Why is my schedule longer than expected? How season length is calculated

A league schedule has no end date. When you click Create, TeamSideline keeps adding weeks until every team has played its Games Played/Team, so the last week depends on the number of teams, games per team and per week, time slots, byes and blocked weeks. To finish sooner, change one of those and create the schedule again, or move games by hand.

Applies to: Admins and schedulers · All plans · Standard league divisions

Where: Schedules > Leagues & Divisions > (division) > More Options > 1 Configuration > Scheduling, 3 Time Slots and 4 Create Schedule

How the number of weeks is worked out

Week 1 is the schedule week (Sun - Sat or Mon - Sun) that contains the Day of First Game. Every later week counts from it.
Create pairs the teams into rounds and keeps adding rounds until every team has its Games Played/Team.
With 1 game per week, each round takes a week. With 2 games per week on Different Days, two rounds fit in a week (one in the Game 1 time slots, one in the Game 2 time slots), so the same games take about half as many weeks.
With an odd number of teams and Schedule Byes, one team sits out each week, so it takes extra weeks for every team to reach its games.
A week holds only as many games as it has open time slots. Games that don't fit, for example because a time slot's circle is white that week in the Time Slot Schedule on 3 Time Slots, move to later weeks.
Blocked weeks get no games, so each one adds a week.

Example: 13 teams, 8 games each, Schedule Byes

Count the games: 13 teams × 8 games ÷ 2 = 52 games.
Count the games a week can hold: 12 teams play (6 games) and 1 team has a bye.
Divide and round up: 52 ÷ 6 = 8.7, so the schedule needs 9 weeks. After 8 weeks, the 8 teams that have had their bye have played only 7 games.

Do the same sum for your division to see the fewest weeks possible with 1 game per week, then add your blocked weeks. With All Teams Play Every Week, a week holds one more game (7 here), because one team plays twice.

Ways to shorten the schedule

Lower Games Played/Team on 1 Configuration > Scheduling.
Let every team play every week. With an odd number of teams, set Odd Team Division Configuration on 3 Time Slots to All Teams Play Every Week. Each week one team plays twice, and you need one more time slot: half the number of teams, rounded up.
Play 2 games a week. Set Games per Week/Team to 2, choose a 2 Game Configuration, and add the Game 1 and Game 2 time slots the 3 Time Slots page asks for.
Use every time slot. In the Time Slot Schedule on 3 Time Slots, white circles mark weeks where a time slot won't be used; click them to turn them green. In Manual Entry Mode (shown in the heading), games go only in the circles you check: check more, or click Change to Standard Entry, which resets the circles ("Time Slot entry mode updated. (All Time Slots reset.)"). Extra time slots beyond what the page asks for don't shorten a 1- or 2-games-per-week schedule, but with Custom every open time slot holds a game.
Check your blocked weeks. Remove any you don't need; each one adds a week.
Move games by hand. On 4 Create Schedule, change a game's Week (and Time Slot) to an earlier week with a free time slot, then click Calc & Save. If you see dates instead of weeks, click Toggle View. Some leagues use this to turn a short last week into double headers; the page may then show alerts for teams with two games in a week.

Rebuild the schedule after a change

Changes on 1 Configuration and 3 Time Slots don't rebuild a schedule that already exists.

On Schedules > Leagues & Divisions, open the division's More Options menu and choose 4 Create Schedule.
Click Delete, then click OK to confirm.
Make your changes on 1 Configuration > Scheduling or 3 Time Slots and save them.
On 4 Create Schedule, click Create.
Check the last week, adjust the schedule, and click Calc & Save.

What you'll see: "Your schedule has been created and saved for you to review." The Delete button disappears once any game has been played; then move games by hand instead.

If it doesn't work

The schedule didn't change after you changed a setting. Settings take effect only when the schedule is created. Delete it and click Create again.
"Review Scheduling - Team [team] | This Team is scheduled to play 9 games but your Division Configuration page number of "Games Played Per Team" is 8." The schedule gives that team a different number of games than the setting, for example because the setting changed after the schedule was created, or games were added or deleted. Create the schedule again, or add or delete games by hand and click Calc & Save.
There's no Delete button. A game has been played, or your role doesn't include deleting schedules. See How to delete a schedule (regular, 2nd half, or playoff).
There's no Create button after your changes. The division no longer has enough time slots or teams. See Why can't I create my schedule?
Week 1 games are dated before the Day of First Game. Week 1 is the whole schedule week, so a time slot on an earlier day of that week gets a game before the Day of First Game.
Your teams, games and time slots just don't fit your season. Contact TeamSideline Support (Help > Contact Support, or support@teamsideline.com) with the league and division names and the last date you need. Support can review the division and, for unusual combinations, build a scheduling template.

Good to know

Tournament divisions work differently: they have a Tournament Start Date and an End Date.
Custom games per week fills every open time slot in order, week by week, with no weekly limit per team. A Custom schedule can end sooner, but some teams may play several times a week.
Block A Week is on 3 Time Slots before the schedule exists (1 game per week or Custom) and on 4 Create Schedule afterward, where Block Result offers "Move Games To Additional Week At End of Schedule" or "Push All Games Out One Week". Either way the blocked week's games move, so the schedule gets a week longer.
With 2 games per week, blocked weeks saved before the schedule exists are removed when you click Create. Block weeks on 4 Create Schedule after the schedule is created.
On the Elite and Enterprise plans, AI Auto Resolve can add weeks past your last game when Weeks Auto Resolve May Extend The Schedule (Schedules > Configurations > AI Auto Resolve Settings) is more than 0.
A 2nd Half schedule counts its weeks from its own Day of First Game and games per team.
On the Enhanced, Elite and Enterprise plans, click Save As Template on 4 Create Schedule to keep a pattern that works and reuse it with the same number of teams and time slots.
For what each setting on the Scheduling page does, see Division scheduling settings explained (1 Configuration > Scheduling).

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