Fixed Tournament Guide: Pre-Planned Matches

Running a casual badminton afternoon for 12 kids? Organizing a fun table tennis mixer at your club? You don’t need the complexity of swiss pairings or the commitment of a full round robin. You need a schedule you can print, hand out, and run—with the flexibility to stop whenever time runs out.

That’s exactly what Fixed tournaments deliver.

What Is a Fixed Tournament?

A Fixed tournament generates all matches before the event starts. Unlike Swiss (where pairings depend on results) or Round Robin (where everyone must play everyone), Fixed gives you:

• Complete schedule upfront—print it, share it, no surprises
• Stop after any round—and standings remain fair and balanced
• Control over who plays whom—set required or forbidden pairings
• Choice of pairing style—random for variety or seeded for competitive balance

Think of it as the best of both worlds: the predictability of Round Robin with the flexibility to run only as many rounds as time allows.

When to Use Fixed Tournaments

Real Example: Saturday Kids Badminton

Imagine you plan the following event:

• 12 children aged 8-12
• 3 courts available
• 3 hours of gym time
• Mixed skill levels
• Two siblings who shouldn’t play each other

Setting up the Fixed tournament:

1. Add all 12 participants
2. Set constraint: Anna and her brother Tom → Forbidden (siblings). You can also add positive constraint – the players you definitely want to play to each other.
3. Choose pairing mode: Random (it’s a fun event, not competitive)
4. Generate schedule

What you get:

Round 1:
   Court 1: Emma vs. Phil
   Court 2: Jake vs. Sarah
   Court 3: Lucy vs. Adam

Round 2:
   Court 1: Anna vs. Jake
   Court 2: Tom vs. Emma
   Court 3: Phil vs. Lucy

... (continues for 10 rounds)

Stopping Points:
  ✓ After Round 4: Everyone has played 2 matches OR
  ✓ After Round 8: Everyone has played 4 matches OR
  ✓ After Round 10: Everyone has played 5 matches OR

During the tournament:

You print the schedule, post it on the wall. Kids check their next match and head to the right court. After each round, you enter results into Turnio.

At 11:45, you realize you only have time for one more round. No problem—you stop after Round 8. Everyone has played 4 matches, standings are balanced, medals are awarded. Done!

Key Features Explained

Manual Constraints

Sometimes you know things the algorithm doesn’t.

Required pairings (must play each other):

• “These two friends specifically asked to play each other”
• “The birthday kid wants to play against the coach”

Forbidden pairings (must NOT play each other):

• “Siblings who fight too much”
• “Parent and child in the same tournament”
• “Huge skill gap that wouldn’t be fun for either player”

Set these before generating the schedule, and the system respects them absolutely.

Pairing Modes

Random Mode

• Maximum variety—everyone meets different opponents
• Best for social mixers, fun events, team building
• No consideration of skill level

Seeded Mode

• Similar skill levels play each other more often
• Avoids mismatches (beginner vs. champion)
• Better for competitive-casual events
• Seeds based on participant ranking or manual input

Stop Anytime, Stay Balanced

The magic of Fixed tournaments: you can stop after any round and the tournament is still fair.

The system ensures that at any stopping point:

• Every participant has played the same number of matches (±1)
• Rest time between matches is distributed fairly
• No one sits out repeatedly while others play

This means you never have to worry about “we didn’t finish”—wherever you stop is a valid endpoint.

What If Someone Doesn’t Show Up?

It happens. A player gets sick, a team has to leave early.

Fixed tournaments handle this gracefully:

Patch the schedule:

• System cancels affected matches
• Generates replacement matches for opponents who lost games
• Maintains balance—everyone still plays fairly

Or substitute:

• Reserve player takes over the exact remaining schedule
• No changes needed for other participants

No panic, no manual recalculation, no unfair results.

Fixed vs. Swiss vs. Round Robin

Choose Swiss when results should determine next opponents (serious competitions).

Choose Round Robin when everyone must play everyone and you have enough time.

Choose Fixed when you want predictability, flexibility, and control over pairings.

For a complete breakdown of all formats, see our Tournament Formats Compared guide.

How Many Matches Will We Play?

Quick math for planning:

Turnio’s Time Estimation Helper does this calculation for you:

Available time: 3 hours
Average match length: 10 minutes
Buffer between rounds: 5 minutes
─────────────────────────────────
Suggested rounds: 12
Matches per player: ~6

Step-by-Step: Creating Your First Fixed Tournament

1. Create tournament—Select “Fixed” as the system
2. Add participants—Players or teams
3. Set constraints (optional)—Required and forbidden pairings
4. Choose pairing mode—Random or Seeded
5. Configure courts—How many are available
6. Generate schedule—Review and adjust if needed
7. Print or share—Participants see their full schedule
8. Run the tournament—Enter results round by round
9. Stop when ready—Standings are always balanced

Try Fixed Tournaments

Fixed tournaments are perfect for youth sports programs, club social events, corporate activities, school competitions, and any event where time is limited.

Create your first Fixed tournament at turnio.net and see how easy tournament management can be.

FAQs

Q: What is a Fixed tournament?
A Fixed tournament generates all matches before the event starts. You get a complete schedule upfront that you can print and share, with the flexibility to stop after any round while keeping standings fair and balanced.

Q: When should I use a Fixed tournament instead of Swiss or Round Robin?
Use Fixed tournaments when you want a predictable schedule, need to stop at any time (like time-limited events), or want control over specific pairings through required and forbidden constraints. They’re ideal for kids tournaments, social mixers, and corporate events.

Q: Can I stop a Fixed tournament early?
Yes, that’s one of the main advantages. The system ensures that at any stopping point, every participant has played the same number of matches (±1) and rest time is distributed fairly. Wherever you stop is a valid endpoint.