Event Management Coaching case study
OC Sport is a sports marketing company specialising in delivering extreme sports events. One of their flagship events The Extreme Sailing Series brings together the world’s best sailors – Olympians, world champions, record holders and round the world sailors – racing against each other on identical 40-foot high-speed catamarans on a global circuit spanning 3 continents. Its popularity and appeal has grown year on year. It’s big news. The Cardiff Bay event now attracts over 100,000 people. With this sort of numbers attending a free public event, OC Sports’ event management planning processes needed to reflect what is now a very major public event. Events of this size always attract the attention of a variety regulatory body. They need to be impressed. I got a call.
So how did I help?
With some 20 years of major event management planning behind me I started working alongside the Extreme Sailing Series (ESS) Event Manager to review, update and develop a Cardiff Bay Event Management Plan. The idea being to develop a template from which the other series events could work from. The areas we focused on were the ‘on water’ racing, crowd management, medical emergency procedure, barriers, structures, emergency evacuation procedures, fire procedures, security, traffic management, contractors, toilets, waste management, food, alcohol and electrical services: All the usual event management planning areas. Using the ESS event manager’ knowledge of the event as our guide I was able to revise, combine ( in some cases) and develop all the necessary procedures in line with the latest events best practice.
The outcome
Writing event management plans is a necessary and thankless task for the major event planner. Few people read it but those that do, such as the Police, Fire Service, Local Council, and Safety Advisory Groups need to be impressed. They need to see / read that you have done everything you reasonable can to protect the health, safety and welfare of all those visiting and or working at the event.
The Cardiff Bay event (the only UK series event) was OC Sports must successful event ever; not just in terms of visitor numbers but in terms of what the key authorities thought of how the event was run throughout the planning, build, load in, event and break down stages. Everyone was pleased. Plans for next year’s event have already started.
OC Sport and I continue to work together on an exciting range of events including the Artemis Sailing Academy, The Haute Route cycle sportives in the Alps and Dolomites. In 2017 I was back working on the Extreme Sailing Series again and on The Haute Route Colorado USA: their latest ride!
I will leave the last few words to Matt Holden Operations Director, OC Sport. “Chris has been our go to event health and safety person for the past few years. His advice and training is always based on practical, workable and common sense solutions. I have found him to be very knowledgeable and easy company in the uneasy world of event health and safety. Would I recommend him? – absolutely!”
