Squad generation
Learn how to use the auto-assignment tool to distribute gymnasts across squads and flights while balancing level groupings and team affiliations.
Assigning 40 gymnasts across 4 apparatus rotations while keeping teammates together and skill levels balanced is a headache. The squad generation tool does the math for you. You set your preferences, click a button, and review the result.
Prerequisites
Create a session with competitions assigned
Configure rotations or have the squad list open
Launching the tool
Open your session dashboard.
Go to the Squad List or Squads & Rotations tab.
Click Auto-Assign in the top header.
The squad generation dialog opens. Configure your settings, then run it.
Setting the squad size
The squad size parameter tells the tool how many gymnasts should go in each squad. The tool distributes gymnasts as evenly as possible.
For example, with 35 gymnasts and a target squad size of 9: you get three squads of 9 and one squad of 8.
If you set the target to 10 instead: three squads of 10 and one squad of 5. The distribution shifts, so pick a size that makes sense for your apparatus timing.
The priority slider
The slider controls the balance between two competing goals: grouping gymnasts by skill level vs. keeping club teammates together.
Slide left to prioritize level grouping. Gymnasts of similar skill end up in the same squads, which can be better for judges and for competition flow.
Slide right to prioritize team cohesion. Gymnasts from the same club stay together, which makes life easier for coaches and keeps teams unified.
Leave it in the middle to balance both.
There is no wrong answer here. It depends on the meet. A club invitational might lean toward team cohesion. A provincial championship might lean toward level grouping.
Advanced settings
Fixed squad size
By default, the tool tries the smallest workable squad size first and adjusts from there. If you turn on fixed mode, every squad (except the remainder) will have exactly the same number of gymnasts. This makes apparatus timing more predictable.
Pinned athletes
If you have already placed certain gymnasts where they need to be, you can pin them before running generation. The tool will optimize around pinned gymnasts without moving them.
How to use it:
In the squad list, click Pin on any gymnast tile you want to keep in place.
In the generation dialog, enable Pin Athletes.
Run generation. Pinned gymnasts stay put. Everyone else gets optimized around them.
Flight configuration
For large squads, you can split each one into two flights. Set a minimum flight size (the default is 10). Any squad larger than the minimum gets divided into two subgroups. Smaller squads stay as a single flight.
How the algorithm works
The tool scores candidate assignments based on:
Level cohesion -- how well gymnasts of similar levels are grouped
Team integrity -- how well gymnasts from the same club stay together
Balance -- how evenly the priorities are met across all squads
Constraint satisfaction -- whether size and structure requirements are met
Generation runs in seconds, even for large sessions. You can run it multiple times with different settings to compare results.
What's next
Manage the squad list -- review and fine-tune assignments after generation
Manage flights -- adjust flight divisions within squads
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