Organising a sporting event in Perth? Our top five things to consider

Sports events have the ability to bring community members together to share in a common goal or achievement. The sporting event spectrum is vast with each event providing a range of opportunities and experiences for those that participate or spectate. These could be to attain a long-coveted team win, to raise awareness or raise funds, to experience a range of inspiring sporting accomplishments or to encourage active community participation.

There’s a lot to think about when it comes to pulling off a successful sporting event and it can be a daunting task. To help you next time you organise a sporting event in Perth we’ve put together our top five considerations, as well as a few bonus tips.

1. Create a plan 

Creating a detailed plan is instrumental in organising any successful sporting event. It will help to ensure the event runs smoothly and minimise any unpleasant surprises that may crop up. From the start get clear on your objectives. What type of sporting event are you organising and what is the purpose of the event?

Establish a comprehensive budget taking into account the expected attendance and participation number, expected revenue and all other estimated costs associated with running the event. Come up with a plan to secure funding and event sponsors. Determine how many human resources will be required to organise the event including in the lead up, on event day and post event. Think about what contracts, permits and insurance you will require. Document all of this into a formalised event plan that can be referred back to.

2. Choose the right venue 

There are lots of different factors to take into consideration when choosing a venue for your sporting event in Perth. Your expected number of participants and attendees will help you to determine the size and layout of the venue you require.

Availability and accessibility of amenities such as seating, toilets, catering facilities, protection from weather such as shade or undercover areas are all important factors to consider. The cost of the venue will come into consideration and you will need to refer back to your budget. Think about any extra services or equipment you may require from the venue and what the associated costs are for this. Work with the venue on a detailed plan outlining all costs you will incur prior to committing to anything.

3. Gather an organising team 

Just like playing or participating in sport, organising a successful sporting event requires a team of dedicated and skilled people to help share the workload and make the event a smashing success. Outline a set of roles and responsibilities for each team member so they are clear on what is required of them. Delegate tasks to each team member with time frames to complete. Make sure this is all documented and easily accessible for the team leader and individual team members. If everything is clear and defined from the start it will reduce the likelihood of anyone ‘dropping the ball’ and ensure tasks are completed in a timely manner.

Determine if volunteers are required and put together a volunteer management plan which outlines how you will recruit, train, induct and reward the right set of volunteers. Determine what skills will be required of your volunteers and use this to guide your volunteer recruitment process. Ensure roles and responsibilities are clearly defined so volunteer’s contributions are effective.

4. Promote your event 

Put together a promotion strategy to garner interest among event spectators, participants as well as a wider community audience. Determine your target market and the channels you will use to reach your audience. This could include the local paper, websites, social media, outdoor advertising, flyers, local influencers, partnerships with local sports clubs, etc. Make sure all promotional communications are clear, concise and include the event name, date, venue, ticket price, where to buy tickets and any key selling points of the event. To increase recognition of your event consider choosing an event theme or colour to use throughout all of your promotional communications.

5. Safety, security and contingency planning 

Risk management is integral in conducting a safe and successful sporting event. Risk management is the identification of risks and steps to eliminate or minimise their impact. It is important to conduct a risk assessment prior to your event. Document all potential risks and hazards that may present pre, during and post event and how these can be treated and monitored.

Depending on the size of your event you may require a security presence to help with management of the event. Ensure you use a reputable agency and that all the required licenses and insurances are in place.

Weather and other factors such as unavailability of equipment and supplies can negatively affect your event. Contingency planning is coming up with and documenting potential solutions to minimise the impact of unexpected challenges. Such solutions could include pencilling an indoor venue that can accommodate your event in bad weather and keeping contact details of additional suppliers on hand in case preferred suppliers aren’t available.

A few bonus tips:

Invite local media

Inviting local media such as local newspapers will help to increase the awareness of your event and drive interest for your next event.

Enjoy the event!

Take time throughout your event to look around and soak up the atmosphere of attendees and participants enjoying themselves. Appreciate all the hard work that has culminated in a successful event.

Gather feedback

After everything is packed away at the end of the day make sure you dedicate some time to assess what worked, what didn’t and where improvements can be made for your next event. Ask for feedback from your participants and spectators; a formal way to do this is through post-event surveys sent via email. Establish the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your event and how these can be included in the event plan for next time.