiers that qualify, and click Submit.

Players without a membership can buy one as part of registering.

Finally, open registration, so players can sign up.

Every add-on is now part of your Registration Setup. Review it all, and when you're ready, turn registrations on.

Click Enable Registrations in the banner, or open Availability. Check the dates registration opens and closes; by default it closes the evening before your tournament starts. Then turn on Enable Registrations. The switch saves straight away.

Back on Registration Settings, the banner now reads Accepting registrations.

And on your tournament's page, players now see the Register Now button.

That's it: you've signed up, created your organization, and set up your first tournament with every registration feature turned on. As entries come in, you'll find them under Players and Teams. For step-by-step guides on everything we covered, visit the LADER Help Center.