I was at a tournament over the weekend. For each of the age groups, there were two flights -blue and white. I walked past the scores posting boards and the obvious leapt right out at me. One board that held the blue flight scores was blue; the other was, you guessed it, white.

It was a simple thing, but an incredibly obvious solution to getting the right people to the right board quickly. Instead of all the score sheets posted together, the tournament thought about how teams perceived scores reporting and made it easier for THEM. A little thing that made a big difference.

Recently, I went to a Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers baseball game in Dallas. My brother Mike and I have a tradition of traveling to an away series involving the Cleveland Indians. This year we chose Texas.

At the Saturday night game, we were enjoying the usual aspects of a ball game: ball park food, cold beers, new friends and great action on the field. Then came the wave! This is when I noticed something that applies to so many aspects of life and business. The wave was building steam in left field traveling through center field then making its way to our section on the first base line. We were getting ready, couldn’t wait for it to get to us!! There were a bunch of kids that were equally excited. The moment of truth came as the wave approached our section. My brother and I rose from our seats, threw our hands in the air yelling and screaming cheering our favorite team, the Cleveland Indians. The group of kids behind us cheered the Rangers with the same emotion.

Then I looked and there was a family in front of us that sat the whole time. Two of them, put their hands in the air reluctantly. The others didn’t move at all. As the game progressed the wave started two more times. We started building excitement in our section, joking with everyone, singing during the inning breaks and making new friends. The wave a started a third and final time. This time the family in front of us stood up with the same enthusiasm as the rest of the section, yelling and screaming for the Rangers.

Event planning and management starts with enthusiasm. It is contagious! Entertaining personalities, events, and atmospheres are welcoming! Everyone likes to smile and be a part of a festive, joyous environment. Does your tournament do the wave with emotion or from your seats? This can make all the difference in the world of recruiting and retaining teams, volunteers, refeerees, sponsors and venues. A positive buzz of energy will develop around your event by taking this approach. As a result, you will have less turnover, letdowns and negative situations because people will be vested. Start doing the wave with emotion as you plan for your tournament this year!