How to Run a Tournament

Tournaments are prevalent in nearly all types of sport. There are many high profile tournaments, such as soccer's World Cup and the NCAA college basketball play-offs. But they are also held for high school sports and for local amateur teams from town softball leagues to Pop Warner football. Organizations often run tournaments as a method of fund raising. Putting together your own tournament requires a few organization skills, but with enough dedicated volunteers and planning, you can pull it off.

Things You'll Need

  • Volunteers
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Instructions

    • 1

      Create the mechanism for how the tournament will be played. Decide on a bracket-style tournament, which could incorporate double- or single-elimination play, or a round robin, or a point system. Whichever way you decide to go, make sure entrants are well aware of the how the tournament will run before they sign up.

    • 2

      Select a venue for your tournament. Depending on the sport, you may need multiple playing fields. Contact the owners or caretakers for permission and pay any fees that may be required. It's important to lock the down dates in advance to secure the locations for your tournament.

    • 3

      Create a system for collecting entry fees (if there is one) for when people/teams sign up. This can be done the old-fashion way by having the entrants mail you checks, or you can set up a web site that accepts credit cards or a pay service such as Pay Pal.

    • 4

      Invite the competition. This can be done through direct letters, emails, a web site, or just by phoning them. Inform them of the requirements, such as the dates and times, the rules, tournament style, uniform requirements (if any), entry fees and deadlines.

    • 5

      Hire people for specific roles. You will need a number of umpires or referees, depending on the sport, to regulate the games. You may also reach out to volunteers for roles such as official scorer, announcer, and people to run concession stands. Many of the people are probably already in your organization and will be happy to help the cause.

    • 6

      Create a check-in point on the first day of the tournament. This is where teams or competitors will sign in upon arrival and pay any entry fees, if they have not already done so. This is also where they will learn of the time and field location for their first game.