Setting Up a Graded League

A graded league divides players into skill-based divisions, called grades: and moves them between those grades based on performance. After a set of sessions (a block), the top players in each grade are promoted to the grade above, and the bottom players are relegated to the grade below. This keeps competition tight within each grade and gives every player something to play for.

This tutorial walks you through creating a graded league using ServeLeague's wizard, then explains how promotion and relegation works once the league is running.

What Is a Graded League?

In a graded league:

• Players are grouped into grades (e.g. Grade A, Grade B, Grade C), ranked from strongest to weakest.
• Play is organised into blocks: a fixed number of sessions (typically 4–8 weeks).
• At the end of each block, standings determine who moves up, who moves down, and who stays.
• The top players in a grade are promoted to the grade above; the bottom players are relegated to the grade below.

This format works well for clubs with a wide range of skill levels, because it ensures players are regularly competing against others of a similar standard.

[!TIP] Graded leagues are ideal for clubs with 16+ regular players. If your group is smaller, a drop-in league may be a better fit.

Step 1: Start the League Wizard

From your club dashboard, click Leagues in the sidebar, then click Create League. On the format selection screen, choose Graded League. The wizard shows a brief explanation of how graded leagues work, read through it and click Next to continue.

Step 2: Set League Basics

The first wizard step asks for your league details:

• League Name: a recognisable name like "Tuesday Graded League" or "Autumn 2025 Graded."
• League Description: optional context for your members about the league's format or schedule.

Fill these in and click Next.

[!NOTE] ServeLeague generates a web address from the league name automatically, so players can find your league page straight away.

Step 3: Configure Grades

This is the core of a graded league. You'll define the number of divisions and how players move between them.

Setting the Number of Grades

Use the Grade Count selector to choose how many grades your league will have. You can set between 2 and 8 grades. The wizard creates a default set of grades ranked from top (Grade A) to bottom, each with a default name.

Customising Each Grade

For each grade, you can configure:

• Name: rename grades to match your club's terminology (e.g. "Premier," "Division 1," "Division 2").
• Rank: the grade's position in the hierarchy. Rank 1 is the top grade.
• Promotion Spots: how many players at the top of the standings will be promoted to the grade above at the end of a block. The top grade always has 0 promotion spots.
• Relegation Spots: how many players at the bottom of the standings will be relegated to the grade below. The bottom grade always has 0 relegation spots.

[!TIP] A good starting point is 2 promotion spots and 2 relegation spots per grade. This keeps the league dynamic without too much disruption each block. You can adjust this later.

How Zones Work

The promotion and relegation spots define zones in the standings:

Players can see their zone in real time as results are entered during a block.

Step 4: Set Up the First Block

A block is a fixed run of sessions within a grade structure. The wizard asks you to configure the first block:

• Block Name: e.g. "Block 1," "Spring Block," or "January–March."
• Session Count: how many sessions (play nights) this block will contain.

The wizard creates all sessions for the block in one go, ready for you to schedule individually later.

[!NOTE] You can create additional blocks later when the first one finishes. Each new block starts with the grade assignments that resulted from the previous block's promotions and relegations.

Step 5: Review and Create

The final wizard step shows a summary of everything you've configured:

• League name and description
• Number of grades with their names, ranks, and promotion/relegation spots
• First block name and session count

Review the details carefully. If anything needs changing, use the Back button to return to the relevant step. When you're happy, click Create League.

ServeLeague creates the league, all grades, the first block, and its sessions in one operation. The block is automatically activated, so you're ready to start assigning players.

After Creation: Assigning Players to Grades

Once the league is created, you need to assign players to their initial grades before running the first session. If you haven't added players yet, see Adding Members to Your Club or Importing Players in Bulk.

1. Go to your new league and open the Grades section.
2. For each grade, add players from your club roster. Assign stronger players to higher grades and newer or developing players to lower grades.
3. Each player receives a grade assignment linking them to a specific grade for the active block.

[!TIP] For the very first block, you'll need to seed the grades manually based on your knowledge of player ability. After that, the promotion and relegation system handles movement automatically.

How Promotion and Relegation Works

At the end of a block, ServeLeague calculates standings for each grade based on match results across all sessions in the block. The system then:

1. Suggests promotions and relegations: players in the promotion zone of each grade are suggested for promotion, and players in the relegation zone are suggested for relegation.
2. Previews the changes: you see a full preview of which players will move up, move down, or stay before anything is applied.
3. Applies the movements: when you confirm, ServeLeague records each movement (promotion, relegation, or stay) and creates new grade assignments for the next block.

Absence Penalties

Player absences affect standings. Unexcused absences incur a penalty (+1 point added to the player's score), while reserve appearances receive a small reduction (−0.5). These penalties are capped so they don't dominate the standings, but they encourage regular attendance.

Undoing Promotions

If you apply promotions by mistake, you can undo them. This removes the movements and restores the previous grade assignments, letting you make corrections before starting the next block.

Managing Grades After Creation

You can modify the grade structure at any time from the league settings:

• Add or remove grades: if your league grows and you need an extra division, or shrinks and you want to consolidate.
• Rename grades: update names to reflect your club's preferences.
• Adjust promotion and relegation spots: change how many players move between grades each block.
• View overall standings: see aggregated standings across all blocks, not just the current one.

Running a Graded Session

Running a session within a graded league follows the same general flow as a standard session, with a few graded-specific additions:

1. Sub-teams: within each grade, players can be grouped into sub-teams for team-based play within the grade.
2. Matchups: the system generates round-robin matchups between sub-teams, and individual matches are played within each matchup.
3. Auto-assign: ServeLeague can automatically assign attending players to sub-teams and generate the draw for you.
4. Score entry: enter match scores as normal. Results feed into the grade standings for the current block.

Achievements

ServeLeague tracks graded league achievements automatically. Players earn badges for milestones like their first promotion, reaching Grade A, promotion streaks, surviving relegation, and topping the standings as block champion. These appear on player profiles and add a competitive layer to the league.

Summary

You've set up a graded league with skill-based divisions, configured promotion and relegation zones, and created your first block of sessions. As blocks complete, the promotion system keeps grades competitive and gives every player a clear path to climb.

What's next?

• Running Your First Session: learn the session workflow from check-in to finalization
• League Settings and Access: configure visibility, access control, and scoring rules
• Season Management: manage multiple blocks and seasons over time