Scorer Guide

Water Polo Box Scoring Guide

Everything you need to go from never having scored a game to running live box scores like a pro.

1

What Is Box Scoring?

A real-time game record, built in your browser

Box scoring means recording every significant event in a game — goals, exclusions, timeouts, saves — as it happens, right from your phone or tablet. Eggbeater turns that live data into a running score, a detailed play-by-play log, and player stat summaries that spectators can follow from anywhere.

No special equipment needed. No app to install. Just open the Eggbeater app, log in to score, and you're ready to go.

📡

Real-time to spectators

Every goal and quarter change pushes to spectator devices within seconds — no page refresh required.

📊

Full play-by-play

Goals, exclusions, saves, and timeouts are time-stamped and attributed to individual players.

🏅

Player stats

Goals, assists, and GK Saves accumulate on each player's card across the whole tournament.

🔔

Instant alerts

GroupMe and Telegram notifications fire automatically when games start, goals are scored, and final scores are posted.

2

Login to Score

🔑

Scorer Mode is password-protected so only authorized people can enter live scores. Your club admin sets the password — ask your head coach or tournament director if you don't have it.

Open the Eggbeater app and go to the Scores tab

Tap the Scores tab at the bottom of the screen. You'll see a list of today's games with a 🔒 Login to Score button in the top-right corner of the tab.

Tap "Login to Score" and enter the password

A password prompt will appear. Type the scorer password your admin gave you and tap Login to Score. Once accepted, the Scores tab switches into scorer mode and shows the green Scorer Mode Active bar at the top.

You're in — Scorer Mode stays active

Once logged in, Scorer Mode stays on for your session — even if you switch tabs or briefly leave the app. You'll see a green Scorer Mode Active bar at the top of the Scores tab. Tap 🔒 Lock to log out when you're done for the day.

⚠️

Don't share the scorer password publicly. Anyone with it can change live scores. If the password is compromised, your admin can update it from the Admin panel and re-share it with authorized scorers only.

3

The Scores Tab

What you see in Scorer Mode

Once logged in, the Scores tab shows a card for every upcoming and in-progress game. Tap Open Scorer to switch that game into scorer view. The scorer view is different from the spectator view on purpose:

  • Scorer view — large clock controls, scoring buttons, and an inline play-by-play log grouped by quarter so you can catch mistakes immediately
  • Spectator view — a cleaner Summary and Play-by-Play tab layout for families following remotely
  • Recorded confirmation — each action shows a small success toast so scorers know the tap landed
  • Current score and period — shown live at the top of the scorer panel
  • Finalize controls — available in scorer view only, with score correction before final submission

Game status indicators

Ready Game has not started yet. Open Scorer, confirm the teams, and wait for the whistle before starting the clock.
🔴 LIVE Game is currently being scored. Score and clock are updating in real-time for all viewers.
Final Game is complete. The card moves to the History tab once finalized.
4

Opening a Game

Find your game on the Scores tab

Locate the game card for the match you're about to score. Games are sorted by start time so your next game is always near the top.

Tap Open Scorer

Tap the blue Open Scorer button on the game card. The scorer panel opens with the score controls first and the inline play-by-play log directly underneath.

Confirm the game before the whistle

You'll see the teams, clock, scoring controls, and the inline play-by-play grouped by quarter. Confirm the opponent, cap color, and roster before you start. Once the whistle goes, you can keep scoring and error-correcting from the same screen.

💡

You can score only one game at a time. If you need to switch games mid-tournament, close the current panel and open the correct game from the Scores tab.

5

The Clock

How the game clock works

Eggbeater has a built-in countdown clock for each quarter. Start it at the opening whistle and pause it only when you need to catch up or re-sync. The timestamps in the play-by-play are reference timing, not the official pool clock.

When the clock reaches 0:00, it now stops automatically and holds the current period. The app does not auto-advance the quarter anymore. This gives the scorer time to finish stats before starting the next period or finalizing the game.

Clock buttons explained

Sprint Won Starts each period. At the opening whistle for Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, or overtime, tap Sprint Won, choose your player or Opp, and the app records the sprint result while starting the clock.
Pause Clock Pauses the countdown. Use this for long stoppages, score corrections, or anytime you need to catch up on stats. Tap Resume when play restarts.
Volume Button (iPhone) On iPhone native builds, pressing a volume button while scorer view is open toggles Pause / Resume. This is the fastest option when the game is moving too quickly for screen taps.
⟳ Reset Resets the clock to the full quarter length without changing the period or score. Useful only when you need to re-sync the app clock to the pool clock.
⚠️

0:00 does not advance the game for you. When a quarter ends, review the inline play-by-play, catch up on any missing stats, then use the explicit next-step button for the next period. When the next period actually starts, tap Sprint Won to record the sprint and start the clock.

Keeping the clock roughly in sync

Water polo clocks stop frequently — on goals, exclusions, timeouts, and ball out of bounds. You don't need to stop and start the Eggbeater clock for every single whistle. Most scorers let the Eggbeater clock run continuously through normal stoppages. The time-stamps on events are reference points, not official timing.

If you fall significantly behind or ahead of the pool clock, tap Pause, adjust if needed, then tap Start when play resumes.

🕐 Clock ON / OFF toggle — for casual scorers

The clock can feel like pressure if you're scoring at home for fun (a parent watching a recording, a coach reviewing a game from yesterday). The scorer header has a 🕐 Clock: ON pill in the top-right of every scoring panel. Tap it to flip to 🕐 Clock: OFF:

  • The auto-clock display, Sprint Won, Pause / Resume, Reset, and quarter-break buttons all disappear.
  • The period bar (Q1 · Q2 · ½ · Q3 · Q4 · SO · End) stays visible — you still tap to advance quarters.
  • All scoring action buttons stay (Goal, Assist, Excl, Steal, Save, etc.).
  • Events still record real timestamps under the hood and broadcast in real time. The play-by-play orders them by quarter and recording order, just without clock-time labels.

The toggle is per-device — pick once, it sticks for every game you score from that device until you flip it back. Tournament desks default to ON; home / casual scorers usually flip OFF the first time they open the scorer.

6

Recording Goals

Goals are the most important events to record accurately. Every goal immediately updates the live score seen by spectators and triggers the Telegram/GroupMe goal notification.

Tap the goal button for the scoring team

There are two large + Goal buttons in the scoring panel — one for your team and one for the opponent. Tap the button for whichever team just scored. The current clock time is captured automatically.

Enter the scorer's cap number

A number pad appears. Type the cap number of the player who scored (e.g., 7 for cap 7). If you don't know the number in the moment, you can leave it blank — the goal will still count, just without player attribution. Tap Save to confirm.

Select the goal type

Choose from the options shown:

  • Regular — a standard field goal during even-strength play
  • 6-on-5 (Power Play) — scored while the opposing team is playing shorthanded due to an exclusion
  • Penalty Shot — awarded by the referee for a major foul

Score updates instantly across all devices

The scoreboard at the top of the panel increments immediately. Spectators following remotely will see the updated score within a few seconds. The goal also appears in the play-by-play log below the score.

Correcting a goal entered by mistake

If you tap the wrong team's goal button, find the incorrect entry in the play-by-play log and tap the Delete (🗑 trash) icon next to it. The score decreases by one and the event is removed. Then record the correct goal.

Shot attempts and misses

Tap Miss to log a shot that didn't go in. This records a shot attempt for the shooter and a save opportunity for the goalkeeper — no score change. Shot tracking is optional but gives coaches useful data post-game.

7

Exclusions & Power Plays

Exclusions (20-second ejections)

An exclusion is a 20-second ejection for a major foul — the offending player must leave the water and their team plays shorthanded. To record an exclusion:

  1. Tap Exclusion for the team whose player was excluded.
  2. Enter the excluded player's cap number.
  3. Tap Save. The event logs with the current clock time and the player's personal exclusion count increments.

A player who accumulates three kickouts in a game is disqualified for the remainder of the match. Eggbeater tracks this automatically: at two kickouts the player appears under ⚠ Players Near Limit on the host's Live Dashboard, and on the third kickout a red 🚩 BENCHED chip appears next to their cap on the public box score and game card.

Note: Only kickouts count toward the 3-strike rule. Minor exclusions logged as a Common Penalty do not count toward disqualification — the two flags are mutually exclusive in the picker, so the scorer chooses one or the other for each exclusion.

Exclusion types

The scorer grid now keeps exclusions tighter and more explicit:

  1. Tap Excl and choose Common Penalty or Kickout.
  2. Tap Opp Excl and choose Opp Exclusion or Earned Exclusion when your player drew the foul.
  3. Enter the cap number when prompted so the exclusion stays attached to the right player.

The picker enforces the rule that Common Penalty and Kickout are mutually exclusive on a single exclusion event — one or the other, never both. Earned Exclusion is recorded separately on the team that drew the foul, so each major foul typically produces two records (one excluded player, one player who earned the call). The log is optimized around the kickouts and earned exclusions that drive 6-on-5 scoring and the 3-strike disqualification rule.

💡

Recording an exclusion does not automatically start a 6-on-5 power-play clock in the app — just log the exclusion event and continue. When the excluded team scores (ending the 6-on-5), record it as a regular goal. You'll select the 6-on-5 goal type when the other team converts during the power play.

8

Assists, Steals, Blocks & GK Saves

Assists

An assist is credited to the player whose pass directly led to a goal. Assists are optional — record them when you're confident about who made the key pass and it doesn't slow you down during play.

To add an assist: immediately after recording a goal, enter the assisting player's cap number in the assist field that appears in the goal prompt. Or, find the goal in the play-by-play log and tap Add Assist to add it after the fact.

GK Saves

A GK Save is credited to the goalkeeper who stopped a shot. Tap GK Save, choose whether it happened inside 2M when relevant, then enter the goalkeeper's cap number. GK Saves accumulate in the goalkeeper's individual stats and show up in the post-game box score.

Steals, Forced Ball Under, and Field Blocks

Use Steal when your team wins possession. After you tap it, pick the player who got the steal. If the steal came from a forced ball under, check the Forced Ball Under option before selecting the player.

Use Field Block when a field player blocks a shot on goal. Pick the player who made the block. Opponent steals can be logged with Opp Steal so the event log and box score stay balanced.

💡

Goals and exclusions first. Assists and GK Saves add depth to the stats, but if the game is moving fast, skip them and focus on score-affecting events. You can always backfill optional stats between quarters.

9

Timeouts

Recording a timeout

Each team typically gets one timeout per game (exact rules vary by age group and tournament format). When a team calls a timeout:

  1. Tap the correct timeout chip: Team TO 1 Min, Team TO 30s, Opp TO 1 Min, or Opp TO 30s.
  2. Eggbeater logs the timeout with the current clock time and moves the game into timeout mode automatically.
  3. When the referee restarts play, exit timeout mode and continue scoring normally.
10

Between Quarters

The game period flow

A standard water polo game moves through these periods in order:

Pre-Game Q1 Q2 Half Q3 Q4 Final / OT / Shootout

You advance manually using the explicit next-step button that appears after the quarter expires. The app holds the current quarter until you are ready, then shows the correct action such as Start Q2, Start Half Time, Start Q3, Start Q4, or End Game. Once the next period actually begins, use Sprint Won to start the clock.

Quarter break checklist

  • Wait for the referee's final whistle ending the quarter.
  • Let the clock stop at 0:00 or tap Pause if you need to freeze it early.
  • Use the inline play-by-play to add or delete any missed events before advancing.
  • Tap the explicit next-step button for the next period only when the scorer is ready.

Halftime

After Q2 expires, the app shows Half Time and holds there until you tap Start Q3. Do not advance until the teams are back in the water and the referee is ready.

11

Overtime

When the score is tied after Q4

If the game is tied at the end of Q4, tap End Q4 and the app will offer you three options:

Overtime Proceed to an OT period. The clock resets to the OT length (often 3:00 or 5:00 sudden death, depending on tournament rules). Goals and events are recorded exactly the same as in regular periods. Tap ▶ Start when OT begins.
Shootout Skip OT and go straight to a penalty shootout. See Section 12 below for full shootout instructions.
Final (tie) Record the game as a draw — some pool-play formats don't play overtime.
💡

If OT also ends tied, tap End OT and choose Shootout to proceed to penalty shots, or play additional OT periods if tournament rules require it.

12

Shootout Mode

How a shootout works

A shootout is a penalty shot competition. Teams alternate taking shots — typically 5 shots per team, one at a time. The team that converts more shots wins. If still tied after 5 rounds, the shootout continues in sudden death: one shot per team per round until one team leads after a completed round.

Enter Shootout Mode

When the referee announces a shootout, tap End Q4 (or End OT) → Shootout. The scoring panel switches to a simplified shootout view showing both teams' attempt counters and a running shootout tally. Spectators automatically receive a Shootout Alert notification at this moment.

Record each shot attempt

For each shot, tap one of two buttons for the shooting team:

  • Goal ✓ — the shot went in. That team's shootout count increases by 1.
  • Miss ✗ — the shot was saved, hit the post, or missed. No score change.

Enter the shooting player's cap number when prompted, then alternate — your team shoots, then the opponent, repeat until the shootout is decided.

Finalize when complete

After 5 rounds (or when the winner is mathematically decided), a Finalize button appears. Tap it to end the game. The winning team is shown and the final score notification fires to all spectator devices.

💡

During a shootout the main game clock is not used. Don't worry about starting or stopping it — just focus on logging each attempt accurately.

13

Finalizing the Game

Let the game expire, then review

When the final whistle blows, the clock stops at 0:00 and the panel stays on the current period. Use that moment to review the inline play-by-play and score before you close out the game.

Review the inline play-by-play

Check the grouped event log and confirm the score looks right. If you spot a missed goal or incorrect stat, add or delete it before finalizing. This is the main reason scorer view keeps the play-by-play inline.

Use End Game

Tap the compact red End Game button in the clock area. The confirmation sheet lets you correct the score before submitting, and the status now stays explicit until the server acknowledges the final.

⚠️

Once finalized, the game is marked final in the system. If a correction is needed afterward, ask your club admin — they can reopen the game, reset it, or rebuild history from durable scored-game data if needed.

14

Live Broadcast & Alerts

What spectators see in real-time

Every time you record a goal, change the period, or finalize a game, Eggbeater broadcasts the update to all spectator devices following that game — no page refresh needed. Spectators see:

  • The current score and period, updating live
  • A 🔴 LIVE badge on the game card while scoring is active
  • The play-by-play log building in real-time when they tap into the game detail

Automatic notifications

If your club has a Telegram or GroupMe channel connected, the following alerts fire automatically without you doing anything extra:

Game started Fires when you tap ▶ Start at the beginning of Q1, alerting families the game is underway.
Goal scored Fires immediately when a goal is confirmed, with the scorer's name (if entered) and the updated score.
Shootout alert Fires when Shootout Mode is entered, so families know it's down to penalty shots.
Final score Fires when the game is finalized with the full box score summary.
🎉

Spectators who can't be at the pool can follow every goal in near real-time. The more complete your scoring, the richer the experience — even grandparents in another state can celebrate goals the moment they happen.