A step-by-step guide from account creation to live scoring.
Register for a free account, then create your club or league from the "Organisations" page. Your organisation is submitted for approval — once approved, you’re the owner and can invite other admins.
Go to your org dashboard, click New Match, and fill in the name, date, location, and entry fee. Choose Relay Scoring for gong multiplier scoring, PRS for hit/miss/timed scoring, or ELR for extreme long range.
Add divisions for equipment classes (use the Open/Factory/Limited or Minor/Major presets, or create your own). Add categories for demographics (use the standard preset for Overall/Ladies/Junior/Senior, or create custom ones). Both are optional — without them, all shooters compete in a single pool.
Add one target set per stage (e.g. "100m", "200m"). Inside each, add targets (gongs) with multipliers for standard, or use the quick-add PRS preset buttons (5, 8, or 10 targets at 1pt each). For PRS, you can set a par time per stage and designate one stage as the tiebreaker (impacts first, then time).
Create squads (e.g. "Squad A", "Squad B") and add shooters to each. Assign each shooter a division (single-select dropdown) and categories (multi-select checkboxes). Bib numbers are optional.
Click Start Match. A QR code and shareable link appear — spectators scan it to follow live on their phones. Put the TV scoreboard URL on a big screen at the range if you have one.
Range Officers open the Android app or PWA on their tablets, select the active match, and start scoring. For Standard: tap HIT/MISS per gong per shooter in relay order. For PRS: tap Hit/Miss/Not Taken per target for each shooter per stage, enter the stage time, and complete the stage. Everything works offline — scores sync when signal is available.
Once all stages are done and scores are synced, click Complete Match. The match moves to completed status. Scores count toward the season leaderboard. You can reopen a match if needed.
Install the native Android app for the best offline scoring experience.
Search for DeadCenter on the Google Play Store and install. The app is optimised for Android tablets but works on phones too.
Use the same credentials you use on deadcenter.co.za. The app links to your account so your assigned matches and permissions are available.
From the match list, tap your match to import it. The full match data — stages, targets, squads, shooters — is downloaded and stored locally in Room DB. You can also import from a hub on the local network if there is no internet.
Turn one tablet into a local server that coordinates scoring across all devices.
Open the Android app on your hub tablet, navigate to the match, and tap Start Hub. The app starts a local HTTP server and displays the hub’s IP address on screen (e.g. 192.168.1.50).
Make sure all tablets are on the same WiFi network (a portable hotspot works perfectly). Tell each Range Officer the hub IP address — they’ll enter it on their tablet to connect.
Each client tablet imports the match from the hub over the LAN. They can start scoring immediately. Scores sync back to the hub automatically. If the hub has internet, it bridges scores to the cloud.
Connect to a hub on the local network and start scoring in seconds.
Open the Android app, go to settings or the connection screen, and enter the hub’s IP address. Make sure you’re on the same WiFi network as the hub.
The app connects to the hub and downloads the full match data — stages, targets, squads, shooters, and any existing scores. No internet required. All data is stored locally in Room DB.
Start scoring your assigned stage or squad. Scores save locally first, then sync to the hub automatically in the background. The hub status indicator shows your connection state at all times.
Prevent accidental navigation and keep each tablet focused on its assigned work.
The Match Director sets a numeric PIN when locking a device. The PIN prevents the Range Officer from navigating away from their assigned stage or squad.
If a Range Officer forgets the PIN, the Match Director can unlock the device by entering their DeadCenter username and password. No need to reset the tablet.
When locking a device, the Match Director chooses what to lock it to — a specific stage (for PRS/ELR where each stage has its own scoring tablet) or a specific squad (for relay matches where each squad has a dedicated scorer). The lock prevents the scorer from accidentally navigating to other stages or squads.
The full lifecycle from match creation through to shooters selecting their own squads.
Set up the match with name, date, venue, scoring mode, entry fee, stages, and targets. The match starts in draft status and is not yet visible to shooters.
Advance the match to pre-registration. Shooters can now see the match and express interest without committing. This gives match directors early visibility into expected attendance and helps with planning.
Advance to registration open. Shooters can now fully register with their division, category, and equipment details. Match directors can approve, reject, or waitlist entries. Entry fee tracking is built in.
Once registrations are finalised, open self-service squadding. Registered shooters choose their preferred squad from available slots. Capacity limits are enforced automatically. No more spreadsheet juggling.
Close registration when you’re ready. The match advances to scoring status. Range Officers can now score on their tablets. Squads, stages, and shooter assignments are locked in.