Throughout the summer of 2015 & 2016 Volleyball Western Australia conduct the Alcohol. Think Again Beach Volleyball Tour along the West Australian coast line. The Leighton Beach tournament in Fremantle was held over the weekend of the 2nd & 3rd of April. Leighton Beach marked the end of the beach volleyball season for the year.
As I only commenced my internship a month ago and understanding the nature of events majority of the planning for this tournament had been sorted earlier in the year. This payments for the beach hire, the hiring of rubbish bins and notification to surrounding businesses and local emergency services. Notification of the event to surrounding businesses and local emergency services is an important consideration but one I had not thought of. This drew my attention to how public relations practitioners build relationships with their stakeholders, in this sense an event coordinator would be notifying those affected or potentially affected by the event and building relationships with these groups in hopes of returning in years to come. Informing local emergency services also works as a risk control in the event of an unpleasant situation.
A few weeks in advance I was advised to email the set up and pack down crew, notifying them of the times we required help. This included set up on Thursday the 31st March, Friday the 1st of April and pack down on Sunday the 3rd April. Communication with these employees was done via email to inform them of the times and dates we required assistance. I have witnessed that most internal and external communications with stakeholders by VWA are executed through the communication channels of either email or telephone. My contribution to the planning stage comprised of actions a few days prior to the event. These actions included the creation of the entry list for both the men and the women and making the scoresheet packages for the refereeing teams. In terms of risk and the possible occurrence of an emergency I was required to make an emergency contact list consisting of each player’s information with also who and how to contact in case of an emergency.
An issue in planning were the several alterations to the players seeding list. The seeding list for the event is important as it places the playing teams in order of highest to lowest based on the two players points they have incurred over the season. This is also the basis for the game format of the tournament. Another issue arose with the setting up of the event, Irene received a phone call from the set up crew coordinator and was informed of his failure to check the trailer of equipment. This meant we were short 9 chairs to set out on the outskirts of the courts and there weren’t the required post pads on one court. Irene kept calm whilst speaking to the set up crew coordinator, she solved the problem by requiring me to take the extra equipment to the beach the next morning. This taught me multiple issues or problems can arise with the planning of an event and therefore it is important to solve the problem and communicate clearing and appropriately.
On the Saturday and Sunday the tournament was run by Jonathan Hunt and I in place as the Assistant Tournament Director. When arriving to the beach on the Saturday morning it was brought to my attention with the presence of a security guard the extra controls VWA implemented to ensure the mitigation of multiple risks outlined in the pre prepared Leighton Beach Risk Management Matrix. Security was employed to commence after set up on the friday and after the games on the saturday until the morning when John and myself arrived. Sponsorship once again for Volleyball WA was a major focal point. In setting up Heathways with the Alcohol. Think Again message signage was carefully placed for optimal visibility and placement for photos. Volleyball WA signage was utilised to convey to beach goers and spectators the coordinating company and Fortix a massive sponsor for VWA was showcased through the use of signage and logos. There was support through physical appearance by sponsors 92.9 and the Sunday Times. 92.9 came to Leighton on the Saturday and parked their 92.9 car behind the courts near the surf club. They were playing the 92.9 radio station through the car whilst handing out free ice-creams, juices, beach balls, beach towels, lip balms and more, all stamped with the 92.9 logo. This assists in conveying their strong affiliation with VWA as both entities are involved in a mutually beneficial sponsorship. The Sunday Times arrived on the Sunday with a stack of free newspapers to disperse to players and the local community. Whilst assisting the tournament director John I realised the importance of decision making and the need to understand to make informed decisions. This was conveyed through the game fixtures, throughout the day John as tournament director had the opportunity to alter the fixtures in order to change the finishing time of the event to a little earlier. As a volleyball player himself and experience with the beach tournaments and game format he was able to make informed decisions on the day.
Risk Management and health and safety are a major consideration for Volleyball WA as I have witnessed throughout my placement. Through the Leighton Beach Tournament, this was conveyed through the supplying of commercial sunscreen for the players to mitigate the risks of sunburn and the catastrophic risk of sun cancer. It is also mandatory for one of the VWA coordinators on site at the event to be quipped with a first aid certificate and naturally for there to be a first aid kit present. The constant supply of cold water was needed for the participants, this required Jonathan and I to continuously fill the two water tanks with water and Jonathan was required to purchase ice in the morning before the tournament.
Through the day I was communicating with the participants of the event, Jonathan, the tournament director, the sponsors 92.9 and the Sunday Times as well as the security guards. Dealing with multiple stakeholders and ensuring activities were running smoothly.
Post tournament activities included constructing the result summary and inputting the games score data into an excel spreadsheet. These results required to be communicated to the participants of the event, therefore I was required to upload the summary to the Alcohol. Think Again Beach Volleyball Tour - Leighton website page as well as the recent results part of the VWA page. I was also required to upload the results to the VWA Facebook page which is a domain for the public but specifically directed at the participants. This assisted in reflecting on media relations learnt throughout my studies, as the tournament comprises of participants ranging from the ages of 12 to 40 Facebook is a useful communication channel. Inputting the information to Facebook will help to reach the stakeholders and communicate VWA’s information.
Links:
https://www.volleyballwa.com.au/atabt-round-8-leighton-results/
https://www.volleyballwa.com.au/atabt-round-3-leighton/
https://www.facebook.com/Volleyball-WA-144107898987077/?fref=ts
Whilst studying Public Relations I have identified the importance of meeting budget requirements, for events and especially for VWA as a non for profit organisation. The budget included income which equated to costs teams played to play for the tournament and the major expense of prize money, wages, security costs and travel expenses.
Throughout this event I reflected on a wide range of topics learnt through studying Public Relations and Events Management, it was great to have the on site experience and ability to put theory learnt into practice.
Thank you for reading
Monique Power
17731708
