How to use Rink Board

Before the game

The night before (10 minutes)

• Pick the device. Use an Android phone or a laptop with Chrome. Avoid an iPhone if you can (it shows ads; see why).
• Sign in to YouTube in Chrome. Go to youtube.com in Chrome and sign in with your YouTube Premium account. Play any video: no ad means you're set. Don't use an Incognito tab.
• Open the board in that same Chrome and install it: tap the board's Install button, or Chrome menu ⋮ › Install app / Add to Home screen. Once it's installed, the board opens even with no signal.
• Run the pre-game check: Tools › Pre-game check. It test-plays every video on this device (sound muted). Any pad that won't play gets a red dashed outline. Skip those during the game.
• Hear the backups. Tap Edit cuts, then Hear backup on Offside and Icing. If the rink signal drops, those two play a built-in sound instead of the song, so you know what to expect.
• Optional: load music files you own. Tools › Load music files for offline. Pick MP3/M4A files whose names include the song title; matching pads turn green and play with no internet and no ads.
• Charge the device and pack the charger and an aux cable.

At the rink (30 minutes before puck drop)

• Plug into the sound system. Use an aux cable if you can. Bluetooth works, but adds a short delay between tap and sound.
• Plug in the charger. The board keeps the screen awake while it's open, which uses battery.
• Silence calls and texts, but not the music. Do Not Disturb on Android can mute the board too, unless you allow media sounds. Follow these steps once, then tap the HORN to confirm you still hear it.
• Set volume: phone volume all the way up, then set loudness on the arena mixer.
• Tap the HORN (bottom bar) once. That unlocks audio on the device and checks the speaker level.
• Play one YouTube pad for a few seconds. It confirms the rink signal works and that no ad plays.
• Weak signal? Tap Offline at the top. YouTube is skipped, and the horn, Offside, Icing and any green pads play instantly.

Silence texts, keep the music

A text chime or ringtone over the arena speakers is the classic sound-booth mistake. Android's Do Not Disturb mutes media too unless you allow it, which would leave the rink silent. Set it up once like this.

Android (Pixel, Android 14 and newer)

1. Open Settings › Modes › Do Not Disturb.
2. Tap Alarms & other interruptions and turn Media sounds on. This is the step that keeps the board audible.
3. Tap People and set calls and messages to None. Turn off Allow repeat callers.
4. Tap Apps and make sure no apps are allowed to interrupt.
5. Turn Do Not Disturb on, open the board and tap HORN. If you hear it, you're set.

Older Android or Samsung: the same options are under Settings › Sound & vibration (or Notifications) › Do Not Disturb. Look for Media or Media sounds and allow it. Menu names vary by phone.

Any phone: skip Do Not Disturb and turn the ringer down

1. Press a volume button, then tap the ⋮ or settings icon on the volume slider.
2. Slide Ring and Notification all the way down (or set the ringer to vibrate).
3. Leave Media all the way up. That's the slider the board uses.

That way calls and texts make no sound, but the board still plays. Remember to turn the ringer back up after the game.

iPhone

Focus / Do Not Disturb on iPhone silences calls and notifications but not the board. Also flip the side switch (or Action button) off silent, or the board can be muted.

Ads & browsers

The board plays songs through YouTube's own player. YouTube skips ads only when it can tell you're signed in to YouTube Premium in that browser. If it can't tell, it may play an ad before or during a song, and an ad can hit at the worst moment.

Why iPhone shows ads even in Chrome

Apple makes every iPhone browser run on Safari's engine, and that engine blocks the sign-in cookie that YouTube's player needs inside another website. YouTube can't see your Premium membership, so it treats you as a viewer who gets ads. Safari on Mac and Firefox block it the same way.

If you have to use an iPhone

• The horn, the Offside and Icing backups, and any green pads (your own music files) never play ads.
• For key moments, turn on Offline. Only ad-free sounds play.
• Flip off the iPhone's silent switch, or the board makes no sound.

Still getting ads in Chrome?

1. Open youtube.com in the same Chrome and check that your profile picture shows (you're signed in).
2. Check that the membership is YouTube Premium and active at youtube.com/paid_memberships. YouTube Music Premium alone doesn't remove video ads.
3. Make sure you're not in an Incognito tab.
4. Allow YouTube's cookies: Chrome menu › Settings › Privacy and security › Third-party cookies. Either allow them, or add [*.]youtube.com under "Allowed to use third-party cookies".
5. If you installed the board, it uses the Chrome profile you installed it from. Sign in to YouTube in that profile.

During the game

• Tap a pad to play it. Tap it again or hit Stop to fade out; tap Stop twice to cut immediately. iPhone always stops immediately.
• The HORN in the bottom bar is always one tap away and works with no internet.
• Only one sound plays at a time. Tapping a new pad replaces the current one.
• Period breaks: tap one song and leave it. With "Auto-play the next break song" on, the board keeps going down the list until you hit Stop. Use Next ▸ to skip.
• Penalties are for either team. At 10U the board stays neutral, so play the same songs for both sides.
• Use the Find a song box or the section chips to jump around. Tap a section title to fold it away.

Reading the pads

Limitations

• Ads unless you use Chrome signed in to YouTube Premium (see above).
• YouTube pads need internet. On a weak signal the first second can lag. The horn, Offside/Icing backups and your own files don't need internet.
• Videos can disappear. A song's owner can remove a video or block it from playing on other sites. Run the pre-game check before every game.
• Some cut start times are best guesses (marked "est." in Edit cuts). Fix any that start in the wrong spot with Set cut.
• Settings stay on one device. Your saved cuts, favorites and added songs live in that browser. Use Tools › Share setup to copy them to another device.
• On iPhone, the installed app keeps its own storage, separate from Safari. Load your music files from inside the installed app.
• One sound at a time. No layering the horn over a goal song.
• Bluetooth speakers add a short delay. Use a cable for tight timing.

Request a song

Want a song added for everyone? Find it on YouTube, copy the link (Share › Copy link), paste it below and pick a section. Tapping Text this request opens a text to 520-222-8104 with both filled in.

What gets added

• Clean songs only. This is a 10U game: no swearing and no drug or drinking references. Clean radio edits are fine.
• Penalty songs stay neutral. Nothing aimed at one team, a player, or the refs.
• The song has to play from YouTube inside the board. Some official videos block that; if yours does, we'll look for another version.
• Game cues run 3 to 30 seconds, and we pick the best part. Period-break songs play in full.

Need it today? You can add a song to your own device right now: on the board, tap Edit cuts, then use Add a song at the bottom. It only shows on that device until it's added for everyone.