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Judging guide

Free Field Hockey Scoreboard App

Countdown clock, cards, goals, and real-time match sharing

Last updated: March 22, 2026
Quick answer

JudgeMate's Free Scoreboard lets you run a live field hockey scoreboard from your phone in under 30 seconds. Choose Field Hockey, tap Create, set team names — and you're live. The board tracks goals, a 15-minute countdown clock (resets each quarter), green/yellow/red cards, and quarter progression. Spectators follow via a QR code or link on any device, no app or login needed.

Creating a Field Hockey Scoreboard

Getting started takes three taps:

  1. Open the Free Scoreboard page on JudgeMate.
  2. Select Field Hockey from the sport list.
  3. Tap "Create Scoreboard".

The system instantly generates two links:

  • Admin link — your private control panel (contains a secret token).
  • Spectator link, the public view for fans and officials.

No account, no email, no app download required. The board is ready immediately.

Save your admin link — if you close the browser without bookmarking it, you will not be able to regain control.

Setup Screen — Team Names & Colors

Before the match starts, you see the Setup Screen where you configure:

Team names:

  • Tap the name fields to type custom names (up to 20 characters).
  • Default names: HOME and GUEST.

Team colors:

  • Choose from 12 color presets (red, orange, amber, lime, green, teal, cyan, blue, purple, pink, gray, white).
  • Colors appear on the spectator display and help distinguish teams visually.

Starting the match:

  • Tap "Start Match" when both teams are ready.
  • Spectators see a waiting screen ("Game Starting Soon") until you press Start.
  • Once started, the board goes LIVE and the countdown clock is ready to run.
HOME2
Live12:34
AWAY1
Live
Field Hockey · live scoreboard

Free live scoreboard.

Score and clock on the big screen, controlled from your phone.

Countdown Clock — 15 Minutes Per Quarter, Resetting Each Period

Field hockey in JudgeMate uses a countdown clock — the time counts down from 15:00 to 0:00 each quarter, then resets for the next quarter.

QuarterClock display
Q115:00 → 0:00
Q215:00 → 0:00
Q315:00 → 0:00
Q415:00 → 0:00

Basic controls:

  • START (blue button) — begins the countdown.
  • PAUSE (yellow button), pauses the clock.

In field hockey, the clock stops during dead-ball situations (goals, cards, injuries, penalty corners). This means you will pause and resume the clock frequently throughout the match — exactly how field hockey handles time.

When paused, additional controls appear:

  • +1:00 / −1:00 — adjust by 1 minute.
  • +0:10 / −0:10, adjust by 10 seconds.

No stoppage time: Because the clock stops during dead-ball situations, there is no added time at the end of quarters. When the clock reaches 0:00, the quarter is over.

Quarter transitions: Tap "Next Period" to advance: Q1 → Q2 → Q3 → Q4.

The period label on the spectator display updates automatically ("Q1", "Q2", "Q3", "Q4"). The clock resets to 15:00 at the start of each new quarter. You can also undo a period transition if you tapped it by mistake.

Score Controls — Adding & Removing Goals

The score area is split into two tap zones:

  • Left half = Home team
  • Right half = Guest team

Each side has:

  • A large "+" button — tap to add a goal.
  • A smaller "−" button, tap to undo a goal (score never goes below 0).

Every tap updates the spectator screen instantly in real-time. There is no confirmation dialog — the score changes immediately.

Goal event log: When you add a goal, you can optionally enter a player number or name. The goal is recorded with the current match time and appears in the event log on the spectator display. This creates a complete scoring timeline — who scored, when, and for which team.

Tip: If you accidentally add a goal, tap the minus button right away. The spectator display corrects itself within a fraction of a second.

Green, Yellow & Red Cards — The Full 3-Card System

JudgeMate's field hockey scoreboard includes the complete three-card system — a feature that sets it apart from most scoreboard apps, which only offer yellow and red.

Adding a card:

  1. Tap the Green, Yellow, or Red card button for the relevant team.
  2. A pop-up appears — optionally enter a player number or name.
  3. Confirm, the card is recorded with the current match time.

Cards appear on both the admin panel and the spectator display.

Card suspension times:

  • Green card = 2-minute suspension
  • Yellow card = 5-minute minimum suspension
  • Red card = permanent exclusion

Why the green card matters: Field hockey's green card is unique among team sports. It is the most frequently issued card in a typical match and has a direct tactical impact — the team plays with one fewer player for 2 minutes. Most generic scoreboard apps do not support the green card, leaving a gap in the match record. JudgeMate includes it because field hockey without the green card is incomplete.

Undo: Each team has an "Undo last card" button that removes the most recently added card. Useful for correcting mistakes.

What spectators see: The spectator view displays a summary of cards per team (e.g., 1 green, 2 yellow for Home). All cards are listed with times and player names in the event log.

Sharing with Spectators — QR Code, Link & Font Control

Tap the "Share" button in the admin panel to open the share modal:

Sharing options:

  • QR Code — spectators scan it with their phone camera to open the live scoreboard.
  • Copy Link, copies the spectator URL to your clipboard for sharing via any messenger (WhatsApp, SMS, email, etc.).
  • Native Share, uses your phone's share sheet (where available in your browser).

The spectator link works on any device with a web browser — phones, tablets, laptops, Smart TVs, projectors. No app download or login required.

Font size remote control: As the admin, you can control the text size on all spectator screens:

  • A− / A+ buttons or a slider.
  • Range: 50% to 300% of default size.
  • Ideal for adjusting readability on clubhouse TVs, outdoor screens, or tournament projectors.

Spectators can also adjust their own local font size (70%-160%), but the admin's setting takes priority.

Use case for field hockey: Share the QR code in the team WhatsApp group so parents can follow the match live from the sideline or from home. Display the spectator link on a TV near the dugout so substitutes and coaches can see the clock and card situation at a glance.

Ending the Match — Final Score, Stats & Rematch

When the match is over:

  1. Tap "End Game" in the top bar.
  2. A confirmation dialog appears: "End game? This will freeze the score for all spectators."
  3. Tap "Yes, End Game" to confirm.

After ending:

  • The score is permanently frozen — no one can change it.
  • Spectators see the final score with an "ENDED" badge.
  • The clock stops automatically.

Post-game summary: The admin panel displays match statistics:

  • Total match duration
  • Goals scored by each team
  • Green cards per team
  • Yellow cards per team
  • Red cards per team
  • Full event log with times

Post-game actions:

  • "New Game — Same Teams", creates a fresh board with the same team names and colors. One tap, instant rematch.
  • "New Game, Change Sport", returns to the sport selection screen.
  • "Share Final Results", re-opens the share modal so you can send the final score.

Board lifespan: Completed scoreboards remain accessible for up to one week. After that, the board expires and spectators see a "Session Expired" message.

Using JudgeMate for Field Hockey Tournaments

JudgeMate is especially valuable for field hockey tournaments where multiple matches run simultaneously on different pitches.

Tournament setup:

  • Create a separate scoreboard for each match — each gets its own admin link and spectator link.
  • Assign a different person to control each pitch from their phone.
  • Share all spectator links with a central display (TV, projector, or laptop) so organizers can monitor all matches.

Benefits for tournament organizers:

  • No hardware needed — each pitch only needs one person with a phone.
  • Parents and fans can follow any match from their own devices.
  • Accurate card records, the green/yellow/red card log yields a complete disciplinary record for the tournament.
  • Goal event logs, player names and scoring times are recorded for tournament statistics.

Typical tournament workflow:

  1. Before the tournament: create scoreboards for all scheduled matches.
  2. Share admin links with designated scorers on each pitch.
  3. Share spectator links on the tournament's communication channel.
  4. After each match: end the game and create a new board for the next match on that pitch ("New Game — Same Teams" or "New Game, Change Sport").

This workflow scales from a 4-team club tournament to a 32-team regional championship — the system handles any volume because each board is independent.

Field Hockey · live scoreboard

Free live scoreboard — control it from your phone.

Show the score and clock on the big screen. Control it from your phone and share the link with fans. No sign-up, no install.

Your phone
Controls
HOME
2+
AWAY
1+
HOME2
Live12:34
AWAY1
Live
No sign-upFreePhone → big screen
Reviewed by

JudgeMate Editorial Team

Editorial standards
Against

FIH Rules of Hockey 2024 (effective 2024/25), FIH Tournament Regulations

Last reviewed 2026-03-22 · next After FIH biennial rule update

Frequently Asked Questions

Primary Sources

  1. FIH Rules of HockeyFIH
  2. FIH Tournament RegulationsFIH
  3. FIH Umpires ManualFIH

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