Creating Your Account
Signing up takes a minute. Setting up a profile worth having takes a few more, and it's worth doing properly — your profile is what other players see when they add you to a game.
Signing up
Create an account from the app's welcome screen. You'll set up login credentials, then move straight into building your profile.
Your profile
You'll be asked for a display name, a username, and a photo.
The username is how people find you when they're adding players to a game or an event. Pick something people who know you would recognize and search for. You can change it later, but it's the handle others learn you by.
The photo matters more than it sounds. When someone is building teams, they're picking from a list of names and avatars, often quickly and often courtside. A recognizable photo makes you easy to add. Vallio provides a default if you'd rather not.
Why registering matters
Vallio distinguishes registered players from guests, and the difference is significant.
A registered player earns and loses PaddleRank from every eligible game. A guest is a placeholder for someone who isn't on Vallio — they let you score an accurate game, but they don't have a rating and nothing accrues to them.
There's one rule that follows from this: PaddleRank is only awarded when both teams have at least one registered player. A game where one side is entirely guests doesn't move anyone's rating. See Teams & Guests.
So if you play regularly with the same people, getting them onto Vallio is what makes the record real for everyone.
Following and mutuals
Vallio uses a follow model, and mutuals — people you follow who follow you back — are a meaningful category.
Only mutuals appear in the player list when you're building a team. That's deliberate: it keeps the list short and relevant instead of showing every account on the platform.
It also affects event visibility. An event set to Private is visible to mutuals only. See Friends & Following.
So the practical first step after signing up is following the people you actually play with, and getting them to follow back.
Your starting PaddleRank
You begin at the bottom of the tier ladder, at Rally Rookie, and climb from there as you play. There's no skill self-assessment and no placement period — your rating is built entirely from games you've actually played.
See Skill Tiers.
Your plan
New accounts are on the free tier, called Rookie. It covers scoring, tracking, venues, queues, challenges, milestones, and joining events.
Champion is the paid tier. See Free vs. Champion.