You and your friends have pick-up games all the time. It’s your bonding time.
After long thought, you come up with the idea to make things bigger.
League bigger.
Who doesn’t like a little friendly competition and a title at the end?
Starting an adult sports league can be a long process, but when done right, the outcome is worth it all.
Adults don’t have to stop playing sports just because they didn’t go pro. It’s a fun way to get people together and also get some needed physical activity into your daily routine.
Just like everything else that comes with being an adult, starting an adult sports league will require money.
The good thing is that the money part doesn’t have to be difficult when you use Braid Money Pools.
In this article, you will learn:
- How to start an adult sports league.
- Determining your sports league budget.
- How to use Braid to collect membership fees, get money from the community, and make purchases.
- How to get the community involved in your league.
- Marketing your sports league.
How to Start Your Adult Sports League
Starting a new sports league can require a lot of steps depending on how big you want to go with things.
Choose a Sport
At this point, you probably already have an idea of which sport you want your league to be. After all, you and your friends have been playing pick-up basketball for ages. There’s no need to switch things up now.
Make sure that you choose a sport that you are comfortable with. Also, choose a sport that you will be able to handle the planning and workload of.
When choosing a sport, you don’t have to follow the same rules as the pros. You can have fewer required players if you wish.
All you need is to make sure things are planned out properly.
Find Out Who’s Interested
Boom! You got your sport picked out and you know exactly how many players you will need. Well, you have to find those players.
A league is made up of multiple teams, not just your friends.
Unfortunately, the six of you won’t be enough to make some noise about a league.
You need to start finding other players in your area that are interested.
Along with players, you should be looking for people to help run the league such as:
- Coaches
- Referees
- Equipment managers
- Treasurers
- Board members
Those are just a few options for people you may need when starting your sports league. It could be more, or it could be less.
This is your time to really map things out and then go hunting for the people that will join you.
If not anything else, referees should be at the top of your list. If you don’t have anyone to officiate your game, there is no game.
Establish Your Budget
When establishing your budget, understand that you are paying for more than just uniforms. There are so many expenses that go into starting a sports league.
- Uniforms
- Equipment
- Travel
- Paying staff and referees
- Paying for the venue of games (if necessary)
All of these things should be added to your budget, which will be discussed in greater detail later on.
Book a Venue
Booking a venue in advance will help you avoid future problems when it’s game time.
Going to your normal spot to have a game and realizing it’s already occupied would put a big damper on things.
Carve out your league calendar for games early on so that you can look for a venue that can accommodate you.
Here are some options for places that you can use:
- Churches
- Schools
- Public parks
- Community centers
- Recreational centers
Places like public parks or an open field could require a permit to hold league games there. If that is where you want things to be, always make sure that you handle it before the season begins to avoid trespassing.
Determining Your Sports League Budget
Budgets will help you not to overspend, especially in areas that you shouldn’t touch.
If you are simply doing your sports league for fun, then this should be a tad bit easier for you. If you want to make a profit, get ready to start crunching numbers.
How much profit you want to make should be included in your budget. This number is usually determined by the board of trustees or any other staff that oversees the league.
Your profit margin should be at least 20%. Whatever amount you choose should be added to your overall expenses.
When planning your budget, this is your time to do heavy research.
The research options are endless when it comes to finding out what expenses are like for a sports league. Besides the internet, talking with other adult sports leagues can give you an estimate on what you’ll be spending.
- Talk to different vendors to help get an estimate on what you’ll be spending on uniforms.
- Check equipment prices at various stores.
- Call different venues to get estimates on how much it’ll cost for league games.
After you do your budgeting, you can easily decide how much membership fees will be. This will also help you determine if your league will need a fundraiser of some sort.
How Braid Can Help Your Adult Sports League
Planning anything that involves money requires organization and clarity.
Gone are the times when team treasurers collect and write down the names of all the people who have paid their membership fees.
You also don’t want the inconvenience of having people pay their membership fees with cash, card, and checks. That’s a lot of trips to the bank and a lot of time waiting for everything to clear before you can spend.
Braid makes it much easier and quicker to collect money for your sports league.
You can create a money pool for anything you want:
- Membership fees
- Travel
- Venue costs
- Equipment
- Uniforms
Braid allows you to create as many pools as you need, at no extra cost.
You can add your members to the pool and you can track every payment that is sent.
Yoohoo to not having your recreational sports team money mixed in with your Taco Tuesday money!
Using Braid Money Pools will also help you save and track progress by allowing you to see how much money you have in your money pool and all the transactions that take place, including when members send their fees.
You’ll know exactly when you have reached the financial goal of your budget, or if you have some more work to do.
Ready to use Braid to start a recreational sports league? Click here.
Getting the Community Involved in Your League
Getting the community involved will bring your league more attention, support, and money.
When trying to gather the support of people who may or may not know you, there are a few things you have to take into account.
Play in familiar areas.
People will not be moved to go to a league game that is in the middle of nowhere. People also shy away from unfamiliar territory.
Take a good look at your community and try to go to the places that already have the crowd for it.
Don’t find yourself booking a venue that is a long drive away just because it’s cheaper. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet if it means that you’ll receive more support for the cause.
Provide food.
People love food, even if it’s not free.
Sports should be seen as entertainment, and entertainment and food go hand-in-hand.
You can have a small concession stand at the games for people to purchase some good eats.
You can also have a food truck at games. Whether you decide to work with the food truck to provide cheaper prices for your fans is totally up to you.
You can use your free Braid debit card to make payments for items in your concession stand or pay food vendors.
Providing food will inadvertently bring more profit to your adult sports league.
Fundraise and accept donations.
After you did your budgeting, you realized that it was a little unfair to have such high
membership fees.
Some people decided not to join your league because they felt like it was too expensive.
This is what your community is for.
You can accept contributions from people outside of your sports league to help with finances.
Be open with them and talk about the goals for your sports league team. Share with the community, and even people outside of it, what creating this team means for you and others.
This makes people feel like they are a part of something.
It’s like seeing your group get an A on a project that you were involved in.
With Braid money pools, you can easily share a link with anyone.
People who contribute to your sports league don’t have to be members, or even download the app.
Easily accept contributions for your sports league with Braid Money Pools.
How to Market Your Recreational Sports League
Marketing will play a big role in the success of your league.
Establish your online presence.
Make sure that you have an online presence. Most people are more involved in social media than they are going outside.
Times have changed, so you have to change with it.
Community matters.
You can get the community involved in marketing by creating a video of fans at the game. This will encourage more people to come.
Sending out information about the league will create a sense of community and family. This is a good marketing strategy for people who are starting small and want to grow.
Events, games, fundraisers, and more should all be shared.
Use your Braid debit card for marketing costs.
Some marketing is free, but as you grow, you’re going to want to hire the big dogs.
Paying for things like professional photographers and videographers will come around.
The Braid debit card can help you make payments to these professionals.
If you’re worried about mixing it up with your membership fees and other costs, you can create a money pool specifically for marketing.
You can also take care of marketing costs directly from the pool using your free Braid debit card.
Let Braid Make Things Easier
It’s time to have some fun!
Braid can help you with all the money matters of your adult sports league at no additional cost.
You’ll never have to stress about collecting or making payments again.
