How the Mix & Match System Works
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Seedings
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All players are seeded with higher skilled players first. Seedings are based on the information we have available eg. Past results
The players are grouped into fours eg. Players 1-4 are in Group 1, Players 5-8 are Group 2 etc.
Matches
Once the seedings are in, the model will then generate the default matches with byes and court allocations. The default allocations have been set up so that people will not partner with the same person in any two games in the session. During the session, the facilitator can manually adjust the matches in each round eg. If someone turns up late and wants to be added, or if someone would like to play with a particular person during the session that wasn’t in the default allocation.
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Match Rounds
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Each session has 5 rounds. Rounds 1, 3 and 5 are the “Matched” rounds. These are where players in the same group will play each other but in different combinations (effectively a 4 player round robin). As these players are believed to be of similar ability, the results of the matches should be tighter.
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Mix Rounds
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Rounds 2 and 4 are the “Mix” rounds. These rounds are where players will go up against 2 players outside their group. One round will be with players from a higher group and one round will be with players from a lower group. Matches are still designed to be fair however it gives players a chance to play with players of a different skill mix. (The exceptions are the top group who will have 2 rounds with lower seeded players, and the bottom group who will have two rounds with higher seeded players).
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Court allocation
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The system has a default court allocation that is based on the number of courts being used. Each week the court allocations rotate by one court so that players get time on all the courts over a season.
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How the results are calculated
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After each round the scores are entered into the system. The system then calculates each player’s set Win ratio and Points Ratio. For example: if someone has played 4 matches and has won 3 then their Win ratio is 75% (3/4). If they have scored 35 points and had 15 points scored against them then their Points ratio is 70% (35/50). The system then ranks players by the Win ratio first and then uses the Points ratio when players have the same Win ratio.
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How future seedings are created
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The system has a built-in promotion and relegation process after each session. The player that has the best record in each group is promoted to the next group (excl the top group) and the player with the worst record in the group is relegated down a group (excl the bottom group). Manual adjustments are then made for players who did not play in the previous session. It gets harder to win the higher up the seedings you go.
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Results
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The results from each session are stored to allow us to see how players are going for the whole season and to assist us with improvements in programming the system for the future.