Automated Match Scheduling

It’s finally here! We’ll be introducing our computerised badminton management system on Monday, 28 September. The system will help automate most of our administrative tasks (e.g. recording payments and attendance) and bring the club one step closer to full digitisation.

One of the key features is automated match scheduling – designed to replicate our manual scheduling but without mistakes and more variety.

How does it work?

Some of the factors the scheduler takes into account when short-listing players are:

• Last round played
• Number of consecutive games played
• Total number of games played
• Prioritisation of early leavers
• Prioritisation of members
• Time of arrival
• Break preferences

The scheduler then select matches based on:

• Player grade – for balancing matches
• Match history – to avoid repetition
• Match intensity preferences

All this happens under a fraction of a second.

How does it affect me?

From a players’ point of view, the main difference is that you’ll be checking a laptop screen (or monitor) instead of the whiteboard when the bell rings.

With more time on our hands, we’ll be able to watch everyone play and grade players better. If there are nights when you want to play easier or harder games, just let us know when signing in.

The system is far from complete, so please be patient as we fine tune it and add more features later down the track.

A little history

The idea isn’t new and was conceived a decade ago. An early prototype developed six years ago was shelved due to time constraints. It took the downtime of a global pandemic for us to dust off the project and bring it back to life.