u u A GUIDE TO RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL OPEN DAY u u u u u u Why Run An Open Day? A well run Open Day is a fantastic way to: 1.Attract new and returning players, volunteers and supporters to the club. 2.Engage with the community. 3.Share the great experiences you provide with as many people as possible. If it’s just about putting up a few posters around town and then preparing some tea/ coffee and some biscuits, then don’t bother! There has to be a genuine, widespread desire throughout the club to open the doors to new members and the community. Commitment and enthusiasm are prerequisites to have a great open day. Don’t try without them. Got that? Then, let’s get going: u u u u u u u Before the day Some people within your club will probably know some people at those organisations; use them. Remember to send your invitations out to give people plenty of notice before the day. PLANNING YOUR OPEN DAY 5. What activities are going to happen on the day? Make it FUN! There are a number of incredibly boring so-called Family Fun Days or Open Days. Make sure you have opportunities for them to ‘have a go’ without feeling embarrassed. 1. Why are we doing this? Write down and get agreement from everyone what you want to achieve on the day. We recommend a maximum of three points. More and the whole event gets confused. 2. Choosing the date When deciding upon a date for your event check that it doesn’t coincide with a major sporting or local event, half term or Bank Holiday weekends. Remember, just because you want to include a specific activity in the open day because you like it, does not mean it’s a good idea. A great experience for 7 year old kids will look very different to a good experience for ‘back to Rugby League’ 30 year olds. 3. What’s your story? What are you for? Develop a really good story as to why people within your community should want to join your club. One suggestion could be ‘to be the friendliest sports club in the area’. It looks and sounds simple; however, it must be a serious and lasting commitment to really work. Don’t forget that by involving local schools, scout groups/ girl guides they will bring with them parents, friends and therefore prospective members. Plan your day in line with your target audience. If you are inviting children/families to come along organise games, face painting etc. If your activity is planned outside, make sure you have a back up plan in the event of bad weather! 4. Who do you want to come? Be clear about who you want to attend. Are you targeting families, school children, students, or community partners? Whatever groups you decide to target make sure you can a) reach them b) give them a great experience on the day - experiences that are right for them. 6. Be a good neighbour Do let your neighbours know that you will be holding an event, when it will be and the time it is taking place. If you are situated near a school/community centre they may even be happy to allow you to use their facilities such as the kitchen or parking area or they may want to come along and join in the fun. Kids bring parents, sisters/brothers, friends = more potential players Your open day could also be a great way of engaging with potential and current community partners from schools, housing, health, community groups, youth services etc. These non-sport organisations can become great partner but firstly, they must get to know you. Invite them to your open day and show and tell them about how you are making a difference to the local community. So remember to invite: • Local schools, colleges and universities • Local council and housing associations • Community groups and youth clubs. •Police • GPs and other health representatives • Local businesses • Local MP or Councillor • Local media • Local celebrities u u 7. Getting the right volunteers to do the right jobs Identify what tasks need to be allocated to you club volunteers. It is always a good idea to have a few extra volunteers on hand acting as floaters so that they can quickly be deployed to help where they are needed, and its a good idea to have a trained First Aider on site just in case they are required. 8. Parking and Directions Make sure people know how to get to you! You may want to consider including a simple map of how to find your setting on any promotional material you send out, particularly if it’s difficult to find. Have a designated member of staff in charge of your parking area - don’t forget to identify overflow parking. u u u u u u u ON THE DAY 9. Promote your open day There are lots of things you can do to promote your open day. Here are a few suggestions: HOW TO DELIVER YOUR OPEN DAY a)Start with getting all existing members behind the event - both to support on the day and with spreading the word to all their contacts including on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter etc. 1. Allocate roles for the day Make sure all the roles are allocated on the day and that volunteers are well prepared and understand their duties. Give all volunteers a briefing including the emergency action plan. b)Produce and print a flyer promoting the event including an email version - sell the benefits of attending and not just list the activities you are running. What’s in it for people to come along? 2. Get contact details for every visitor Set up a registration desk and make sure you have a form where you can write down the name, mobile number and email address of the visitors. You then put that on your database so you can stay in touch to offer them a taster session or invite them to your next event. Make sure people have the opportunity to sign up or become a member on the day. Make sure your flyer contains a phone number and email address so that they can contact somebody for further information. Decide where will you display these and how many will you need? Consider all places within the community e.g. shops, community centres, doctors. c)Remember to invite everyone you have contact details for including parents of registered children. 3. Clean the club Make sure that everything and everywhere is clean and tidy, from toilets to notice boards. Remember your club is on show. d)If your club is facing a busy road, produce a big sign promoting your open day. To save money for the future, design it in such a way that it can be re-used in future years simply by changing the date. 4. Be welcoming Make sure that you place ‘your friendliest members’ at the entrance to welcome people when they arrive and wish them a ‘safe journey’ when they leave. e)Make sure your club website is up to date and use this and your Facebook and Twitter to spread the word. Avoid using lots of text. Keep it short, sharp & simple. 5. VIPs If you are having a local dignitary attend the event you will need to follow any protocols, be ready to meet and greet and generally have someone look after them for the whole of their visit. If they are opening the event or carrying out a ribbon cutting ceremony, think carefully about timing and location. f)Contact your local media, such as newspapers and radio; tell them about what you do and your aspirations. Offer prizes or incentives to come along. Remember that just because you have invited the local press it does not mean that they will attend. It is a good idea to arrange for a photographer to attend so that you can submit pictures to the local press for publication after the event. You can also use the photos for future marketing material. The more exciting your open day is, the more likely you are to attract media coverage. g)You could link up with a local charity and raise money for them in connection with the open day. It demonstrates your community spirit, adds engagement through them and provides you with the opportunity of linking up with their supporters and perhaps even a local celebrity who is supporting the charity. A picture of a local celebrity trying out Rugby League raising money for a local charity is much appreciated by local newspapers. u u u u u u u u AFTER THE DAY You have done all the hard work and run a successful open day it can be tempting to relax. However, don’t stop now. 1. Clearing Up Do remember that you will need your staff and volunteers to help clear away at the end of the day. 2. Tell the world about the excellent work you’ve done Take photos and record videos and put them on your Facebook page and website and send them out via Twitter. Make sure you send your photos and a brief write up to your local media and the Rugby League papers. 3. Contact everyone that came along You have created a higher profile of your club within your local community and made many new friends. Now is the time to recruit those new members and volunteers and follow up with potential partners, while the great experiences from the open day is still fresh in their memory. Make sure you fulfil all your promises to your new members and send those follow-up emails and texts; try assigning a buddy to each of the new members. 4. And finally… Thank all your volunteers who helped run the event. Over a cup of tea or, perhaps even something stronger, sit down with your colleagues and discuss what worked really well and where there are areas where you could improve for the next Open Day. u u u u u u u u u u u Your Open Day Checklist BEFORE THE DAY Have we agreed the reason we’re doing it? Have we chosen the date and time? Have we produced an invitation list? Have we planned the activities that will take place on the day? Do we have a bad weather plan? Have we allocated roles amongst the club volunteers? Have we informed and invited the neighbours? Have we informed all our club members? Have we produced promotional material? Have we sent out the invitations? Have we updated our website and Facebook page? Have we contacted the local media? Do we have a registration form ready for the day to capture visitor information? Have we got a photographer or volunteer to take photos? ON THE DAY Is the club clean and tidy? Have all the volunteers been briefed? Have we set up a registration desk or data capture point? Are our friendliest people on the door to welcome people in? Are we ready for our VIPs and do we know who is in charge of looking after them? AFTER THE DAY Have we cleaned up the club? Have we written up the story for our website and facebook? Have we sent photos and a story to the local media and Rugby League papers? Have we contacted everyone that came on the day to invite them to join? Have we thanked everyone who helped make the day possible? u
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