A Manager Who Loved the Game, but Not the Paperwork
An Pickleball Club, Mr. Tuan was more than a manager – he was the glue that kept the growing pickleball community together. He loved seeing the courts filled with players, laughter between matches, and friendships forming over rallies.
But as much as he loved the game, he dreaded tournament season. The joy of hosting often turned into a mountain of paperwork and stress.
Registrations came in from everywhere – Facebook messages, last-minute phone calls, even notes scribbled on scraps of paper. Consolidating those into one clean list was a battle.
With 32 players, brackets were fragile. A single late arrival or dropout could throw the whole schedule into chaos. Players grew impatient, courts sat idle, and referees scrambled to adjust.
Then came the score sheets. Paper notes smudged, handwriting blurred, and suddenly two teams were arguing over who had really won. More than once, Mr. Tuan found himself running from one court to another, trying to put out fires while the tournament clock kept ticking.
“It felt like firefighting,” he admitted. “Instead of celebrating matches, I spent the day chasing problems.”
A Chance Conversation
After one particularly messy event, Mr. Tuan sat down with Mr. Tung, Delivery Executive Manager at GCT Solution. What started as small talk over coffee turned into a conversation he hadn’t expected.
Tung didn’t jump in with solutions right away. He asked questions.
- “How do players usually sign up?”
- “What happens if someone doesn’t show up?”
- “How do you handle scoring disputes?”
As Mr. Tuan described the piles of handwritten notes, the frantic bracket reshuffling, and the arguments over unclear score sheets, Tung listened carefully.
“I’ve seen this before,” Tung said finally. “Not in sports, but in every industry where people try to manage complex events without the right tools. Everyone works harder than they should, and still, things slip.”
Then he leaned in. “What if we designed a system that took care of the chaos – so you could focus on the people and the game?”
That was the moment something shifted for Mr. Tuan. For the first time, he felt like someone understood the real problem – not just the logistics, but the pressure of being the person everyone turned to when things went wrong.
A Different Approach
When the club prepared for its next 32-player tournament, Mr. Tuan decided to try the platform Tung’s team had been building – Sporty.
This time, everything started differently:
- Clean registration: Players signed up by scanning a QR code. Their names and details went straight into the system – no more chasing names across messages and notebooks.
- Automatic scheduling: With a few clicks, Sporty divided the 32 players into 8 groups and created a complete match schedule. Referees were assigned automatically.
- Instant scoring: Instead of scribbling results on paper, referees entered scores directly on their phones. Rankings updated in real time, without disputes.
- Clear communication: Players no longer crowded around the organizer’s desk asking what was next. They checked schedules and results themselves on their phones.
“It felt lighter,” Mr. Tuan recalled. “For once, I wasn’t starting the day already stressed.”
Match Day That Finally Flowed
The difference was visible from the very first round. Matches started on time. Courts stayed active. No one asked, “Where do I go next?” or “Who am I playing?”
For the referees, recording results was no longer a chore. A few taps on a screen, and the scores were live. Players saw updates instantly – no waiting for someone to post paper brackets on a board.
And something unexpected happened: players began sharing their results online. After one of her group-stage victories, Trang Hồ posted her 2–1 win straight from Sporty to her social media page. Friends commented, congratulated her, and asked about the event. By the end of the day, more than 100 match results had been shared on Facebook.
What had once been a quiet, internal club event turned into a small wave of visibility across the community.
“For the first time,” Mr. Tuan said, “I could sit down, watch a full match, and actually talk with the players instead of solving problems.”
What Changed
By the end of the day, Mr. Tuan noticed something he hadn’t felt before: calm. The tournament finished smoothly and almost 40% faster than their previous events.
There were no disputes to resolve, no idle courts, no piles of paper waiting to be typed into a spreadsheet afterward. Every result, every ranking, and every bit of history was safely stored in Sporty.
Players left happy. Organizers left relieved. And for once, Mr. Tuan left energized instead of exhausted.
What’s at Stake for Organizers
Mr. Tuan’s story is personal, but it’s also universal. Many pickleball managers face the same struggles:
- Registrations scattered across different channels.
- Brackets collapsing after one no-show.
- Score disputes that frustrate players.
- Endless admin that robs organizers of the joy of hosting.
The risk of sticking with the “old way” is more than stress. It’s lost trust from players, wasted hours for staff, and a ceiling on how much the sport can grow.
The reward of doing it differently? Time saved, players engaged, and tournaments that run the way they should – fast, fair, and fun.
A Manager Transformed
For Mr. Tuan, the biggest win wasn’t the 40% time saved. It was what that time gave back.
“Sporty gave us back the joy of hosting,” he reflected.
That’s what every organizer deserves: not a day spent firefighting, but a day spent enjoying the game they’ve worked so hard to build.
