A
scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game or match. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used a mechanical clock and numeral cards to display the score. When a point was made, a person would put the appropriate digits on a hook. Most modern scoreboards use electromechanical or electronic means of displaying the score. In these, digits are often composed of large
dot-matrixA dot matrix is a 2-dimensional array of LED used to represent characters, symbols and images.Typically the dot matrix is used in older computer printers and many digital display devices. In printers, the dots are usually the darkened areas of the paper...
or
seven-segment displayA seven-segment display , or seven-segment indicator, is a form of electronic display device for displaying decimal numerals that is an alternative to the more complex dot-matrix displays...
s made of
incandescent bulbsThe incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe makes light by heating a metal filament wire to a high temperature until it glows. The hot filament is protected from air by a glass bulb that is filled with inert gas or evacuated. In a halogen lamp, a chemical process...
,
light-emitting diodeA light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...
s, or electromechanical flip segments. An official or neutral person will operate the scoreboard, using a
control panelA control panel is a flat, often vertical, area where control or monitoring instruments are displayed.They are found in factories to monitor and control machines or production lines and in places such as nuclear power plants, ships, aircraft and mainframe computers...
.
Technology
Prior to the 1980s most electronic scoreboards were electro-mechanical. They contained
relayA relay is an electrically operated switch. Many relays use an electromagnet to operate a switching mechanism mechanically, but other operating principles are also used. Relays are used where it is necessary to control a circuit by a low-power signal , or where several circuits must be controlled...
s or
stepping switchIn electrical controls, a stepping switch, also known as a stepping relay, is an electromechanical device which allows an input connection to be connected to one of a number of possible output connections, under the control of a series of electrical pulses. It can step on one axis , or on two axes...
es controlling digits consisting of incandescent light bulbs. Beginning in the 1980s, advances in solid state electronics permitted major improvements in scoreboard technology. High power
semiconductorA semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
s such as
thyristorA thyristor is a solid-state semiconductor device with four layers of alternating N and P-type material. They act as bistable switches, conducting when their gate receives a current trigger, and continue to conduct while they are forward biased .Some sources define silicon controlled rectifiers and...
s and
transistorA transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
s replaced mechanical
relayA relay is an electrically operated switch. Many relays use an electromagnet to operate a switching mechanism mechanically, but other operating principles are also used. Relays are used where it is necessary to control a circuit by a low-power signal , or where several circuits must be controlled...
s,
light-emitting diodeA light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...
s first replaced light bulbs for indoor scoreboards and then, as their brightness increased, outdoor scoreboards.
Light-emitting diodeA light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...
s last many times as long as light bulbs, are not subject to breakage, and are much more efficient at converting electrical energy to light. The newest light emitting diodes can last up to 100,000 hours before having to be replaced. Advances in large scale
integrated circuitAn integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
s permitted the introduction of
computerA computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
control. This also made it cost effective to send the signals that control the operation of the scoreboard either through the existing
ACIn alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
wireA wire is a single, usually cylindrical, flexible strand or rod of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads and to carry electricity and telecommunications signals. Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Standard sizes are determined by various...
s providing
powerElectric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.-Circuits:Electric power, like mechanical power, is represented by the letter P in electrical equations...
to the scoreboard or through the air.
PowerlinePower line communication or power line carrier , also known as power line digital subscriber line , mains communication, power line telecom , power line networking , or broadband over power lines are systems for carrying data on a conductor also used for electric power transmission.A wide range...
modemA modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
s permit the
digital controlDigital control is a branch of control theory that uses digital computers to act as system controllers.Depending on the requirements, a digital control system can take the form of a microcontroller to an ASIC to a standard desktop computer....
signals to be sent over the
ACPower in an electric circuit is the rate of flow of energy past a given point of the circuit. In alternating current circuits, energy storage elements such as inductance and capacitance may result in periodic reversals of the direction of energy flow...
power lineElectric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
s. The most common method of sending digital data over power lines at rates less than 2400 bits per second is called frequency shift keying (FSK). Two radio frequencies represent
binaryThe binary numeral system, or base-2 number system, represents numeric values using two symbols, 0 and 1. More specifically, the usual base-2 system is a positional notation with a radix of 2...
0 and 1. Radio transmission such as FSK sends data digitally. Until recently radio transmission was subject to short range and
interferenceIn communications and electronics, especially in telecommunications, interference is anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a signal as it travels along a channel between a source and a receiver. The term typically refers to the addition of unwanted signals to a useful signal...
by other
radioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
sources. A fairly recent technology called
spread spectrumSpread-spectrum techniques are methods by which a signal generated in a particular bandwidth is deliberately spread in the frequency domain, resulting in a signal with a wider bandwidth...
permits much more robust radio control of scoreboards.
Spread spectrumSpread-spectrum techniques are methods by which a signal generated in a particular bandwidth is deliberately spread in the frequency domain, resulting in a signal with a wider bandwidth...
, like the name implies, distributes the signal over a wide portion of the
radio spectrumRadio spectrum refers to the part of the electromagnetic spectrum corresponding to radio frequencies – that is, frequencies lower than around 300 GHz ....
. This helps the signal resist interference which is usually confined to a narrow frequency band.
North American football
In both the
United StatesAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and
Canadian footballCanadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
codes, the minimum details displayed are the time and score of both teams. A typical
high schoolHigh school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
scoreboard will additionally display the
downA down is a period in which a play transpires in American and Canadian football.-Description:A down begins with a snap or free kick , and ends when the ball or the player in possession of it is declared down by an official, a team scores, or the ball or player in possession of it leaves the field...
, the yardage of the line of
scrimmageIn American and Canadian football a line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun...
, the yards to go until a first down, the team with the possession (usually signified with the outline of a
footballA football is an inflated ball used to play one of the various sports known as football.The first balls were made of natural materials, such as an inflated pig bladder, sometimes inside a leather cover...
in lights next to the possessing team's score) and the quarter. Higher levels will also include
play clockA play clock is a timer designed to increase the pace in American football and Canadian football, similar to what a shot clock does in basketball...
s and the number of time outs left for each team.
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
scoreboards may include a horn to signal the end of a quarter, but they are not used in larger venues. In those cases, the referee or
public addressA public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in...
announcer denotes the termination of a quarter vocally via the PA system; formerly quarter ends were denoted with the firing of a
starting pistolA starting pistol or starter pistol is a handgun or electronic toy weapon that is fired to start track and field races, as well as competitive swimming races at some meets. The loud report of the gun going off is a signal to the athletes to begin the event. Usually a cloud of smoke can be seen...
in the era before digital timing.
Basketball
A
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
scoreboard will at the minimum display the time left in the period and both team's scores. The last minute of each quarter is usually displayed with
tenthsA millisecond is a thousandth of a second.10 milliseconds are called a centisecond....
of a second, which is required in FIBA, NBA (since 1989), and NCAA (since 2001). Most high school scoreboards also include a display of the number of team fouls, the number of the last player to commit a personal foul (with the total number of personal fouls for that player), the period, and indicators of which team is in the team foul penalty situation, and possession (with a separate possession arrow display at half-court; not used in the NBA). College basketball scoreboards include
shot clockA shot clock is used in some sports to quicken the pace of the game. It is normally associated with basketball, but has also found use in sports such as snooker, professional lacrosse, water polo, and korfball....
s and the number of time outs left for each team. Larger scoreboards include statistics on the players in the game. Basketball scoreboards must include a horn or
buzzerA buzzer or beeper is an audio signaling device, which may be mechanical, electromechanical, or piezoelectric. Typical uses of buzzers and beepers include alarm devices, timers and confirmation of user input such as a mouse click or keystroke....
to signal the end of a period, fouls, and substitutions.
In some multipurpose venues where ice hockey and basketball are played, the scoreboard unit which shows penalties will be used to display the player on the court, number of fouls, and points scored in the game. The team fouls are usually placed in the same position as shots on goal in hockey games.
Since 1991, the NBA has mandated that each shot clock carry a duplicate readout of the time left in the period in addition to the shot time. Many college and even some high-school shot clocks (in states where a shot-clock rule is in effect for high-school basketball) now also include a game timer.
Three-sided game shot clocks became a trend in the 1990's, and after a controversial series of calls during the 2002 NBA playoffs, the NBA instituted a new game shot clock rule in 2002, requiring specific visibility of the game and shot clock time for
instant replayInstant replay is the replaying of video footage of an event or incident very soon after it has occurred. In television broadcasting of sports events, instant replay is often used during live broadcast, to show a passage of play which was important or remarkable, or which was unclear on first...
purposes. FIBA installed a similar three-sided rule in 2004. The rule was further changed in 2005 by permitting a new
DaktronicsDaktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video board, scoreboards, digital billboards and related products. The company is best known for its electronic LED displays...
see-through model (one on top of the basket, one on the end of the basket unit) that has gained popularity as many OES and Daktronics venues have adopted the system.
Daktronics recently introduced a technology called ColorSmart, which denotes the trailing team's score numbers with red lighting, while the leading team is in green. However this technology has yet to be utilized in a game settings as the bylaws of the major basketball sanctioning bodies and many of the high school athletic bodies decree that both scores must display in the same color; the rule came into effect in 1994 after Spectrum Scoreboards introduced an earlier version of the concept. This is used almost exclusively in recreation leagues.
Baseball
For
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
the scoreboard will at the minimum show both team scores, as well as the current
inningInning is a municipality in the district of Erding in Bavaria in Germany....
. In addition the number of balls, strikes and outs is represented by digits or individual lights. Larger scoreboards offer an
inningInning is a municipality in the district of Erding in Bavaria in Germany....
-by-inning breakdown of the scores, hits, errors, and the time of day. There may also be another display either separate or combined with the scoreboard listing the
radar gunA radar speed gun is a small doppler radar unit used to measure the speed of moving objects, including vehicles, pitched baseballs, runners and other moving objects. Radar speed guns may be hand-held, vehicle-mounted or static...
reading of the last pitch thrown in miles per hour. Almost all Major League facilities have a video board as a scoreboard or a matrix display. Usually these scoreboards are controlled via programs that keep statistics and not just the score. Usually the official scorer will operate this program. Then all the information the official scorer will enter will automatically be outputted to the scoreboard. Currently, the largest scoreboards are located at Progressive Field in
Cleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, and
Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
's
Kauffman StadiumEwing M. Kauffman Stadium is a Major League Baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri, and home to the Kansas City Royals of the American League. Together with Arrowhead Stadium, home of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, it is a part of the Truman Sports Complex...
.
Manually-operated scoreboards are still found frequently in baseball, particularly at older venues. Well-known examples of manual scoreboards, using numbers painted on metal sheets hung by people working inside the scoreboard, include
Fenway ParkFenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
and
Wrigley FieldWrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
.
In some stadiums since 2005, LED boards which are the full height of the outfield wall have been installed to either replace a manual scoreboard or enhance an existing wall, are considered in play, and are durably constructed to withstand the impacts of fielders colliding with the wall, along with the impact of a baseball against the panel. Examples of this type of scoreboard display are seen in Milwaukee's Miller Park,
Rogers CentreRogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...
in Toronto, and
Kauffman StadiumEwing M. Kauffman Stadium is a Major League Baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri, and home to the Kansas City Royals of the American League. Together with Arrowhead Stadium, home of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, it is a part of the Truman Sports Complex...
in Kansas City. In all three cases, the walls display the current game state of out-of-town games (often down to pitch count for the current at-bat and runners on base), statistics for the current batter or pitcher, and promotional messages.
Cricket
For
cricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
a scoreboard will as a minimum display the batting team's score, wickets fallen, the opposition's totals. Most
county-standardCounty cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
scoreboards will also display each batsman's score, overs remaining, extras, the bowlers currently on and details of the last wicket to fall. Australian state scoreboards will usually contain more detailed information.
Ice hockey
An
ice hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
scoreboard will at the minimum display the time left (in North America) or played (in Europe), the number of goals scored by each team as well as any penalties currently being served. Additional information such as shots on goal may be shown on smaller scoreboards located in the arena. Tenths of a second are usually displayed within the last minute of each period.
In multipurpose arenas, the penalties being served will appear in the multi-purpose panels, used for player statistics in basketball, with shots on goal in the same position as team fouls for basketball.
Motor sports
In
auto racingAuto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
, the scoreboard typically displays the running order of the race, and number of laps completed. Some more complex boards scroll statistics such as average speed, laps behind, and timing reports.
Track and field
In
track and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
there is usually an elapsed time display. Sometimes the team scores are displayed. Often in higher levels there is a variable message display next to each field event area that displays the standings and who is up next. Other indicators may show track side wind speed. In some settings where a track surrounds an athletic field, a track and field scoreboard may be combined within the football scoreboard.
Association football (Soccer)
A
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
scoreboard usually shows the score for the home and away team, as well as the current match time. A board displaying the current stoppage time is usually held up by one of the match officials towards the end of the first and second half. The same board is also used to denote the jersey numbers of players coming in and leaving the game during a
substitutionIn association football, a substitute is a player who is brought on to the pitch during a match in exchange for an existing player. Substitutions are generally made to replace a player who has become tired or injured, or who is not performing well; there may also be tactical reasons such as...
, with the substitute's number appearing in green, while the leaving player is denoted in red.
Some amateur and youth levels will have the clock count down.
Some American venues will use a multi-purpose gridiron/soccer venue type scoreboard where various statistics are shown. Such may include either total fouls, corner kicks, shots on goal, or other important statistics for spectators to learn their team's overall performance.
Softball
Similar to
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, a
softballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
scoreboard will at the minimum show both team scores and the current inning. In addition, the number of balls, strikes and outs, and the number of hits and errors are often indicated.
Swimming
The scores for the meet, swimmer by lane, and their current placing, along with their race times are displayed on this type of board. The time display is most often in
hundredthIn arithmetic, a hundredth is a single part of something that has been divided equally into a hundred parts. For example, a hundredth of 675 is 6.75.A hundredth is the reciprocal of 100....
s of a second, though thousandths may also be utilized.
Wrestling
Wrestling scoreboards will display the team scores, the current match time, the match score, and the weight class. Some scoreboards may also display riding time.
Video Board Animation
Most major sports facilities will use a video board and display graphics and fun
videosA videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
relating to what is happening in the game. For instance, a
home runIn baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
may be depicted by an animation of a ball flying out to space. These animations are usually high in detail and are customized for the team that uses them. Most MLB facilities do their video editing on site in the press box; however, at
AAAAAA, or Triple-A, may be a three-letter acronym or may just mean something that is high-quality, premier, or excellent.As a proper noun, Aaa is found only in the species name Cavaticovelia aaa , an insect from Hawaii....
stadiums most of it is done off site. The only AAA facility that does video editing on site is the Toledo Mudhens in
Toledo, OhioToledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
(Affiliate to the Detroit Tigers). Some teams have animators that create their own animations, while others have outside companies do the work for them.