Sporting Events, Behind the Scenes

    

    What is the first thing that you think of when you hear, Sports Event Director? Most people would believe that the job consists of setting up for sporting events and conducting sports. And they would be right, but there is way more to it than meets the eye. Majority of the sporting events conducted take place at Nelson field house on Bloomsburg University's Upper campus such as basketball, swimming, football, and soccer just to name a few.  

Sarah Zbierski, a young, devoted worker is currently working as a sport event director and athletic success coordinator since November of 2021. She got into this field of work through her general interests of sports management, and she stated, "This position is a great way for me to give back to the athletes and give them an opportunity that I wish I had growing up." She graduated from college with a degree in sports management, and immediately went for the job.

    "One of my fondest memories of this job is when we set up the gym for a make a wish child that loves Disney.  We decorated the entirety of the gym for her, and you should have seen her face light up when she saw the gym. We also funded her entire trip to Disney which fulfilled one of her greatest dreams. It's opportunities like that, which makes my job the best thing in the entire world." Sarah reminisced. 

   
    Sarah had a lot of pride while telling this story and she hopes to do something like that again in the future. Sarah is a very approachable person and if you have any questions, she is willing to help you with anything that you may need. She has very good relationships with the rest of her coworkers and spends most of her time trying to ensure that the environment is welcoming for everybody in the workplace. 

    "This job never has a dull moment, you are always learning something new because you are meeting new and different people," Sarah states. The environment of the workspace is very kind and welcoming, everybody in the workplace is super approachable and willing to give a helping hand if need be. But some challenges do take place in this job. The most challenging being time management. Between hundreds of emails and multiple sporting events there is not a lot of time for error or mistakes, so you have to be on your toes at all times. 

    In addition to Sarah some of her coworkers such as Elijah Morgan and her boss Dr McFarland make the environment so welcoming. Sarah and Elijah are very good friends, and both put 100% effort into their jobs because they want to make the sporting events as fun and exciting as possible. Elijah Morgan is a very approachable person who is fully hands on with everything that goes on during sporting events. "Dr Mcfarland is one of the nicest people I have ever met, and I owe my passions and determination to him because he pushed me to be who I am today." Sarah Proudly states.

    Most of the things in this job work behind the scenes and people don't know the amount of time and effort that goes into making the perfect sporting event. Before every game the event team gets together to form a plan so everything goes smoothly. Each event takes time and preparation to work well such as advertising, concessions, and labor work. During the games the screaming crowds makes everything so much more nerve wracking, because you want everything to go smoothly.

    There is more than just the sporting event work to be done. Behind mounds and mounds of paperwork and files, sits Sarah with a smile on her face ready to start her day. An average day is from 10am to 6pm on a slow day, but major sporting event days can be all day ordeals. Most of the time you check emails and file different types of paperwork. One of the downsides is the laundry, you have to wash dry and hang up all of the uniforms from games and practices, the smell of that is not pleasant. The main events such as football games, soccer games, and lacrosse games are a blast to work on, "I have some of the best days of my life when football season comes around, it may be hard work but, in the end, it is all worth it," Sarah states. 

                "What made you pick this job? Asked Brekk,

                    

                "I have always had an interest in sports management, and I want to leave a lasting impact on these student athletes." replied Sarah. 

                "In what ways do you help the student athletes?"

                "I believe that mental health is a very important thing in sports, so I want to give back to the athletes and make sure they have a strong body and mind." Sarah said with a big smile on her face. 

       The immediate things that you realize when you walk into the nelson field house is the welcoming atmosphere and the smell of chlorine from the pool.  The sounds of dribbling balls on the basketball court, and the buzzer from the games that are going on. The weights clanging from the weightroom since the footballers are getting the early season pump in. "The sight of crowded stadiums gets your heart racing, and it makes you so excited for the day of work," said Sarah. 

    One of the best events that Sarah has to work on is the football games because they are normally all-day events, and they take a long time to set up, but they are a lot of fun. The amount of work that goes into these events is immense. All of the work seen by the fans is done by the sport event director, including concessions, field setup, parking, advertisement, food, tickets and so much more. Sarah explains how much work these events are by saying "It normally takes all work study employees to work these events because of how big they are."

    The amount of hard work that these employes have to do should not go unnoticed. Thousands of college students and community members are able to experience these amazing events because of people like Sarah. These amazing workers put so much time and effort into what they are doing. However, most people don't know how much work goes into these types of events and these workers do not get the amount of credit that they deserve.