[Guide] Tips for a Successful Winter Sports Season

Winter sports are upon us, and spring will be here before we know it! Now is the time to prepare for the upcoming winter season. Follow the steps in this guide to save time, increase revenue, and create lasting memories for your fans this winter. 

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• Decide What Sports to Ticket 
• Plan Weekly Communication  
• Track Attendance and Engagement  
• Streamline Concessions and Fundraising  
• Recruit Volunteers for Support 

Step 1: Decide What Sports to Ticket

Most schools typically sell tickets for basketball games during the winter. Think about all the other sports you have during this time. Are there any others that could be ticketed? 

Along with bringing communities together and fostering school spirit, athletic events can drive revenue for your programs. Your community wants to support your teams. 

Winter sports are almost exclusively held indoors, so the ticketing process can be more streamlined. Setting up points of entry can be challenging at some outdoor events, but indoor facilities have clear entrances and exits. As the event host, this gives you a natural place to validate tickets before guests enter the event.  

 Check out the list below and start thinking about all the possibilities for your winter events:

Winter Athletics

• Basketball
• Wrestling
• Swimming & Diving
• Hockey
• Soccer (in California)
  
  

You certainly aren’t limited to this list, as every school has unique needs and traditions. By using digital ticketing for all your winter athletics, you can continue to realize greater revenue and time savings while elevating the event experience.

 

Looking for more inspiration? Read our recent post on digital ticketing for winter sports.

 

Step 2: Plan Weekly Communications to Drive Attendance

When promoting your events, send strategic emails to your community to highlight several upcoming events at once. The winter sports season can be hectic, with several games occurring in short periods of time. For example, the boys and girls basketball teams of all levels may play twice per week. 

Schools typically get the word out to their communities through email, social media, and signage around the school. Try not to overwhelm your fans with multiple emails each week.  

Design a weekly message to promote all events in a list with one button that directs to your school ticket sales page.  

Proper distribution of your digital ticket sales links is essential. If you want to reduce work at the gate, you should have a standardized plan that helps people get tickets before arriving at the event.  

To take a deeper dive into this topic, visit our promotion kit. 

Step 3: Track Attendance and Engagement

Start the winter season with goals for ticket sales and engagement. Create excitement around your attendance.  

This helps your school in many ways, including greater student participation, community involvement, and revenue. 

How to Set Attendance Goals

Start with last year’s attendance. Mark it up by 10 to 20 percent and decide what the expenses and income look like together. Then look at your events and identify any gaps in ticket sales. 

To help drive attendance, consider some rewards to incentivize fans. For example, giveaways like a free booster club t-shirt are low-cost ways to reward people for attending. GoFan also offers sponsorship opportunities for local businesses to further support athletic programs.  

Digital ticketing enables sales and attendance data in real time. With this information, you can plan goals to help your school and find ways to engage fans and encourage them to keep coming back. This enthusiasm gains momentum quickly and helps drive attendance throughout the season. 

Step 4: Streamline Concessions and Fundraising

If you're looking for other ways to delight your fans and make life easier for your staff, consider a digital approach to concessions and fundraising.  

With GoFan, you can manage ticketing, concessions, and fundraising in one platform to simplify event management, payment processing, and financial reporting. 

Convenient Digital Concessions

With a digital solution for concessions, you can enrich the fan experience with faster checkouts and shorter lines. Digital payments can also result in higher sales and reduced staffing costs.  

Effortless Fundraisers

Now you can easily manage fundraisers digitally and make it easier than ever for your fans to support your causes. Promote your fundraisers to your community, process donations securely, track your progress, and receive funds promptly. 

Learn more about fundraising with GoFan.

Step 5: Recruit Volunteers for Support

If you need additional resources to meet your goals, consider asking volunteers to help. Many organizations like the National Honor Society require students to complete a certain number of hours of community service. Supporting events can be a great way for students to meet these requirements and become more involved with school activities.  

Fans in your community may also be interested in volunteering at events to give back to your school. You can recruit volunteers by sending emails or posting on social media to mention specific opportunities for fans to sign up. 

Potential Volunteer Opportunities at School Events

• Communications Specialist to help with email and social promotions
• Gate Attendant for all ticketed athletics and activities
• Event Setup Specialist to hang signs with QR codes and instructions for tickets 
• Greeter to answer questions and provide assistance to fans
• Parking Attendant to confirm paid parking and help direct fans
• Sales Support to assist with concessions and merchandise

For more ideas, check out our recent post on how volunteers support school activities. 

Want to take a deeper dive into winter athletics season? Check out one of our recent podcast episodes.

Next Steps

By planning your digital ticketing strategy for winter now, you can save time, increase revenue, and create meaningful experiences throughout the entire season. For more information, contact us to speak with a specialist.