Before format, prizes, or posters, write down three things: how many courts , how many hours , and how many players you expect. Almost every tournament that runs late does so because someone chose the format first and then tried to squeeze it into the booking.
The arithmetic is simple. A game to 11 with changeover takes about 15 minutes. Courts × hours × 4 gives you roughly the number of games you can fit. Four courts for four hours is about 64 games — that is your entire budget for the day, warm-ups and medals included.
Collect four fields and no more than four: name, partner (or "need one"), division, and skill level or DUPR rating. Anything else slows sign-up and you will not use it.
Seeding is not optional in a bracket. An unseeded 16-team draw regularly puts the two strongest teams in round one and gives you a weak final.
A fundraiser has a different objective, so the format should change with it. Guarantee play time rather than crown a champion — donors who paid to play should not be knocked out in 20 minutes.
With 8 to 16 players, two courts, and a couple of hours, keep it deliberately simple:
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