Practical tips for sporting clubs to help ensure end of season celebrations are held responsibly.
As the winter sports season is finishing up, many sporting clubs hold events to celebrate (or commiserate). Sometimes these sporting celebrations can turn sour with sporting club members engaging in binge drinking, anti-social behaviour or creating an unpleasant environment for others. Here are some tips to help make your celebrations more enjoyable for everyone.
Tips for club committee members
- Committee members should meet and discuss expected standards for patron behaviour, safety and comfort before the celebration
- Let club members know that, by law, they will not be allowed into the clubhouse or ground if they arrive already intoxicated
- For best practise your bar staff, including volunteers should be RSA trained in order to serve alcohol
- At the event, club committee members should regularly check to see that adults are not passing alcohol to people under 18 years, or children are not drinking alcohol.
- Club committee members should have regular patrols of exits to ensure patrons do not take alcohol away from the ground.
Tips for your end-of-season event (at the clubhouse or grounds)
- Make sure carafes of free water and drink ware are available on trays at two or three places in your clubhouse, throughout the event
- Offer low-alcohol drinks, coffee, tea and soft drinks
- Have food available
- Set a limit on the number of drinks a person can buy at one time
- Don’t encourage or allow any drinking games
- Conduct proper ID checks of young people.
