G†eographic Flighting for the Tennis Competitors of Dallas: A Case Study in Optimizing Drive Time and Competition in Sports League Design

Club sports (also known as recreational team sports) are prevalent in the metropolitan areas of the United States nowadays. However, there is a key concern for organizers: how to reduce the time players spend driving to and from matches while keeping league divisions competitive. We adopt a three-step approach to solve this problem. Initially, we analyze the drive time data between the clubs’ locations to determine geographic regions for the league. Next, clubs are assigned to divisions based on their ranking within in the league and their home facility's geographic region. Finally, divisions are further subdivided to minimize drive time. Applying the approach to the Tennis Competitors of Dallas, a large and well-established sports league in Texas, USA, we demonstrate that it can rearrange the existing divisions in a way that not only shortens the drive time for players, but also maintains an acceptable level of competition.