Before you can run a season, you need players. Players sign themselves up by tapping JOIN LADDER on the ladder page — each new signup will appear in your Enrolled Players list below. Once you have at least 4 players ready, scroll down past the divisions and tap 🚀 BUILD SEASON from New Enrollees to create your first round. The system will sort players by skill level and place them into groups of 4. Once a season is running, players can no longer join on their own — you'll need to add them manually using the Add Player button above.

Each round is made up of divisions, with 4 players per group playing each other. When you start a new round, here is what happens automatically:

1. Each division's results are read. If scores haven't been entered, the system uses the original seeding order for that group.
2. The top finisher in Division 1 moves up a division. The bottom finisher moves down — unless they are already in the top or bottom division.
3. Any empty filler spots are cleaned up and refilled to keep all groups at the right size.
4. Players coming back from a break are placed two spots lower than where they left off — a small penalty for missing a round.
5. Any players you added manually during the season are slotted into their chosen division.
6. Everyone is re-ranked and placed into fresh divisions for the new round.

Sometimes a division doesn't have enough real players to fill the group. In that case, the system automatically adds a Ghost — a nameless filler that keeps the round structure complete. Ghosts don't play, don't score, and disappear after every round. If a ghost finishes first in its group, no real player gets promoted — only a real player winning counts toward promotion. You can tap a ghost's card in the Drag & Drop Roster Swaps section to give it a DUPR rating — this helps the system estimate the skill level of that division when placing new players mid-season.

If a player needs to sit out a round, put them on break using the Manage Player button above. The system remembers exactly where they stood in the rankings before they left. When they return, they are placed two spots lower than their previous position — a fair penalty for missing a round, while still honoring the progress they had made. Anyone who moved up into their old spot stays where they are.

Players you add during a running season using the Add Player button are held in a waiting area and will not appear in the current round. When you start the next round and there are players waiting, a placement popup will appear automatically so you can choose where each new player enters. You have three options:

• Drop to Bottom — the player starts in the lowest division. A safe choice if you're unsure of their level.
• DUPR Respected Placement — the system looks at the player's DUPR rating, matches it to the right division, then places them one step below it to ease them in. Best for guests with a known rating.
• Global Rating Respected Placement — works the same way but uses the player's Picklepath match history instead. Only available for players who have already played ranked matches on the platform.

Each match result needs to be entered and confirmed before you start the next round. If a match hasn't been confirmed when you advance, the system will fall back to the original group order for that division instead of using real results. Always make sure every match score is in and saved before moving on — this ensures promotions and drops reflect what actually happened on court.

Everything is saved automatically as you manage the ladder — you don't need to do anything manually. If you're about to make a big change, open the Technical Management section at the bottom of this panel and tap Export DB to save a backup first. Wipe Season clears active rounds, scores, and past seasons but keeps your registered player list intact — useful if you want to restart the season fresh with the same players. Wipe Data is a full reset that removes players too. Delete Ladder is permanent and cannot be undone — it removes the ladder and all its history from the platform entirely.

You can streamline ladder management using external links. Guests don't need a Picklepath account to use them:

• Division Score Links — share the division-specific link from a division card. Anyone with the link can enter match results, and they will automatically update in this panel.
• Ladder Join Link — use the Share Join Link button to invite players. Guests can register their name and optional DUPR rating. To prevent spam, all join requests go to a pending queue. You must manually approve them via the Notifications tray in the Glass Hub before they enter the roster.