Tap a question for the short answer. For anything deeper, our Support page has the full breakdown.
Yes. Real Victors is free to download and free to use. There are no league fees and no subscription. Hosts can charge for paid runs (court rentals and the like), but the app itself never costs anything.
We're in Ottawa right now, focused on building density on the courts hoopers actually play at. Other cities are next — drop your email on the homepage and you'll be the first to know when we expand.
No — you can browse public pickup and exhibition games near you without signing up. You'll need an account to join a game, message other players, or host your own, since RSVPs, 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 → Location) and the pickup and exhibition 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.
Pickup is open drop-in: a host posts a game and anyone can join. Exhibition is squad vs squad: you build a team, challenge another roster, and play a full game with a tracked record for both sides.
Not at all. Pickup runs are perfect if you're solo or rolling with a few friends. Exhibitions are built for when you want to organize a real squad and rep a name.
When a host sets 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 host cancels, 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 host has typically already committed to the booking. See Support for the complete fee and refund breakdown.
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 — you're only charged if you claim the spot.
Games with the blue Community Event badge are listed from public rec-centre schedules — 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.
Go to the Manage tab and tap the + create button, then choose Games and pick Pickup (open drop-in) or Exhibition (team vs team). Set the location, time, and skill level, and you’re live. Pickup games publish immediately so other players can join, while Exhibition games go out as a challenge another team accepts. You can edit or cancel a game any time before it starts from its detail page.
Enabling paid games connects a Stripe Express account from Settings → Payments & Earnings, which handles identity verification and your bank details directly — 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 2–7 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 host has reserved the venue, so the court is guaranteed at game time. A Public Court game is on a free court the host hasn't reserved — first come, first served — so the court could be occupied when you arrive, and weather or facility hours can affect availability. Arrive early to secure your spot.
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.