SportsEvents is edited for those who plan tournaments or other sports events.
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www.sportseventsmagazine.com February 2014 15 ▼ GAME Plan lenges she would meet along the way. Initially, room nights for the softball championship had been negotiated as part of a package deal with nights booked for the Division I and Division II Club Baseball World Series games, as each of the events was anticipated to take place in Columbus, Ga. However, when the base- ball events were scheduled in alternative host cities, "all hotel contracts had to be completely rewritten," Ahrens said. That surprise came up in August, but after the details were worked out, "We felt like we were really in a good place," Ahrens said. "The teams did not know the struggles we had planning the event, and it was very important to convey a sense of calm, that everything is under control and taken care of." As May approached, however, one of the host hotels sold out a full two weeks before the event, and Ahrens had to work quickly to sign an additional option for the participating teams. "Most of the time the hotels are so busy themselves, they don't have time to call us and let us know they're booked. I was working with the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau, I called them for a suggestion and they were great about getting back to us immediately." Problem solved. Just when Ahrens thought she had faced every worst-case scenario, "We had rain on the first elimination day, which led to a plethora of on-the-spot decision mak- ing and rescheduling," she said. "I had been a part of this event for five years, and it had never rained!" Ahrens, her staff, along with a host of other involved parties were at the fields until midnight that evening trying to dry them for the next game. But, she said, "It's times like that in which you really have to be a liaison for the event. You do what you have to do to get the job done." Make Every Second Count Approximately eight months were spent planning the 2013 Midwest Regional Championship of the 3v3 Live Soccer Tour in Waukegan, Ill., last summer. The championship, which attracted 600 players in youth through adult age groups, was just one of 10 regional events the organization holds each year. "So many of our events are annual that they begin to run like clock-work, requir- ing less of a time commitment to plan," said President Mike Tew. "However, the longer you have it on the calendar, the more opportunity you have to draw more participation. Even when we plan an event in just a few months, we waste no time in marketing and getting the word out. When you don't have adequate lead time, it can affect your attendance." Feeding into its regional events, 3v3 hosts 120 soccer tournaments across the country that lead to the championships. And this, Tew said, is where the success of the larger events begins. "A lot of these local tournaments are planned in less than a year, but everything always works out because we rely so heavily on our local partners—the local soccer clubs and leagues," he said, adding that these rela- tionships are vital to helping the event run smoothly. "Reaching out to the hotels and local sponsors is the starting point to help all the other details fall right into place." Additionally, "We really like working with sports commission partners and con- vention and visitors bureaus," Tew said. "They are important players in terms of securing a venue, and they are terrific at introducing us to local soccer people and serving as a liaison" ■ 5 Quick Tips When Racing The Clock 1. Offer an incentive for registration to better gauge attendance and plan accord- ingly. TGA offered a low-cost 10 th anniversary hat to pre-registering families. 2. Utilize your local connections to help promote your event. It can help drive attendance and sponsorships. 3. Make sure that all of the larger, important details are planned first. The smaller details will fall into place as the event approaches. 4. If you're returning to the same location as a previous event, build on existing relationships with the host city and utilize the venues you have already had a good experience with. 5. Put a good plan in place and stick to it. The event that Teach, Grow, Achieve (TGA) Premier Golf and Tennis, put together to celebrate 10 years in opera- tion was a success despite a tight planning schedule. Derek Goes *02-20 SE FEB 2014_SportsEvents TEMPLATE 2/11/14 10:36 AM Page 15