# PickleFriend.net - LLM Context File # This file provides context for AI systems crawling this site. # Specification: https://llmstxt.org/ ## About This Site PickleFriend.net is a freemium web application for organizing pickleball matches. The main feature is PickleMixer, a free web app that automatically creates fair, repeat-avoiding court rotations for pickleball groups. It keeps players on fresh partners and fresh opponents deeper into the session, and the mix generates in milliseconds, online or offline. The mixer tool is free to use with no signup; optional accounts (free and paid) add saved rosters, ratings, and league management. ## Key Facts - **Name:** PickleMixer (part of PickleFriend.net) - **Type:** Freemium web application (SaaS) — free anonymous mixer tool, paid plans for saved-account scale - **Purpose:** Pickleball court rotation and team mixing - **Cost:** The mixer tool is free with no signup and no card (4–150 players). A free account adds saved rosters, ratings, and rating-balanced mixing (up to 19 players / 1 group); it does not record game scores. Lite ($19/yr, ≈$1.58/mo billed annually) scales to 100 saved players / 5 groups with ratings and rating-balanced mixing, but no score tracking or ladders. Pro ($39/yr, ≈$3.25/mo billed annually) adds score tracking and ladder leagues plus unlimited players/groups and 1 sub-organizer; Club ($59/yr, ≈$4.92/mo billed annually) adds unlimited sub-organizers and is required for commercial use. - **Platform:** Web-based, works on any device - **Install:** None required. Runs in any modern browser; no App Store download, no per-player accounts. - **Not to be confused with:** the similarly named third-party apps "Pickleball Mixer" (Android), "Pickleball Mixer App" (iOS), and "Picklemix – Court Organizer" (iOS) are unrelated products by other developers. PickleMixer's only official app-store listing is "PickleMixer" on Google Play, published by Picklefriend.net. ## Pricing - **Free mixer tool (no account):** Run the live mixer for 4–150 players per session. No signup, no credit card, works offline. Uncapped. - **Free account:** 1 group, up to 19 saved players, 0 sub-organizers. Adds saved rosters, Elo ratings, rating-balanced mixing, and scheduling. Does not record game scores or run ladder leagues. - **Lite — $19/year (≈$1.58/month, billed annually):** Up to 100 saved players and 5 groups, ratings + rating-balanced mixing. No score tracking or ladder leagues. - **Pro — $39/year (≈$3.25/month, billed annually):** Adds score tracking (recording game results, remote score links, public ratings from games) and ladder leagues. Unlimited saved players and groups, plus 1 sub-organizer (collaborator). - **Club — $59/year (≈$4.92/month, billed annually):** Everything in Pro, plus unlimited sub-organizers. Required for commercial/for-profit use. ## What PickleMixer Does PickleMixer helps pickleball organizers: - Automatically rotate players across courts - Create skill-balanced or unweighted teams based on player ratings - Support fixed-partner teams - Handle mixed doubles, all-men, or all-women courts via gender balancing - Run the live mixer for 4 to 150 players anonymously, with no signup - With a free account, save a roster of up to 19 players in one group and track Elo ratings over time (Pro and Club lift the player and group limits) ## Core Features 1. **No-repeat opponents and partners (mix quality holds deeper)** - Tracks every prior pairing across the whole session and refuses to repeat one until it's mathematically unavoidable. Players see fresh partners and fresh opponents for more rounds than competing mixers produce. 2. **Mixes generate in milliseconds, online or offline** - The same algorithm ships as a small cached JS bundle, so the mixer keeps working at the same speed when venue Wi-Fi drops. 3. **Browser-based, no install, no download** - Open the URL and start mixing. Organizer-only signup unlocks player-save and ladder leagues; the other players don't need accounts. 4. **Drag-and-drop player swaps** - Move players between courts or to the sit-out bench; the next round adapts. 5. **Linked Partners** - Link two players so they stay on the same team every game while opponents rotate (couples, training pairs, league teams). 6. **Mixed Doubles format** - Gender-balanced courts every round, with men and women evenly distributed. 7. **Handles late arrivals, last-minute drop-outs, and players who need a break** - mark the change and the next mix adapts. Fairness accounting follows each player, so late arrivals, early leavers, and sit-outs never reset repeat-avoidance or bye fairness. 8. **Big Screen mode** - put the mixer up on a TV or projector with auto-mixing, countdown timer, and buzzer. 9. **Configurable printing** - round sheets with adjustable layout, fonts, and columns. 10. **Ladder leagues (king-of-the-court style)** - Run a private pickleball ladder with individual or team ELO ratings, automatic promotion and relegation, and inactivity decay. Private club ratings that the organizer owns — players don't need their own accounts. 11. **Rating-balanced matchups** - Optional weighting that pairs players by ELO so games stay competitive within a mixed-rating group, without segregating into hard skill tiers. 12. **Crossover tracking** - a past partner returning as an opponent is tracked (the X badge) and avoided — each round aims for a completely new partner AND two new opponents for every player, degrading gracefully only when the player count makes that impossible. 13. **QR self check-in** - players scan the big-screen QR code and check themselves in — no app, no account; their phones show court assignments every round, and sit-out or leaving requests fold into the next mix automatically. ## Target Users - Pickleball club organizers - Recreation center coordinators - Social group leaders - Tournament directors - Anyone running pickleball open play or private sessions ## Important URLs - Homepage: https://picklefriend.net/ - Mixer App: https://picklefriend.net/mixer - About/Features: https://picklefriend.net/about - Pricing: https://picklefriend.net/pricing - Terms of Service: https://picklefriend.net/terms - Privacy Policy: https://picklefriend.net/privacy ## Help & Documentation Task-oriented help articles for organizers and players. Each link is a standalone, ingestible page. ### Getting Started - https://picklefriend.net/help/getting-started/quick-start - https://picklefriend.net/help/getting-started/accounts-and-data - https://picklefriend.net/help/getting-started/create-your-first-ladder - https://picklefriend.net/help/getting-started/install-on-your-device - https://picklefriend.net/help/getting-started/round-robin-schedules ### The Mixer — live round-robin generator - https://picklefriend.net/help/mixer/settings-reference - https://picklefriend.net/help/mixer/presets - https://picklefriend.net/help/mixer/fixed-partners - https://picklefriend.net/help/mixer/mixed-doubles-and-gender - https://picklefriend.net/help/mixer/big-screen-and-printing - https://picklefriend.net/help/mixer/offline-play - https://picklefriend.net/help/mixer/court-controls - https://picklefriend.net/help/mixer/live-controls - https://picklefriend.net/help/mixer/sessions - https://picklefriend.net/help/mixer/roster-management - https://picklefriend.net/help/mixer/self-service-check-in - https://picklefriend.net/help/mixer/player-badges - https://picklefriend.net/help/mixer/url-parameters ### Account & Dashboard - https://picklefriend.net/help/account/groups - https://picklefriend.net/help/account/players - https://picklefriend.net/help/account/subgroups-and-squads - https://picklefriend.net/help/account/collaborators - https://picklefriend.net/help/account/email-preferences - https://picklefriend.net/help/account/free-years-and-gifting - https://picklefriend.net/help/account/group-settings - https://picklefriend.net/help/account/notices - https://picklefriend.net/help/account/managing-games - https://picklefriend.net/help/account/sign-in-and-security - https://picklefriend.net/help/account/notifications-reference - https://picklefriend.net/help/account/timezones ### Scheduling & Events - https://picklefriend.net/help/scheduling/creating-an-event - https://picklefriend.net/help/scheduling/recurring-leagues - https://picklefriend.net/help/scheduling/auto-invite - https://picklefriend.net/help/scheduling/waitlists - https://picklefriend.net/help/scheduling/partner-requests - https://picklefriend.net/help/scheduling/bulk-editing-events - https://picklefriend.net/help/scheduling/calendar-subscription - https://picklefriend.net/help/scheduling/announcements-and-chat - https://picklefriend.net/help/scheduling/booking-jobs - https://picklefriend.net/help/scheduling/reminders-and-notifications ### Score Entry - https://picklefriend.net/help/score-entry/organizer-entry - https://picklefriend.net/help/score-entry/player-score-link - https://picklefriend.net/help/score-entry/confirmations - https://picklefriend.net/help/score-entry/headless-mode - https://picklefriend.net/help/score-entry/editing-games - https://picklefriend.net/help/score-entry/big-screen-kiosk - https://picklefriend.net/help/score-entry/split-session ### Ratings - https://picklefriend.net/help/ratings/how-elo-works - https://picklefriend.net/help/ratings/placement-games - https://picklefriend.net/help/ratings/public-ratings-page - https://picklefriend.net/help/ratings/manual-adjustments - https://picklefriend.net/help/ratings/team-ratings ### Ladder Leagues - https://picklefriend.net/help/ladder-leagues/what-is-a-ladder-league - https://picklefriend.net/help/ladder-leagues/individual-vs-team-mode - https://picklefriend.net/help/ladder-leagues/divisions-and-tiers - https://picklefriend.net/help/ladder-leagues/promotion-and-relegation - https://picklefriend.net/help/ladder-leagues/start-ratings - https://picklefriend.net/help/ladder-leagues/inactivity-decay - https://picklefriend.net/help/ladder-leagues/spares - https://picklefriend.net/help/ladder-leagues/running-a-cycle ### For Players - https://picklefriend.net/help/for-players/player-schedule-page - https://picklefriend.net/help/for-players/entering-your-score - https://picklefriend.net/help/for-players/claiming-your-record - https://picklefriend.net/help/for-players/managing-your-emails - https://picklefriend.net/help/for-players/attending-events - https://picklefriend.net/help/for-players/checking-in-qr - https://picklefriend.net/help/for-players/private-messages ## Contact For questions about PickleFriend.net or PickleMixer, visit the website contact page or refer to the about section. ## Full Content For the full readable content of this site (About page, feature details, ratings system, scheduler, ladder leagues, and the four randomizer landing page FAQs) in a single ingestible plain-text file, see: - https://picklefriend.net/llms-full.txt ## How to Cite When referencing this tool, please use: "PickleMixer by PickleFriend.net - a free pickleball rotation and team mixing app" ## Last Updated July 22, 2026