How to Use the Boccia Referee App

1. What the app does

• Runs the match: shows the number of ends, which end you’re on, who throws the jack, which side throws next, and how many balls each player has left.
• Tells you who throws next: each time a ball stops, answer “Which is closest, red or blue?” and the app calls up the side that is farther from the jack, just as the rules say.
• Time limit timer: times red and blue separately. When one side finishes throwing, it can switch to the other side’s timer automatically.
• Score and result: handles the score for each end, the total, the winner, and a tie-break if the match is tied.
• Photo judging: hold your phone level and take a photo from directly above, and the app estimates which side is closest to the jack and the score, with a confidence level (Clear, Likely or Too close to call).
• History: finished matches are saved on your phone, and you can share the results by text message, messaging apps and so on.

No sign-up or installation needed. Just open https://boccia-referee.pages.dev/ in your browser. Once you’ve opened it, it works even without a signal.

2. Starting a match (pairs or team)

Choose the match format on the first screen.

• Pairs: 2 players per side, 3 balls each, 4 ends.
• Team: 3 players per side, 2 balls each, 6 ends.

Team and player names are optional (if you leave them blank, the app shows “Red”, “Red 1” and so on). If you enter names, the app shows who throws the jack and who throws next by name, which makes it easier for children and first-timers to follow. Next to each player’s name, you’ll see the end in which that player throws the jack.

Advanced settings

Open “Advanced settings” to change the number of ends, the balls per player, and the time limit per end (4 minutes is the default for pairs; you can also choose 7 minutes, any number of minutes, or no timer). If you’d rather play without worrying about time, choose “No timer”. “Reset to defaults” puts the standard values for the format back.

When you’re ready, tap “Start match”. Your last settings (team names and so on) are remembered for next time.

3. How an end works

1. Throw the jack: the screen shows who throws it. When the jack stops, tap “Valid” or “Invalid”. If it’s invalid (it didn’t cross the V-line or it went out of the court), the next player throws it again.
2. First colored ball: the side that threw the jack throws the first colored ball.
3. When a ball stops, tap the player who threw it: the app asks “Which is closest?”. Answer red, blue or same distance. The timer pauses until you answer. If you can’t tell, tap “📷 Not sure → Check by photo”.
4. Who throws next: the app calls up the side that is farther from the jack. A side with no balls left is skipped.
5. End of the end: once all the balls have been thrown, the app walks you through “① Judge → ② Confirm score → ③ Next end”. If you judged by photo, the score is already filled in, so just check it and tap “Confirm”. You can also enter the score yourself after looking or measuring with a tape measure.

After the last end, the totals decide the winner. If it’s a tie, you go on to a tie-break (an extra end). Tie-break points are not added to the total.

Using it just as a scoreboard

If recording every ball is too much, go to “More actions” and choose “Skip ball tracking and enter this end’s score” to enter only the score for each end. “More actions” also has adding a penalty ball, ±10 seconds on the timer, “Red (Blue) throws next” (to correct the turn) and “Don’t throw remaining balls”.

4. Judging distance by photo (level camera)

Photo judging analyzes the image on your phone only: it finds the red, blue and jack balls and compares their distances to the jack. Your photos are never sent anywhere, and it works without a signal. For an accurate result, it’s important to take the photo from directly above, with the phone level.

First, calibrate the level once

A phone’s tilt sensor can be off by 1–2° depending on the device. On the first screen, open “Photo judging settings”, lay the phone screen-up on the court floor, tap “Calibrate level on floor”, and keep it still for about a second. When you see “Level calibrated”, you’re done. If you change your phone case, do it again to be sure.

How to take the photo

1. Tap “📷 Check by photo” → “Start camera”.
2. Hold the phone screen-up and level, about 1 m directly above the jack. A selfie stick is easier and steadier than stretching out your arm.
3. A circle appears in the middle of the screen. Get the jack inside this circle. If it’s outside the circle, arrows guide you, e.g. “Move the phone a little to the right”.
4. When the phone is tilted no more than 1° front-to-back and side-to-side (you can change this to 0.5–5° in the settings) and the jack stays inside the circle for a moment, the shutter fires automatically.
5. If it doesn’t fire automatically (for example, when the jack is on a white line and hard to spot), use the “Take photo” button that appears when the phone is level to take it yourself.

The jack goes in the middle because errors from lens distortion and any small remaining tilt are smallest at the center of the image. Make sure the jack and all the balls near it are in the photo. Shadows of people or a stick falling on the balls make them harder to find.

Reading and correcting the result

The photo is overlaid with markers for the balls found, numbers in order of closeness to the jack, and lines. Below it, you’ll see a result such as “Red 2 points” and a confidence level.

• Clear: there’s a comfortable difference.
• Likely: probably right, but check with your own eyes to be safe.
• Too close to call: the difference is only about 1 cm, or balls are touching, so the photo can’t decide.

If a ball was missed or misidentified, you can fix it on the photo. Add markers with “+Red”, “+Blue” and “+Jack”; tap a marker to select it, then drag to move it, change its color, delete it or resize it. The app re-judges right away after each fix.

When to use a tape measure

When the result says “Too close to call”, when balls overlap and one is hidden, when a ball is touching the jack, or when the markers just won’t line up with the balls, don’t use the photo result — measure with a tape measure. Photo judging is a guide to help the referee; the referee makes the final call.

Saved photos and devices without a tilt sensor

Photos where the tilt isn’t known have larger errors, so they can’t be used by default. If you really want to use them, turn on “Allow tilted & saved photos” in the settings. On devices without a tilt sensor, turning this on also lets you take photos (shoot from as directly above as you can).

5. Fixing a score or undoing a step

• ↶ Undo: the button at the top right undoes your last action (a recorded throw, a confirmed score, etc.). Tap it again to go back further.
• Fixing the score of a finished end: tap the end number in the score table at the bottom of the screen, or tap “Edit” on the jack screen. You can also re-judge it by photo. The totals and the result are recalculated. A fix can itself be undone with “Undo”.

If the screen goes off or you accidentally reload the page, the match picks up where you left off. If you were in the middle of photo judging, the photo itself isn’t kept, so take it again.

6. Match history and sharing

Finished matches are saved in “History” (up to 100 matches, newest first). You can see the score for each end, how it was decided (“By photo (confidence)”, “Entered by hand”, “Edited”), and a small marked-up image when an end was judged by photo.

Tap “Share / Copy” to turn the result into a short message you can send by text, messaging app or email, or copy and paste. Delete records you don’t need with “Delete” (the small images are deleted too).

History is stored only in this phone’s browser and isn’t shared with other devices. When you switch phones, use “Export / import history” on the first screen to export it to a file, then import that file on the new device. For details, see the privacy policy.

7. Using it in a gym with no signal / adding it to your home screen

The first time you open the app, the files it needs are saved on your phone, so after that it opens even without a signal. If you’ll be in a gym or a basement venue, open it once before you leave home to be safe. Photo judging also runs on your phone, so it needs no signal either.

Add to Home Screen on iPhone (Safari)

1. Open the app in Safari.
2. Tap the Share button (a square with an arrow pointing up) at the bottom (or top) of the screen.
3. Choose “Add to Home Screen”, then tap “Add”.

Add to home screen on Android (Chrome)

1. Open the app in Chrome.
2. Tap the “⋮” menu at the top right.
3. Choose “Add to home screen” or “Install app”.

When opened from the home screen icon, the app runs full screen without the address bar. During a match, the app keeps the screen from turning off in browsers that support it.

8. FAQ and troubleshooting