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Last night I went a local high school game. It just so happened that it was a rivalry game of epic proportions. These two teams have been rivals forever and to put fuel on the fire the Head Coach of team A use to be the Head Coach for team B just last year. Geographically, the teams school districts border each other with cousins sometimes playing against cousins. The question that I pose is in the is day an age with the escalting violence at schools and the younger generations lack of attention span, how does a school put on a rivalry game which will live on in local lore as much as the happenings on the field?

Planning- Most rivalry games are a yearly event. meaning that they are ont he schedule, usuualy the sameweek, every season. So planning for the eventis that much easier. Meetings should be held with the Athletic Director, Head Coach, field maintenance staff, Band Director, and cheerleading/ dance team coach. Basically the heads of all the in-house elements that you utilize to put on any other game. The meeting should be held in the spring or maybe during the in-service time in the summer before school starts up again in the fall. In the meeting, touch on the overall agenda for the event highlighting positive sportsmanship and accountability. Once that is established then open the floor for ideas on how to make the event a great experience for the fans. Each Head should come up with at least two to three ideas and then share with the group. Make it fun and positive because they will be the ones promoting it to the kids.

Safety- Once the ideas for the event are agreed upon and a timeline is established, now comes the most crucial part of the event. The safety of the fans of both teams are of high importance. Event safety can come in many forms such as outsourcing it to a private company all the way to having volunteers that patrol the event. Either way some essential are needed for every event. They are a police and paramedic presence. The police should be there mostly for show and used in a backup role. Some patrons might view the ploice in a negative light which in turn might influence the overall feel of the crowd and expereince. That is why you have them in support role and just there for enforcement. Most of the time contacting the local police station or barracks a couple of months/ weeks in advance will allow you to have ample coverage for your event. Now sometimes police cost money to have at the event, but other times they might volunteer, so make sure you check on that. The paramedics should have a room or area, properly marked, as a first aid station. This will allow for treatment and inccident write ups. Every inccident should be documented for insurance reasons and for planning for next years event. They are there for the sole reason in case of accidents or injuries to the public. Now every game should have an ambulance standing by anyways for on the field play, so for this event just add two or three more paramedics depending on the size of the event.

Parking- This element of the game should be taken very seriously. Most planning for the games are focused on what is goin on around the field, well parking is what the fans first experience and last thing they will take away from your event. Any big rivalry game will draw tons of students and fans, so ample parking must be setup. If you have extra sporting fields that can be accessed use them or even use yards of houses or local business parking lots, with the property owners permission of course. You could even coordinate with the rival school to setup some sort of shuttle service from their school to the game. This would be a great tailgating opportunity foreither team. The main thing when looking at the parking issue is to have it well staffed and orgainized. The parking staff should be equiped with walkie talkies and maps of the possible parking areas. There should be one person in charge with an establish chain of command. Tailgating should be promoted beacuse that means the crowds will get there earliy and allow for a more established parking areas. Always remember to have the parking staff to stay positve and have them remeber they are hte face of the event. When the event is over have the parking staff and police setup for an easy exit of the event, so that local traffic is as undistrubed as possible.

So when looking at that rivalry game be sure to look at the planning, safety, and parking of your event. Remember Football or any sporting event is about creating memories.