Introduction: Bantr's 2024 Feature Round-up! ✨
2024 was a milestone year for Bantr. We introduced 40 new features designed to make managing leagues simpler and more rewarding while enhancing the player experience. These updates were crafted with feedback from organizers, ensuring every feature makes a difference. We've broken down these enhancements into four key categories, highlighting how each one benefits organizers and players alike.
Payment and Financial Tools 💰
- Adjust Individual Team Registration Fee: Need to offer a special discount or accommodate a team's unique situation? This feature gives you the flexibility to customize registration fees on a team-by-team basis.
- Moving a Team/Payment: Easily transfer teams and their payments between leagues or events, simplifying your financial management and keeping everything organized.
- Pickup Refunds: Issue refunds for canceled or rescheduled pickup games directly through Bantr — no need to open Stripe.
- Player Refunds: Quickly process refunds for individual players, maintaining a positive experience for everyone.
- Custom Team Payments: Create tailored payment plans for teams, offering flexibility for those who may need split payments or other arrangements.
- Track 3rd-Party Payments: Keep tabs on offline or external payments, ensuring accurate financial records for your league.
- Stripe Workspaces: Link a unique Stripe account to each BANTR Connect workspace, ensuring funds are routed correctly. Seamlessly manage multiple linked accounts for your leagues.
- Discount Codes: Drive registrations and boost player engagement by creating unique discount codes for early bird specials, limited-time offers, or other promotions.
Why These Matter: These tools streamline your financial processes, saving you time and hassle while providing greater flexibility and control over your league's finances.
Communication and Engagement 💬
- Team Chat: Give teams private chat groups to discuss games, coordinate schedules, and build camaraderie.
- Pickup Group Chat: Enable real-time conversations for pickup games, making it easier for players to connect and plan.
- Mobile Push Notifications: Ping! Stay on top of mind (and thumbs) with instant alerts and updates right on players' phone.
- Direct Messaging: Allow players to message organizers or captains directly for quick resolutions to questions or issues.
- Game Reminders: Automatically notify players about upcoming games to reduce no-shows and boost participation.
- POTM (Player of the Match) Voting Reminder: Engage players by encouraging post-game voting for Player of the Match.
- Community Pickup Groups: Build a vibrant player community by creating groups for casual games where players can connect.
- Pickup Group: Create a group where players can follow your pickup games. Customize it with a name, logo, and personality to build your community—and even manage payments all in one place!
- Social Media Login: Simplifies account creation and access by allowing players to log in through their social media accounts, making joining leagues easier.
- Report Player: Allow players to flag unsportsmanlike conduct. Keep the game (and the banter) clean and fair for everyone!
- Block: Allows players to block others from viewing their profile or messaging them, maintaining a safe and positive environment—and because boundaries matter.
- Flag Content: See something offensive or just plain rude? Players and admins can flag it and it'll get the boot, keeping league communication respectful.
- Mute Chats: Tired of Captain America’s pep talks? Mute the chat for a few days and rejoin when the dust settles.
- Search Chat: Help users find important messages or past conversations easily.
- Hide Messages: Allow users to hide specific messages from view.
- React to Messages: Spotted a goal-worthy message? Users can react with the perfect emoji, making conversations more engaging and fun. And sometimes words just aren’t enough! ⚽😂🔥
Why These Matter: These features improve communication, foster a sense of community, and ensure a safe, inclusive environment for players and organizers.
League and Player Management 🏆
- Waivers: Protect your league with digital waivers, ensuring all players have acknowledged and agreed to the terms and conditions
- Match Reports & Issuing Cards: Allows referees to document game results and issue disciplinary cards, maintaining fairness and accountability.
- Organization Workspaces: Offers a centralized hub for league organizers to manage their teams, games, and operations.
- Aggregated Organization Feed: Provides an overview of all league activities, updates, and announcements in one place.
- Team & Player Search: Quickly find players or teams when you need to fill roster spots or answer inquiries.
- Organization CRM: Track league interactions, contacts, and communication history to for better relationship management.
- Player CRM: Provides detailed insights into individual players, including their history and engagement.
- Free Agents: Easily scout and add unassigned players to teams to fill those roster gaps like a pro.
- Free Agent Registration: Allows players to sign up as free agents, streamlining the process of filling teams
- League Leads Tracking: Stay on top of potential league growth opportunities and manage leads effectively.
- Dynamic Leagues & Tournaments: Keep things interesting with group-type play where winning teams advance to the top group and losing teams are placed at the bottom. Think promotion-relegation but mid-season, ensuring competitive balance and league parity. Great for leagues or tournaments.
- Match Manager: A clear view of teams' upcoming and completed games keeps them on track and ensures they never miss their games.
Why These Matter: These tools simplify league administration, player management, and game scheduling, allowing you to focus on creating a fun and successful league.
User Experience and Platform Expansion 🚀
- Pickup Games: Effortlessly schedule and manage casual pickup games, expanding your offerings and attracting more players.
- Mobile App for Players/Teams: Provide a convenient and accessible platform for players and organizers to manage their league activity on the go.
- Aggregated League Feeds: Offer a centralized location for players to view updates and results from all leagues, fostering a sense of community and broader engagement.
- Game Reminders (Emails): Ensure players never miss a game with email reminders sent directly to their inbox.
Why These Matter: These enhancements improve the overall user experience, making it easier for players and organizers to connect with your league and stay engaged.
2025: The Future is Bright ✨
We're not slowing down! Get ready for even more game-changing features in 2025, including deeper game integrations, advanced analytics, and enhanced connectivity features to bring players and leagues together. Bantr is committed to providing the best possible experience for adult recreational sports leagues and players. With these amazing new features and our commitment to innovation, we're here to support your league every step of the way. Cheers to an amazing 2025!