Round robin generator

What you get

A round-by-round schedule using the circle method: one team stays fixed and the others rotate one place each round, so nobody plays twice in a round.

With an odd number of teams one team rests each round, and the rest rotates. With an even number, every team plays every round.

Print it as a PDF with your names in, or run it live: enter results as they happen and the standings update, ranked by wins, then head to head, then point difference.

How big can a round robin be?

The games add up fast: 8 teams play 28 games, 12 teams play 66, 16 teams play 120. Past about 10 teams in one day, use pool play instead.

Worked example: six teams

Six teams make 15 games over five rounds, three games a round. Round 1 pairs 1 v 6, 2 v 5 and 4 v 3; the circle method then keeps team 1 fixed and rotates the rest one place. By round 5 every pair has met once and nobody has played twice in a round.

Add a seventh team and the schedule becomes seven rounds of three games, with one team resting each round. That is 21 games in all, six more than the six-team version, which is why the rest round is a good time to rotate referees.

Plan the day before you print

Count courts first. A round of n/2 games needs n/2 courts to finish together; with fewer courts each round takes more than one slot. At 30 minutes a game, an eight-team round robin is 28 games, or 7 rounds of 4 games. On two courts that is 14 slots, about seven hours.

Questions