Rules for Hosting a Sports Event: Schools’ Dodgeball Tournament (Part 3)

Preface

Like that viral meme song goes—“Can we skip to the good part?”

Well, here it is. All the grind and chaos from Parts I and II led to this: hosting a sports event. Six hours of live action at the VMU Sports Center, where every little detail gets judged—energy, vibe, organization, flow. And with a pilot sports event like this, you never quite know what’s coming until it hits you.

So welcome to Part III of this 3-part series, where I break down how we hosted a small-scale but real-deal dodgeball tournament, created for high school students (grades 9–12), and aimed to be much more than “just another school event.”

As mentioned before—whether it’s a tiny local game or a large national sports event, or any event, the fundamentals of event planning and hosting don’t change. You need a great team. You need a crystal-clear schedule so everyone knows where to go, when, and what to expect. Sure, scale changes things—bigger venue, more logistics, higher expectations—but the core truth stays simple: every event is a maze for the participant, and your job is to make sure the route is clear, smooth, and rewarding.

Now let’s talk numbers. We ended up with 12 teams, 144 students, and 12 teachers—156 participants in total. For a non-profit, free-to-join sports event, those are good numbers. And at that level, expectations are pretty manageable:

• Get a chance to warm up;
• Get clear match info;
• Know who you play, when, and where;
• Refereeing that doesn’t cause chaos

Everything else is a bonus: shirts, snacks, prizes, clean lockers, and face time with well-known athletes or influencers. Those things soften any hiccups and add memory value.

But here’s where many forget the other half of hosting a sports event—it’s not just about the live action. If you want to build momentum, grow it next year, or attract serious sponsors, you’ve got to lock in communication goals and be serious about the marketing part too. That means strong visuals, good copy, and content that sells the story: photos, videos, ambassador quotes, behind-the-scenes and fabulous post-event report.

Because at the end of the day, one tournament isn’t the full win—starting a rhythm is. And if you do it right, even a dodgeball game at the VMU Sports Center becomes the seed of something way bigger.

So, here’s a reminder of other parts (separate articles):

• Part 1: The Idea – how the idea of this sports event was born, why it mattered, and what checkboxes had to be filled before anything could happen. This is this article.
• Part 2: Promotion – how we planned to get people interested in our student dodgeball tournament, involved, and signed up. Period of communication, some sports marketing basics.
• Part 3: The Event – what went down on game day, what worked, what didn’t, and what we learned. During and after the event.

Alright, so for Part III, I’m once again skipping the intros—who I am, my background in sports and entertainment marketing, why we’re doing this, and why this whole VMU Sports Center dodgeball idea even made sense. You can find all of that in Rules for Planning a Sports Event: Schools’ Dodgeball Tournament (Part 1) and Rules for Promoting a Sports Event: Schools’ Dodgeball Tournament (Part 2), where I broke down how we got to this point—where we actually can and get the privilege of hosting a sports event. Not just dreaming it, but pulling it off.

Hosting a Sports Event

Okay, so now let’s get into what truly makes or breaks hosting a sports event—the team. And here, we got seriously lucky. We had a crew that didn’t just show up—they showed heart. So, here’s a quick breakdown of the people who made this VMU Sports Center dodgeball tournament happen on the day of the sports event:

🧭 The Head of VMU Sports Center – Master of Organizing a Sports Event

The captain of the ship, who did have experience with sports event management. He made sure that when students and teachers arrived, everything was set. From prepping the VMU Sports Center, placing info tables, double-checking the schedule, stocking the infodesk with shirts, ensuring food was available for students—he handled the core logistics. He also coordinated the ambassadors, host, and DJ so everyone was exactly where they needed to be.

His team included:

• Info Person – She was our frontline guide. Helping students navigate the “maze,” handing out shirts, directing to lockers, and getting everyone ready for their matches.
• Head Referee + Referees – The backbone of any sports event. They ensured the dodgeball tournament ran smoothly, fairly, and without chaos.

👀 Ambassadors

They became that another bonus for the participants, and pushed the energy to another level. Once again, as in parts I and II, I’m gonna go through the list of what we had:

• A regular influencer
• A sports influencer
• An influencer-athlete
• A sports celebrity

And all of them had to be current or former VMU students—because this wasn’t just about promoting a dodgeball tournament. It was also about showcasing our university’s sports ecosystem, our people, and the talent we grow.

During the event, we also added one more sports influencer (non-VMU) and another influencer-athlete to the mix—and honestly, they sealed the deal. The vibe shifted from “fun school event” to “this feels like a real damn tournament.”

Let me quickly introduce each of them and highlight what made them click so well with our crowd (and yeah—go follow them, they’ve earned it).

🏆 Dainius Novickas

Coach of Lithuania’s Olympic 3×3 team (bronze, Paris 2024) and recently crowned Best Coach in Lithuania 2024.

He’s got that winner’s aura—not the fake hype kind, but the real deal. His team won the whole tournament and he snapped into full coach mode during the finals (yes, there’s a video below). It was intense, raw, and perfect—especially since we quickly realized that the sports part of the dodgeball event was way more serious than expected. His energy lifted the entire finale.

🔥 Vytenė Beleckė

One of the most decorated volleyball players in Lithuania—and she came to play.

Her team reached the finals, and when she got knocked out? She flipped off Dainius in the most badass, sports-hyped way possible. That moment added so much flair and personality to the finals—it was electric. Competitive, passionate, unforgettable.

🥋 Dovydas Rimkus (RIMKENZO)

A Lithuanian MMA fighter with a bold, polarizing persona—provocative in the ring, respectful in real life.

At events like these, he’s always a gentleman: connects instantly with teenage boys who look up to him, and sends the right messages about discipline, respect, and believing in yourself. A truly reliable ambassador who brings both presence and purpose.

⚡ Aistė Saprončikaitė

Always energized, always present. She showed up with her team and never left their side.

She made every student feel seen, posed for photos, talked with them, and added that genuine, heartwarming touch that only she can bring.

🎤 Haris Zenkovas

The only non-VMU rep—but he was the live event host, and an absolute legend.

He’s a known basketball podcaster and knows how to hold a mic. Haris brought charisma and structure—introducing teams with their chosen songs during the final rounds, running games during breaks, making kids laugh nonstop. A total game-changer and a fucking legend.

🎥 Martyna Petrėnaitė

FC Barcelona women’s basketball player, one of the best 3×3 basketball players in Lithuania, now turned event reporter for the day.

Why her? Because she has that rare charm where you she makes people feel better and smile more just by being around her. We made her the face of the event, and she delivered—her interviews were full of joy, she got even the shyest students to smile, and her vibe turned every story into something memorable. She was the energy.

These were the faces of our dodgeball tournament—and each of them played a unique role in making it feel like so much more than just a sports event. This was a celebration of youth, energy, competition, and the growing sports ecosystem at VMU.

🎥 The Head of Communication (me)

My job? Make sure everything that matters ends up on an SD card or a phone.

That means filming, posting, sharing, and making sure the internet knows the event is happening. I also kept in touch with teachers, made sure content was collected and edited on the go (since hiring a live editor team was out of budget), and did my best to turn chaos into stories.

My team included:

• Assistant – She filmed stories, followed our feed, re-shared content from participants, made reels—she kept our online presence alive in real-time.
• Two Video Operators – One focused on fun reports and ambassador/participant energy. The other got those clean, cinematic aftermovie shots.
• Photographer – I handled this for the first half of the event (I’ve shot tons of events before), and once our photographer arrived, I passed the torch to focus on directing and storytelling.
• Reporter – The face of the event. A good one brings energy, bridges the crowd and the camera, and keeps the vibe up. Ours did just that.

Now, if we had a bigger budget, I’d definitely bring in:

• Commentators
• A full tournament filming crew
• On-site editors (video + photo)
• Social content publishers
• Ad campaign managers
• A pro-level sound & lighting team
• Branded court designers

…But we didn’t. Most of us worked for free or for the love of it. And that made what we pulled off even more special.

To sum up, how to host a sports event, sports tournament (or any event)?

When hosting a sports event—or any kind of event—it’s crucial to define your main goals from the start and make sure you have the right people or departments responsible for each. In our case, we had two clear priorities: running a smooth tournament (handled by the sports department) and managing communication (handled by my content/communication unit).

If we had brought in more guests or high-profile ambassadors, we definitely would’ve needed a dedicated guest relations team. I ended up covering this myself, and with everything else going on—including coordinating the mascot, taking photos, guiding the videographer and reporter—it got overwhelming fast.

If we were to scale up next time, I’d definitely expand the structure. Here are a few teams or roles I think are worth your considerations when planning a sports event:

• A guest relations and hospitality team to handle ambassadors, mascots, speakers, and VIPs (for example, we had a Kaunas local legend Mantas Kalnietis in the house, and his arrival’s coordination could’ve been done better);
• A content creation team, including editors for real-time stories, video cuts, and feed coordination;
• A university engagement team offering side activities or info stands between games;
• A tech and livestream crew for live match commentary, filming games;
• A media partner contact point to work with journalists, press photographers, or other people (probably a must next time we do this);
• And of course, once the event gets bigger, and needs more volunteers, a team culture lead—someone making sure the volunteers are supported, smiling, and proud to be there; shout-out to this guy Simas who I worked with in Comic Con Baltics, and who was responsible for volunteers doing their tasks, and really made everything so much easier for everyone. Having a guy like that – when events get bigger is key.

Note that most of these roles can be filled with students, interns, or part-time helpers—but it works only as long as you know what you need and assign responsibilities clearly.

Because here’s a tough truth: if any of those parts are missing or someone underdelivers, it’s not really their fault—it’s yours. If you’re the one organizing, you’re the one responsible. Own it. Learn from it. Plan better next time. Even if someone is actively sabotaging the event or dragging everyone’s mood down, that’s still on you. You let them in. Most of the time, you can sense that energy from a mile away—so if they’re there, it means you ignored the signs.

Sports Event Communication during the Event

Now that I’ve laid out the basics that worked when hosting our dodgeball event at the VMU Sports Center, there’s one point I want to emphasize: content is king.

If you want to grow future events, attract sponsors, and increase visibility, you need to document and present your success. It’s not just about saying the event went well—you have to show it. That comes down to a few essential things in sports event marketing:

• Communication numbers: impressions, engagement, media coverage, and shares.
• How the event’s vibe, audience, and purpose align with a sponsor’s brand’s values.
• Showing that your event has room to grow in scale, format, or audience.
• And of course, proving that the event was a real success, not just in your eyes.

In our case, thanks to the participants, ambassadors, and team, this was actually pretty smooth. But here’s what I think helped most:

• Content that’s genuinely fun to watch. Martyna, the ambassadors, and students all brought energy and authenticity. When people are smiling on camera, joking around, or hyping each other up, that content sells itself.
• Photos that catch attention. Zoop’s colorful team shirts turned the entire VMU Sports Center into a visual playground. More than 200 people wearing event-branded shirts not only added aesthetic value but made every shot more engaging.
• And a live social feed that followed the momentum of the event. Keeping up with story mentions, reposting content from participants, and pushing behind-the-scenes action helped the event stay visible while it was still happening.

MISTAKE THAT I MADE. It slipped my mind to make sure that everyone who’s creating content during the event would tag us during it. I usually achieve it by making posters, asking the host to mention that, etc. So, it’s definitely something I’ll fix next time, as it’s crucial, works well and adds to the awareness.

If you’re hosting a sports event—or any event—don’t treat content like an afterthought. Plan for it, assign the right people to handle it, and treat it as the bridge between this year’s impact and next year’s growth. I’ve seen way too many events treat live communication like a “nice-to-have” instead of a core function. They drop photo galleries days later. They post aftermovies months later. That’s not how momentum works.

When the event is happening, that’s your golden window. People are physically there, they’re on their phones, they’re scrolling, they’re sharing. That’s the moment when your content has the best chance to reach beyond the venue. People want to tag, repost, check if they’re featured—feel part of something. Miss that window, and you lose a major chunk of potential visibility.

In almost every event, the biggest spike in followers, sales, or engagement happens while the event is live.

In my case, I didn’t emphasize this part enough during this event—because I was also juggling a dozen other things and working with extremely limited resources. But even so, we gained over 80 new followers during the event itself. For an event of our scale, that’s a huge win.

Results

As I mentioned before, I moved fast. The event took place on Friday—and just a few hours later, the full event photo gallery was already live. The aftermovie? Done by Saturday. On Monday, I personally sent thank-you letters to all participating teachers, including the aftermovie, photo gallery, and a post-event survey. By Tuesday, I had replies from most teachers, and that same day, I finalized and sent the post-event report—complete with survey results—to every sponsor involved.

That speed showed our sponsors we treat this work professionally and with respect. We also managed to get feedback from teachers while the experience was still fresh in their minds.

And their responses? Genuinely heart-warming. Some teachers wrote that their students couldn’t stop talking about the tournament on Monday morning. Others said how important these kinds of events are for their kids, and that reminds me of my podcast with Marc Lochbaum, where he emphasized that having fun is key for youth sports. The winning team came from Rokiškis, a small city of 11,000—and suddenly the whole town knew their boys and girls came home as champions. ❤️

Next up, I’ll share a few translated slides from the post-event report.

So, as I’ve said, the results were great. We got solid feedback from both the marketing department and our vice-rector Simona, who gave us the green light and moral blessing to move forward with this initiative. It really was a great experience, and also a very fun one, because it felt so different from working on large-scale events.

I won’t lie—there were plenty of mistakes (see Part II), but each one came with a lesson. This was a meaningful project, and I’ve got to admit it made me value small-scale sports events even more than before.

One of the camera operators even told me that he’d never seen a more chill person running both the event and its communication. And yeah, during the event I was pretty calm—but the prep phase definitely had its high-stress moments.

Anyway, I hope these three articles help you better prepare for your own event—whether it’s a small sports tournament or a big-time production. Organizing a sports event is fun, and I wish you all the luck.