How to Schedule
Round Robin Play


Round Robin Schedules can be used in a number of ways, from one-hour playoffs to long-term, multi-week league formats. For league play, the intent is to establish a schedule that will allow everyone in the league to play one another over the course of several weeks. In a shorter timeframe, not everyone may complete all the matches in a round-robin (within an hour, for example), but this format will order play so that people don't end up playing each other twice.

Step One: Think "Counter-Clockwise" ...
When you set up a round-robin with an even number of players, you'll be making two columns, starting in the upper left and numbering sequentially "down" until you are at half your total -- then you will start back "up" until your last number is placed beside the "1" ... as shown below (with six players in this example). This becomes your first round of play.

Round #1 R#2 R#3 R#4 R#5
1-6
2-5
3-4
 Since players will not be scheduled to play against themselves, the number of rounds will equal the number of players, less 1.

Step Two: Leave the "1" in the Upper Left Position ...
To set up the next round, you'll take the number directly beside the "1" and move it directly below the "1" -- then shift all the remaining numbers counter-clockwise once again. Repeat the circular pattern with the "6", pushing the rest along in front of it, for the rest of the rounds -- always leaving the "1" in the upper left position.

Round #1 R#2 R#3 R#4 R#5
1-6
2-5
3-4
 1-5
6-4
2-3
 1-4
5-3
6-2
 1-3
4-2
5-6
 1-2
3-6
4-5

Odd Number of Players? Add a "Bye" and leave it in the upper left position ... With an odd number of players, you'll add a bye week to even things up and start over, using the same method, leaving the "bye" in the upper left position.

Round #1 R#2 R#3 R#4 R#5 R#6 R#7
Bye-7
1-6
2-5
3-4		 Bye-6
7-5
1-4
2-3		 Bye-5
6-4
7-3
1-2		 Bye-4
5-3
6-2
7-1		 Bye-3
4-2
5-1
6-7		 Bye-2
3-1
4-7
5-6		 Bye-1
2-7
3-6
4-5

Scheduling ... How much time will you need to complete your round robin? You know how many rounds you have [#/players, minus 1]. With ten players, you'll need nine weeks of play [10-1=9].

How many matches will be played each week? Divide by 2 (#/players per match). With ten players, you'll need five matches scheduled each week.

How many matches will be played altogether? Multiply the number of rounds by the number of matches per week for your total [9 x 5 = 40].

With an odd number of players, one match per week will be a bye, leaving you with one less court needed per week. With odd numbers, go UP to the next number to determine the number of rounds, and DOWN to the next number to determine how many matches per week.

    With 5 players ...
  • 5 + 1 = 6 rounds/weeks of play
  • 5 - 1 = 4 ÷ 2 = 2 matches per week
  • 6 x 2 = 12 total matches/court hours needed
    With 8 players ...
  • 8 - 1 = 7 rounds/weeks of play
  • 8 ÷ 2 = 4 matches per week
  • 7 x 4 = 28 total matches/court hours needed

The AmPRO Programming Manual contains a wealth of tips on setting up special league and program events. Order it online (under the heading "publications") for just $69.95!

Looking for pre-designed forms for round-robin play? Go to: Forms (under the heading "Round Robin Drawsheets") for .pdf downloads, using Acrobat Reader.

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