Athletic Record Boards & Leaderboards

Intent: research

Executive summary (3 findings)

• Records are data products: accuracy, sources, and change logs matter as much as design.
• The biggest failure mode is “unverifiable stats”: you need a verification process before publishing.
• Leaderboards need scannable hierarchy: most viewers want top-10s, not full lists.

Methodology

This use-case brief synthesizes record-board patterns and related HallOfFameWall guides:

• Digital record boards: high schools guide
• Touch board athletic records: complete guide
• Finding school sports records: comprehensive guide

Key findings

• Insight: Stakeholder trust depends on “where did this come from?”
  • Evidence: Record disputes typically come from missing sources or inconsistent definitions.
  • Implication: Store sources and definitions as first-class fields.
• Insight: Most people browse by sport, season, and category.
  • Evidence: “Single game,” “season,” and “career” are the natural mental model.
  • Implication: Build navigation around record type, not just athlete names.

Data visualization: record board hierarchy (ASCII)

Sport
  ├─ Category (Points / Rebounds / Assists / Times / Titles)
  │    ├─ Single game (Top 10)
  │    ├─ Season (Top 10)
  │    └─ Career (Top 10)
  └─ Team achievements
       ├─ Championships
       └─ Streaks / milestones

Data visualization: record fields (table)

Requirements checklist

• Accuracy
  • Source tracking, definitions, and an audit trail
  • Clear policy for “ties” and “vacated” records
• User experience
  • Scannable top-10 views
  • Fast sport/category switching
  • “More details” view for context (opponent, date)
• Operations
  • Seasonal update workflow (coach submits → AD verifies → publish)
  • Bulk upload/import for backfill

What this means for schools

Record boards are the easiest way to keep a display “alive”:

• Plan weekly in-season updates (even if it’s only one sport at a time).
• Standardize definitions (what counts, era breaks, divisions).
• Link record boards to HOF profiles when relevant (same athlete, same season).

Recommended next reads

• Digital record board: guide
• Digital swim record board
• State records in football recognition guide

CTA

• Primary: Request a research briefing.
• Secondary: See the platform behind the data.
• Relevant Rocket PDP: Digital Hall of Fame platform overview