Planning, managing and organising a sports event is no mean feat, particularly when you have to think about implementing social distancing and other safety measures. Whether it be a tennis tournament or a football league, these tips will help you put on a sports event that is fun and safe.
How to plan a sports event step by step
1. Plan, plan and plan some more
It sounds obvious, of course, but the best way to ensure your event is a success is to plan effectively from the very start. It’s a good idea to use an online project management tool, such as Asana or Trello (among many others), but you also need to know the answers to a number of questions. What is the purpose of the event? What type of venue do you need? What is the budget? What are the health and safety protocols you will need to implement? Taking these initial considerations into account will help guide your decisions and in turn guarantee your sports event is a total success.
2. Pick the perfect date
Picking the right date is essential. Making sure your event doesn’t fall on the same day as any other sports event or local get-together will ensure that not only people will attend, but that your event will leave a lasting impact. You should think about picking a date that gives you enough time to plan and promote the event well.
3. Choose the right venue
The venue you choose for your sports event must have enough capacity and be safe and accessible to everyone, whether it be an indoor or an outdoor space. It is also important to consider what capacity will be in accordance with social distancing rules.
4. Plan what the event will be like
Is it a match, a tournament, a league? How many people or teams will take part? How many sports will be featured? What is the format? The more you know about the event the better. It’s a good idea to put down everything you know about the event, from start to finish, on a piece of paper. This will help you get an overview of what the event will look like, resulting in you having to improvise less.
5. Calculate the supplies you’ll need
Make a list of the supplies you will need to hold your sports event, from certificates, notices and signs to whistles, medals and prizes. And, of course, don’t forget about personal protective equipment (PPE), such as face masks, hand gels, disinfectants and other cleaning products.
6. Consider health and safety measures
Ensure that each and every part of your event complies with the health and safety measures that are in place at the time of the event to protect the people attending your event. It’s also a good idea to get civil liability insurance. If you don’t get the right insurance, you may end up having to pay considerable sums to money if there is an accident, which is relatively likely at sports events.
7. Train staff and volunteers
If you want to know how to plan a sports event, one of the most important things to consider is how many people you will need to attend to the guests. Most sports events combine contracted staff and volunteers. How you select and train the team will have a big impact on the success of your event. Make sure you invest enough time in training all the people who will be working on “the big day”, ensuring they know exactly what they should be doing and when.
8. Promote your event
Make sure you actively promote your sports event. Send information via email, use social media and, if you’ve got the budget for it, launch an advertising campaign in the press or out of home (on billboards, public transport, etc.). Don’t forget to invite the local press and relevant influencers to the event: they will do their bit to promote it. The more effort (and resources) you pour into promoting your event, the better the results will be.
Now you’ve got to this point, there remain just two things to do: firstly, check all the details of your plan to see if there is anything that can be improved or polished; and secondly, start selling tickets. To do so, you can use online platforms such as Eventbrite or, if you’ve got your own webpage, open an e-commerce or ticket booking system.
We hope we’ve answered some of your questions about planning a sports event and that your event will be a resounding success. Don’t forget: the Costa del Sol Convention Bureau website is full of all sorts of information about planning events in the province of Malaga.
