We are now at a point when several tournaments have accepted teams and are sending out the notice to confirm. I can always tell when a tournament accepts teams because the email server starts whipping the confirmation notices back to our tracking email inbox. It’s like someone turned on the switch at a circus merry-go-round; it’s that exciting to see.
What is REALLY more exciting is to see this flurry of activity even before the official Congratulations email goes out from the tournament. That means the teams have been checking their status by logging in, some probably almost hourly, to see their status go from Pending to Accepted.
Our advice: Keep track of those teams that confirm early; they are your biggest fans. (we now have a track tool in the Team Apps Module) Connect early and often with teams and make sure you know they are coming. Use this excitement to build ownership with your tournament event. Until you accept a team, they really aren’t invested in your event. But, after they confirm, they are in, mind, heart and soul. Don’t squander that ownership thorough apathy, poor communication or bad customer service.