Scheduling Games

Here are the steps to schedule games:

1. Enter the Division Names

A division in League Organizer is the group of teams which play each other in the schedule.

Create a new division by selecting Personnel > Divisions > Division Names or click on the Division icon on the tool bar.

2. Enter the Field Names

Because the different sports have different terminology, we will say fields when we mean fields, courts, rinks, or sites. Select Schedules > Field Names or click on the Field icon on the tool bar (the icon also depends on the sport).

Enter a 5 character Field Code and the field name. Some league don't know the fields until after the schedules are generated. That's OK. Because the scheduler stores only the code, you can change the Field Name in the future before you print the schedules for distribution.

The other entries are optional and not used by the schedule generator.

3. Enter the Team Names

Enter team names by selecting Personnel > Team Names > Team  Names or click on the Team icon on the tool bar. 

Give the team a code, a name, and use the drop down to select the division. The other entries are optional. If you are scheduling a traveling division, meaning each team has it's own home field(s), click on the Fields & Colors tab and enter the code for the team's home field(s).

4. Generate the schedule

Each division is scheduled separately. Select Schedule > Schedule of Games > Generate Division Schedule. Enter the name of the division you are scheduling.

1. Enter the number of games each team will play. You can leave this blank and enter the ending date instead.

2. Enter the starting date.

3. Enter the duration, which is the number of minutes to reserve the field for each game.

4. Enter the number of games this division will play on each day of the week. 

This acts as a sample week. The bottom of the form shows the number of teams in this division and the number of games scheduled during this week. It also tells you the number of games per week which will make the best schedule. Double this number to have the teams play twice during each week.

5. If each game is to be played on the home team's home field, check Traveling division.

6. Click on the Skip tab and enter any dates when this division will not play, such as holidays. You only have to enter dates when they would normally play.

7. As you enter the number of games for each day of the week, an asterisk appears next to the tab for that day. Click on the Day tabs and enter the time and location of each game. The division will own this field every week at this time. The teams which will play on this field at this time will rotate.

If you checked Traveling division on the first page, you will not see a place to enter the field. As the schedule is generated, League Organizer will decide which team will be the home team, then place the game on that team's home field.

8. Click the Generate button to generate the schedule. The setup information will be saved so you can easily generate it again if you want to make changes.

If the division hasn't scheduled enough games for a perfect round robin (each team plays every other team twice, once home and once away), you will see a notice which lets you list or print the game pairs which were not scheduled. If you must make changes to the schedule, you can use these pairs as alternate games.

The schedule which was generated is displayed for your examination. You can print it by clicking the printer button in the Print Preview tool bar at the top of the report. 

9. If you want to change your scheduling parameters and regenerate the schedule, start the process again. This time tell it to erase the previous games scheduled for this division. If you don't, the schedule will be doubled. 

You may, however, want to generate one schedule for the first half of the season and another for the second half. In this case, do not erase the previous games. To change the team pairings for the second half, select Schedule > Reassign Scheduling Numbers and select one of the Random patterns.

5. Checking the Schedules

Select Schedule > Print Schedules and Reports to see an entire menu of reports. The Reports column helps you check your schedules.

Schedule > Print Schedules and Reports > Reports > Game Count tells you the number of games each team plays. 

Schedule > Print Schedules and Reports > Reports > Time Count tells you how many games each team has at each time slot. 

Schedule > Print Schedules and Reports > Reports > Field Count tells you how many games each team has on each field.

Check for overlapping games by selecting Schedule > Print Schedules and Reports > Reports > Field Conflicts. These will not occur if you checked the Traveling division box, but may if you entered the times and fields in the day tabs.

If a coach has more than one team, select Schedule > Print Schedules and Reports > Reports > Manager/Coach Conflicts to look for overlapping games.

6. Changing the Schedule

Any game can be changed by selecting Schedule > Schedule of Games > Manage Games. 

Click the Locate button to find the game and make your changes. If your change causes a field conflict, you will be warned. 

If you want the change flagged on the printed schedule, respond Yes to saving the change. If the schedules have not yet been distributed, enter No.

7. Assigning Umpires/Referees

Enter the names of the umpires/referees by selecting Personnel > Personnel > Umpires/Referees or click on the icon on the toolbar.

Enter the first and last name and a code. The code will be used for assigning.

Select Schedule > Schedule of Games > Manage Games and enter the codes to assign them to the games.

7. Printing the Schedules

All schedules are saved to the same file so you can print schedules for the entire league, each division, each team, each field, each umpire/referee.

Schedule > Print Schedules and Reports > Schedules and select the schedule you want to print. Most give you an option to print in a worksheet format. This shows you the short team names, the field codes, and the scheduling number assigned to each team. Uncheck this box when printing the schedules for distribution so they will show the long team name and full field name.

8. Scores

If you enter game results, League Organizer will calculate standings. Select Schedule > Game Scores to enter the scores.

Select Schedule > Print Schedules and Reports > Scores > Results to print the scores.

9. Standings

Select Schedule > Print Schedules and Reports > Scores > Standings to print the standings.

How to Generate a Division Schedule

How to Print a Schedule, Assign Umpires and Referees, Enter Scores, and Calculate Standings