I’ve come across a potential game-changer for side events management, the link to which has been added to the sidebar under the software/apps category.
Keglerz is an iOS app which is the first mobile app for bowling side events management. What has attracted me to the app is that it allows me to go paperless, as results are stored on a server and accessible through the SidePots client app, which has links to the Apple and Google Play (for Android) app stores from that menu item on the above website. Both versions of the SidePots app are free downloads. For those who still want results on paper, AirPrint-compatible printers are supported.
The first thing a user of the events manager app will notice when setting up an event is that a ZIP code is required. This is because the client apps are location-aware and will show all Keglerz events within a given radius of the user’s current location. This can be considered free advertising of the league or tournament.
Pretty much anything that can be run for a side event is available, including both brackets and eliminators, which I’ve only seen for both in an Excel app that was advertised a few years ago on the BowlingCommunity forums. There are also blind doubles, which works differently from my PC software in that series total is not supported (though I was told it could be added in a future version), but has an option to use the bowler’s best game of the first three, and, like T-Brac, can run a simple singles tournament, which can be used as an optional singles sweeper. All events can be run scratch and handicap.
For brackets, a common request is “put me in all of them,” and Keglerz may handle that request better than anything I’ve seen, as you can enter 99 brackets and then choose “Fix bracket entries” before the brackets are randomized, which will adjust it downward. Byes are currently not supported, though a “Bye” bowler can be entered as a workaround, entering a score of 1 for the first game.
Speaking of scores, they are entered with a pull-out entry screen where you first enter the score then tap the recipient’s game. While this is counterintuitive for a mobile app, the keypad is laid out like the keypad on a PC keyboard, so it may actually speed up entry. It’s also used when entering eliminator cut scores, and the app will sort the scores high to low, making it easy to determine the cut.
You should update the server after entering each game’s scores, and the app’s data footprint is surprisingly small, in the hundreds of kilobytes range for the average session with 50 bowlers. This is handy when using a device with a cellular data connection, as wifi service in bowling centers is often spotty and you don’t have to worry about your data plan.
Finally, for leagues, you’re able to set up the league all at once and the lane assignments can be automated by entering the league’s schedule for the week.
I may still need my laptop for some things, but will be using this app. Bowlers should download the SidePots app even if they’re not in my league in case I use it for a tournament.
