NZFBB Event Organiser's Diary

[MasterTel]

Hopefully I can inform and enlighten you on some of the pains and gains of organising an NZFBB regional event. A lot of this will probably relate to other organisations like NABBA and INBA.

Please feel free to ask questions, make suggestions or add your experience if any other event organisers are out there!

My basic philosophy is to try and make a healthy profit from an event without sacrificing the quality for those concerned i.e. the NZFBB, the competitors, sponsors, spectators and bodybuilding in general. In other words, I strive to find a balance between making money and satisfying the people and reputation of the sport I am organising the event for.

Putting an event together is about identifying the big things and the not-so-big things and constantly prioritising and evaluating what needs to be done and by when.

The first consideration for any event: Venue - where will the event be held? To be continued ...

[deegee]

This will be very interesting to follow, I look forward to an inside look at the running and organisation side of things. Thanks

[Pseudonym]

Good stuff. Our competition countdown says you've got 10 weeks to go - how much preparation do you do before this point?

[MasterTel]

10 weeks out from an event I would expect to have the venue booked and deposit paid (if required), have draft details to the poster designer (text, images) and be finalising sponsors. I like to have the event posters printed at least 6 weeks before the event.

Why not get the posters printed earlier? The main reason is to give myself as much time to finalise the event sponsors, so their logos can be included on the poster. Most competitors will know when shows are on by checking event calendars which are usually published up to 12 months before an event is held. The event posters are more for providing specific event details (like start times, registration details, available classes and accommodation info) and attracting spectators to the event.

OK, on to selecting a venue. Here are the main things I consider:

Venue type: I prefer a theatre style venue vs a hall or gymnasium type venue as these are usually much more appropriate for the all important lighting and sound requirements plus the seating is usually more comfortable and tiered for better viewing.

Venue capacity: how many spectators are expected? This usually relates directly to the number of competitors you will have, which is always hard to calculate as you don't really know until the registration (usually the night before or the day of the event!) Ideally you want to have sufficient seating for everyone, but not too much so you lose atmosphere by only partly filling a venue. But this all depends on the next very important criteria .....

Venue cost: it's fine to have the biggest, fanciest venue, but can you afford it? This comes down to the all important budget and trying to predict how many competitors and spectators you will get.

Venue facilities: Is the stage big enough? Can it accommodate appropriate sound/lighting? Are the backstage facilities large enough with decent stage access? What are the car parking facililies like? Is there a foyer or similar area by the auditorium entry for sponsors stands?

Venue availability: A pretty obvious one - there is no point looking at all these other things if the venue is not available on the day you want it. Perhaps you find the ideal venue and can have it on a different date - this then comes down to how rigid your contest calendar is and how far out you are. 6 months out is probably OK to move an event one week or so either way, but not 6 weeks out!

That's some of the main considerations I have with choosing a venue - I'll add more as I think of them, but next I'll take a look at 'Event Sponsors and Income'.

[MasterTel]

Event Sponsors and Income:

Most events have 4 main sources of income: 1) Ticket sales 2) Sponsorship 3) Grants and 4) Competitor registration. I'll explain briefly what I consider for each of these sources:

1) The amount of ticket income depends on how much the tickets cost and how many people buy them. You can't afford to overprice your tickets or you will discourage people from buying them. Nor can you underprice them or you will diminish your income significantly. Most events have two sessions - pre-judging and finals. A discounted "combo" ticket for both sessions will benefit those who want to see the whole event and also encourage people who would normally prefer to just watch one but not both sessions. Advertising is vital - poster distribution to gyms, retailers etc, website notices, radio announcements, newspaper articles/advertising esp if a you expect a competitor who is a celebrity or has a newsworthy story.

2) Sponsorship. The standard benefits offered to sponsors include:

Company logo on event poster and program, free reserved seat event tickets, provision at venue to display signs, banners and stands, naming rights on event classes and opportunity to present prizes in those classes etc.

Usually I look for one principal or major cash sponsor who, as well as the standard benefits, will have naming rights for the event e.g. Les Mills for the Les Mills NZFBB Wellington champs. For smaller cash sponsors, I look for:

a) Official accommodation provider - a hotel or motel in a suitable location which can provide a cash sponsorship and discounted accommodation in return for competitor, spectator and judges room bookings, plus the standard sponsor benefits.

b) Official function venue - a nearby bar or restaurant to host the post-event function. As well as the standard benefits, possibly also the chance for them to cater the judges lunch or sponsors supper at the finals session interval.

c) Misc sponsors - think about what you would like as a return if you were a sponsor to consider who might be candidates, and tailor a package/offer to suit. Obvious choices are companies that have products or services relating to bodybuilding e.g. gymnasiums, health food manufacturers/retailers, sporting goods/clothing retailers/manufacturers, tanning/beauty salons etc.

3) Applying for grants from Licencing Trusts. You need to obtain two quotes for expenses like venue hire, sound/lighting, advertising, judges flights/accommodation, poster design/printing.

As well as cash sponsors, I usually have a number of regular "contra" sponsors i.e. those who provide product/services instead of cash e.g. weighing scales, weights for pump-up room, product/vouchers for prizes.

4) Competitor registation - usually $15 per competitor which is usually the smallest income source, but still valuable. Also, annual member subscriptions will be received for new competitors and those renewing their subscriptions.

[Pseudonym]

Also, annual member subscriptions will be received for new competitors and those renewing their subscriptions.

So is the money from any subs received put into the event, and not given to the Federation? I'd have thought you'd need to keep the funds separate.

You haven't mentioned the NZFBB as an income source - does the Federation put out a certain amount, or does the event organiser have to find all the funding himself?

[MasterTel]

Sorry, I didn't explain that very well. Yes, membership subscriptions are kept separate from the event income when it comes to working out the event profit/loss. But, any profit from the event goes to the Federation anyway, so it all becomes NZFBB income.

The majority of a members annual subscription of $45 goes toward general NZFBB expenses e.g. accounting fees, stationery, postage, Executive meeting travel fees etc. So, if you have an event with 85 competitors (as we had at the 2005 Wellington champs) and 30 of those are new members, that generates over $2,500 of income just from fees, which certainly helps pay a large chunk of those general expenses.

No, the NZFBB doesn't inject income into the event, other than paying a fee to the organiser of $2,000 (for a regional event) or $4,000 (for Nationals). They do assist with the funding applications (grants), but as many of the event organisers are also on the Executive (like myself) we tend to do most of that work ourselves anyway! Note that recently a few organisers have declined part or all of that fee to help the NZFBB financial situation. Most, if not all organisers, do the job for the love of the sport, not to earn a fee (which for the work involved is not really a lot!). Once all expenses are taking away from the event income, any profit is retained by the NZFBB. Some events are occasionally privately run i.e. the organiser pays a fee of say $2,500 to the NZFBB and retain any profit they make, or cop the loss themselves - basically the NZFBB is guaranteed the fee even if the show flops.

[MasterTel]

Now on to a topic of great interest to those competing in an event - what prizes/giveaways do you allocate for competitors?

While most competitors don't compete to win a big prize, it is important to recognise the competitors achievement of doing the hard yards to get on stage. But you also have limited money to spend on the competitors rewards. Obviously you want to provide decent trophies and prizes for those who place 1st, 2nd or 3rd. Also, you want to have something extra nice for the overall champs. While getting a big tub of protein powder may be worth more $$$-wise than a trophy, it's the trophy that will last as a permanent reminder of a competitor's achievement.

So, what if you compete and don't place in the top 3? For all events I organise, I put together competitor packs for ALL competitors, which are given out at registration. This means that everyone gets something. It doesn't take too much effort to source product samples, discount vouchers etc to put in the packs. I include back issues of sports magazines - usually I can get these from the publisher/printer just for the cost of posting them to me. We usually print event t-shirts and either give these to the competitors or sell them at less than cost. I have had various companies provide discount vouchers, boxes of cereal, protein bars and drinks - even tubes of toothpaste! Hey - if it's offered for free, why not use it?

I rely very much on the generosity of sponsors for prizes - usually we are given approx $4,000 worth of protein powders, bars and supplements to use for prizes and giveaways at an event. I like to give prizes to all placegetters, so I have to spend perhaps $1,000 to cover any shortfall. The trophies for an event cost anywhere from $1,500 to $3,500 depending on the number of competitors.

I'm always looking for suggestions for what to provide for competitors, so any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

[Pseudonym]

How's it going, MasterTel? With 5 weeks to go, what's been your focus recently, and what's left to do?

[2guns]

wat about the drug testing? or do u know nothing about this?

[MasterTel]

Yes, it's just under 5 weeks out from the Wellington champs and everything is on schedule. The priority over the past 2-3 weeks has been confirming the poster design, getting 500 copies printed and distributing these to approx 70-80 people, gyms, shops, sponsors etc on my distribution list. A number of these contacts are out of the Wellington region and get 4 or 5 posters each to put up in gyms or shops in their region. 2 weeks out from the show I will get Phantom Billstickers to put up 100 - 150 posters around the Wellington region, and I like to keep at least 100 posters so I can put one in each competitor registration pack and also put up a handful at the registration venue and theatre.

Another priority has been confiming the sponsors, getting their contracts printed and sent to them for signing. A full list of sponsor details is sent to the NZFBB Treasurer so she can invoice them for their sponsorships. Ticketek now have the tickets on sale.

So after meeting a few important deadlines in the past few weeks, the pressure is off a bit. But there is still a lot more to do - it's a matter of looking of continually checking my master list and knocking things off gradually - ideally the post important things first.

Next up it is confirming supply and delivery of all the prizes, ordering the trophies and ensuring I have arranged for supply of the items to go in the competitor packs (e.g. poster, sponsors products (e.g. protein bars, vouchers), magazines etc).

Also this week I will start designing the event program - I do this myself with a desktop publishing package I picked up last year.

[MasterTel]

Yes, 2guns - as an event organiser I need to be well aware of the drug testing requirements.

Drug Free NZ (used to be NZSDA) conduct the drug testing for NZFBB events. They test at most events, but not necessarily all. We usually don't know if they will be attending an event until a day of so before, but we must have a private room and toilet available for for them to use if they attend. We also must supply them with a full list of competitors at the start of the event. I'm not sure of the selection process, but generally it is random selection, and the more elite competitors (i.e. overall winners) are more likely to be selected for a test than others.

At events I have organised there have been upwards of 6 competitors tested - the ratio is perhaps 1 test for every 10 or 15 competitors. The NZFBB do not have to pay for these tests, but I believe they cost over $500 per test, which is why only a handful are done per event.

Is that what you wanted to know? I don't know much more than that, but I'm happy to find out if you need more info - or you can contact Drug Free NZ.