How profitable is your soccer tournament? Is it viable?

Before you answer that question, do a quick calculation. Add up all the volunteer hours that were donated by your parents and tournament stake holders. Multiply this figure by the minimum wage (use 6.85/hr as that will probably become the new minimum very shortly.) Then multiply this by 8.5% to account for SUTA and FUTA. (We won’t do worker’s compensation cost or anything like that, but if you want to be entirely accurate for your state, you might want to think about that.) This is your real labor cost.

Now add this to your expenses. Is your tournament still in the black? If it is not, your tournament is not viable.

Our advice: If your tournament is not viable, take a look at your team fees. Can you raise them without losing teams? If the answer is no, why not? Are you just another tournament? Examine everything your volunteers are doing. Are ALL these tasks necessary? Can you automate some of these tasks without reducing quality? While it may sound counter-intuitive, what would happen if you paid key people like your sponsor sales or hotel coordination? Would they produce more if compensated? If you spent some money on advertising, would you attract better teams or entire clubs?

The answers are not easy and one does not fit every tournament, but the questions do. And they don’t help you if you don’t ask them and answer them honestly.

Jack Taylor, the tournament director for the Arsenal Challenge Cup in Cincinnati, Ohio shares some thoughts on what makes for a successful advertising and sponsorship program for a soccer tournament.

Listen to the podcast and then offer some feedback. Each feedback posting is eligible to win an iPod at the NSCAA and USYouth.

We are now on iTunes with a weekly (well, that’s the plan) podcast, usually posted Wed-Thurs. On the weekly show, we will have an interesting conversation with someone who is either in the soccer tournament business, supplies to the industry or is just a fun guest to talk to about the game.

So, subscribe today by clicking on the icon at the top of this page. If you don’t have iTunes, get it also at the top of the page.

To kick off our iTunes podcasts, we are giving away two iPods at the NSCAA and USYouth Conventions. Every time you offer feedback on a posting in this blog, you will be entered into the drawing. (Your feedback does need to be meaningful. You can’t just say Good job or Nice site even thought that does make us feel good.)

We are booth number 1138 at the NSCAA in Indy and we’re still waiting on our booth number for the USYouth. Stop on by; we’ll be podcasting from the booth as well.

During the last six years, I have been fortunate to manage Special Olympics Soccer, Softball and Basketball tournaments for athletes with disabilities in Ohio. Our tournament committee takes pride in offering an event that promotes healthy competition and physical exercise while providing a festive atmosphere for all who participate. These events have quickly gained a postive reputation in eyes of many involved with Special Olympics in Ohio. There are so many reasons for this feeling, from professional staff and caring volunteers to unique entertainment for visitors between games. These are the more obvious ways our tournament staff contribute to this reputation. One of the more subtle, but most effectives techniques is: WE MAKE PEOPLE FEEL WELCOME

Our Advice: Imagine the team who drove across the state or country to attend your event. Maybe they got stuck in traffic, a player got sick on the van or the coach just got a phone call from a frustrated parent. Then they show up at YOUR EVENT to: check into their hotel, register their team and go to their first game. What kind of environment are they coming to? Are they showing up to an event that is generally excited they are there or do they deal with staff/volunteers counting down the minutes until their shift is over? Suggestions follow for creating a welcoming atmosphere. Creativity and attention to detail are important.

Greeters at your tournament hotels
Welcome banners at local businesses, city limit signs, game sites,exit ramps, etc.
Personalized good luck postcards in team rooms and banners at all game sites.
Display spirit center messages in the hotel lobby, registration site and field sites.
Host a welcome/registration reception

I saw the power of this at a Special Olympics Softball Tournament this summer. Ashtabula County(Northeast corner of Ohio) drove 5 hours to participate in the event hosted in Troy(Southwest Ohio). Their team was tired and stressed because of traffic and their team van got a flat tire. The registration volunteers dealt with them in a very professional manner answering any questions they had. Then they went to Diamond #1 to play their first game. Awaiting them at their dugout were two signs. One said Play Hard Ashtabula County and the other said Thanks for coming Ashtabula County. Their coach was overwhelmed to tears because of how welcome they felt. Quickly they forgot about their five hour drive and flat tire. This how you want teams to leave your event. They will come back!!

Every morning, I drive my daughter to school. Well, more correctly, she drives and I ride because she has a learner’s permit. And every morning, we pass by a housing development that is one house, a piece of gutted farmland and this sign that appears to the left.

The developer needed a sign and needed it high off the road. So he did what any good builder (but bad brand manager) did and made a big pile of dirt and put the sign on this big pile. On a conscious level, I know that it is a sign on a pile of dirt. But on a subconscious level, I can’t help but see a freshly dug grave with a headstone.

Morbid? Probably. But even as I KNOW it is just a sign, my subconscious mind keep making references to a grave site.. and the inevitable jokes about the housing market, where good homes go to die, and a whole lot of other tasteless jokes that probably are not really appropriate.

Our advice: Take an objective look at the signs, tents, displays, posters, flyers, mailers and yes, even your web site. Do you see any grave markers? Sometimes they are not so obvious to spot because you, like the home builder, just had a problem that needed a quick solution. When you find them (and you will) replace them with signs that are more in line with your tournament brand.