Game Day Experience: The Complete Framework

Game day is when your club is on display. Every visitor, every opponent's parent, every sponsor walking through the gate is forming an opinion about your club in the first five minutes. Not about your team's win-loss record - about whether this feels like a place they want to be.

And here's the uncomfortable truth: most community clubs don't think about game day as something they design. They think of it as something that happens. The fixture says Saturday 2pm, so people show up, someone opens the canteen, somebody finds the scoreboard remote, and whatever happens, happens. Then on Monday night at the committee meeting, the same people complain about low canteen revenue, no new members, and sponsors who didn't renew.

The clubs that are growing - really growing, year on year - treat game day as their most important product. Not training. Not the AGM. Not the end-of-season trip. Game day. Because it's the only time each week when financial members, prospective members, families, sponsors, opponents, and complete strangers are all in the same place. That's a crowd you couldn't assemble on purpose if you tried.

This guide gives you a complete framework for game day - every touchpoint from the moment someone turns into your car park to the moment the last light goes off in the canteen. It's sport-agnostic (we've written sport-specific guides for individual codes), and it's built for the people who actually run these days: the volunteers, the committee members, the parent who got talked into being game day coordinator and now needs to know what that actually means.

1. Why game day matters more than you think

Let's put some numbers on it. A typical suburban sports club with 200 members might run 15 home game days per season. If each game day draws 150 people (players, families, spectators, visitors), that's 2,250 individual experiences across a season. Two thousand moments where someone is standing at your ground, forming an impression.

Now compare that to every other thing your club does to attract and retain members. Your website might get 500 visits a year. Your social media might reach a few hundred people per post. Your registration night might get 80 people through the door. Game day dwarfs all of it. It's not even close.

And the economics aren't subtle either. For many community clubs, canteen and bar revenue on game days accounts for 30–50% of total annual income. A well-run canteen can turn over $800–$1,500 on a good Saturday. A poorly run one - or one that's closed because nobody was rostered on - turns over nothing. Multiply that by 15 weeks and you're looking at $12,000–$22,000 in revenue sitting on the table. That's a set of jumpers, a ground maintenance contribution, and the deposit on next year's insurance.

But the real value isn't the money in the till. It's the people who come back. Research into community sport participation consistently shows that the social experience around the game - not the game itself - is the primary driver of continued involvement for families and social members. A parent whose kid plays under-10s doesn't come back because the team won. They come back because the canteen had decent coffee, another parent talked to them, and their kid had somewhere safe to play between games.

Geoff Wilson, in Leading a Grassroots Sports Club, calls game day "the shop window." Everything else your club does - the governance, the coaching accreditation, the strategic plan - is the back office. Game day is the shopfront. And nobody joins a shop because the back office is tidy.

2. The arrival experience

The first five minutes set the tone for everything that follows. Get the arrival right and you've built goodwill that carries through the day. Get it wrong - confusing parking, no signage, nobody to ask - and you're spending the rest of the afternoon trying to claw back from a deficit.

Signage and wayfinding

This is where the vast majority of community clubs fall down, and it's the cheapest thing to fix.

A first-time visitor - an opposition family, a new member's partner, a sponsor who said they'd "pop down and have a look" - needs to answer three questions within 60 seconds of arriving: Where do I park? Which field or court? Where are the toilets?

If they have to ask someone, you've already cost them a tiny piece of confidence. If there's nobody to ask, you've lost more than that.

What you need:

• Roadside corflute signs on game day pointing to the entrance. A-frame signs work. Doesn't need to be fancy - "CLUB NAME → PARKING" in big letters.
• Internal directional signs from parking to the main area. "OVAL 2 / CANTEEN / TOILETS" with arrows. Cable-tie them to fence posts if you need to.
• A ground map pinned to the main noticeboard showing where everything is. Particularly important for multi-oval or multi-court venues.
• Oval or court numbers visible from a distance if you have more than one playing surface.

Total cost: $50–$100 in corflute signs at the start of the season. Total impact: disproportionately large.

Parking

If your ground has a formal car park, great. If it's the typical Australian suburban sports club - a gravel area, an overflow paddock, and a prayer - then you need a plan.

Designate areas. Mark them with witches' hats or signs. Keep the closest spots for elderly members, families with young kids, and people with disabilities. Have someone directing traffic on big days - a volunteer in a hi-vis vest with a sense of humour works wonders. If your overflow area gets boggy in winter, have an alternative plan and communicate it before game day.

The car park is also where opposition teams arrive, often with a bus or in convoy. If their first experience is chaos, their coach and managers will remember. Word travels between clubs faster than you think.

The welcome

Someone needs to say hello. This is the single highest-impact, lowest-cost thing any club can do on game day, and most don't do it.

One volunteer. A table near the main entrance or gate. A smile. "Welcome - first time here? Grab a team sheet, canteen's that way, kick-off is at two." That's the entire script.

For returning members, it's a nod and a g'day. For new families, it's everything. The difference between walking onto a ground where you feel like you're intruding and one where you feel expected is literally one person making eye contact.

If you're charging gate entry, this is also where that happens - but the welcome comes first, the money second. Nobody's first interaction with your club should be a cash register.

Team sheets and day programs. Even a single A4 sheet with team lists, the day's schedule, and a note about canteen specials makes the experience feel intentional. Print 50 copies. It costs $8. It makes your club look like it has its act together, because it does.

3. Facilities and amenities

You can't always control the state of your facilities - council-owned grounds, ageing change rooms, a clubhouse that hasn't been painted since 1997. But you can control the experience within those constraints.

Toilets

They're the number one complaint at community sporting grounds across Australia. Every council survey, every participation study, every focus group says the same thing. Toilets.

You might not be able to renovate them this season. But you can:

• Make sure they're unlocked before people arrive (sounds obvious - happens constantly)
• Stock them with toilet paper, soap, and paper towels
• Check them at halftime and restock if needed
• Put signs on the doors if they're out of order, with directions to the alternative
• Report maintenance issues to council promptly and follow up

If your ground genuinely has inadequate toilet facilities, this is a conversation to have with your local council and your state sporting body. Many facility grants specifically cover amenity upgrades. It's worth the paperwork.

Shade and seating

Shade matters more than most clubs realise. In Australian conditions - 35-degree Saturdays are not unusual - lack of shade is a genuine safety issue for elderly members, young children, and anyone standing on a boundary for two hours.

If you don't have permanent shade structures:

• Pop-up marquees (3m x 3m gazebos) along the boundary make a real difference. Buy a few for the club - they're $80–$150 each and last several seasons if you look after them.
• Position them strategically near the canteen and at the main viewing area.
• Anchor them properly. A marquee that takes flight in a gust is a safety hazard and an insurance problem.

Seating follows the same logic. Not everyone can stand for four quarters or three sets. A row of plastic chairs, a couple of benches, even hay bales along the boundary - something for people who need to sit.

Accessibility

Your ground needs to be accessible for people using wheelchairs, walking frames, and prams. This is both a moral obligation and, in most cases, a legal one under the Disability Discrimination Act.

Practical steps:

• Clear pathways from parking to the main viewing area that a wheelchair or pram can navigate
• At least one accessible toilet (check it's actually unlocked and not being used as a storage room - this happens constantly)
• A flat viewing area near the main action, not stuck behind a hill or a fence
• Accessible canteen service - if there's a step up to the counter, serve from outside

You don't need to solve everything in one season. But you do need to be visibly making an effort, and you need to not be making things worse. A "temporarily" placed wheelie bin blocking the accessible path is the kind of thing that makes someone feel like they're not welcome.

4. The canteen and bar

For many community clubs, the canteen is the second-largest revenue source after membership fees. For some, it's the largest. But more than that, the canteen is where the social life of the club happens. It's where parents wait between games. Where committee members have informal conversations. Where a new member gets their first cup of tea and someone asks them how their kid is settling in.

Treating the canteen as "just a food counter" misses the point entirely.

Setup and operations

Open before the first game. Not at bounce-down or tip-off - at least 30 minutes before. People arrive early. They want coffee. If the canteen is shut when people are milling around, you've missed the easiest revenue of the day.

Stay open after the last game. Post-match is when the social happens. If the canteen shuts the moment the final whistle blows, people leave. If there's still a coffee machine going, a few drinks available, maybe some chips for the kids, people stay. And people who stay become people who belong.

The essentials:

• Hot water urn (for tea and coffee - non-negotiable)
• Basic coffee setup (a decent pod machine at minimum; some clubs have invested in a proper espresso machine and it's paid for itself in a season)
• Cold drinks (fridge stocked the night before)
• Snack food (chips, lollies, icy poles, fruit for the kids)
• Hot food if you have the capacity (pies, sausage rolls, the BBQ)

The BBQ

The sausage sizzle is an Australian institution, and for good reason - it's cheap to run, it smells incredible (which is free marketing to everyone within 200 metres), and the margins are excellent.

Economics of a basic sausage sizzle:

• 5kg of sausages (~40 snags): $25
• Bread: $5
• Onions, sauce, mustard: $10
• Total cost: ~$40
• Revenue at $3 per sausage: $120
• Margin: $80

Multiply that by 15 home games and you're looking at $1,200 profit from snags alone. Add drinks, coffee, pies, and chips and a well-run canteen on a decent day can clear $500–$800 profit without breaking a sweat.

Menu and pricing

Keep it simple. A menu with 30 items means complexity, waste, and slow service. The best club canteens run a tight menu - eight to twelve items - with clear prices on a board that's visible from a distance.

Price confidently. Community club canteen prices are often irrationally low because someone on the committee feels guilty about charging $3 for a can of Coke. Your members know the prices at the cafe down the road. Charging $2.50 for a coffee that costs $5.50 elsewhere isn't generous - it's leaving money on the table. Price at roughly 60–70% of retail and nobody blinks.

Display the prices clearly. A handwritten sign on butcher's paper is fine. A printed menu board is better. The point is that people can see what's available and how much it costs without having to ask. Asking feels like a commitment. Seeing a menu is browsing.

Compliance

Food and liquor compliance is not optional and the penalties for getting it wrong are significant.

Food handling:

• At least one person on canteen duty should hold a current food handling certificate (available online, takes a few hours, costs $100–$150)
• Follow temperature control rules: hot food above 60°C, cold food below 5°C
• Maintain a cleaning schedule and keep records
• Check your state health authority for specific requirements - they vary by state and by whether your canteen is permanent or temporary

Liquor licensing:

• You need a licence or permit to sell or supply alcohol. No exceptions.
• Most community clubs operate under a club licence (the name varies by state) which allows service to members and guests on the premises during specified hours.
• Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA): anyone serving alcohol must hold a current RSA certificate. This is a legal requirement, not a suggestion.
• Minors: clear rules about who can be served, where alcohol can be consumed, and supervision of junior areas.
• Check your state regulator: VCGLR (Victoria), Liquor & Gaming NSW, OLGR (Queensland), and equivalents in other states and territories.
• Your insurance may have conditions related to alcohol service. Check your policy.

If your club doesn't have a licence and wants to serve alcohol, start the application process well before the season. It's not instant.

5. Volunteer roles on game day

A game day doesn't run itself. It runs on volunteers. But there's a crucial difference between "we need some people to help out" and "we need a gate person from 12:30 to 3:30, and here's what they do."

The first approach gets you five people standing around wondering what to do. The second gets you a game day that works.

The roles

Here's a practical volunteer structure for a standard community club running two to three games on a Saturday:

Game day coordinator (1 person) The person who owns the day. They arrive first, make sure everything's set up, troubleshoot problems, and are the single point of contact when something goes wrong. This doesn't have to be a committee member - it's someone organised, calm under pressure, and known to the other volunteers. They carry the clipboard, the phone numbers, and the keys.

Gate / welcome (1–2 people) First point of contact. Greets visitors, hands out team sheets, collects gate entry if applicable, directs people to the canteen and facilities. On big days, one at the main entrance and one at the car park.

Canteen team (3–4 people) Covers food prep, serving, coffee, and cleanup. Rotate if the day is long. One person should be the canteen lead with a food handling certificate.

BBQ operator (1–2 people) Runs the sausage sizzle or whatever hot food you're doing outside. Separate from the canteen team so neither gets overwhelmed.

Scoreboard operator (1 per game) Knows how to work the scoreboard - electronic or manual. Understands the scoring system for the sport. Gets the team lists before the game.

Ground marshal (1 person) Walks the perimeter before and during games. Checks for hazards - broken glass, sprinkler covers, loose boundary markers. Manages any spectator behaviour issues. Knows the ground rules (literally - where people can and can't stand, where the exclusion zone is).

First aid officer (1 person) Holds a current first aid certificate. Knows where the first aid kit is and has checked it's stocked. Knows where the nearest AED is. Knows the address of the ground (for giving to 000). Stays for the duration of play.

Results and administration (1 person) Records scores, uploads results to the league system, collects team sheets after the game. This is often the team manager, but someone needs to be explicitly responsible.

Setup and pack-down crew (2–4 people) Arrives early to set up goals, nets, corner flags, boundary markers, the canteen, chairs, marquees. Stays late to reverse it all. Often the most thankless job and the one that causes the most resentment if the same four people do it every week.

How many is enough?

For a standard Saturday with two or three games: 10–15 volunteers. That sounds like a lot until you break it down by role. The trick isn't having 15 people - it's having 15 people who know what they're doing, when they're doing it, and when they're done.

For a big day - finals, a derby, a fundraiser round - you'll need more. Plan for 20+. And plan early, not on Thursday night.

6. Rostering and briefing volunteers

Here's where good intentions fall apart. You've got the roles defined. You've got willing volunteers. But if you're relying on a group text on Friday night saying "who can help out tomorrow?" you'll get three replies, two maybes, and a morning scrambling.

The roster

Build a season-long volunteer roster at the start of the year. Not a wish list - an actual roster with names, dates, roles, and times.

Principles:

• Spread the load. Nobody should be rostered more than every third or fourth week for the same role. If someone's doing canteen every single Saturday, they'll burn out by round 8 and you'll never see them again.
• Pair experienced with new. First-time canteen volunteers should work alongside someone who's done it before. First-time scoreboard operators need someone to show them the system.
• Roster in advance. A full season roster published before round 1 is the gold standard. At minimum, roster four weeks in advance. People need to plan their weekends.
• Make swaps easy. Life happens. Kids get sick, work comes up, people forget. Have a clear process for swapping - a group chat, a shared document, a coordinator who manages it. The important thing is that swaps are visible so nobody falls through the cracks.
• Include a backup. For every critical role (canteen lead, first aid, game day coordinator), have a named backup who can step in at short notice.

A club management platform like TidyHQ makes rostering dramatically easier - you can build rosters, send reminders, track who's confirmed, and let people swap shifts without it turning into a 47-message group chat. But whatever system you use, the principle is the same: named people, specific roles, confirmed in advance.

The briefing

Every game day should start with a five-minute briefing. Not a meeting - a briefing. The game day coordinator gathers the volunteers, runs through the day's schedule, confirms who's doing what, flags anything unusual (a VIP sponsor visiting, wet weather changes, a visiting team with specific needs), and makes sure everyone has the coordinator's phone number.

That's it. Five minutes. It makes the difference between a group of individuals and a team.

What to cover:

• Today's schedule: what games, what times, which ovals or courts
• Any changes from normal (ground closures, special events, visiting dignitaries)
• Who's on what role and when
• Where the first aid kit is
• Any known issues (broken scoreboard, toilet out of order, construction near car park)
• Reminder of the coordinator's phone number

7. Match management

The game itself is the reason everyone's there, and it needs to run smoothly. Most of this is handled by coaches, team managers, and officials - but there's a layer of match administration that falls to the club, and dropping it creates problems that echo well beyond Saturday.

Umpires and officials

• Confirm them early. If you're responsible for sourcing umpires (common in lower divisions and junior sport), confirm by Wednesday at the latest. A game without umpires is a disaster. A game with unconfirmed umpires is a Thursday night panic.
• Welcome them. Umpires are volunteers too (or low-paid at community level). Show them the change rooms, offer them a drink, introduce them to the coaches. A club that treats its umpires well gets better umpires. Word travels.
• Pay them on the day. If there's a match fee, have cash in an envelope or a direct transfer ready. Don't make umpires chase their money. This is the single fastest way to get blacklisted by your local umpiring association.
• Protect them. If a spectator or player abuses an umpire, deal with it immediately. This isn't about being heavy-handed - it's about making it clear that your club doesn't tolerate it. Report incidents through the appropriate channel.

Scoring and team sheets

• Team sheets should be completed and submitted before the game, per your league's requirements. Incomplete or late team sheets attract fines in most competitions.
• Scoring needs a designated person - on the scoreboard and keeping the official score sheet. At the end of the game, both teams should sign off on the score.
• Results reporting to the league or association should happen within the required timeframe. Most competitions now use online systems. Assign one person to do this every week so it doesn't get forgotten in the post-match social.

Ground setup

For outdoor sports, someone needs to be on the ground early enough to:

• Set up goals, nets, or posts (and check they're secure - a loose goal post is a serious safety risk)
• Mark the field if needed (line marking for football, cricket creases, etc.)
• Position corner flags or boundary markers
• Check the playing surface for hazards: glass, metal, holes, sprinkler heads, animal waste
• Set up the scoreboard
• Unlock the dugouts, shelters, or team benches
• Put out water and any medical supplies pitchside

For indoor sports, the setup is different but no less important: court markings, scoring equipment, seating, and ensuring the venue is properly ventilated and lit.

Allow at least 45 minutes for outdoor setup and 30 minutes for indoor. Rushing setup leads to shortcuts, and shortcuts lead to things being missed.

8. Safety and first aid

This section isn't about ticking a compliance box. It's about being prepared for the moment a kid goes down with a broken arm, someone in the crowd has a cardiac event, or a player has a severe allergic reaction. These things happen at community sport every weekend across Australia. The question isn't whether they'll happen at your club - it's whether you'll be ready.

What you need

First aid kit. A proper one, not a box of band-aids from 2019. Buy a sports-specific first aid kit (St John Ambulance sells them, as do sports supply retailers) and check it at the start of every season. Restock after every use.

It should include at minimum:

• Bandages, gauze, and dressings
• Ice packs (instant cold packs or a supply of ice in an esky)
• Strapping tape
• Antiseptic wipes
• Gloves (multiple pairs)
• Scissors and tweezers
• Resuscitation face mask
• Thermal blanket (space blanket)
• Sling and splints

Defibrillator (AED). If your club doesn't have one, make it a priority. AEDs are increasingly affordable ($1,500–$2,500 for a quality unit), and many grant programs specifically fund them. Sudden cardiac arrest doesn't only happen to older people - it can happen to a 16-year-old on the field. An AED and someone who knows how to use it can be the difference between life and death. This is not an exaggeration.

EpiPens. If any registered players have known severe allergies, their parents should provide an EpiPen and an action plan. Keep them in the first aid kit, labelled, and make sure the first aid officer knows about them.

Where to put it

The first aid kit should be:

• In a known, fixed location that every volunteer knows (not in someone's car boot)
• Visible and signed - a green cross sign that people can find without asking
• Accessible during all games (not locked in a room that nobody has the key for)
• Close to the playing area but not on the boundary where it could be hit by a ball or a sliding player

The AED should be wall-mounted in a visible location with clear signage. Register it with your state's AED registry so emergency services know it's there.

When to call for help

Have a clear protocol and make sure every volunteer knows it:

1. If in doubt, call 000. Always. It is better to call an ambulance that isn't needed than to not call one that is. You will never be criticised for being cautious.
2. Know the address of your ground. This sounds silly until you're on the phone to triple zero and you can't remember whether it's entered off Smith Street or Jones Road. Write the full address on the first aid kit. Write it on the back of the canteen door. Put it in every volunteer's phone.
3. Send someone to meet the ambulance at the entrance to your ground so they don't waste time finding the right oval.
4. Keep a written incident record. Date, time, what happened, what treatment was given, who was involved. This protects the injured person, the first aider, and the club. Your insurance company will want this if a claim is made.

Concussion

Concussion is the single biggest safety issue in community contact sport right now, and the rules have changed significantly in recent years. Every club involved in a contact or collision sport needs a concussion policy that aligns with their state sporting body's guidelines.

The basics: if a player is suspected of having a concussion, they must be removed from the field immediately and must not return to play that day. They should be assessed by a medical professional before returning to training or competition. "They said they feel fine" is not a clearance. No exceptions.

9. Spectator experience

A game without spectators is a training run. The atmosphere - the noise, the energy, the feeling that something is happening - is what makes game day feel like game day. And that atmosphere doesn't happen by accident.

Sound and music

Music before the game, during warm-ups, at halftime, and after the final whistle changes the entire feel of a ground. It doesn't need to be a professional PA system - a decent Bluetooth speaker on the scoring bench is enough for a single oval.

Practical tips:

• Pre-game playlist starting 30 minutes before kick-off or tip-off. Upbeat, family-friendly, reasonably current. Creates energy as people arrive.
• Half-time music fills the gap and keeps people at the ground (and at the canteen).
• Post-match music extends the atmosphere and encourages people to stay.
• Announcements over the PA: welcome, today's schedule, canteen specials, sponsor acknowledgments. Keep them brief and spaced out.
• Volume: loud enough to create atmosphere, quiet enough that people can have a conversation on the boundary. If people are shouting to be heard, it's too loud.

Half-time activities

The break between halves is dead time if you let it be. It's also a brilliant opportunity - especially if you have junior players, families, or younger kids at the ground.

Ideas that work at community level:

• Mini-game for kids on the main oval during the senior half-time. Under-6s kicking goals, shooting hoops, having a run. Parents love it, kids love it, and it connects junior and senior programs.
• Kick-to-kick or shoot-around on a side oval. Let the kids play.
• Raffle draw. Sell tickets during the first half, draw at half-time. Revenue plus engagement.
• Sponsor acknowledgment. A quick thank-you to the day's sponsor over the PA while people are listening.

Kids zone

If you have the space, a designated area for younger kids - not playing age, but the little ones who are there because their sibling is playing - makes a massive difference for families. It doesn't need to be elaborate: a fenced area with a few toys, a colouring table, some cones and soft balls. Supervision by a rostered volunteer.

The kids zone isn't about entertaining children. It's about telling parents: we understand your situation. We know you're here with a three-year-old who doesn't care about the football. We've thought about you.

That message - we've thought about you - is how people decide to come back.

10. Revenue opportunities

Game day is when your club earns. Not just through canteen sales - there are multiple revenue streams available on any given Saturday, and most clubs are leaving at least two or three of them on the table.

Canteen and bar

Covered in detail in Section 4, but the headlines: open early, stay open late, price confidently, and track your numbers. A canteen that doesn't know whether it made $400 or $700 on a given Saturday can't improve. Keep a simple daily tally - total sales, total cost of goods, net - and review it monthly.

Gate entry

Not every club charges gate entry, and for junior-only fixtures it's often not appropriate. But for senior fixtures, particularly in higher divisions, a gold coin or $5 gate entry is normal and expected. It adds up - 80 paying spectators at $5 is $400. Over a season, that's $6,000.

How to make it work:

• Clear signage that entry is being charged
• A volunteer at the gate with a cash tin and (ideally) a card reader
• Season passes for regular attendees (builds loyalty and provides up-front revenue)
• Free entry for financial members, kids under a certain age, and life members

Merchandise

If your club has branded gear - caps, scarves, stubby holders, hoodies - game day is when you sell it. Set up a small display near the canteen. Don't overstock - a few of each item on display with the ability to order more is fine for most clubs.

The best-selling items at community level are almost always the ones under $30: stubby holders ($8–$10), caps ($20–$25), beanies ($15–$20). They're impulse purchases. Make them visible and easy to buy.

Raffles

A game day raffle is quick to run, easy to organise, and generates reliable revenue. A volunteer walks the crowd during the first half selling tickets ($2 each or 3 for $5), the draw happens at half-time.

Prize sourcing: ask local businesses. Most will donate a voucher, a product, or a hamper in exchange for a mention over the PA and on social media. A bottle of wine, a $50 cafe voucher, a sports store gift card - these cost you nothing and generate $100–$300 per draw.

Check your state's raffle and lottery rules. Most community clubs are exempt from the heavier regulations if the total prize value is under a certain threshold (varies by state), but you still need to follow the rules about how tickets are sold, drawn, and reported.

Sponsorship activation

If you have sponsors - and you should; see our sponsorship guide - game day is when they get their value. Banners on the fence, logos on the scoreboard, a mention on the PA, their name on the team sheet. But the best sponsorship activation is personal: introduce the sponsor to members, invite them for a drink, make them feel like part of the club, not just a logo on a fence.

A sponsor who feels connected to your club renews. A sponsor who feels like they've been ignored after signing the cheque doesn't.

11. Wet weather and contingency planning

If your club plays an outdoor winter sport in Australia, you will have wet weather game days. Not might - will. And the clubs that handle it well are the ones that planned for it before round 1, not the ones making it up in the rain at 8am on Saturday.

The wet weather policy

Write one. Before the season. Circulate it to all team managers, coaches, and volunteers. Put it on your website. The policy should cover:

Who makes the call. One person, clearly identified. Typically the home club president, vice-president, or ground manager, in consultation with the opposition and the league. Not a committee vote - one person with the authority and the phone numbers.

When the call is made. Set a deadline - for example, by 7am on game day for morning fixtures, by 10am for afternoon fixtures. Communicate the decision through your standard channels immediately.

How it's communicated. Text blast to team managers. Social media post. Website update. Voicemail on the clubhouse phone if you have one. Use multiple channels because people check different things.

What happens to the fixture. Does it get replayed? Is it a forfeit? A draw? This is usually governed by your league's rules, not your club's preference. Know the rules before you need them.

Council ground closures. Many councils have turf protection policies that override your decision. If the council closes the ground, it's closed - full stop. Know how to check (most councils have a hotline or a website that's updated by 6am) and include this in your communication chain.

Adapting the day

If the game goes ahead in wet conditions:

• Car park management becomes critical. Grass overflow areas turn to mud. Have witches' hats ready. Direct people to harder surfaces. Accept that the car park will be a mess and focus on making it a safe mess.
• Canteen pivots. Cold drinks sales drop, hot drinks sales spike. Have the urn on, have soup if you can manage it, make sure there's hot chocolate for the kids. The canteen that pivots to wet weather is the canteen that still makes money on rainy days.
• Cover for volunteers. Your gate person, your ground marshal, your BBQ operator - they're standing in the rain. Provide ponchos, rotate them more frequently, and thank them. Wet weather volunteering is when goodwill is built or destroyed.
• Safety adjustments. Wet surfaces mean more slips and falls - on the field and off it. Extra caution around car parks, pathways, and the canteen area. Mop up puddles where you can. Put out "wet floor" signs in the clubhouse.
• Spectator comfort. Marquees become essential, not optional. If you don't have enough covered space, acknowledge it - "we know it's miserable out here, hot coffee's on us" goes a long way.

Extreme heat

This is increasingly relevant in Australian conditions. Many states now have heat policies that require games to be cancelled, shortened, or rescheduled when temperatures exceed certain thresholds (commonly 36°C or above, but check your sport's specific policy).

On hot days:

• Extra water available for players, officials, and spectators
• Extended breaks (water breaks during halves, longer half-time)
• Shade - as much as you can provide
• Monitor for heat illness - first aid officer should be especially vigilant
• Adjust canteen - freeze extra water bottles, stock icy poles, have electrolyte drinks available

12. The post-match

The final whistle isn't the end of game day. What happens in the next 60–90 minutes is where community happens. It's where parents meet other parents. Where the opposition coach says "your club is well run" to someone who repeats it at their next committee meeting. Where a teenager who had a great game gets acknowledged in front of their teammates and their family.

Presentations

Keep them short. Nobody - truly nobody - wants a 25-minute post-match ceremony after standing in the wind for two hours. Best-on-ground awards, a thank-you to the sponsors, acknowledgment of volunteers, and you're done. Five minutes.

Tips:

• Have the awards ready before the game ends (not scrambling to find a trophy while everyone waits)
• Name the sponsor when presenting ("this award is brought to you by Johnson's Plumbing - thanks, Johnno")
• Acknowledge the opposition - a quick "thanks for the game" to their captain or coach
• In junior sport, rotate the awards so different kids get recognised across the season

The social

This is where retention lives. The parents who stay for a beer after the juniors. The player who brings their partner down to the club after the seniors. The opponent who walks into the bar and gets offered a drink instead of a cold shoulder.

Make it easy to stay:

• Canteen and bar stay open for at least an hour after the last game
• Music still playing
• Food still available (even if it's just chips and leftover sausages)
• Kids have somewhere to play (the oval, a play area, a room with a TV)
• The atmosphere is warm - literally and figuratively

Some of the best club cultures in Australian sport are built on what happens after the game, not during it. The mid-week training attendance goes up when people actually enjoy Saturdays. The registration renewal goes through when someone feels like they belong to something.

Cleanup

The least glamorous part of game day and the one most likely to cause resentment.

Build it into the roster. Don't rely on the same three people to pack up every week. The cleanup crew should be rostered just like the canteen crew and the gate crew. And if you have a large playing group, make it clear that players contribute - the seniors can stack chairs, the juniors can pick up rubbish. It's not punishment; it's ownership.

Cleanup checklist:

• Pack down goals, nets, flags, boundary markers
• Clean and lock the canteen
• Empty bins (or at least manage overflow)
• Check the change rooms and toilets (lost property, damage, cleanliness)
• Lock up the clubhouse
• Report any damage or maintenance issues
• Store equipment properly (especially electronics, PA gear, and the AED if it's portable)

Results and admin

Before the game day coordinator goes home:

• Results uploaded to the league system
• Score sheets filed or photographed
• Any incident reports completed
• Cash counted and secured (or banked)
• Team sheets collected
• Quick debrief notes for the committee (what went well, what didn't, what needs fixing)

13. Adapting for different sports

The framework above is sport-agnostic, but the details shift depending on whether you're running a footy club, a netball association, a swimming meet, or a sailing regatta. Here's how the key elements adapt across sport types.

Field sports (AFL, football/soccer, rugby, hockey, cricket, touch football)

Field sports typically have the most complex game day setup because the infrastructure requirements are higher and the spectator experience happens outdoors, exposed to the elements.

Key considerations:

• Ground setup is significant: goals, posts, nets, boundary markers, pitch preparation (especially for cricket)
• Weather is the primary variable - every field sport needs a wet weather and extreme heat policy
• Spectator areas are usually informal (boundary lines, hills, fences) so shade, seating, and access need deliberate planning
• Multi-game schedules are common (juniors in the morning, seniors in the afternoon), so volunteer rostering needs to account for the full day
• Car park management is often the biggest logistical challenge, particularly at grounds with limited formal parking

We've written sport-specific game day guides for AFL, football, rugby league, rugby union, hockey, cricket, and touch football.

Court sports (netball, basketball, tennis, squash, volleyball, futsal, table tennis)

Court sports are often played at shared facilities - stadiums, recreation centres, school gyms - which changes the game day dynamic significantly.

Key considerations:

• You may not control the venue, which limits what you can do with signage, canteen, and setup
• Multiple games often run simultaneously on adjacent courts, so noise management and scoring clarity matter
• Indoor venues solve the weather problem but create ventilation and temperature challenges
• Spectator space is usually limited and formal (tiered seating), so the social experience often happens before and after, not during
• Canteen operations may be run by the venue, not the club - negotiate for a club-run option if you can, because the revenue and community benefit is significant

Sport-specific guides: netball, basketball, tennis, volleyball, futsal, squash, table tennis.

Aquatic sports (swimming, water polo, surf lifesaving, rowing, sailing, canoeing/kayaking)

Aquatic sports have unique game day challenges because the environment is inherently less controllable and the spectator experience requires different thinking.

Key considerations:

• Safety is amplified: water safety officers, rescue equipment, and communication systems are non-negotiable, not nice-to-have
• Spectator sightlines are often poor - swimming is watched from a gallery above a pool, sailing is watched from a shore that's 500 metres from the action
• Weather affects the viability of the event, not just the comfort of spectators (water temperature, wind conditions, swell)
• Venue constraints are significant: most aquatic venues are purpose-built and the club operates within strict facility rules
• Timing systems and results processing are often more technical than land-based sports

Sport-specific guides: swimming, water polo, surf lifesaving, rowing, sailing, canoeing and kayaking.

Indoor and individual sports (gymnastics, martial arts, boxing, fencing, archery)

These sports often have "competition day" rather than "game day," but the principles are the same - you're hosting people, and the experience matters.

Key considerations:

• Events may run all day with individual competitors rotating through, so the spectator commitment is much longer
• Spectators are often parents waiting for their child's event, which means they need somewhere comfortable to wait (and something to eat)
• Scoring is often technical and not immediately obvious to casual spectators - live scoring displays or someone explaining what's happening makes a huge difference
• Safety briefings are critical because spectators may be unfamiliar with the sport's risks (martial arts, archery, fencing all have specific safety zones)
• These sports often attract new members through "come and try" days attached to competitions - have a registration process ready

Sport-specific guides: gymnastics, martial arts, boxing, fencing, archery.

Pulling it all together: the game day checklist

Here's a practical checklist you can adapt for your club. Print it. Laminate it. Give it to the game day coordinator.

One week before

• Confirm volunteer roster and send reminders
• Check canteen stock and place orders
• Confirm umpires / officials
• Check first aid kit and restock
• Check weather forecast and review contingency plans
• Confirm any special events (raffle prizes, sponsor visits, presentations)
• Charge scoreboard remote, PA system, and any portable electronics

The morning of

• Check council ground closure status (if applicable)
• Arrive 90 minutes before first game
• Open clubhouse, toilets, canteen, and change rooms
• Set up goals, nets, boundary markers, corner flags
• Walk the ground - check for hazards
• Set up scoreboard
• Set up canteen and start the urn
• Put out signage - parking, ovals, toilets, canteen
• Set up welcome table with team sheets
• Set up marquees or shade structures if needed
• Brief volunteers (five minutes - roles, schedule, issues)
• Turn on music

During games

• Gate volunteer welcoming arrivals
• Canteen operating
• Scoreboard being updated
• Ground marshal doing periodic checks
• First aid officer present and visible
• Half-time activities running
• Raffle tickets being sold (if applicable)
• Toilets checked and restocked at half-time

Post-match

• Presentations (quick - five minutes max)
• Canteen/bar stays open for post-match social
• Results recorded and uploaded
• Score sheets collected
• Cash counted (two people)
• Cleanup crew packs down ground equipment
• Canteen cleaned and locked
• Change rooms and toilets checked
• All equipment stored securely
• Clubhouse locked
• Any incidents documented
• Debrief notes captured for committee

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Game day is your club's product. It's the thing people experience, the thing they remember, and the thing that determines whether they come back next week or quietly don't.

You don't need a big budget. You don't need a brand-new clubhouse or a council-funded upgrade. You need a checklist, a roster, volunteers who know their role, and a committee that treats Saturday as the most important day of the week.

Because it is.

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This guide is part of TidyHQ's library of practical resources for community sports clubs. For sport-specific game day guides, see our complete collection. For help managing volunteers, events, and member communications, see how TidyHQ can help your club.