President, CM Sports Inc. Chaney Muench has 10 years’ experience in sports marketing and event management, having helped organize Hoop-It-Up basketball and Got Milk? soccer shootout tours across the country and “The Power of a Dream” FUTURES tour in Frisco, Texas. Muench also serves as event manager for Texas Amateur Athletic Federation’s Winter Games of Texas, a 15-sport festival modeled after the Olympic Games and entering its third year on Jan. 19-20, 2008, in Frisco. She offered these tips for local sports enthusiasts and CVBs or sports commissions interested in starting their own sports event:

Choose a sports event that is a natural fit to the area. In a beach community, for example, a good fit would be an annual beach volleyball tournament. On the other hand, if you’re in an area without much asphalt on flat land, such as San Francisco, then 3v3 basketball might not be the best fit. Take advantage of your natural resources to spotlight the natural beauty and facilities of the area.

Set a timeline. Map out a well-defined timeline to get things done and designate who will be responsible for each area. Also, designate someone to be a keeper of the list and who will make sure everything is running on time. As event manager for the Winter Games, I am not organizing each sport. We get groups, such as a local volleyball club, to run individual sports for us. We put together all the pieces that let the organizers of each sport run on their own. I coordinate with the directors of each sport.

Don’t bite off more than you can chew. It can be hard to get people, including sponsors, involved in something new, so be realistic with your goals. A good rule of thumb is to get the entry fee to cover your expenses and use sponsorships as gravy. Expenses shouldn’t eat into your sponsorship revenue because it’s harder to make money that way. Start small and build on the event over time. In the first year of the Winter Games, we had hoped for 2,000-2,500 athletes but got 3,000. Last year, we had 4,500 athletes, and we expect 5,500-6,000 this year.