How we got here, part 4

     www.redhillpickleball.co.uk 

 

The tournament...

 

 The day of the tournament arrives I can't get access to the hall until an hour before people are due to start playing!

Cricketers are still at their practice, whacking the ball around but there is a safe space to start putting the nets together, so I get to work. Cricketers clear off with around 45 minutes to go, time to mark up the NVZ... which takes longer than it should, but thanks to help from some of the incoming players gets done in time.

 
Get all players to register via a google form (who knew only one person could enter data at once - even on multiple devices?). Accepting terms and conditions, etc...

 Then on with play - round robin, everybody plays with as many others as possible - 9 rounds over 4 courts with 23 people playing (one late drop out)... Players from 20s to 80s whacking the ball in all directions.

 After 9 rounds, using the pickleheads app to create and record matchups, the top 3 were announced...  Somehow I was top of the pile, followed by 2 4.0+ ladies.

Two divisions were created  from this - the top 6 ladies and gents in one divsion, the rest in division 2.

Division 2 continued to play Round Robin using Pickleheads again to manage/record. After 8 attritional rounds left only 4 standing Stuart Norris was crowned Div 2 winner, with Jane Glennie the leading lady.

 

Division 1 played according to a preconfigured schedule as mixed doubles... with 8 rounds leading to Mel Buxton walking away with best lady and Chris Ford best gent (from memory, as no write up was done!). 


Afterwards I discovered that I'd F***ked up the algorithm for the Mixed Division 1 play - meaning that the same ladies played each other over and over again, and the same 3 gents played together/against each other also. So a LOT of work to do there to get that right (Pickleheads didn't have a fixed partner or mixed doubles tool). Got the Algo right for the next tournament, even if I DID make errors with the spreadsheet (more on that later).

 

Anyway, everyon enjoyed themselves, and many came back for a second helping in Spring for the SpringDink. 

 

I made a donation of £50 to St. Catherine's Hospice from the proceeds of the tournament, and was keen to do better the next time..... A lot of work and a LOT of fun.




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