Guide
How to make a league schedule
By Michael Montalbano, founder of Beleeg · Last updated
To make a league schedule, count your teams, decide how many games each team plays, use a round robin so everyone plays everyone, and then lay the rounds onto real dates, skipping holidays and leaving a make-up week. With an even number of teams, one round robin takes one fewer round than there are teams; with an odd number, add a bye so one team rests each round.
The short version
- 1Count the teams in each division.
- 2Decide whether each team plays everyone once or twice.
- 3Build the rounds with the circle method below.
- 4Alternate home and away.
- 5Pick the night and first date, and cross off holidays.
- 6Add one make-up week, and playoffs if you want them.
- 7Send the schedule out and put it somewhere everyone can see it.
How many rounds does a round robin need?
A single round-robin league schedule with an even number of teams takes one fewer round than the number of teams. With an odd number, it takes as many rounds as there are teams, because one team sits out each round.
| Teams | Rounds | Games per team | Teams resting each round |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 3 | None |
| 5 | 5 | 4 | One |
| 6 | 5 | 5 | None |
| 7 | 7 | 6 | One |
| 8 | 7 | 7 | None |
| 10 | 9 | 9 | None |
Playing everyone twice (a double round robin) doubles the rounds. Six teams playing twice need 10 rounds.
How do I build a round robin by hand?
The circle method builds a round-robin schedule by hand: write the teams in two rows, pair each team with the one across from it, then keep the first team still and rotate everyone else one place for the next round.
- 1Number the teams 1 to 6.
- 2Round 1: pair the first with the last, the second with the second-to-last, and so on: 1–6, 2–5, 3–4.
- 3Keep team 1 where it is. Move the last team to second place and shift the rest along: the order becomes 1, 6, 2, 3, 4, 5.
- 4Pair the new order the same way: 1–5, 6–4, 2–3.
- 5Repeat until team 1 has played everyone. Every pair meets exactly once.
| Round | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 vs 6 | 2 vs 5 | 3 vs 4 |
| 2 | 1 vs 5 | 6 vs 4 | 2 vs 3 |
| 3 | 1 vs 4 | 5 vs 3 | 6 vs 2 |
| 4 | 1 vs 3 | 4 vs 2 | 5 vs 6 |
| 5 | 1 vs 2 | 3 vs 6 | 4 vs 5 |
What if I have an odd number of teams?
A round-robin schedule with an odd number of teams adds a pretend team called "Bye" and is built as if the number were even. Whoever is paired with Bye rests that round.
Every team gets exactly one bye in a single round robin. Tell teams their bye week at the start of the season so nobody shows up to an empty court.
How do I balance home and away?
A fair league schedule alternates each team between home and away from one round to the next as much as possible. In a double round robin, the second half repeats the first with home and away swapped.
Perfect alternation is not always possible, but no team should be home or away more than two weeks in a row.
How do I fit the rounds onto a calendar?
To fit a round-robin schedule onto a calendar, pick the night and the first date, cross off holidays and any dates the courts or fields are not available, then place one round on each remaining date.
- Check school holidays, Thanksgiving, and the weeks around Christmas and New Year’s.
- Ask the venue for dates it is closed, and for tournaments that take your courts or fields.
- Put one make-up week near the end, before playoffs.
- If teams play more than once a week, label games by number and date, not by week, so nobody gets confused.
- With divisions, build one round robin per division and run them on the same nights.
What does a sample weekly schedule look like?
This sample league schedule is for a 6-team division on Thursday nights with three courts or fields, a holiday skipped, and a make-up week before playoffs.
| Date | Court or field 1 | Court or field 2 | Court or field 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 1 vs 6 | 2 vs 5 | 3 vs 4 |
| Week 2 | 5 vs 1 | 4 vs 6 | 3 vs 2 |
| Week 3 | 1 vs 4 | 5 vs 3 | 6 vs 2 |
| Holiday | No games | ||
| Week 4 | 3 vs 1 | 2 vs 4 | 5 vs 6 |
| Week 5 | 1 vs 2 | 6 vs 3 | 4 vs 5 |
| Week 6 | Make-up games | ||
| Week 7 | Playoffs: 1st vs 4th | 2nd vs 3rd | |
| Week 8 | Final |
What should I do when a game is rained out?
A rained-out league game should be postponed, moved to the make-up week, and both teams told the same day. If more games are lost than the make-up week can hold, add a date at the end rather than squeezing two games into one night.
Some leagues let the two captains agree on a new date themselves, as long as the game is played before the make-up week ends. Write down who is allowed to move a game before the season starts.
Where Beleeg helps
Everything above works with a spreadsheet and a group text. If you would rather not keep them up to date by hand, this is what Beleeg does for you:
- The schedule builder asks for your first match date, how many games each team plays, how often and on which days, and the start time. Block out holidays and the season moves later so every team still gets all its games. You see the whole schedule, game by game, before you save it.
- It builds one round robin per division, gives byes when a division has an odd number of teams, and balances home and away.
- Already have a schedule? Import it from a spreadsheet or Google Sheet with the date, home team, away team, and optional time and court.
- Beleeg warns you when a team, venue, or referee is booked twice.
- Your league decides who may move a match: admins only, the two captains by agreement, or the captains with an admin’s approval.
- Every team gets a calendar link that stays up to date in phone and Google calendars, and the public league page shows the schedule with no login.
- Free for organizers, and we move your league over for you.
Is there a league scheduler that handles courts and blackout dates?
Yes. Beleeg’s schedule builder handles blackout dates and warns you about court clashes, and it is free for organizers. You pick the first game date, how many games each team plays, which days of the week, and the start time. Mark holidays and venue closures as blackout dates, and the season moves later so every team still gets all its games.
Each game can carry its court or field. Type it in, or bring the whole schedule in from a spreadsheet with the date, the two teams, the time, and the court. Beleeg warns you when the same court, the same team, or the same referee is booked twice at the same time. Teams can play once a week, more than once a week, or every other week, and you see the whole schedule, game by game, before you save it.
What it does not do: hand out courts by itself across a league night, or book court time from your club. For tournaments it does spread matches across your venues, by how many courts each one has.
Choosing software for your league? Read the best league management software for adult and rec leagues, or compare Beleeg with TeamSnap, LeagueApps, or SportsEngine.