Hockey tournaments are the highlight of the year for most young players. But as many of us know, organizing them as parents and coaches can be a logistical nightmare. You have to take into account everything from reserving rinks, travel accommodations, and buying more insurance. Not only that but it can take up our whole weekend and even more when we factor in the time it takes to plan the tournament ahead of time.
In the end, we know it is worth it because the kids have a great time, but trust us when we say not every tournament runs as smoothly as you would like. There are certainly some that are better thought out than others. If you are looking to plan this year’s hockey tournament, here are some do’s and don’ts you can consider to keep everyone happy!
DO Begin Planning Ahead of Time
When we say ahead of time we mean ahead of time. It can never be too early to begin discussions and the really well-planned events begin planning the moment this year’s edition is over. That might be a bit early for most of us but the more planning you put into the tournament, the more successful it will be.
The key to a successful tournament is not being surprised by anything at the last minute. Make your plans well in advance and have some backup plans ready in case things fall through. With events of this magnitude, you can always expect some hiccups. If you have some fail safes in place, nobody will even know that things went awry! This is the difference between an event that is just thrown together at the last minute and an event that is well-planned months in advance.
DO Get Great Prizes
Sure, the main goal of the tournament should be for everyone to have fun, but you also have to have some great prizes for the winners! Not only does this provide an incentive for every team to play hard but it also guarantees teams will want to come back and participate next season. This is the key to being recognized as a successful annual event that teams will be willing to travel for!
It does not just have to be the grand prizes either. Throw in a bunch of other prizes for participation, player of the game, and other fun contests. If you want a pro tip, pay to get a ton of t-shirts or jerseys made with the tournament’s name on them. Why? This is the best type of advertising and marketing you can ask for. Kids will wear these shirts all over the region and spread the word about the tournament for free!
DON’T Forget to Pick a Charity
Do not forget to pick a charity for the tournament to raise money for. While hockey tournaments do bring in a great deal of revenue for local minor hockey associations, you also do not want to make it seem like you are out to make a profit. The perfect way to balance this is to find a local charity to help sponsor your tournament.
This is just a great thing to do all around and nobody involved will ever be against supporting a charity. Donating a portion of the revenue from the tournament is also a safe way to help others in your community. Your local hockey organization will also likely get a tax break as well for making a charitable donation.
DON’T Forget to Take Care Of the Out of Towners
When you organize a hockey tournament a lot of the revenue you bring in will come from visiting teams. This is also what is great about these regional tournaments: teams get to play against teams they normally wouldn’t see. Many of us know how exciting a road trip or even a plane ride can be for these kids. We also know how quickly these costs can add up.
If you are organizing the tournament take some time to organize accommodations for visiting teams. Calling local hotels and booking a floor group of rooms at a discounted rate is a great way to ensure that teams will continue to visit in future years. Try and factor this into the schedule as well. If you know a team has a flight to catch, don’t schedule them too early or late in the day. Always provide them with plenty of time to head to the airport or ferry terminal so they can get home. Remember that the trip home is the last thing they will remember about the tournament. If it was not planned well or unenjoyable, they might not return next year!
DO Document the Planning Process for Next Year
Part of being organized is documenting all of the decisions you make when planning the event. It doesn’t take much to log everything you and the planning committee have done. This keeps a handy record of what has been done and still needs to be done ahead of the tournament. It also provides a great guide to planning a successful tournament for future years. Leaving this for other parents and committees is one of the most helpful things you can do to ensure that future tournaments are just as successful!
Not that everything can be done so easily on computers that it doesn’t take much to make this guide or manual. Simply log any contacts you make that are valuable to the process. These can be sponsors or companies donating prizes or fundraising. They can also be people like helpful hotel managers, catering companies, and printing companies. The more you are able to record the process, the easier planning next year’s tournament will be!
