Applicable to: Association Administrators, Club Administrators, Team Managers and Scorers

Applicable to: American Football Australia (AFA) organisations

Application(s): Electronic Scoring Application (afa.score.playhq.com) and the American Football Australia app

This article will cover the following:

1. Ensuring eScoring is activated
2. Accessing the scoring application
3. Trying the demo
4. Recording scoring events and discipline
5. Managing quarters, timeouts and the final score

Related articles:

• Accessing the Electronic Scoring Portal
• Setting up an electronic scoring session
• Electronic Scoring via PlayHQ Apps
• E-Scoring FAQs and Troubleshooting (All Sports)

Overview

American football is now part of eScoring on PlayHQ. From the start of the AFA season, scorers can record a game live at the ground instead of keeping a paper sheet and having someone enter the result afterwards.

You can score from a browser at afa.score.playhq.com, or from a phone in the American Football Australia app. Both use the same scoring engine, so the events, the score and the ladder behave identically whichever one you use. Most club volunteers will score on a phone in the app; a laptop or tablet suits a scorer working from a table or box.

You capture two kinds of thing as the game runs: scoring plays and discipline. That's deliberate — it keeps the job light enough to do live, while still giving everyone the live score, the quarter-by-quarter breakdown, player totals and an up to date ladder.

💡 Tip: New to E-scoring?

If you would rather practise before your first real game, work through the demo at score.playhq.com/demo. It runs the full American football scoring flow, so you can try touchdowns and conversions, a safety, a penalty and an ejection, and the start and end of a quarter, without it counting towards anything.

The demo takes about five minutes and is a good way to train someone before their first game.

1. Ensuring eScoring is activated

eScoring is turned on by an Association Administrator through the Allow clubs to enter scores via electronic scoring setting on the competition. If that setting is off, no scoring option appears in either the web app or the phone app.

To score through the American Football Australia app, you must also be eligible to eScore, be affiliated with the organisation scoring the game, and have permission from your association at both competition and grade level.

2. Accessing the scoring application

1. Score from a web browser

   Go to afa.score.playhq.com, log in with your PlayHQ account, and select the game you want to score.

2. Score from the American Football Australia app

   Open the game in the Game Centre. A Score Game button appears when the game is scheduled to start within the next hour, or is pending or in progress, and stays visible for up to 24 hours after the scheduled start time.

Once you're in, you're ready to start recording events as the game runs.

3. Recording scoring events and discipline

Each of the following is a few taps in the scoring application:

Touchdown — 6 points to the scoring team. You're then prompted straight away for the conversion, so you don't need to go back into a menu.

Conversion — select One Point to add 1 point, or Two Point to add 2 points.

Field Goal — 3 points to the scoring team.

Safety — 2 points to the defending team. The players offered are from the team not in possession, which is correct under the rules of American football.

Penalty — recorded against the player. No points change.

Ejection — recorded against the player, who must be selected. That player is then unavailable for every event for the rest of the game.

Timeout — recorded against the team. No player selection is needed.

💡 Tip: Not sure who scored?

Assign the score to the team instead and keep going. The team score and the ladder are still correct, and the player can be added later.

4. Managing quarters, timeouts and the final score

Start and end each quarter as the game runs, and record timeouts against the team as they're called. The quarter-by-quarter breakdown shown in the app is built from this automatically, so there's nothing to add up at the end.

When the fourth quarter ends, confirm the final score to finalise the game.

What appears in the app

Everything you record flows through to the app as you record it, for players, families and spectators to follow.

Important considerations

Impact on players, families and spectators

Because eScoring updates live, consider what this changes for the people around the game:

• Players build a season record automatically from every scoring event they're credited with.
• Families and spectators can follow the score, the quarter breakdown and the scoring plays in the app while the game is still on.
• Associations don't need to wait on the ladder — it updates as soon as games are finalised, with no manual data entry.

Frequently asked questions

Why can't I see the option to score?
Check that your association has switched eScoring on for the competition, and that you have scoring permission at both competition and grade level. In the app, the Score Game button only appears from an hour before the scheduled start until 24 hours after it.

Do I have to use the app, or can I score on a computer?
Either. Go to afa.score.playhq.com in a browser on a laptop or tablet, or use the American Football Australia app on a phone. The scoring events and the result are the same either way.

Why did the two points from a safety go to the other team?
That's correct. In American football, a safety awards points to the defending side, so the app credits the team not in possession.

What if I miss who scored?
Assign the score to the team and carry on. The team score and the ladder stay correct, and the player can be added later.

Do I need to record missed field goals or failed conversions?
No. Only successful scoring plays are captured. There's nothing to enter for an attempt that didn't score.

Will I get passing, rushing or yardage stats?
Not in this release. Scoring plays and discipline are what's captured. Fuller play-by-play statistics are something we're looking at for a later phase.

Can two players be credited for one touchdown, for example the passer and the receiver?
No. One scoring player is recorded per event.

The final score doesn't look right. Can it be fixed?
Yes. Speak to your competition administrator, who can amend a finalised result.

What do I do if I need further help?
Visit the Contact Us page and select your sport to find the preferred support contact method for your organisation.