Post Event Review: Chevron City to Surf for Activ

Next week will be my final week at Corporate Sports Australia and it’s safe to say there has never been a dull moment.

Last weekend (Sunday 25^th August) the Chevron City to Surf for Activ took place. The day was a great success with over 48,000 people registering.

My role on the day was to assist the media coordinator and local media at the finish line with interviewing the winners of each race category and notable participants. My day started at 6am down at City Beach Oval and was a somewhat quiet morning – until the winners started coming through.

I was caught by surprise when the marathon winner and the 4km male and female winners crossed the line all within a 2 minute time frame. At this moment my quiet morning turned into chaos. I was required to get the names and bib numbers of the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place winners both male and female for every distance. This would have been impossible for me to do by myself due to the large volume of competitors crossing the line, but luckily I had an excellent team of volunteers to help me out.

Being stationed at the finish line was a great experience and it was exciting to see the winners cross the line and to be able to speak to them. I was able to speak with the male winner of the 42KM marathon; although there was a significant language barrier it was inspiring to hear what he had to say and also how much he loved Australia. A few weeks ago I also produced a press release which ran in The Sunday Times about a 3 time cancer survivor from the United States who was flying in to participate in the marathon as a step closer to reaching his goal of running a marathon on every continent. I was lucky enough to see him cross the line and congratulate him on his achievement, this was a highlight for me as his story was so inspiring it was great to be able to meet him and hear what he had to say about the course.

On event day there were no issues or problems, as myself and my supervisor Kendell were very prepared. We had a few briefing sessions during the week to ensure I was 100 per cent on top of what I needed to do on the day. I had also produced us both a document, which included contact information and event statistics, should we be asked for them. In the end I was entirely comfortable in my role and knew exactly what Kendell and the rest of the Corporate Sports team expected of me.

Overall the event was a great success besides a few road closure and timing issues, which will be taken into account for next years event.

The past week back in the office has been very hectic as I’m sure most of you have heard that one man tragically died on Sunday after being transferred to hospital and another man has passed away after admitting himself to hospital on Sunday night. I will not go into details on either of these unfortunate circumstances due to their sensitive nature. But as a result of this I have learnt vital skills in crisis management over the last week with the two deaths receiving a large amount of media attention.

Additionally Today Tonight also ran a current affair story surrounding an individual who was dissatisfied with his experience at the Chevron City to Surf for Activ. As a result of this story I have learnt that the media will say anything to pull ratings, as the story that was run was entirely untrue. In response to this story Corporate Sports Australia posted a statement on their Facebook page. It was not an attack or a statement of rebuttal, the company was simply setting facts straight and congratulating the individual on his inspiring personal achievement. This has been an example of successful crisis management as the story was then laid to bed with no more to come of it.

As a result of these unfortunate circumstances that have resulted after the event I have leant basic lessons in crisis management. I have come to understand that you must pick the right moment when you do want to say something and that you have to decide whether you should or shouldn’t say anything at all.

Overall my experience at Corporate Sports Australia has been very enjoyable. Ill be honest and admit that I wasn’t overly excited about the idea of working without pay, however I have totally enjoyed my experience. My writing has greatly improved and I have learnt vital industry experience. I encourage anyone who is looking for a hands on internship, where you work on real projects and have real responsibility to look up Corporate Sports Australia – I have loved every minute of it.

That is all from me, I hope you have enjoyed reading about my experiences at Corporate Sports Australia!

- Stacie