Good day, and welcome to summer!

There has been a noticible uptick in the weather these last few weeks and its been scorching inside all the venues we've been visiting. Pool clubs are notorious for not being air conditioned, be prepared for a wave of glove wearers for the upcoming summer tournaments!

Its been a whirlwind few months at RackEmApp. In January we spent some time with our partners at Ultimate Pool USA to see how they were getting on using the RackEmApp Platform to run their leagues. We had some amazing feedback, and have managed to resolve all the issues they faced with their previopus provider and then some, allowing the number of leagues they operate to nearly 100! This is a terrific milestone for us, showing how much faith a large organization like Ultimate Pool has in us really validates that what we are doing is making a difference.

We had an infrastructure issue earlier this month in which our server which the app talks to needed repalcing. Unfortunately this had an unfortunate consequence of logging everyone out. Apologies for the inconvenience there, but it really showed who did and didn't remember their passwords!

Touch wood, the new server has solved a number of niggles which were occasionally surfacing up. You can track our availability at https://status.rackemapp.com/ and its a good place to go if you think there is a problem. If this is showing some downtime then you are not alone. If it isn't, it might just be your internet.

A reminder to everyone that my phone number has changed to 07448258262. I'm still getting some messages to the old number which will be shut down soon, so please do start using that one right away.

The biggest piece of news in this newsletter is undoubtedly the new version of the app. Version 3 is here, and it brings a new UI and some great features to the table we think your players will love. There is more information about it below, but check out the link on YouTube for more information: https://youtu.be/1uMV-2ymAbQ We always want to improve so please do keep the feedback coming.

Have a great summer, and reach out if you need anything!

Best Regards,
Matthew Warr
Founder and Managing Director

Mobile App 3.0

 

Version 3 is here! And what a version it is. We're on the journey to make more available in-app for your users to keep them engaged with your league. Here's whats coming in the new version releasing this weekend.

• New User Interface - A clean new tiled interface, making it easier than ever for you captains and players to find what they need
• Follows - Search for your favourite players, and follow them, teams and matches to get scoroe updates via....
• Push Notifications - Not only can you get score updates, but we've baked notifications in everywhere. When you need a frame approved. Whan a line up is locked in. When you've been allocated a table, or a match is rescheduled. When a competition draw is done. When an article is aposted. And an ad hoc method to get in touch with all your registered players with a custom message
• More Functions - We've brought access to news, competitions, a calendar, and league sponsors into the app
• Performance and Stability - We've spend a ton of time trying to make things quicker and more stable.
  
  

Its our biggest update EVER and we hope you like it. Let us know anything else that can be improved.

You can also watch it in action here: https://youtu.be/1uMV-2ymAbQ

What Else Is New?

Here's a summary of whats else has been changed recently for you and your leagues benefit.

• Division Sponsors - We've added ther ability for a division to be assigned a sponsor. That will then appear on the fixtures, results, league tables and rankings pages bot in-app and online, giving you a revenue earning opportunity for your league.
• Special Frames - We've added the ability to designate a special frame which can optionally award a bonus point for winning.
• Play All Sets - When using a sets format you can now force all sets to be played, which may be better when awarding points per set
• Alternate Break By Section - When using match sections you can set the first breaker in each section to alternate (then alternate within that section)

If you have any more feature suggestions please do send them over to hello@rackemapp.com

Whats Next?

Our next phase of work over the summer is to improve our competition functionality. Now can can support Push notifications we think we can make our tournament management world class. Some of these we're in the last newsaletter, but App 3.0 took longer than expected.

• Groups to Knockout - Be able to support templated Group to Knockout setups where the knockouts can come from the top X of a knockout and put them in a draw for a knockout when the group has finished. Either randomly, or so winner of A players runner up of G etc.
• Champions League - A new competition format for "Champions League" style of round robin tournament.
• Swiss System - Adding support for the popular Swiss System style of tournament
• Double Final for Double Elimination - Adding a true second final when a double elimination competition is in play
• Event Management - A brand new module that will allow you to run multiple tournaments on the same day/weekend, allocating and scheduling matchjes to tables dynamically and from a single view.

Roadmap items subject to change based upon market demands. Got an idea? Email us and we'll see if its something we can accommodate.

Support Guidelines

WhatsApp has long been a convenient way for many of you to get quick help, and I want to continue offering that. However, as RackEmApp has grown, so has the volume and timing of messages—often extending into late evenings and early mornings.

While I’ve always tried to be available, this 24/7 support model isn’t sustainable long-term, especially as we move into a more structured and professional phase of the business.

The best way to get help is by emailing hello@rackemapp.com as things can be tracked and are easily referred back to. This is a lot more manageable all round.

However, WhatsApp support will still be available if needed. To ensure I can continue providing high-quality support without burnout, here’s how WhatsApp support will work going forward:

• ✅ Urgent issues only outside UK office hours (Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm)
• ✅ Non-urgent queries are welcome during working hours, but please understand I may not always be at my desk. In those cases, I may ask you to email the issue so I can track and resolve it properly.
• ✅ New WhatsApp number: +44 7448 258262 - Please use this number going forward. As we grow and potentially onboard new team members, this number will be easier to share and manage across the team.

This change is part of our broader move to operate more professionally and sustainably as a Ltd company, while still keeping support personal and accessible.