A Schedule-Then-Break Approach to Sports Timetabling

Sports timetabling algorithms need to be able to handle a wide varietyof requirements. We present a two-phase method in which the first phase is to schedule the teams ignoring anyhome and awayr equirements and the second phase is to assign the home and away teams. This approach is appropriate when there are requirements on the schedule that do not involve the home and away patterns. Examples of this include fixed game assignments and restrictions on the effect carry-overs can have. These requirements can be met earlyin the process and the best home and away patterns can then be found for the resulting schedules.