1.Get organised

The first thing you need to do is write down all the details of the event.

>What is the event for?
>What practical elements will you need?
>Which type of space will you require?
>What is thebudget for the event?
>What is the purpose of the event?

Having everything down on paper will help you consider all the event’s requirements from the very start and give you a clear direction on how to proceed.

Tip:Using a handy online project management tool, such asTrello, can help you plan your event from start to finish.

2.Select dates

Choosing the right date is vital. You want to make sure that they don’t clash with other local events in your area. You'll also need to ensure you have enough time to pull your resources together to make the event a success.

The more time you leave yourself to plan your sports event, the more time there is to promote and gain traction for it.

3.Choose a venue

Yourtype of venueshould have enough capacity for your needs, should be secure and should be convenient for your attendees to get to, whether it be indoor or outdoor.

Consider iftraffic and parking could be an issuebeforehand, especially if you have participants and spectators travelling to attend your event. It’s also important to make sure that you have all of the necessary permissions to hold an event.

Always check which services the venue can provide to you that fall within your budget, to potentially take some of the added planning responsibility away from you.

As Clare from Pentathlon GB explains:

"The venue becomes an important event partner for the planning and delivery of the sports event so take your time to choose the right one for you. Check the facilities on offer match your needs and the prices but also the staff and their attitude/interest in your event.

Check what is included and isn’t such as parking, location of public transport hubs, walking routes and signage, out of hours access, cleaning, rubbish collection and use of internal marketing databases or ticketing suppliers, do they have local suppliers who could help you and know the venue and site such as stewards and security?

The cheapest venue isn’t always the best value for your event. Don’t be afraid to ask for extras to be included especially when you are looking at a variety of sites."

4.Determine sport event style

Now is the time to decide on the type of sports event you want to host.

> Will it be a one-off match, a tournament, a league?
> How many individuals or teams will you need?
> Will you include multiple sports or a single sport?
> What will the format be?

Plan a layout for what your day will look like and how you can make that happen.

5.Plan supplies

Make a list of any supplies that will be required for your event. This should include equipment and items - so think about things like:

>Scorecards
>Certificates
>Posters
>Whistles
>Medals
>Awards

Clare from Pentathlon GB says that gaining suppliers are key to running a successful event:

"Suppliers are key to an event and the key for the organiser is to get in early, wherever possible. The earlier you can get suppliers signed up the better choice and better price you can get, the closer you get to your event the lower quality suppliers are often the ones you are left with and they can charge higher prices.

Try and get tried and tested suppliers by using people known and trusted in the industry and always ensure that their Health and Safety documentation, RAMS and Insurance is up to date prior to arrival on site."

6.Get insurance

It’s always worth getting validpublic liability insurancefor your event. This will cover sports event organisers and help you by paying damages, claimants' costs and expenses which may arise as a result of and in connection with the event relating to accidental bodily injury or accidental damage to a third party or their property.

Failure to get the appropriate insurance could see you having to pay out a hefty sum should an accident occur!

Always ensure you read the terms of the insurance carefully before purchasing to make sure that it covers your needs, and make sure the policy is accounted for in your budget.

7.Health and Safety

You should be responsible for the health and safety of your workers, event attendees and any contractors you have working and all the other members of the public in attendance.

The Health and Safety Executive website has acomprehensive guide on health and safety for event organisers, so be sure to do your research and understand the steps you can take to ensure the health and safety of all attendees at your event.

Read more:
Event Safety and Security: Best Practices and Tips For Event Planners

8.Assemble staff & volunteers

Assembling your staff is the next step to planning a successful event. By now, you should understand the scope and size of what you’re hoping to achieve, which will help you to determine how many volunteers or staff members might be appropriate.

If you’re planning a sports event for a school or team - why not ask the parents to help out and volunteer? If you have a budget set aside for staff, try making your budget go further by contacting your friends and offer them a small donation in return for their help.

Alternatively, you can put the budget into some snacks and make sure you feed your staff on the day.

All staff should be briefed on exactly what the event is hoping to achieve, to understand that they are to remain professional while having fun, and able to answer any questions on the day of the event too.

Read more:How to recruit volunteers for your event

9.Start selling tickets

Using afree online event ticketing software, such as TicketSource, to create, promote andsell sports ticketsis one of the easiest ways to manage your sports event. With adedicated support team, your sports event could be up and running in minutes.

Tip:TicketSource's event ticketing system also allows you to accept bookings in advance andadd a time slot-based entry(as the video below shows) to ensure you can organise a safer event for your attendees.

10.Promote your sports event

Take the next step by actively advertising your tournament. Use social media to raise awareness and promote your event - if you have some budget you could even do some paid advertisements to attract new customers.

Advertise the event via email, send out flyers to local schools and clubs, or you could even advertise in a local newspaper!

TicketSource can help you topromote your sports eventonline and offlinewith a range of event promotion tools, such as MailChimp email integration.

More ways to promote your sports event:
>Free & paid ways to promote your event on Facebook
>How to master event promotion on Instagram
>How to write effective promotional emails for your events

11.Reserve officials and referees

Be sure to reserve the sports officials you will need in the tournament. If you want a legitimate event you need legitimate referees and officials.

If applicable, search for and contactlocal referee organisationsat least a couple of months before your event so that they can send enough officials to cover your event.

12.Reach out to attendees and participants

Now is the time to finalise the teams participating in the tournament and send them (and attendees) the details of your event including the rules and regulations of the tournament, a timetable of the day and an accurate date, time and location of the event.

If you have teams attending from a different region, make sure you include nearby accommodations so that teams can book in advance. Event ticket purchasers can find suitable accommodation near the venue thanks to ourStay 22 partnership.

13.Review the plan

Go through all the details of your sports events plan with the venue management,organising committee, and volunteers so that everyone understands how the tournament will proceed and how social distancing measures will be adhered to.

Assign all tasks beforehand and ensure everyone knows their roles and what you expect from them so that the day runs as smoothly as possible.

14.Invite local press

You’ve worked hard to plan the event - so consider inviting the local press to show off the success of what you’ve achieved! Not only that, but you’ll get great traction and will be able to tangibly measure the success of your event.

You may even be able to put forward a case for the next event based on the success of this one!

Conclusion

If you follow these careful considerations, you’ll have an understanding of how to plan and create a successful and safe sports tournament that ticks all the boxes.

The more time you spend planning and preparing beforehand, the smoother the day will run - and the more time everyone will get to enjoy it, safely!

Further reading from our blog:
>How to successfully master event promotion on Instagram
>Free and paid ways to promote your event via Facebook
>15 Event Planning Tools to Manage Your Event More Effectively