B-Admin-TimeWaitlist and Sign-up Lottery: How to Fairly Divide Spots
Adam · 
When a group has a fixed schedule and good attendance, sooner or later a problem shows up: more people are interested than there are court spots. The solution a group picks — sign-up order, a waitlist, or a lottery — directly affects whether players feel the system is fair or arbitrary.
Sign-up order: simple, but rewards reflexes
"First come, first served" is easy to understand and implement — but in practice it rewards whoever happened to have their phone in hand when sign-ups opened, not whoever actually wants to play the most. It forces you to watch your phone at exactly the moment sign-ups open — whoever happened to be offline loses out, no matter how much they want to play. With a stable group of players, this leads to a situation where the same 8-10 people always make it in, and the rest practically never get to play.
Waitlist: a complement, not a solution on its own
A waitlist doesn't decide who gets a spot at the start — but it decides what happens when someone drops out. Without an automatic waitlist, a freed-up spot has to be announced manually in chat, and you have to hope someone reacts in time. In B-Admin-Time the waitlist is automatic: the first person in line gets the spot right away, without the admin having to keep watch.
Lottery: fair when the surplus of interested players is regular
A sign-up lottery reverses the "first come" logic — everyone who signed up within the sign-up window (e.g. up to 24h before the session) has the same chance at a spot, whether they did it right away or right before sign-ups closed. Only those not drawn end up on the waitlist. This solution makes sense where the surplus of interested players is regular, not a one-off — otherwise it’s an unnecessary complication. It's also a good choice for groups that don't want to reward constantly sitting on your phone — after all, right when sign-ups open someone may be offline because they're playing on the court, and shouldn't lose their chance to take part because of it. In B-Admin-Time the lottery mode is switched on per session or on a recurring basis for the whole group — the sign-up window, the draw and the waitlist for those not drawn all work automatically.
“The automation of the whole player-management process – signing up and out, handling the waitlist and finding a substitute – also saves a huge amount of time. It used to mean keeping an eye on changes in the chat and the spreadsheet by hand; now most of it happens automatically, without extra effort from the organiser.” — Renata, admin of a group of about 40 players that has been using B-Admin-Time for over 2 months
See how this works together in practice: sign-ups and the waitlist in B-Admin-Time. Create a group and choose the sign-up mode that fits your attendance — 14 days free, no card required.
Frequently asked questions
Sign-up order or a lottery — which is fairer?
It depends on what the group wants to reward. Sign-up order rewards reflexes and whoever happened to be by their phone at the right moment. A lottery rewards the simple desire to play — everyone who signed up within the window has an equal chance, whether they clicked first or last.
Does a lottery make sense for a small group?
Not really — a lottery solves a problem that only shows up with a regular surplus of interested players. For a group where there's usually enough spots for everyone, plain sign-up order is simpler and sufficient.
What happens to people who didn't get drawn in the lottery?
They go on the waitlist — if someone who was drawn drops out, the first person on the list automatically gets their spot.
