Here's a framework you can adapt to 3, 4, or 5 courts. It assumes 4-team pools, 25-minute matches, and a 10-minute buffer between pool play and bracket play.
Stage 1: Pool play
- Round 1 — all courts fire at 8:30 AM
- Round 2 — 9:05 AM
- Round 3 — 9:40 AM
- Round 4 — 10:15 AM
- Round 5 — 10:50 AM
- Round 6 — 11:25 AM
Stage 2: Bracket seeding
At 12:00 PM, pool play ends. Top two from each pool advance. SMS goes out with bracket matchups at 12:05 PM.
Stage 3: Bracket play
- Quarterfinals — 12:30 PM on 4 courts
- Semifinals — 1:30 PM on 2 courts
- Championship — 2:30 PM on center court
Implementation
The SignUpGo tournament builder builds this entire framework in about 5 minutes and then adjusts automatically if anything runs long.
Run your K-12 season on the Sports Tier
SignUpGo's Sports Tier ($59/mo) is purpose-built for K-12 athletic directors, tournament organizers, and league coordinators. You get unlimited tournaments, 5 user seats, 1,000 messaging credits for game-day alerts, pool play & bracket automation, captain score entry, team & player registration, entry fees, and merch sales — all in one dashboard.
- Unlimited brackets and pool play across multiple courts or fields
- SMS game notifications the moment a schedule shifts
- Captain score submission with secure one-time tokens
- Custom branding so parents see your school or league, not ours
Ready to stop wrangling spreadsheets? Start with the Sports Tier or compare all plans. You can also try the tournament builder in under two minutes.