Tournaments FAQs

What’s the difference between a LightSail-sponsored tournament and a tournament created by educators or administrators?

LightSail-sponsored tournaments may have prizes offered by LightSail.  LightSail will be able to invite schools to participate in these tournaments so that current users across the world can compete against each other.  LightSail will also set the parameters for each of the LightSail-sponsored tournaments.

Educators and administrators now have the ability to create their OWN tournaments with the NEW LightSail Tournament Module.  With this ability, schools and educators can offer their own prizes and set their own rules to make tournaments work for their needs.

Will tournaments only be available during March Madness?

No!  Our new tournament module will be available as a regular part of the LightSail platform permanently.  You can run your own tournaments year-round using LightSail!

Where can I see a quick video about the Tournament Module?

You can click on the “Watch to Learn More” banner button on this Link.

Who provides the prizes for tournaments?

Prizes will be provided in LightSail-sponsored tournaments as indicated in the rules.  LightSail’s Pre-Game Tournament will start on March 7, 2022, & finish on March 12, 2022. The LightSail Main Event, the LightSail March Madness Reading Tournament, will start on March 13, 2022, and end April 4, 2022. In both of these tournaments, LightSail will be supplying the prizes.

Tournaments created by schools have the option to supply their own prizes if they so choose.  We recommend involving your community by partnering with local businesses as sponsors.

Do you have a cheat-sheet to set up a tournament?

Yes! If you are a existing customer (you have rostered students already) Click here

Yes! If you are a NEW customer (you have NOT rostered students yet) Click here

How much does it cost to participate?

All Tournaments created by LightSail are at no cost to educators or students.

Tournaments created by educators for their schools to participate in are also at no cost.

Who can compete?

Any student rostered in a class within LightSail may participate.  The match-ups vary depending on how the educator or administrator sets up each tournament. 

How do I print out the brackets?

There’s no need to print out any paper brackets, as everything is available online.  LightSail removes the headache of paper reading logs and brackets by tracking and recording everything online.

Where can I find the Step-by-Step Tournament Guide?

Click on the “Create Tournament” button, and you will find the orange “Step-by-Step Guide” button next to the Tournament Tutorial Button.

Where can I find in-depth information about the tournaments and how to set one up?

You can find the Tournament tutorial by clicking on the “Create Tournament” button and then clicking on the orange “Watch a Tournament Tutorial.”

What are the different Tournament match-up options?

There are three different match-up options depending on your access level in LightSail  Educators can create tournaments with Student vs. Student and Class vs. Class options within the classes that they teach as long as the students are rostered within LightSail. 

Principals & administrators with school-level access can also create Class vs. Class tournaments within their school taught by different teachers.  Administrators with district-level access can also create School vs. School tournaments as well.

What are the different scoring options available?

There are four different scoring options available within a LightSail Tournament, with all data tracked within the LightSail platform.  You can choose from the more traditional minutes read, pages read, or words read, or you can opt for the ultimate challenge – Cloze score.

Cloze scoring awards one point for a correct answer, and subtracts one point for an incorrect answer.  You also have the option to set a minimum amount of clozes that must be answered in order to qualify for each round.

How does Cloze scoring work?

Cloze scoring awards one point for a correct answer, and subtracts one point for an incorrect answer.  You also have the option to set a minimum amount of clozes that must be answered in order to qualify for each round. 

For example, let’s say you set a minimum of 100 cloze answers per round.  Student A and Student B are matched up for Round 1.  Student A answers 99 clozes correctly, and Student B answers 101 clozes, but only gets 2 correct.  Student B wins that round because they met the minimum 100 cloze answers.  But, if Student A answered 100 cloze answers, they would win, because they not only met the minimum, but also answered the most correctly.

Can students participate in more than one tournament at a time?

Absolutely!  Students could participate in a tournament in each class or even multiple tournaments within the same class.  They can also participate in tournaments at a variety of levels, including Student vs. Student, Class vs. Class, or even School vs. School.  The only requirement is that they be rostered on LightSail.

When can students read?

This depends on what is selected during tournament set-up by the educator or administrator.  The options to choose from are In School Only, Out of School Only, or Round the Clock.  Students will need to read the Tournament Rules for each tournament in order to see what the restrictions are.

What can students read?

This depends on what is selected during the tournament set-up by the educator or administrator.    The options to choose from are Any Content, Specific Genres or Topics, or Specific Content. 

The Specific Genres or Topics option allows educators and administrators to restrict content to a certain genre or topic within the LightSail platform. 

The Specific Content option allows educators and administrators to create a curated collection of titles from within the LightSail platform.

How long will a Tournament last?

This depends on what is selected during tournament set-up by the educator or administrator and will vary from tournament to tournament.  They have the option to select an end date and let LightSail calculate the round lengths, or they can specify the number of rounds, and LightSail will calculate the End Date. 

How do I know which books are Power Texts?

All Power Texts are indicated by a Lightning Bolt icon on the top right of the book thumbnail. 

What if I only want to award one final prize?

You can definitely do this!  Simply enter the prize in the Tournament Overall Winner section in the Set Prizes for the Winners section of Tournament Set-up.  Leave the rest of the prize fields blank.

How do students know they are part of a tournament?

Students will be notified when they login if they were automatically added to a new tournament or if they’ve received an invitation to participate in a new tournament.  They will also be able to see their Active and Upcoming Tournaments on the left side of the Student Dashboard when the Tournaments widget is toggled open.

During set-up, educators or administrators have the option to either add students automatically to a tournament, or they can opt to have students sent an invitation where the student then gets to decide whether or not to participate.  They must accept the invitation before the Tournament Start Date in order to participate. 

What happens if the student clicks away from the invite instead of accepting it?

Don’t worry!  The invitation will be accessible under the Student Notifications (the bell icon in the top right of their Student Dashboard).  They will be able to access and accept the invitation from here.

What are Public Brackets?

Every tournament will have its own specific URL that can be shared so that anyone may see the tournament LIVE in real-time.  This is a great way to get your community and sponsors involved, and also gives students a way to involve their friends and family as their own personal cheering section. 

What are the Privacy Settings for Public Brackets?

During set-up, educators and administrators have the option to include more information in Public Brackets in the Privacy Settings section in the Set Up Your Tournament section.  The default settings include student first names and last initial.  They can also opt to show the Student Avatar, their Full Name, Grade level, and Country.

How do I add students to my tournament?

All students must be rostered within LightSail in order to compete in a tournament.  To easily roster students, educators and administrators can click at the top of their dashboard to copy a URL with an embedded code to their clipboard.  Then, you can easily paste this URL into an email or school chat to send to students.  The students then enter their first and last name, email address, and create a password, and then click START READING.  They will automatically be added to the roster.

Do the students see what prizes they can win?

Yes!  This is part of the excitement!  The educator or administrator can type in the names of the prizes and even upload an image to appear on the tournament bracket.  Students can see the prizes listed in the rules and also on the unique tournament bracket. 

Am I able to see what a finished tournament looks like?

You can go to this Link and click on “Finished Tournaments” and select one of the LightSail-sponsored tournaments to see what a finished bracket looks like.

Am I able to see examples of books that other educators have chosen for their tournaments?

Yes, you can go to this Link and click on any of the green “View Books” buttons to see which books other educators have chosen.

What is the password to view the tournament?

There are no passwords for the public. The only way you can see a live tournament is if a student, educator, or administrator has shared the private URL with you. 

Are students able to select their own avatar?

Yes, if the educator has given them permission to do so under their class settings screen, in the teacher menu.

Do tournaments have a given time frame in which the reading must be completed?

Yes, each round has a specified timeframe that will be determined in the Tournament Set-Up.  Competitors must adhere to the rules specified in order to qualify for each round.  

How is the score calculated for each student in a Student vs. Student Cloze Tournament?

Cloze scoring awards one point for a correct answer, and subtracts one point for an incorrect answer.  You also have the option to set a minimum amount of clozes that must be answered in order to qualify for each round. 

For example, let’s say you set a minimum of 100 cloze answers per round.  Student A and Student B are matched up for Round 1.  Student A answers 99 clozes correctly, and Student B answers 101 clozes, but only gets 2 correct.  Student B wins that round because they met the minimum 100 cloze answers.  But, if Student A answered 100 cloze answers, they would win, because they not only met the minimum, but also answered the most correctly.

What will happen if a minimum number of Clozes are set for a Cloze tournament?

To qualify for each round within a tournament, the student will need to answer a minimum number of clozes per round set by the educator/administrator during set-up. If this number is not met the competitor will be eliminated.

How is the score calculated for my class in a Class vs. Class Cloze Tournament?

Each round will be scored by the class average. Individual competitors will earn one point for a correct cloze answer, and lose one for an incorrect answer. All individual scores will then be totaled at the end of the round, and then divided by the number of competitors in the team. This will be the Team Score for the round.

For example, Team A has 20 students competing. After adding all of the individual scores together for Round 1, the total is 100. 100 ÷ 20 student competitors = 5

The Team Score for this Round 1 is 5.

How is the score calculated for my class in a Class vs. Class Tournament when scoring is calculated by minutes, pages, or words read?

Each round will be scored by the class average of minutes, pages, or words read.  The individual totals will be added together, and then divided by the number of competitors in the team.  This will be the Team Score for the round.

How are prizes awarded per round?

Competitors within each round are guaranteed a prize. If you’re knocked out at the end of a round with a guaranteed prize, you will earn that specific prize. The winner moves on to the next round to compete for a larger prize.

What happens if two students or teams have a tie score?

A tie-breaker will determine the winner.