unified sports rivalry series toolkit - special unified sports rivalry series 6 unified sports...

Unified Sports Rivalry Series ToolKit

Unified Sports Rivalry Series

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Dear Unified Sports Rivalry Series Program,

Thank you for your participation in one of the newest Special Olympics Unified Sports

awareness, engagement and fundraising events aimed at increasing college students and

alumni engagement. The successes of the initial Unified Sports Rivalry Games in 2014 ignited

great excitement amongst Unified Partners and created even greater demand for similar

opportunities nationwide. We have developed this toolkit as a way to help ensure you have a

successful event with minimum stress on your staff. This toolkit coordinates with the checklist

- each checklist item is broken down and explained further.

What is a Unified Sports Rivalry Game?

A Special Olympics Unified Sports game where each team represents one of the NCAA rival

teams (for example, Alabama and LSU). These games are to be held on the day of, or around

the time of, the university game.

Why host a Unified Sports Rivalry Game?

There is an endless amount of excitement and competition between University rivals. We are

looking to tap on this excitement to:

 Engage our Special Olympics College Chapters and foster brand affinity for life

 Expand participation and exposure of Unified Sports at the collegiate level and with

Special Olympics Programs

 Increase revenue for Programs and SOI

 Use as a catalyst for expanding (or creating) Unified Sports on campus and/or within

that state

 Elevate the importance of Unified Sports within the general public by connecting it

to a larger event

 Recruit new donors, future volunteers and get people involved with Special Olympics

via their college chapter

 Encourage year-round activation for our University programs, Sororities, Fraternities,

and Sponsors

These games can be a competition series that Special Olympics can own. In the future, each

Program can mold this event model to work at the high school level and/or professional levels.

In 2014, Unified Sports had a bump of roughly 400 new participates (both partners and

athletes) in Unified Sports as a direct result of hosting only 4 of these games!

Unified Sports Rivalry Series

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What are the desired outcomes for these games?

The Unified Sports Rivalry Series gives us the opportunity to create a high profile event, which

elevates Unified Sports and our athletes to the same platform as larger collegiate events. With

this exposure the games can:

 Create new revenue streams

 Spread the reach of Special Olympics beyond our current fans, supporters, and

donors.

 Kick-start the growth of Unified Sports at colleges and universities across the country

“LET’S GET READY TO RIIIVVVAAALLLLL!”

Thank You!

Special Olympics & the Unified Sports Rivalry Series Team

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Index

Initial Preparations (6 months before event).................……………………………….Page 5

3 months before game…………………………………………………………………….Page 8

2 months before game…………………………………………………………………...Page 13

6 weeks before game…………………………………………………………………….Page 15

1 month before game……………………………………………………………………Page 17

3 weeks before game…………………………………………………………………….Page 18

2 weeks before game…………………………………………………………………….Page 21

1 week before game……………………………………………………………………...Page 23

Event Day…………………………………………………………………………………..Page25

Post Event Follow-Up……………………………………………………………………Page 26

Appendix A – Emcee Sample Script……………………………………………………Page 27

Appendix B – Town Proclamation Sample…………………………………………….Page 31

Appendix C – Sample Game Day Flyer…………………………………………………Page 33

Appendix D – Sample Game Day Equipment Checklist……………………………...Page 34

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Initial Preparations [To be completed 6 months before event]

1. Assign State Level Staff to manage each piece of game – at a minimum

you will need 1 staff member from the Development, Marketing, and

Sports departments.

a. Logistics

b. Marketing/Communications

c. Volunteer Engagement

d. Unified Partners and athletes

e. Fundraising

f. Competition Management

g. Awards Management

2. Establish 2-5 student leaders to coordinate the game from both schools –

VERY IMPORTANT

a. You want this game to be driven by the students to ensure

participation, spectatorship, and volunteers

b. Make sure BOTH schools have a student leadership committee and

are engaged regardless of where the game takes place

c. If you don’t have a strong relationship with your Special Olympics

College chapters OR students on campus follow these steps:

i. Reach out to local Programs to see if they have a connection

with the University

ii. Reach out to the recreational department at each school

1. See which school would be a better host school

a. You can always switch schools the next year

iii. Reach out to your volunteer base to see if anyone has a

connection with the Universities.

iv. NOTE: If none of these avenues work, you will probably have

to wait until school is in session to establish the student

leadership. OR contact SOI to help forge these relationships.

3. Create an initial plan of action

a. Timelines

b. Budget – see sample below – Page 6

c. Communication plan

d. Logistics plan

e. Recruiting – see recruiting ideas below – Page 7

f. Fundraising – Creation of online donation platform will be handled

by SOI

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Sample Program Budget

*This is just an example and does not reflect actual costs. Actual amounts will vary.*

Special Olympics Unified Sports Rivalry Series

Fall 2015

Item Cost Allocation and Notes

Setup

Space, field & Classroom $600 Donated by University Recreation

Referees $375 $125/ref, Coordinated through Special Olympics

state office

Microphone and Speakers $0 Donated by University Recreation

Scoreboards $0 Donated by University Recreation

Chairs/bleachers $0 Donated by University

Sports equipment (regulation size) $0 Borrowed from SO state program

Awards (Unified Sports

medals/ribbons/trophy)

$60 Approx. cost ($2.50 per medal for 24 medals)

EMS $180 $30/hour/person

Parking Attendants $180 $30/hour/person

Housekeeping $330 Donated by University Recreation

Security $210 $35/hour/person

Team

Uniforms $600 SOI

Transportation for visiting team $300 Program/SOI

Team Hotel $500 Program/SOI

Food

Breakfast for Team & VIPs $300 Donated by Food Vendor

Lunch $500 Donated by Food Vendor

Snacks for Volunteers $100 Donate by Food Vendor

Extras

Pom Poms/Foam Fingers for Audience $150

T-shirts for Volunteers $750

Promotional materials, including flyers

and banners; digital signage

$250

Total

Total Amount Donated

Total covered by SOI and Program

$5,385

$1,830

$3,555

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Recruiting Recommendations

 The Program should be responsible for recruiting the SO athletes. These

athletes can come from an existing traditional team, Unified Team, or

multiple teams to make this new Unified team.

 The students on campus should be the ones in charge of recruiting other

students to participate in the game. It is important that double the

amount of students are recruited to play so they can all be evaluated to

create the most even ability team.

 Options for recruiting students on campus: o Recruit members from the Special Olympics club on campus o Work with the Recreation Department to recruit current intramural

or club sport students o Reach out to the Fraternities and Sororities on campus. Special

Olympics has a national partnership with Alpha Sigma Alpha, Ph