Seven ways your club can capitalise on the 2022 Summer of Sport

Summer of Sport 2022

The ‘summer of sport’ has officially kicked off and is in full swing. We’re lucky this year to have a fantastic lineup of sporting spectacles happening in one summer, with the return of the likes of Wimbledon, Tour De France, and The Commonwealth Games.

If you run or work in a sports club, you’ll be all too familiar with the peak in interest and enthusiasm that your sport experiences when an international competition or tournament is taking place.

So, given this summer’s line up, how can your club capitalise on these increased interest levels among existing and potential members?

The 2022 summer sporting dates you need to know about

Let’s start by taking a look at some of the biggest dates for your sporting diary, from now until the end of summer (the events of interest will, of course, differ depending on your sport)…

2nd June – 12th September: Cricket – T20s

13th June – 19th June: Tennis – cinch Championships 2022

14th June – 18th June: Horse Racing – 2022 Royal Ascot

16th – 19th June: Golf – US Open

18th June – 3rd July: Swimming – World Aquatics Championships

18th June: Rugby – Men’s Rugby Union, Gallagher Premiership Rugby Final

27th June – 10th July: Tennis – Wimbledon

1st July – 17th July: Hockey – Women’s FIH Hockey World Cup

1st July – 3rd July: Formula One – F1 British Grand Prix

1st July – 24th July: Cycling – Tour de France

6th July – 31st July: Football – UEFA Women’s Euro 2022

7th July – 17th July: Multi-Sports – The World Games 2022

14th July – 17th July: Golf – The Open Championship

15th July – 24th July: Athletics – World Championships

28th July – 8th August: Multi-Sports – Commonwealth Games

6th August: Football – English Premier League 2022-2023 season starts

29th August – 11th September: Tennis – US Open

Once you’ve identified the most important events for your sport, start to plan marketing and club activities around those dates.

How can your club capitalise on the summer of sport 2022?

We all know the drill; TVs will be on all day with Commonwealth Games coverage, and pub gardens will – hopefully – be full of cheering fans watching live matches. There’s bound to be a lot of excitement among spectators this summer.

So, as people are watching your sport being played – whether that’s for the first time in their lives, or they’re falling back in love with it – now is the perfect time to remind them of your club.

Here are seven things you should do to make the most of the hype and peaked interest, build engagement with your current membership base, and attract new members to your club:

1. Live tweet during sporting events

Social media channels are buzzing during sporting events. But none more so than Twitter, which can essentially be a live commentary reel of what’s happening every second of the game or competition.

Join in the conversation by sharing updates live while an event in your sport is taking place. That could include sharing your take on something that’s happening in the moment (an athlete’s performance, or a referee’s decision), or perhaps responding to other people’s tweets to generate discussion.

This is the perfect way to build awareness of your brand and club among a group of people that are already very interested in your sport.

Let’s have a look at an example that could apply to your club / sport. Remember, the idea here is *live commentary*, so you don’t need to include much context in your post – as long as it’s clear what you’re talking about. A top tip is to include a hashtag in your update that is being used widely across the platform.

Example – Football

An English football club, tweeting live during an England Euros match.

Tweet 1 – Reacting to a goal:

Yesssss, come on England! [musical note emoji] It’s coming home, it’s coming… [musical note emoji] #EURO2022

Tweet 2 – Responding to an unpopular referee decision:

Ref… If you need to learn about the offside rule, just pop into our clubhouse – we’ll get one of our U7s to explain it to you [eyeroll emoji] #EURO2022

Tweet 3 – Celebrating an important England win:

[share a video/image of members watching the game together and jumping in the air to celebrate the win]

2. Plan a social media schedule

Although live tweeting is a great way to build awareness and engagement, it can be exhausting. So it’s good to plan which events you’ll live post for, but ensure your workload is balanced by scheduling posts for other events too. Of course, you won’t be able to share the reaction-based updates, but you can still create a conversation and engagement with people by pre-planning your posts.

For example, you can wish your country’s team or athletes good luck in their upcoming competitions.

Example – Gymnastics

Best of luck to @AliceKinsella16 on beam today, you can do it! #CommonwealthGames2022

Remember to tag the team / athlete in your updates, wishing them luck or celebrating their success – you never know when they might spot your post and reshare it to their thousands of followers.

You should also make use of the different post formats available on the social media platforms, such as running polls on Twitter. If you run a team sports club, you could ask your followers for their take on the team line up ahead of a match.

Example – Rugby

A rugby club before a cup final.

Thoughts on today’s team?

• Love it – we’re gonna win!
• I’m unsure
• Bad decisions

People love sharing their opinions on social media, so polls are a great way to generate engagement and conversation.

3. Host mock competitions for your athletes

During the buzz of the Commonwealth Games 2022, why not host your own mini-games? You can split your athletes into groups representing different countries, and your coaches can be judges or officials. This will be lots of fun for your teams.

Also, don’t forget how powerful word of mouth is. If you host a fun, mock event for your members, and the athletes have a great time, they’ll tell their friends all about it. Just make sure you’re prepared for all of the new members wanting to sign up for your club!

4. Put on displays in the local community

Depending on your sport, you could capitalise on the summer of sport excitement by showcasing your club and athletes locally. Events like village or town fairs, for example, are great for sports such as gymnastics. During a fun session, your athletes can choreograph a routine, ready to showcase to their friends, family, and the wider local community.

Imagine a child watching professional athletes competing in your sport on TV, and then seeing your team putting on a great performance at a town fair. They’ll be bound to ask their parents if they can join the club.

Keep an eye on announcements in the local press and social media to see which events are going ahead, or have been postponed to later in the year.

5. Host watching parties for big events

If there’s an important final happening within your sport, invite your members and their friends to watch along together at your club. Government guidelines permitting, this could be a great way to build positive experiences and associations with your club – with both existing members and their friends (who may then, in turn, become members too).

6. Run free taster sessions and open days

In addition to inviting non-members to watching parties, you could also run taster sessions – or even open days – for them to get a feel for your club.

For example, following a win or successful performance, you could share an update like this:

Wow, what a performance [athlete/team]. If you enjoyed watching that, you should come along for our open day next week. We’ll even teach you how to master their winning tricks – for free!

7. Create an email marketing plan

If you are planning to host mock competitions, watching parties, or open days, make sure you create a clear and considered plan for communicating them to your database.

You could send email reminders to your members when an important match or event is coming up within your sport. Plot out what is happening on which dates, what you’d like to communicate to your members, and when.

Hopefully, you now feel prepared to make the most of this summer of sport. Whether you just decide to increase your social media activity or run an event, you’re bound to generate some new interest in your club. Good luck, and enjoy!

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How can LoveAdmin help you get involved?

LoveAdmin software makes running your sports club easy. From putting on events to signing up new members, we’re here to help you every step of the way.

Joining in the action of summer of sport 2022 has never been easier, thanks to these amazing features:

• At the click of a button, you can sell tickets to events or watch parties to bring together the community
• Run free taster sessions with our built-in trial management features
• Send dynamic emails to capture attention and build hype for the events you may be hosting during the summer of sport

Discover more about our sports club management software, and arrange your FREE demo here.