The Tournament Planner Checklist : Expecting the Unexpected
Does your school host a big athletic tournament each year, or is this your first time putting an event like this together? There’s a lot that goes into to getting funding, prepping the facilities and actually planning out and coordinating all of the appropriate events. Whether you’re approaching this project as a coach, a school administrator, or a member of the school’s booster club, as a tournament planner it’s important to lay out all the moving parts of the event so everything is covered.
Books could be written on the best ways to approach your role as a tournament planner (and many handbooks exist for a variety of different tournaments).
Rather than try to make a manual for the future tournament planner, we’re going to take a look at some steps you can take when you’re putting together your master plan to increase efficiency and lower your stress.
Permitting and Licensing
First things first – you need to review your school and community’s permitting and licensing requirements.
Let’s be clear: by now, you’re not checking the permits or appropriate licenses to see if your school will be eligible to host a tournament in the future (we’re assuming you’ve already gone through that process and have been accepted as a host school or organization).
The reason to review the permitting language one more time, especially if you were not the one who prepared the original license applications, is to look for the little details that can end up making a big difference:
- Insurance (does your region or state require insurance for particular weather?)
- Staffing (what staff is required by law in order to host an athletic tournament?)
- Scheduling adjustments (do you need to be coordinating schedules with someone besides the participating schools’ staff members?)
- What role does your state athletic organization play in this tournament, if any?
The goal of this step is to catch the details that aren’t already part of your master plan. Those details that are sometimes be overlooked can come back to cause complications.
Sticking To The Schedule
Everyone’s favorite part! Finding a way for all the different teams and age groups to face off respectively (and figuring out how to move them all around).
Is there an easy way to put together the master schedule? Not particularly – prepare yourself for the grind of talking with everyone and finalizing itineraries for travelling teams.
The one thing that you’ll have the most control over regarding schedules is actually not the playing time: it’s the transitionary down time in-between games. You can plan as much as you’d like, but some games will go over time, some teams will have travel trouble and arrive late, or some teams will have a departure deadline and will turn up the pressure for games to stay on time.
Your solution? Think through the moving parts of getting one team onto the field or court, and getting another out of the way.
- Will having some extra athlete volunteers help you clear a bench in two minutes?
- Could golf carts or similar transports zip players and coaches across your facility space? If you have them drive on the street while the next team walks up on the sidewalk, do you avoid team traffic jams?
- Is there a central nutrition/hydration space for all teams, instead of lots of mini-concession spaces set up by team parents?
Your goal with this down time: keep everyone out of each other’s way. Traffic will move along just fine if you think ahead and remove the bottlenecks that slow people down.
Staffing: Choose the Right Roles
Less is definitely more.
WAIT! That doesn’t mean you won’t need an army of people to make this tournament happen. What it means is that you need a very distinct organizational structure, with clearly designated roles and responsibilities.
One aspect = one person in charge, with a backup in case of an emergency or some other situation. When radios start buzzing and you need a situation handled, there needs to be one person ready to take control and address the problem. The last thing you need are multiple people all trying to fix a situation with different ideas and methods all at the same time.
Now we will do a little backpedaling: no matter what type of tournament planning you’re doing, you’re certainly going to need help (quantity matters!). If a booster club is involved either in the fundraising or the actual event itself, you can hopefully rely on some dedicated hands to both help and recruit other volunteers.
Also talk to coaches and see if other athletic teams at the school are looking for some community service hours. The kids will spend the day with their friends and teammates, and you can even reward them with a team pizza party or other reward for their help.
There may also be times when bringing people aboard, as opposed to relying on volunteers, is necessary. If last year’s big tournament happened at the school across town and they did a great job, it may be worth reaching out to them and bringing their tournament planner onto your staff for the duration of the project.
Ask any teacher or coach: previous experience can be invaluable when you’ve got a project with so many different moving parts.
Keep Your Kids and Families Safe
Liability insurance. Medical personnel. Security personnel. Restroom facilities.
Those four big ticket items will take plenty of time to put together, and form the basis of your event logistics. Thankfully, while they might be time-consuming, they can also (hopefully) be some of the more straightforward aspects of the event.
As far as liability insurance goes, you’ll probably have gone through these motions as part of the tournament application process. But again, review the policy for small details to make sure that you’re in full compliance of the policy’s expectations. Avoid the nightmare situation where an injury lawsuit comes up, and because you missed some key language in the policy, your insurance will not cover you.
Because this is a sporting event, you’re going to need to be prepared for injuries. The necessities should be covered when you’re discussing the details with the facility manager and other organizations involved – such as school administrators and coaches. You’ll need medical professionals present with all the equipment they might need to care for a hurt player (or event attendee).
Same with security: you’ll want professionals there who can help oversee the event and be a resource for anyone needing some help. Don’t overlook parking!
Especially if you’ll be partnering with your community’s local police force, ask them how they typically handle large events and be sure to have a “head of security” lined up as part of your all-star staff.
Concessions
A good way to entertain the crowd and earn money for this or future events is to set up concession and merchandise booths. This is a really good opportunity for some community outreach, and you can benefit each other. For example, you should invite local restaurants to provide concessions or to be featured as special vendors in exchange for a sponsorship.
**Note: When money starts to flow, it’s important to know where it’s being kept, how it’s being spent, and what regulations are allowing you to spend it. Go back to the first paragraph and make sure your financial bases (like taxes and your ability to accept donations or sponsorships) are covered.
Especially where food is concerned, you’re going to have to pay attention to the details. Language about allergies is a must! As are other restrictions for vendors who will be set up in or near your facilities (how close can food trucks be parked to a building in your state?)
Be especially mindful of other health-related requirements regarding food and nutrition at an event like this, particularly access to drinking water.
Poke Holes In Your Own Plan
Preparation is the key to a fun and safe athletic tournament. That means being ready for the unexpected, and having a positive attitude to get through it. Sit down and think through some other scenarios that your plan barely accounts for: is it worth it to figure out those solutions now?
- Are pets allowed, and what happens if a scared dog runs off into the crowd?
- You’re planning on using an indoor restroom facility and a pipe bursts. What’s your backup plan?
I’m sure there are professionals who will read this article and say “You know what, there was this one time when….”
What are some of the crazier situations you’ve experienced while hosting a sports tournament, or even just attending one? Leave us a comment below or on our Facebook page.
Thinking through the “what if’s” is not about creating stress over what might go wrong. It’s about thinking through scenarios that might catch you off guard and checking them off your “noted” list. The more prepared you are, the more confident you and your community will be going into the tournament.
As VP of Sales, Tom Bowen’s focus and philosophy to the customer base is to help build the best possible solutions for their needs while providing the utmost in customer satisfaction. Tom has lived all over the United States, now calling Birmingham, AL home, where enjoys time with family, watching and playing sports and helping others.