During the last six years, I have been fortunate to manage Special Olympics Soccer, Softball and Basketball tournaments for athletes with disabilities in Ohio. Our tournament committee takes pride in offering an event that promotes healthy competition and physical exercise while providing a festive atmosphere for all who participate. These events have quickly gained a postive reputation in eyes of many involved with Special Olympics in Ohio. There are so many reasons for this feeling, from professional staff and caring volunteers to unique entertainment for visitors between games. These are the more obvious ways our tournament staff contribute to this reputation. One of the more subtle, but most effectives techniques is: WE MAKE PEOPLE FEEL WELCOME
Our Advice: Imagine the team who drove across the state or country to attend your event. Maybe they got stuck in traffic, a player got sick on the van or the coach just got a phone call from a frustrated parent. Then they show up at YOUR EVENT to: check into their hotel, register their team and go to their first game. What kind of environment are they coming to? Are they showing up to an event that is generally excited they are there or do they deal with staff/volunteers counting down the minutes until their shift is over? Suggestions follow for creating a welcoming atmosphere. Creativity and attention to detail are important.
Greeters at your tournament hotels
Welcome banners at local businesses, city limit signs, game sites,exit ramps, etc.
Personalized good luck postcards in team rooms and banners at all game sites.
Display spirit center messages in the hotel lobby, registration site and field sites.
Host a welcome/registration reception
I saw the power of this at a Special Olympics Softball Tournament this summer. Ashtabula County(Northeast corner of Ohio) drove 5 hours to participate in the event hosted in Troy(Southwest Ohio). Their team was tired and stressed because of traffic and their team van got a flat tire. The registration volunteers dealt with them in a very professional manner answering any questions they had. Then they went to Diamond #1 to play their first game. Awaiting them at their dugout were two signs. One said “Play Hard Ashtabula County” and the other said “Thanks for coming” Ashtabula County. Their coach was overwhelmed to tears because of how welcome they felt. Quickly they forgot about their five hour drive and flat tire. This how you want teams to leave your event. They will come back!!
Every morning, I drive my daughter to school. Well, more correctly, she drives and I ride because she has a learner’s permit. And every morning, we pass by a housing development that is one house, a piece of gutted farmland and this sign that appears to the left.
The developer needed a sign and needed it high off the road. So he did what any good builder (but bad brand manager) did and made a big pile of dirt and put the sign on this big pile. On a conscious level, I know that it is a sign on a pile of dirt. But on a subconscious level, I can’t help but see a freshly dug grave with a headstone.
Morbid? Probably. But even as I KNOW it is just a sign, my subconscious mind keep making references to a grave site.. and the inevitable jokes about the housing market, where good homes go to die, and a whole lot of other tasteless jokes that probably are not really appropriate.
Our advice: Take an objective look at the signs, tents, displays, posters, flyers, mailers and yes, even your web site. Do you “see” any grave markers? Sometimes they are not so obvious to spot because you, like the home builder, just had a problem that needed a quick solution. When you find them (and you will) replace them with “signs” that are more in line with your tournament brand.
Multiplicity is a good title for a movie, but not regarding a tournament issue: coaches of multiple teams entering your tournament. This topic is coming up with tournaments more and more and more and more. One sentence(coach) for so many mores(teams):). You see the trend.
Do we allow coaches of multiple teams? How many teams can they coach? It is so frustrating to manage the potential conflicts and juggle the scheduling of games!!
The question becomes not one of customer service — which we all want to provide — but one of practical math. If you are running a tournament of 200 teams and 10% of them are coached by multiple coaches, that is only 20 teams or 10-16 games you can juggle. But when that number approaches 33-50%, that is 100 teams or 50 games at minimum that you must juggle to avoid conflicts. And, if you are using multiple venues, some of which may only have short-sided fields, the coach that does a U14 and U11 team will be disappointed in your efforts. What about finals? If both team emerge out of their brackets and the U14 and U11 finals are held at the same time, what do you do?
We all want to satisfy the customer, but as the customer makes decisions without regard for the practical limitations we all face, accommodating large numbers of multiple coached-teams may just be impossible. NOW is the time for your tournament to institute a policy regarding multiple coaches as more and more clubs move to paid coaches with responsibility for multiple teams.
Our advice: Keep track of coaches with multiple teams using the Applications Module. Edit your application disclaimer to include a statement about the coach resolving their multiple team issues as a condition of application. When you see a multiple-team coach, send him/her an email, reminding them that you will do all you can, but conflicts are theirs to resolve. In the beginning, it will be a bit painful for the tournament, but in the long run, the tournaments that don’t make unconditional commitments for multiple-team coaches will emerge as winners. You can’t fight math.
I was at a tournament over the weekend. For each of the age groups, there were two flights -blue and white. I walked past the scores posting boards and the obvious leapt right out at me. One board that held the blue flight scores was blue; the other was, you guessed it, white.
It was a simple thing, but an incredibly obvious solution to getting the right people to the right board quickly. Instead of all the score sheets posted together, the tournament thought about how teams perceived scores reporting and made it easier for THEM. A little thing that made a big difference.
Recently, I went to a Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers baseball game in Dallas. My brother Mike and I have a tradition of traveling to an away series involving the Cleveland Indians. This year we chose Texas.
At the Saturday night game, we were enjoying the usual aspects of a ball game: ball park food, cold beers, new friends and great action on the field. Then came the wave! This is when I noticed something that applies to so many aspects of life and business. The wave was building steam in left field traveling through center field then making its way to our section on the first base line. We were getting ready, couldn’t wait for it to get to us!! There were a bunch of kids that were equally excited. The moment of truth came as the wave approached our section. My brother and I rose from our seats, threw our hands in the air yelling and screaming cheering our favorite team, the Cleveland Indians. The group of kids behind us cheered the Rangers with the same emotion.
Then I looked and there was a family in front of us that sat the whole time. Two of them, put their hands in the air reluctantly. The others didn’t move at all. As the game progressed the wave started two more times. We started building excitement in our section, joking with everyone, singing during the inning breaks and making new friends. The wave a started a third and final time. This time the family in front of us stood up with the same enthusiasm as the rest of the section, yelling and screaming for the Rangers.
Event planning and management starts with enthusiasm. It is contagious! Entertaining personalities, events, and atmospheres are welcoming! Everyone likes to smile and be a part of a festive, joyous environment. Does your tournament do the wave with emotion or from your seats? This can make all the difference in the world of recruiting and retaining teams, volunteers, refeerees, sponsors and venues. A positive buzz of energy will develop around your event by taking this approach. As a result, you will have less turnover, letdowns and negative situations because people will be vested. Start doing the wave with emotion as you plan for your tournament this year!
