The Emotional Labor of Organizing a Tournament
Most of what goes into a tournament is easy to see. Someone builds the court, runs the games, keeps the schedule, and hauls the trash. Another layer gets talked about less: the worrying, planning, and checking in that organizers carry from the first permit email until the last bag goes in the dumpster.
This post is about that part of the work. It’s harder to see, so it’s easier to forget, and it’s a big reason organizers burn out.
When we hosted the Southeast Regional Qualifier in 2024, some of our organizers missed the final. When we booked the venue, we agreed to be out of the area we’d been using as a players’ lounge by 7 pm so they could set up for badminton club. We thought we’d make it.
Then the final went to a bracket reset: in double elimination, if the team coming up from the losers’ bracket wins the final, the two teams play again. While everyone else was courtside for the last game of the weekend, organizers moved bags and bikes, packed up leftover food, and broke down tables.
Wanting it to be good for everyone
Most organizers aren’t paid. They do it because they care about the game and the people in it, and when you care that much, you want the weekend to go well for everyone. That’s a lot to carry. Before the first game, an organizer has usually run through questions like these:
Will people have fun?
Will visiting teams feel welcome?
Will the city let us use the court again?
What if someone gets hurt?
What if there’s lightning?
By the time anyone yells “Polo!”, plenty of organizers are already tired.
The list that never closes
Running a tournament means keeping a hundred small things in your head at once. Is there tape? Zip ties? Water? Does the bracket make sense? Is everyone here? Do we have a ref for court two? Are the bathrooms unlocked? You end up solving three problems at once while someone walking by asks you a fourth question.
When it’s done well, it’s not noticeable, so the work often goes unthanked.
Being the one in charge
Organizers are often the ones who stay sober, show up first, go to bed last, settle disputes, answer every question, and quietly take the complaints. That can feel lonely even in a crowd of friends.
Something always goes wrong at a tournament. When it does, organizers tend to blame themselves, even for things nobody could control, like the weather or a team that doesn’t show.
How to help
Check in with your organizers during the weekend. Ask how they’re doing and wait for the real answer.
Don’t assume they’re fine because things look under control.
How burnout happens
When this kind of work goes unshared and unthanked, people stop offering to host. They show up less, or stop coming at all, because it starts to feel like it didn’t matter.
Small choices from everyone else can prevent most of that.
How to help
Volunteer to ref or goal judge before anyone has to ask.
Say thank you out loud, and be specific about what you noticed.
Save non-urgent complaints for later, or for never.
Take a job without waiting to be assigned one.
Remember that every “small” task on the list is something a person is keeping track of.
Taking care of the people who take care of us
Tournaments happen because a person, or a small group of people, decided to make them happen. Sharing the work and saying a real thank-you are how we keep those people around.
The more we notice the parts of organizing that are hard to see, the more people will be willing to do it again next year.
If you organized a tournament, thank you. We know what it took.
Keep reading
This post wraps up our series on what keeps tournaments running.
Start from the beginning: So You Want to Help? Here’s What Makes a Bike Polo Tournament Happen
