Description
When there's an odd number of participants, someone must be "single" (unpaired) that week. The current logic selects whoever "has been single least recently or never."
The problem: Newcomers by definition have never been single, making them prime candidates to be picked. This contradicts the veteran-newcomer pairing preference which exists to help newcomers integrate.
Real Example
Geraldine Powderly participated twice but was selected as single on her second participation — not a great experience for a newcomer.
Proposed Fix
When selecting who goes single:
- Filter to participants with 3+ participations first
- Apply the "least recently single" logic to that filtered list
- Only fall back to newcomers if everyone remaining is a newcomer (edge case)
Location
src/lambda_function.py - get_last_single_date() usage in generate_pairings() around lines 263-268
Description
When there's an odd number of participants, someone must be "single" (unpaired) that week. The current logic selects whoever "has been single least recently or never."
The problem: Newcomers by definition have never been single, making them prime candidates to be picked. This contradicts the veteran-newcomer pairing preference which exists to help newcomers integrate.
Real Example
Geraldine Powderly participated twice but was selected as single on her second participation — not a great experience for a newcomer.
Proposed Fix
When selecting who goes single:
Location
src/lambda_function.py-get_last_single_date()usage ingenerate_pairings()around lines 263-268