Sport event Planning

This is offered as a checklist from which you, the event organiser, can select points that should be
raised in staff planning meetings and used for ticking off as part of your thorough preparation. Not
all items listed will be part of all events of course! A number of items may appear more than once or
may be noted in one section but you may wish to consider them for another section of the event
plan. Items are not necessarily in the order they would be considered or in order of importance. You
will select the relevant checkpoints as this is an organic collection of checkpoints and will change as
others are added or some are modified!
'Bold text==Planning Stage==

1. Preliminary research and feasibility study, including SWOT analysis

2. Event goals

3. Setting up the project management group (e.g. the event, define event project & scope,
feasibility study, planning needs, staffing, site, monitoring, quality control, planning
schedules)

4. Economic impact

5. Budget: economic analysis; pricing; contingencies; break-even point; sources of funding;

account codes & prefixes; cash-flow analysis; money needed onsite;

6. Site selection: facilities; location; access to accommodation; shops and transport

7. Event theme & branding

8. Analyse venue in terms of consumer needs

9. Flow charts of planning decisions and actions

10.Operational policies and procedures manual

11. Logistics

12.Employment law relevant to workers on the event day

13.Staffing and recruitment of staff, training, job descriptions, accreditation

14.Employee contracts

15.Volunteers: their roles and training

16.Uniforms, caps or shirts for staff

17.Consideration of any outsourcing

18.Guest list and invitations

19.Publicity and media

20.Action Plans for individuals or groups

21.Legal compliance, including permits and licences and compliance from toilets to health rules
to power cables

22.Projections of attendance & participation

23.Community consultation e.g. traffic, on possible noise

24.Prizes, awards and lucky tickets or lucky seats

25.Sponsorship

26.Seating capacities and for whom and location

27.Fences & perimeters

28.Signage & advertising

29.Ticketing

30.Concessions, passes

31.Naming rights

32.Services: power; water, gas; emergency generator; lighting; refrigeration

33.Decorations, posters and signs

34.Photography

35.Maps and plans

36.Sale points and merchandising

37.Stalls with their operation and location

38.Media: contacts; pre-event articles; features to publicise; use of social media; media persons
at the event (space, facilities, location, food and drink, interim updates, power; interviews;
event follow-up)

39.Special needs: wheelchair access; ramps; location of wheelchair viewing sites; toilets for
disabled; parking for disabled)

40.Exhibition space
 41.ATM machines

42.Hospitality for whom and location of hospitality sites

43.Noise levels

44.Ground announcer and the provision of key scripts for the announcer (e.g. sponsors, event
happenings; schedule, lost children, lost & found)

45.Opening ceremony

Marketing[edit]
1. Marketing strategy and marketing plan

2. Forming a marketing team

3. IMC approach may be appropriate (the definitions vary somewhat but IMC or Integrated
Marketing Communications may be a plan that links all promotion modes and has contacts
and communications consistent in their relation to your brand with consistent meanings
expressed and reinforced)

4. Sponsorship: determining likely sponsors; obtaining sponsorship; providing for sponsor

publicity before/at/after the event

5. Promotional materials

6. Utilise the organisations branches or sport club affiliates

7. Signage

8. Clothing with sponsor or event organisation name or insignia

9. Ambush marketing prevention

10.Use of a celebrity for event endorsement or opening the event

11. Media launch of the event

12.Trademarks, copyright materials and logos checked

13.Direct mail

14.Local media, national media

15.Merchandising

16.Onsite photocopying & printing

 17.Marketing to enhance participant, spectator, visitor, reader/viewer experiences

18.Marketing to place (or establish) the event in the annual programme

The Event Day and Event Environment[edit]

1. Site maps including site-flow maps

2. Clear delineation of duties

3. Operations manual

4. Rehearsals

5. Published programme

6. Stage and/or designated areas

7. Cultural protocols to be observed

8. Insurance

9. Functional areas

10.Temperature control, provision for rain and adverse weather

11. Admission, queue prevention & access for wheelchairs and baby prams

12.Pass-out system

13.Risk Management policy and processes in place and checked on the event day: risk
assessment; hazard analysis; security plans; police; emergency services contacts; locations
of emergency facilities; first aid services; child safety; crisis response preparedness;
smoking and/or drugs ban; access for emergency vehicles; duty of care; occupational health
and safety; playing surfaces; crowd control; marshals; training in health and safety for staff;
childcare

14.Food and Catering: food storage onsite; alcohol provision, access and regulation; caterers;
food stalls; waste and recycling; food handling; cleaning; food preparation & service.

15.Lost property site and information about found objects

16.Lost children & meeting points

17.Sanitation and toilets: location; coping with emergencies; toilets for the disabled; signs
showing toilet locations; portable toilet removal

18.Waste and recycling: bins; contracts; disposal.

 19.Storage

20.Spectator comfort and visibility of event

21.Clearly designated seating

22.Entrances & exits

23.Parking and transport, including disabled persons parking and access to site

24.Public address system

25.Lighting

26.Special provision for participants checked: changing rooms; hot water; showers; support staff
facilities; space; food & drink; after-match function; school-age participants could be
congratulated by a known sport or media personality; awards; first-aid; stewards

27.Data collection to assist post-event analysis

Post -Event Action[edit]

1. Evaluation in terms of plans, event goals, budget

2. Venue evaluation in terms of suitability and ease of functions

3. Clearing, cleaning and dismantling was this smoothly done?

4. Cleaning and clearance of waste

5. Employee satisfaction

6. Participant/spectator satisfaction

7. De-briefing meetings of staff

8. Sponsorship evaluation

9. Thanks to volunteers or a function for them

10.What improvements will be made for next time?