Event planning at its best!

My work placement at WA Water Polo has been progressing really well and I have really enjoyed working with the staff members. It only got more exciting and interesting as at that point, the 2012 FINA World Youth Water Polo Championships was drawing closer and I was tasked to be in charge of several aspects of the event. The FINA World Youth Water Polo Championships was an international tournament that was held in Perth at Challenge Stadium from the 1^st to the 9^th of December and it included youth water polo team from 24 countries that came together to compete for top positions in the competition. WA Water Polo was in charge of coordinating the entire event and as such, I was given the opportunity to work on the event.  This was my very first time being involved in an event on international scale and I was very excited to be a part of it. Multitasking was an important skill I had to perfect, as there was so much to do at any one point in time. I was involved in contacting social clubs in Perth and sending out invites to these clubs to be apart of supporting teams from their home countries at the tournament. At this point, I realised that work does not simply end when you leave the office. As emails would be replied and sent after office hours, I was definitely expected to keep up and respond to queries and attend any work related matters after office hours. Besides working on the tournament itself, I was also tasked to work on the Final Night Function, a celebratory social evening for all participants in the competition to mark the end of the tournament. A volunteer and myself were the event planners for that function and we in charge of all details pertaining to the event. It was definitely a challenging task, especially for two people planning an entire event. Every aspect and detail of the event had to be looked after and most importantly, not forgotten. From the booking of the venue for the function to sourcing entertainment such as renting a booth and hiring a dj and purchasing drinks for the night, it was definitely a busy few weeks leading up to the final night. I learnt the basics of event planning and how to prepare and ensure that all needs for a function are met and at the same time, create a contingency plan to ensure that a back up plan is in place in case of an last minute change in plans.