33 Hours in 3 Days

This past weekend feels like a blur with the running of the Chevron City to Surf for Activ. My internship has revolved around the organisation of this day (and the four regional events) and I can’t believe how quickly it has come and passed!

On Friday and Saturday (29 and 30 August) the expo was held at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre where participants could collect their bibs, purchase merchandise, have their questions answered and make changes to their registrations. My role over the two days was to make sure everything went smoothly by helping out wherever necessary. This meant I had to make sure the volunteers knew what they were doing, assist them with any queries they may have, help them with the bib collections when busy and assist at the help desk.

Facebook comments

For the most part, the day went smoothly, however there were a few minor issues. Some of the issues included not being able to refund people (as proceeds go towards the Activ Foundation), advising participants they could not change their shirt size, many did not receive their postal pack (despite paying extra for it to be mailed to them), having to tell people there is a $2.50 fee when any changes had to be made to their registration and having to try to answer questions about parking and road closures when I wasn’t 100% sure myself. Another issue was that when people went to collect their bibs, sometimes their bib wasn’t there. Therefore, the participant had to wait at the help desk to be issued another bib number and then re-cue at the bib collection. Despite these issues, the day was a success and I would say only a small number of people may have been a little unhappy. The Facebook comments to the right are a perfect example of the mixed views of the day.

Sunday (31 August) was the Chevron City to Surf for Activ. My role on the day was to help set up, manage the volunteers at the help desk and help pack up. The day went so quickly with nearly no issues occurring (presides a few lost children). It was such a fun day and it was great to see all my hard work contributed to an event that brings so much excitement and happiness while also supporting a great cause.

12km start line

Overall, even though it was a tiring 33 hours spent working over these 3 days, I was able to learn so much about event planning. Most importantly, I learnt how important customer service is in any industry and how we must pay attention to even the smallest issues to try and avoid them occurring again in the future.  

I found the link below to be an interesting read about the issues facing event organisers. Nothing is more true than the statement ‘anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.’

http://www.liverpoolchamber.org.uk/article.aspx/show/2321

Until next time,

Sophie