Frequently Asked Questions

We do. Real Victors organizes and runs the games you see in the app: we book the court, sort the teams, keep the scoreboard and clock going, and film the night. These are our RV Runs. You don't have to round up nine other people or chase a group chat, you just claim a spot and show up. Teams can also challenge each other directly, and some listings come from public rec-centre schedules, so look for the badge on a game to see what you're joining.

The app is free to download and free to use. There are no league fees and no subscription. RV Runs have a per-player entry fee that covers the court, the organizing, and the filming, and the full price is always shown before you confirm. Browsing games, your profile, teams, chat, and direct team challenges all cost nothing.

We're in Ottawa right now, focused on building density on the courts hoopers actually play at. Other cities are next, so drop your email on the homepage and you'll be the first to know when we expand.

No. You can browse the games near you without signing up. You'll need an account to claim a spot, message other players, or join a team, since check-in, chat, and payments are all tied to a verified profile.

The Games tab is centred on the location you set on your profile, not your phone's live GPS. Set a home area during sign-up (or later from Settings, then Location) and the lists show games within a set radius of that spot; change your location and the feed re-centres there. The map view is the exception: it's never filtered, so you can pan anywhere to explore courts in other neighbourhoods. Haven't set a location yet? You'll see every game plus a nudge to add one.

Right now it's basketball-first. We're putting all our energy into making the basketball experience perfect before we expand to other sports.

An RV Run is a night we book and run ourselves. The court is reserved ahead of time, so there's no waiting on an open gym. Teams are built to be balanced using the skill levels on player profiles instead of whoever picks first. There's a real scoreboard and a running clock, and we bring two colours of kit so the sides are clear on camera. Spots are capped so the run never turns into twenty people on one sideline, and the night is filmed, so photos and clips come back to the players who were there.

Four. RV Runs are the main thing: organized, filmed nights we run ourselves, with capped spots you claim individually. Team Nights let a squad book a block of spots on a run together, while solo players who join the same night get drafted onto balanced teams. Direct team challenges are squad vs squad: you build a team, challenge another roster, and play a full game with a tracked record for both sides. That one is open to everyone, no invite needed. Community Event listings carry a blue badge and come from public rec-centre schedules, so they're information only.

No. RV Runs are built for solo players and small groups: you claim your own spot and we put you on a balanced team on the night. If you're rolling with a squad, a Team Night lets you book a block of spots together. You only need a full roster for a direct team challenge.

When a game has an entry fee, the full price, the fee plus a small Real Victors service charge and a payment-processing fee, is shown before you confirm, and your card is charged the moment you join. If the game is cancelled, every player who paid gets an automatic full refund with nothing to ask for. Leaving a paid game yourself more than 24 hours before it starts also gets a full refund; leaving inside that window forfeits the payment, since the court and the night are already committed. See Support for the complete fee and refund breakdown.

You're never out of pocket for a game that doesn't happen. Every game has a minimum number of players, and if it hasn't hit that minimum by the cutoff before tip-off, it cancels automatically and everyone who paid is refunded in full, automatically. You don't have to email anyone or file a claim. You'll get a notification the moment it happens, and the refund lands back on the card you paid with.

When a game is full you can join the waitlist. Free games promote players automatically, in order, as spots open up. Paid games notify everyone on the waitlist at once and it's first come, first served, so you're only charged if you claim the spot.

Yourself, non-marking indoor shoes, and water. If you have them, bring one light shirt and one dark shirt, since we sort the sides by colour and it makes the teams read clearly on camera. Aim to arrive 10 to 15 minutes early: check-in happens at the door against the roster in the app, and that buffer is what keeps the first game starting on time. Everything else, the court, the ball, the scoreboard, the clock, is on us.

Games with the blue Community Event badge are listed from public rec-centre schedules, and they aren't run through Real Victors. Check the venue's own info for exact details before heading out; you can't join or pay for them in the app.

Not yet, and we'd rather be straight about it. Posting public games is invite-only for the current season while we focus on running our own nights at a standard we can guarantee. If you want to run games with us, you can request host access from inside the app or through the host request form, and we'll get back to you. One thing that is open to everyone right now: direct team challenges. Build a team, challenge another roster, and play, no invite required.

This applies only to verified hosts, the accounts we've granted posting access to. Enabling paid games connects a Stripe Express account from Settings, then Payments & Earnings, which handles identity verification and bank details directly, so Real Victors never sees or stores that information. Payments are held for about 24 hours after a game starts so refunds can still go out cleanly, then your share moves to Stripe, which runs its own 2 to 7 business day settlement before depositing to your bank. Track held, paid-out, and refunded payments any time from the Earnings tab, or read more on the Support page.

A Booked Court badge means the venue has been reserved, so the court is guaranteed at game time. Every RV Run is on a booked court. A Public Court game is on a free court nobody has reserved, first come, first served, so the court could be occupied when you arrive, and weather or facility hours can affect availability. Arrive early for those.

In the app. Every filmed run gets its own album, and you'll find it in the Media tab as well as on the game's own page once it's posted. If you played in that game it also shows up on your profile, so your photos and clips collect in one place instead of scattering across group chats. Everything is yours to download and post.

We send you a notification when the album for a run you played in goes live, so there's nothing to keep checking. Make sure notifications are turned on for Real Victors in your phone's settings. Editing a night properly takes time and it varies from run to run, so we'd rather tell you when it's actually ready than promise you a clock.

Yes, no questions asked. Email hello@realvictors.com with the run, the date, and enough detail to find the shot (a screenshot is easiest) and we'll remove it. If it's urgent, say so in the subject line. You can also reach us through the Support page.

Open the player's profile, tap the overflow (•••) menu, and choose Report Player or Block Player. Blocking hides that player from your games and messages going forward, and reporting sends the details straight to our safety team for review. For urgent situations, especially anything involving threats, email us directly. See Support for the fastest way to reach a human.

Head over to Support for the deep-dive version of most of these answers, or email hello@realvictors.com and a real person will get back to you.