The first thing to do is to create a committee and assemble volunteers-  the more help you have the better. Make sure you work out who is in charge of the event with not just the authority but also the responsibility.Also have someone in charge of all COVID 19 provisions. 

Decide on the tournament style- will it include multiple sports or a single sport? This also depends on local rules or guidelines of what sports are permissible. Consider activities that lend themselves to distancing if possible. 

• • Penalty shoot out 

  • Free Throws

  • Rounders’ tournament

  • Football tournament

  • Dodgeball tournament

  • Netball tournament

  • Cricket

Once you've decided what you'll be doing, develop a template itinerary/ plan for the day.

Create a list of resources and equipment you will need for the day. A TOP TIP is to contact the sports societies to see if you can borrow any equipment for the day.

Don't forget to consider how many volunteers will be needed? Referee? Time keeper? Who will keep track of scores as well as keep the timings of the event?

See a template itinerary here!

The whole organisation and the co-ordinating committee should understand the purpose and objectives of the event.

• The venue should have a site suitability assessment undertaken (where necessary) e.g.  COVID 19 precaution measures, ground conditions, size of venue etc. 

• There should be an event manager appointed, who will be the ‘contact’ in pre-planning, and on the day. Duties, roles and responsibilities should be allocated as early as possible in the planning stages

• Clear communication lines should be established and maintained throughout the planning stage and during the event.

• All bookings, decisions and transactions prior to the event should be put in writing to ensure clarity and to provide a record.

• Targets and deadlines for the period leading up to the event should be set to ensure that key stages are not missed.

• Make sure that helpers know their roles on the day, and that there are enough ‘free hands’ on the day to react as required. Ensure that helpers are adequately trained and equipped where necessary to undertake the duties required of them.

• Plan for contingencies – consider bad weather arrangements, emergency procedures, health and safety implications, insurance policies etc.

Throughout the event planning process, you should continually address the key questions of ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘why’ and ‘how’.

To make sure you get the best time and location, decide early on when you want to hold your sports tournament and where.

A TOP TIP for timing is choosing a time when most people will have no classes or lectures.

For your venue, think about:

• • Do you have a big enough hall or room at your university/college?

  • Do you want the event to be at an external venue? If so, consider the cost implications of this. Ensure the venue is big enough for the number of tournaments you need too.

Be sure to liaise with your Society and union to process your room booking as soon as possible.

Are you charging a fee per team or per person? Usually for a tournament it makes sense to sign them up as teams rather than individuals.

Determine a method of payment and take the following considerations in the pricing strategy:

• • How much will the tickets be sold at?

  • Are the ticket prices expected to cover expenditure? If so make sure you consider all expected expenditures including everything from hall/pitch hire (if there is a price for this) to equipment and refreshments.

  • Do you want to make a profit from the tickets- whereby profit money goes towards charity week? If so take this into account and add on a small amount to the ticket price to ensure the ticket price covers expenditure and profit.

  • Will the refreshments at the event be free or will you charge a small amount for it?

For a poster, start off with the CW poster templates in the resources section, find the sports tournament template and get it jazzed up with all your details!

Next spread the word far and wide, utilise social media by making event pages and regular posts as well as messaging personally.

Look into contacting the union and sports societies directly asking them to share your post and take part.

A TOP TIP is to utilise your institutions mailing list and also encourage key people to spread the word .

Any tournament needs trophies and prizes. If you want medals, awards, certificates or souvenirs, have them prepared well in advance, especially if you want to get them engraved.

A TOP TIP to get hold of these is to talk to the team or local trophy shops for a donated trophy and medals.

For a prize, talk to local shops for prizes or meal vouchers or experience vouchers to be donated and won.

The sign up fee isn't the only way to fundraise at your tournament. All that exercise is thirsty and hungry work! Plan to sell some food and drinks to raise even more money.

A TOP TIP is to talk to local restaurants and food businesses about donating food to be sold at your quiz. Ensure all food is packed and sealed, and is handled with masks and gloves worn. 

Work out with your venue where toilet/ wudhu facilities are and when prayer times are. Ensure the prayer space allows for social distancing. 

Be sure to HAVE First Aid provisions on hand in the case of injuries.

Also ensure there are enough volunteers assigned to help with running the event.

Make sure you inform everyone of the meeting point and time. Try and leave some leeway in your planning with what time you need to start.

A TOP TIP is to finalise the teams participating in the tournament and send them details of the event including rules and regulations of the tournament the day before.

You may wish to stagger the times teams arrive, to ensure there isn't crowding. 

Don't forget our why! The beginning of the event is also a great time to share with your audience about what Charity Week is and why the event is being held.

A TOP TIP is to use a megaphone / mic, to avoid having to shout. 

Think of all of the possible things that could go wrong and put measures in place to prevent this from happening. E.g. a team not turning up on time, adverse weather conditions, lack of referees, injuries.

Send a message via your social media and sign up lists thanking everyone for attending and helping.

A TOP TIP is to use this moment to remind them of your upcoming events and share your donation link.

Ensure you leave time to pack up after the event and be sure to consider this in the timings of the bookings. Ensure the hall/pitch is left clean and remove any rubbish.

A TOP TIP is allocating people in charge of various aspects- what will be happening to the equipment etc after the event?

Ensure roles are allocated for event pack up and everyone who lent items gets their things back, and adequate cleaning has been done. 

There are always hiccups or lessons that we learn, but do we make sure that the team next year will learn from these? Use our template event planning document to keep a record of how you put on your event and also any feedback to pass onto next year's team!