Organizing Sports Tournaments

Setting up a sports tournament for your community is a wonderful idea, especially if many are able to participate. You will need a lot of cooperation from the community as well as a lot of volunteers. However, organizing a sports tournament should not be a daunting task. There are several steps you can take to ensure that organizing your tournament smoothly.

Things You'll Need

• Volunteers
• Game facilities
• Prizes (medals or trophies)
• Referees

Instructions

1. Organize a committee. You are going to need a lot of people working with you to create a successful tournament. It is nearly impossible to organize an event of this magnitude on your own. Make sure the people on your committee are organized individuals that you can trust to get everything done that needs to get done.

2. Set a date for your sports tournament. If you have reserved several facilities in which your sports tournament shall be located, you need to make sure that that they are all available on the same day. You will also want to pick a date there is not another significant activity taking place. This will help to ensure that the greatest number of people will be able to participate in your tournament.

3. Schedule your time. Have your committee create a list of everything that needs to be completed by the day of the tournament. Work off of this list. Items on this list might include ordering necessary equipment, finding referees, communicating with teams, and making score sheets. It will take a lot of work to have a successful tournament.

4. Organize the teams in your sports tournament. You are going to need to create brackets in order to follow the winning teams. You also need to contact various teams to see if they can participate, or organize your own teams to compete in the tournament. Do not invite more teams than your volunteers are able to handle.

5. Advertise to ensure that people will come to the tournament. Make posters and flyers. Depending on your budget, you could advertise on the radio or television. You will also need to advertise to the teams that you want to have play in your sports tournament.

Tips & Warnings

• There are many possible sports or combinations of sports that can be played in tournaments, from horseshoes to tennis to touch football. Whatever sports you choose, make sure you have an official rule book for each sport that will be played, and assign an arbiter, or referee, to resolve disputes.

• It is possible that someone will get injured during the course of the tournament. Make sure someone is available to administer first aid.

References

• "Administrative Procedures for Conducting Recreational Sports Tournaments: From Archery to Wrestling"; Francis M Rikosz and Howard H. Taylor;1994

Resources

• Printable Brackets