| Team Sports Party Tips |
By: Claire Yezbak Fadden
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The team has played it’s final game for the year and you want to commemorate the successful season with a party or awards banquet of some sort. Deciding on what type of party to have may depend on a number of things: team traditions, funding, booster club involvement, formal or casual and last but certainly not least, the appropriate venue. This affair should be a fun and energized evening for everyone, not just the team members. So let’s get started...
Price out numerous venues and do it way in advance. Get your team’s award dinner on the school calendar first so you don’t run into a lot of conflicts. Don’t get into the rut of going to the same place every year. Make sure you are getting the most for your money. Also make sure your contact at the facility is someone you can work with.
Menu—Make sure your menu has some diversity. Don’t try to save money by offering only one selection. Check the price per head of a buffet, instead of table service. A buffet will offer more choices and may be less expensive. Just make sure your contact has a tested plan to get everyone up and back from the buffet table in a timely manner. You don’t want a buffet set up that is single line, ask how they would set it up for a group of your size. Also, make sure they will accommodate any dietary restrictions that one of the athletes or their guests may need at no extra charge.
Run a Raffle—Plan a raffle with some fun prizes and have them set up on tables as your guests arrive. Sell tickets and have bowls by each prize. The guests place tickets into the bowls for the prizes they would like to win. Since you will ask to have all the raffle items donated, this is a pure profit center for your club. Draw the raffle in between speeches and presentations to add some fun!
Make Table Favors—While all the team members receive some type of plaque or team gift, table favors can add a great deal to your team awards dinner. A group of Moms can bake cookies with team member names and numbers on them, favors with the team mascot or other small items are great conversation pieces. Make sure you have enough for each and every guest!
Let Everyone Know Who Funded For The Team—In addition to the usual program outlining the team awards dinner itinerary, add a page that tells your guests what your organization accomplished for the team with the monies that were raised. This is great public relations for your club and even the kids are amazed at all that is given back to their sports team.
A Special Gift For The Team Members—While plaques, trophies and team apparel are all great gifts, team favorites are the photo collage mugs can be made for the graduating seniors or any other group that deserves special recognition. Simply asked parents to email their best digital photos of the games and from there you can create a collage for each senior and put it into a mug. They are easy and inexpensive but a wonderful fun album of their final season. |
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