Unit 1
Unit 1
Tournaments
A tournament is a competition held among various teams in a particular activity according to a fixed schedule where a
winner is decided.
There are various methods for organising a tournament which depends upon various factors such as
The number of participating teams Facilities of ground, equipment and number of officials available
Days in which the tournament is to be completed
Importance of Tournaments
Development of Sports Skills Various skills of sports are developed in tournaments.
Helpful in Selection of Players Good players can be selected easily by observing their performance in the tournament.
Development of National and International Integration It not only develops the integration of national and
international level but also gives sense of unity and brotherhood.
Development of Social Qualities Social traits such as respect, brotherhood, discipline, sympathy, tolerance etc are
developed among participants through tournaments.
Types of Tournament
Knock-out or Elimination tournament
League or Round Robin tournament
Combination tournament
Challenge tournament
Knock-out or Elimination Tournaments
A single elimination tournament (also called an Olympic system tournament) or a knock-out tournament is a type of
elimination tournament where the loser of each bracket is immediately eliminated from the tournament. In such
tournaments, if the number of competitors or competing teams are not a multiple of 2 (i.e. 4, 8, 16,..) then some teams
may be given a ‘bye’ and some teams are given ‘seeding’.
Seeding is a procedure by which good teams are placed in fixtures in such a way that stronger teams do not meet each
other at the very start of a tournament.
Note We will cover in detail the first three tournaments because these three tournaments are included in syllabus.
Bye is a privilege given to a team which is decided generally by seeding it or by draw of lots.
Advantages of Knock-out Tournaments
Minimum number of officials are required in organising tournaments.
Owing to less number of matches so it takes less time to complete the tournaments.
It helps in enhancing the standard of sports.
If number of teams is not a power of 2, then number of rounds will be equal to the multiple of next power of two.
Example :
Examples
Example 1 A fixture of 19 teams on knock-out basis.
Total matches = N – 1 = 19 – 1 = 18
Number of teams in upper half
N+12=19+12=202=10 teams
Number of teams in lower half
N12=1912=182=9 teams
Total number of byes
= Next power of two – Total number of teams = 32 – 19=13 byes
Number of byes in upper half
Totalnumberofbyes12
i.e[Nb12]=1312=122=6byes
Number of byes in lower half
=Totalnumberofbyes+12
[Nb+12]=13+12=142=7byes
Example 2 A fixture of 12 teams where 4 teams getting special seeding.
Total number of teams =12
Number of teams m upper half = N2=122=6
Number of teams in lower half = N2= 6
Teams setting special seeding = 4
Number of matches = 12 – 1 = 11
Fixture
Team number 1,2, 11 and 12 do not play the match initially as they get special seeding.
Winner of each bracket enters the next round while losers are eliminated. For example, Team 3 and 4 play match
number 1. If 3 wins, then 4 is eliminated from the tournament.
If the number of teams/ players is odd, then number of teams in upper half and lower half each is N+12
Teams getting special seeding do not play initial rounds just like byes
Fixtures in League Tournaments
The three methods used for drawing up fixtures are
Staircase method
Cyclic method
Tabular method
Note We will cover in detail the first two methods because these two methods are included in syllabus.
1. Staircase Method
In this method, the fixtures are made like a staircase. It is arranged in sequential form, there is no bye, no problem of
odd or even and therefore it is easiest to arrange. An example will illustrate this method.
Example : Draw up a fixture of 9 teams on Round Robin basis using staircase method.
The number of teams = 9
Thus, number of matches
N(N1)2=9(91)2=9×82=36matches
The fixture is given below
2. Cyclic Method
In this method, if the number of teams is even (i.e. 4, 6, 8, ….), team 1 is fixed on the top right side and the other
teams move in clockwise direction down one side of a rectangle and up on the other side. In such a case, the number
of rounds will be N-1 if there are N teams participating. However, if the number of teams is odd (i.e. 3, 5, 7,….), a
‘bye’ is fixed at the top and all teams follow it in sequence. In such a case, the number of rounds will be N.
Example 1 Fixture of 6 teams on cyclic method.
Total number of teams = 6
Total number of matches = N(N1)2=6(61)2=15
Total number of rounds = N – 1 = 5