Glowbo, answered.

Glowbo is the competitive social platform for padel. It gives players a permanent identity, lets them record matches, track their progress, build a GSI rating and see how they rank within their club.

Glowbo is not publicly launched yet. It is preparing for a private beta at Norfolk Padel in Fakenham. Players can join the waitlist for early access.

Glowbo is launching first at Norfolk Padel in Fakenham. The Norfolk beta will help test the app with real players and shape the product before a wider UK rollout.

There is no confirmed public launch date yet. Glowbo will move beyond the private beta once the core experience has been tested and proven with real players.

No. Glowbo is designed for players at every level, from beginners recording their first matches to advanced players competing for the top of the leaderboard.

The first private beta is focused on Norfolk Padel players. Wider club access will follow after the initial testing phase.

Join the Glowbo waitlist and provide your name, email, home club, location and current self-assessed padel rating. Selected players will be invited into the Norfolk private beta.

Yes. The purpose of the private beta is to test Glowbo with real players. Feedback from founding players will directly influence the next version of the product.

GSI stands for Glowbo Skill Index. It is an evolving player rating designed for doubles padel. Your GSI starts from your self-assessed level and then changes as you record matches.

During onboarding, you choose your current padel level between 1.0 and 7.0. Your starting GSI is calculated as your self-assessed level × 1,000.

For example: 1.0 = 1,000 GSI · 2.5 = 2,500 GSI · 4.0 = 4,000 GSI · 7.0 = 7,000 GSI.

Beginner: 1,000–1,999

Improver: 2,000–2,999

Intermediate: 3,000–3,999

Advanced: 4,000–4,999

Expert: 5,000–5,999

Pro: 6,000–6,999

Elite: 7,000+

No. Your starting rating only establishes your initial GSI. Once you begin recording matches, your GSI changes based on your results and the strength of the players involved.

When a 2v2 match is recorded, Glowbo recalculates the ratings of all four players. The amount each rating moves depends on factors such as:

• The current GSI of each player

• The combined strength of each team

• Whether the result was expected or an upset

• The system's confidence in each player's current level

• Previous match activity

No. Glowbo does not use a fixed points system. Two players on the same winning team may move by different amounts because their existing ratings and confidence levels may be different.

Yes. Your GSI can increase or decrease depending on match results and the strength of the players involved.

No. Glowbo uses a doubles-focused rating model based on OpenSkill principles. It is designed to support team matches, changing partners and different confidence levels for individual players.

Mu is the system's current estimate of your playing ability. Sigma represents uncertainty. When you are new and have recorded fewer matches, the system is less certain about your level. As you record more matches, that uncertainty usually reduces.

Yes. Your GSI belongs to you as an individual player, not to a fixed pair. You can play with different partners and your rating will continue to evolve based on each result.

No. After onboarding, players cannot manually change their GSI. It updates through recorded match results.

GBID is your unique public Glowbo identity. It uses the format GB-XXXX-XXXX. Your GBID is random, unique and non-sequential. It is designed to stay with you as Glowbo expands across clubs and competitions.

No. Glowbo does not publicly display internal database IDs. Other players see your public GBID instead.

The private beta includes:

• Player profiles

• Public GBIDs

• Match logging

• GSI updates

• Norfolk Padel leaderboard

• Match history

• Wins, losses and streaks

• Activity feed

• Match photos

• Likes

• Comments

• Player statistics

Players select their partner, choose their opponents, enter the result and submit the match. Glowbo then processes the result, updates the relevant ratings and adds the match to player history and the club feed.

Yes. Players can add an optional photo when recording a match. The photo can appear alongside the result in the activity feed.

Yes. The private beta includes likes, unlike functionality and comments on match activity.

The match should still be saved. Photo upload is optional and should not prevent a valid match result from being recorded.

The current beta uses self-reported match results. Wider verification tools may be introduced later as Glowbo expands.

Match history is designed to remain permanent and reliable. Recorded results are treated as immutable within the current MVP.

Player search, following and friends are being added next. The planned experience will allow players to:

• Find others by name or GBID

• Follow friends and rivals

• See how friends are progressing

• View recent results

• Compare GSI and club ranking

• Select regular partners more quickly

This is a core part of the Glowbo roadmap and is being added next. Players will be able to follow friends, see their match activity and track their progress within the club.

Yes. Glowbo is beginning with Norfolk Padel before expanding to selected clubs in Hertfordshire and elsewhere in the UK.

That is part of the longer-term plan. Glowbo is being built to support club, regional, national and eventually global rankings.

Challenges, tournament tools and wider club features are planned for future phases. They are not part of the initial private beta.

QR profile cards and NFC-enabled experiences are part of the future roadmap. GBID has been designed so it can support these features later.