Planning guide
Tournament staffing
No tournament runs on the organiser alone. The most common reason events fall behind schedule is not the bracket format or the venue — it is having too few people, or the wrong people in the wrong roles. This guide covers which roles you need, how many people each requires, how staffing scales with event size, and how to brief your team before the day.
The core roles
Every tournament, regardless of size, requires people filling these functions. At small events, one person can cover multiple roles. At larger events, each role needs a dedicated person or team.
Support roles and volunteers
Beyond the core technical roles, most events require general support staff. These positions do not require specialist knowledge but are essential for the event to run smoothly.
- PA / announcer: Operates the sound system and makes match call announcements. Clear, calm announcements that give athletes enough notice are one of the biggest practical contributors to keeping the schedule on time.
- Medal and ceremony coordinator: Prepares medals, trophies, and certificates in advance of finals, and manages the podium or ceremony area. Having this ready before finals begin prevents delays between the last bout and the ceremony.
- General logistics: Handles setup and teardown, mat assembly, table placement, and any ad hoc needs that arise on the day. This is often the largest group of volunteers and the most flexible in terms of tasks.
- Security and crowd management: Required at events large enough to attract significant spectator numbers. Manages access to the competition floor, prevents unauthorised people in athlete areas, and handles any incidents involving spectators.
How staffing scales with event size
The most reliable way to estimate total staffing is to calculate from the mat up and then add event-level roles on top.
Add to that the event-level roles that are needed regardless of mat count: tournament director, chief referee, weigh-in official(s), PA/announcer, medical (if not counted per mat), ceremony coordinator, and general logistics volunteers. This fixed overhead is typically 8–15 people depending on event level.
As a rough total: multiply your active mat count by 8–9 and add the event-level fixed roles. A 4-mat event needs roughly 40–50 people before general volunteers are counted. The numbers grow quickly — which is why early recruitment is essential.
At club events where staff are also club members, roles inevitably overlap — the same person may handle weigh-in in the morning and act as table official during competition. This is workable as long as the transitions are planned and no one is expected to be in two places at the same time.
Recruiting staff
Referees and licensed officials should be confirmed well in advance — experienced referees are often in demand across multiple events on the same weekend. Reach out to your national federation early for referee assignments at sanctioned events; for club events, recruit from within your federation network.
For volunteer positions, clubs whose athletes are competing are the natural source. A common arrangement is to require each competing club to provide one volunteer per entry above a threshold — for example, one volunteer for every five athletes entered. This spreads the burden fairly and ensures sufficient staffing even when overall volunteer numbers are hard to predict.
Send role confirmations in writing to all staff at least one week before the event. Include the expected arrival time, their specific role, who their immediate point of contact is, and any materials they need to bring. Staff who are unclear about their role on the morning of the event are a scheduling risk.
Briefing your team
A staff briefing before competition starts is not optional — it is the single most effective thing you can do to prevent avoidable problems on event day. The briefing should happen at least 30 minutes before the first athlete arrives, ideally the evening before for larger events.
Cover these points in every briefing:
- 1The day's schedule — start times, key phases, expected finish time
- 2Which ruleset is in use and any specific interpretations that differ from the standard
- 3The call-up procedure — how matches are called, how much advance notice athletes get, what happens if an athlete does not appear
- 4How results are recorded and who is responsible for updating the bracket
- 5The protest procedure — who can submit a protest, to whom, and how it is resolved
- 6Emergency procedures — first aid location, who to contact, how to pause competition if needed
- 7Who the single point of authority is for decisions that cannot be resolved at mat level
- 8Communication — how staff contact each other during the event (radio, phone, in-person rounds)
Keep the briefing focused and under 20 minutes. Staff who have already read their role confirmation should not need a lengthy introduction to their responsibilities — use the briefing to cover event-specific points and answer questions, not to explain basic roles from scratch.
Common staffing mistakes
- No designated match caller: Without one person responsible for tracking which bouts are ready and calling athletes forward, mats sit idle while staff figure out who is supposed to be fighting next. This is the single role most often missing at smaller events.
- Referee also managing the bracket: Asking a referee to also track results and update the bracket means one of those tasks gets done poorly. Keep refereeing and bracket management separate.
- Confirming availability too late: Referees and experienced table officials who cancel two days before the event leave you with no time to find replacements. Confirm commitments at least two weeks out and follow up one week before.
- No deputy for the tournament director: If the single point of authority is also handling another role, they become unavailable at critical moments. Designate a deputy who can make decisions if the director is occupied.
- Underestimating first aid needs: A single first aider with a basic kit is not adequate for an event with 200+ athletes competing in a contact sport. Confirm federation requirements for medical provision before the event, not on the day.
Staffing checklist
- 1Tournament director identified — one person, clear authority
- 2Chief referee confirmed and briefed on ruleset
- 3Referees confirmed for each active mat, licensed to the required level
- 4Table officials confirmed — one per mat minimum, two preferred
- 5Match caller / bracket coordinator assigned
- 6Weigh-in team confirmed, one official per scale
- 7Registration desk staffed for expected arrival volume
- 8First aid provision confirmed — check federation minimum requirements
- 9PA operator confirmed, sound system tested before event day
- 10Medal and ceremony coordinator briefed, materials prepared before finals
- 11Volunteer roles assigned and confirmed in writing at least one week out
- 12Staff briefing scheduled — minimum 30 minutes before athlete arrival
- 13Emergency contact list distributed to all staff
- 14Communication method agreed (radio, phone, in-person) for event day