Systems and methods for managing demand driven sporting games

Abstract

A demand driven game system and method uses a communications network driven by an engine to facilitate the scheduling of demand driven (sporting) games (DDG's), through passively accepting electronic expressions of interest for open slots (registrations), and actively filling slots through a matching service. Such functions can be performed through a combination of processing party preferences from a public interface, a team interface, setup preferences from an administrator interface and a referee interface, processing league data structures from a database, particularly competition rosters and referee rosters, processing DDG registrations and sending and receiving automated communications with relevant parties through SMS channels. DDG slots could be filled through a combination of transactional approaches, players/teams/individuals registering for specific slots, and service approaches, with players/teams/individuals registering to receive queries for DDG's of a specific character.

1 . A demand driven game management system for sports implemented over an electronic communications network, including:
 (a) a public interface for registering for demand driven games, and active matching services;   (b) a team interface for registering for demand driven games, and active matching services;   (c) an administration interface for creating demand driven game slots and categories, and setting related preferences, including active game matching, unregistered player access and the like;   (d) a referee interface for setting referee preferences and availability; and   (e) a DDG engine for processing game registrations and verifications, processing preferences from various interfaces and processing court availability and performing active match processing.   
   
   
       2 . The system of  claim 1  where electronic game representations are implemented as physical sporting games, including scheduling and organising parties by suitable notifications, by an electronic system following sufficient registrations and sub-functions designated by an administrator. 
   
   
       3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein sub-functions include SMS based interactive confirmations, sent from the system to the registerer, and responded to from the register to the system. 
   
   
       4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein sub-functions include SMS based referee confirmation, sent from the system to the referee, and responded to from the referee to the system. 
   
   
       5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein referee involvement might be predefined, specified in the referee interface or otherwise, particularly a league referee roster. 
   
   
       6 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein sub-functions include join fees, deposits, or the like, applied to a player or team registering for a demand driven game, by means of premium SMS, credit merchant, credit based derivative, or EFT derivative. 
   
   
       7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said system identifies teams exclusively or distinctly without a competition game for a particular week, whereupon said teams are saved to and within a temporary register. 
   
   
       8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein said temporary register is used as the basis of active match processing, wherein teams are matched against other teams, and to admin defined DDG slots. 
   
   
       9 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein said temporary register is used as the basis of a contact list, to send out queries to parties, enquiring whether said party wishes to participate in a specific actively matched game, or be matched to a game generally. 
   
   
       10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein said queries take the form of interactive SMS. 
   
   
       11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein said queries take any direct electronic form, including instant messaging, a PSTN derivate, email, EMS, MMS or the like. 
   
   
       12 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein said temporary register might also be populated with player or teams registered for an active matching service, and who's preference within said service align with a slot or situation to which a query is related. 
   
   
       13 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein said temporary register, populated by situation or preference, is used as the basis for creating demand driven games, such that teams within said register are matched for a game, i.e. Team A v Team B, through a suitable matching process. 
   
   
       14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said matches are applied to a suitable court, i.e. a spare court identified by an empty demand driven game slot. 
   
   
       15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein suitable team match/court combinations are confirmed through automated electronic messaging, as a means of gaining approval for scheduling a particular game. 
   
   
       16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein active match confirmations are made by means of SMS. 
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein active match confirmations are made using any suitable electronic device/network combination, including instant messaging, email, EMS, MMS, a PSTN derivate, or a practical SMS equivalent. 
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said team interface allows said team to directly register for a particular demand driven game, i.e. slot X on day X. 
   
   
       19 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said team interface allows a team to enter preferences which affect an ongoing relation with the system; such that said team might register to auto-register for, be notified of, or the like, a demand driven game of a, or several, particular characters, as said games arise. 
   
   
       20 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said team interface might allow for the challenging of another team to an unrecorded demand driven game, such that a challenge might be made generally, or tuned to a specific court and time. 
   
   
       21 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said public interface allows an individual to directly register for a particular demand driven game, i.e. game X on day X. 
   
   
       22 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said public interface allows an individual to enter preferences which affect an ongoing relation with the system; such that said individual might register to auto-register for, be notified of, or the like, for a demand driven game of a, or several, particular characters, as said games arise. 
   
   
       23 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system response to an identified active match is a SMS notification to the relevant party that a DDG exists that matches an active match rule description. 
   
   
       24 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system response to an identified active match is a email notification to the relevant party that a DDG exists that matches an active match rule description. 
   
   
       25 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system response to an identified active match is an updated register on a relevant web page. 
   
   
       26 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system response to an identified active match is an automatic registration of the relevant party to the DDG that matches an active match rule description. 
   
   
       27 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said referee interface allows for setting preferences relating to whether or not a referee will be matched to a DDG. 
   
   
       28 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said referee interface allows for setting availability times for participating in a demand driven game. 
   
   
       29 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said administration interface allows an administrator to turn on or off a system for populating DDG's that does not rely on specific expression of interest for specific games. 
   
   
       30 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said administration interface allows said administrator to control whether or not unregistered player are allowed access to DDG's generally. 
   
   
       31 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein DDG slots can be created which align with actual spare slots (courts and times). 
   
   
       32 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein DDG slots might be categorical, such that said slots apply discretely to a particular game type, e.g. a public game, a training session, an active match game, a challenge match, or the like, such that registering for a particular slot is synonymous with registering for a particular type of DDG. 
   
   
       33 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein empty DDG slots might have attached registration points, specified by an administrator or otherwise, such that said registration point might represent the demand point at which a game initiates. 
   
   
       34 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein empty slots might have attached confirmation points, specified by an administrator or otherwise, such that said confirmation point might represent the number of confirmations, i.e. positive responses from a registerer made in response to a confirmation request from the system, required before a game is scheduled. 
   
   
       35 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein empty slots might have attached join fees, such that an administrator might specify an amount charged to a player, as a deposit or the like, for registering for, or confirming interest in, a demand driven game. 
   
   
       36 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said fees are charged by means of a premium SMS. 
   
   
       37 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said fees are charged by means of credit merchant, credit based derivative, or EFT derivative. 
   
   
       38 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said engine is used to process whether a demand driven game slot, and associated actions of registers and the like, meets requirements designated by administrators, or the like, including categorizing the sufficiency of registerers, the sufficiency of confirmations, the sufficiency of deposits, and/or other requirements, such that said process effects whether a demand driven game meets administrator requirements necessary for said game to be scheduled. 
   
   
       39 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said engine can identify teams uniquely not playing for a particular week and add said teams to a matching register. 
   
   
       40 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said engine can use team and player preferences as a means of adding said teams and players to a matching register. 
   
   
       41 . A method of scheduling demand driven sporting games using an electronic communications network, including the steps of:
 providing a setup interface to create DDG slots or equivalents to be used for DDG games;   providing a player or team interface for taking expressions of interest in joining a particular game, or, taking expressions of interest in joining games of a particular character i.e. a join service;   providing a mechanism to process registrations and other data including providing a mechanism for automatically determining whether conditions exist which match admin defined conditions for which DDG's might be scheduled.   providing a mechanism to schedule games including communicating ‘scheduled’ status to relevant parties.   
   
   
       42 . A demand driven game management system, including:
 a public interface for a player or individual to register for a demand driven game and/or demand driven game service; and/or   a team interface for a team to register for a demand driven game and/or demand driven game service; and/or   a referee interface for a referee to discretely define a relation to the DDG system and/or define availability times; and/or   an administration interface for an administration to define DDG's and related preferences, optionally including whether or not to allow active matching and/or the allowing of unregistered players to participate in DDG's; and/or   a DDG engine for identifying whether conditions exist for a DDG game to be scheduled, and for performing necessary communications and confirmation during and after which.   
   
   
       43 . A demand driven game management system for sports implemented over an electronic communications network, including:
 (a) an administration interface for creating demand driven game slots and categories, and setting related preferences, including active game matching, unregistered player access and the like,   (b) any one or more of the following interfaces:
 (i) a public interface for registering for demand driven games, and active matching services, 
 (ii) a team interface for registering for demand driven games, and active matching services, 
 (iii) a referee interface for setting referee preferences and availability, and 
   (c) a DDG engine for processing game registrations and verifications, processing preferences from various interfaces and processing court availability and performing active match processing.