1. Organization a. Who will be the Tournament Director/Coordinator? b. What will the format be? How will ties be decided? c. When will it occur? Check for scheduling conflicts (HOA events, holidays, etc.) Is there a rain date? d. How many courts are needed? i. Check with the Tennis Club to use their courts. ii. Reserve courts on Reserve My Court. e. Will there be a Sponsor? Will the Sponsor provide a meal – lunch, dinner, snacks, water? Will the Sponsor provide t-shirts or other swag? f. Who will be the emcee at the lunch or dinner? g. Will medals be awarded to the winners? If yes, inventory the number of medals available. Purchase more if needed. h. Ensure sufficient new balls are available – if not, purchase more. i. Will a photographer be assigned to cover the tournament?
2. Volunteers a. Determine Volunteer Coordinator. b. Determine the volunteer positions needed and include them in the signup process. Possibilities include photography, scorer’s table, score runners, court set-up, court take-down, lunch distribution, t-shirt distribution, decorating the tables for dinner, and dinner clean-up. c. When sign-ups are received, determine the lead volunteer to coordinate each volunteer group’s activities. d. Communicate expectations to volunteers. e. If there are more volunteers than needed, communicate to those who are not required that they will be able to watch the tournament without volunteer duties and thank them for volunteering.
3. Communication a. Set up a survey in MailChimp to capture sign-ups, including: i. Players with the level of play selection. ii. Volunteers, with opportunities for selection. iii. Meal, if applicable. iv. T-shirts, if applicable, with size and gender selection. b. Create a sign-up email with a link to the survey. c. Email sign-up announcement. d. Email sign-up reminder(s) before the sign-up closes.
4. Lunch or Dinner a. If lunch or dinner is provided, inform the Sponsor of the number of meals needed.
5. Outside Vendor a. If an outside vendor is compensated, even if the Pickleball Club is not paying the vendor directly, such as for a meal provided by the sponsor, coordination with the Lifestyle Director is required. A Certificate of Insurance from the vendor is required. Form CLL-4 Contract for Services must be filled out and then signed by the Association Manager. This information should be submitted to the HOA office one week prior to the tournament.
6. If t-shirts are being provided: a. Let the Sponsor know the number of shirts by size and gender. b. Distribute shirts and any Sponsor swag to the players and volunteers before the tournament.
7. Assign players a. Determine which levels will play at the first session, second session, etc. b. If there are teams, determine who will play together. c. Create score sheets with players and courts on which they will play according to the tournament format. d. Communicate to players who they will be playing with, and on which courts they will start play. e. Replace players with suns when they can no longer play. Update scoresheets to reflect the change.
8. Snacks and water a. Purchase snacks and water if provided by the club.
9. Invoice to Sponsor a. If the sponsor is going to reimburse the club for the cost of the tournament, provide an invoice or list of charges to the sponsor. b. Receive payment and deposit.
Tournament Day
10. Set-up a. Set up courts with nets, balls, etc., as needed. Add portable nets to the tennis courts. Sweep/blow courts to remove debris, if needed. Dry courts, if needed. b. Set up tables/chairs for scorers, food, Sponsor, etc. c. Set up banner, if applicable. d. Set up a whiteboard so all can view scores. e. Post scoresheets on the whiteboard. f. Post scoresheets by court to clipboards for runners. g. Post scoresheet to Scorer’s table.
11. Photograph players and volunteers. a. Get photographs printed and framed for the Sponsor, if applicable. b. Post photos on the club’s Facebook page. c. Send photos to the person writing the Waterfall article.
12. Scorer’s Table a. Distribute court score sheets on clipboards to runners before games begin. b. When games finish, “runners” from each court bring scores to the scorer’s table. c. The scorer’s table posts scores on the master scoresheet and on the whiteboard, where everyone can see. d. The scorer’s table resolves ties based on a predetermined system. e. The scorer’s table posts the final ranking for the medal awards ceremony, if medals are being awarded. They also distribute the rankings to the person writing the MailChimp announcement of the winners and the person writing the Facebook post.
13. Lunch, provided by the Sponsor a. Introduce and thank the Sponsor. b. Serve lunch. c. Clean up after lunch.
14. Court Take-down / Clean-up a. Return courts to their original condition, including removing portable nets from the tennis courts. b. Return tables and chairs. c. Return the whiteboard and banner, if used, to the storage room. d. Remove all trash. e. Retrieve all balls.
15. Event Insurance a. Determine whether to purchase event insurance. Residents have their own insurance and have signed a waiver saying they are using the HOA facilities at their own risk. Guests and vendors should sign similar waivers. In addition, vendors have liability insurance. The event insurance covers damages to the premises (clubhouse) other than fire and medical payments of up to $5,000 per person. Each occurrence has a $1 million limit with a $1,000 deductible. This insurance is for one day. At one time, event insurance was required when using the clubhouse for an event. The last time we heard, the HOA no longer required event insurance. In 2024, the insurance was $128. b. If event insurance is to be purchased, the club has used www.eventhelper.com in the past.
16. Dinner – Ballroom Catered by Sponsor a. Purchase desserts, if needed. b. Decorate the ballroom. c. Set up the ballroom with tables, chairs, etc. d. Set up the kitchen with tables for serving. e. Set up audio equipment and test for speeches and awards. f. Set up water and cups. g. Introduce and thank the Sponsor. h. Present the Sponsor with the framed photograph of participants, if applicable. i. Serve dinner by letting the tables go to the kitchen a few at a time. j. When dinner has finished, announce the medal winners and present medals to the winners. k. Clean up after dinner – return tables and chairs, empty trash, etc.
16. Dinner – Outdoor Potluck – with or without Sponsor a. Inventory/purchase plasticware, plates, cups, etc. b. Set up serving tables. c. Set up water and cups. d. Introduce and thank the Sponsor. e. Present the Sponsor with the framed photograph of participants (if applicable). f. Serve dinner. g. Announce medal winners and present medals to the winners, if medals are part of the tournament. h. Clean up after dinner – return tables and chairs, remove decorations, empty trash, etc.
After The Tournament
17. Post information and pictures about the tournament. Congratulate the winners and thank the Sponsor. a. Post on the club’s Facebook page. b. Send an email via MailChimp. c. Post in the Waterfall.
