How to Create a Gaming League Schedule

Gaming league schedules are tougher to set up than they sound. You need to plan for enough games to allow for undisputed rankings, while balancing the time constraints of the participants (jobs, family and the like). Furthermore, the number of players or teams in each league can confound things significantly, as can the frequency of games needing to be played. You also need to keep the availability of venues in mind when setting a gaming league schedule. Balancing all those factors constitutes quite a feat.

Instructions

1. Determine how many teams or individual players make up your league. That will help determine how many matches need to be played; ideally, every team or player should be pitted against every other team or player at least once to provide parity.

2. Count out the number of games you wish to play and how often they should be played according to the particular game or sport. Most leagues schedule matches once a week, though you can plan them more often if your particular sport or game permits it.

3. Track down the available venues and find out when they are available for your league to use. In some cases, this can be simple: card games or board games can be played in the houses of individuals in the league. For more elaborate sports such as bowling or baseball, you need to find adequate facilities and schedule times to use them that don't conflict with other events going on. In such cases, you may need to pay a rental fee for use of the facilities, which can be paid for with registration fees collected from each team or player.

4. Sit down with the league's team leaders or individuals and determine the best times to play the league's games. Try to be as accommodating as possible, but understand that you may not be able to please everyone. Ideally, you should set a single date each week for league play, evenings and/or weekends often work best, to avoid conflicting with work.

5. Arrange for each match in the schedule, along with the venue where the match will take place. Parity is important during this step. No single player or team should receive an advantage based solely on the schedule.

6. Plan for playoffs entailing the top two, top four or top eight finishers of your league. Playoffs are usually single-elimination matches designed to produce a champion. If your league is small, you can forgo the playoffs and simply declare the first-place finisher the champion at the end of the season.

7. Show your schedule to the team leaders and/or individuals and let them make any last-minute suggestions or corrections.

8. Distribute your schedule to every member of the league, then secure the venues on the nights you require them.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're having a difficult time assigning matches, consider using a league software program, such as those sold by League USA or All Pro Software. They automatically generate schedules based on the data you provide. League registration fees can cover the cost of the software.

• If you have an odd number of teams or players in your league, someone will get a bye every week: spread the byes across as many teams as you can and make sure that every team and player plays the same number of matches in the league's season.

References

• RBGRN.Net: How to Start and Run a Bowling League

Resources

• League USA
• All Pro Software