5 Useful Tips on Integrating Sports Into a Corporate Event

Integrating Sports

With a well-organized corporate experience, you can establish new partnerships and acquire new clients. But this doesn’t necessarily have to be directed outwards. The truth is, corporate events like team building provide plenty of benefits for your team, as well. Since employees are the lifeblood of the company, it isn’t surprising that that is the very reason why more and more businesses make team building activities a regular gathering. Some even put sports into play – literally – to achieve optimum impact on the staff members. Known as a powerful medium for bringing people closer together, sports is a great way to build a tight-knit team of staff members, regardless of background, skills, and role in the company. The fact that sports can foster teamwork, boost team spirit, and help employees learn critical skills like decision-making, problem solving, time management, cooperation, and leadership is the icing on an already sweet cake. When integrated into corporate life, sports offer employees a fresh lease on life and a new sense of togetherness and camaraderie. And to help you plan an effective corporate sports event, here are 5 useful tips on integrating sports you can try to ensure the gathering is a success:

1. Keep the end in mind from the very beginning

People tend to get too excited or too anxious about an event that they feel they must immediately do tasks related to it without giving it much thought. This kind of mentality can lead to plenty of mistakes. This knee-jerk reaction yields subpar results as it is done without proper planning first.

When you set out to organize a corporate sporting event, be sure to avoid getting stuck in the immediate details and keep the end in mind from the very beginning. This means that you should envision the bigger details of the gathering first before you go into the smaller details.

For example, if you plan to incorporate a running event into the gathering, be sure to know what you need to have on-hand from the finish line, working your way back to the starting point. Picturing how many participants will cross that end of the line can help you decide on smaller details like how much parking space you need to accommodate all the guests.

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Keep in mind that, if you think from the back to the front, you’re less likely to miss anything and avoid wasting time on tasks that aren’t even essential to your end-goal in the first place.

2. List down what you need

After getting a general idea of how the event should go, the next thing you must do is segment your plan into different components. And nothing beats a good old trusty checklist to get you organized.

Depending on the type of gathering you’re planning for, there is a big chance that you’ll need the following:

  • Venue
  • Food and drinks
  • Decorations
  • Entertainment
  • Transportation
  • Accommodation
  • Marketing collateral
  • Tickets

Don’t forget: The magnitude of a project doesn’t matter, so long as you break it down into smaller, more manageable components.

3. Consider guest demographics and preferences

When planning a sporting event for the company, you must never forget whom you’re preparing it for. Although you can easily obligate employees to attend, the results won’t be optimal if you don’t keep in mind the demographics and preferences of those who will attend. If you pick an athletic activity that they like, you’ll not only get more people to attend but also leave a better impression, which can help achieve your end-goal.

4. Don’t do it alone

When planning a corporate sports event, it is crucial that you put together a team to help you see the event through. This trusted group can share preparatory responsibilities with you to prevent missing important details of the gathering.

Assign people in leadership roles whom you know can lead others into delivering excellent results. Don’t just base it on their position – consider their skills as well. Remember that those who will step up during the preparation of the corporate event might even turn up to be great candidates for management positions.

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5. Set a budget and target date

In most cases, you won’t have full control over how much you can spend in corporate events, and it is very rare that you’ll be given unlimited funds. Despite this, you can make do with what you have by setting a specific budget for the gathering.

What you need to keep in mind is the No. 1 rule when setting a budget: keep it sensible. You must also remember to leave ten percent of your total allotted funds as your reserves for the unexpected.

After determining how much you can spare, start gathering quotes from vendors and compare these based on price, reliability, reputation, and quality of service. As soon as you find the right one for each component of the event, book them immediately. Doing so not only gets you reservation rights but may also help you get better deals.

Of course, you cannot possibly book a venue without a specific date for your event, so be sure to choose one before finalizing anything. When picking a date, you must determine:

  • Who will attend and how early they need to be notified
  • The time needed for preparation
  • The goal of the gathering
  • What sports you plan to incorporate
  • The availability of your chosen venue

Use sports for your employee’s wellbeing

Sports is an excellent activity that can foster physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. When incorporated into company gatherings like team building, sports events are an excellent alternative for establishing camaraderie and teamwork among coworkers. 

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