Everyone has a horror story.
I'm not talking about the kind with the zombies and vampires. I'm talking about the kind that event planners, CVBs and others have dealt with. We all have them, and I'm guessing you've had one too.
Maybe yours is about a pipe that burst and flooded the facility that was going to host your basketball tournament. Maybe it's about a school-system-wide flu epidemic that left you with a lot fewer athletes than you were counting on for your tournament. Maybe a big weather event closed the airport and left you unable to get to your tournament -- or maybe it's something else entirely that came out of left field and disrupted your well-laid plans.
The interesting thing about those stories is that while they're a nightmare at the time, we do live through them. In time, we usually wind up reciting them over beers at the NASC symposium when we're catching up with our colleagues. And perhaps most importantly, we learn from them. They become part of the fabric of our experience, and they make us better at what we do.
The world of gymnastics, just like a gymnastics meet, is a highly charged place. Meets are large. Competition is fierce. Hundreds of things seem to be happening all at once. Beyond just the complex dynamics of each individual meet, gymnastics events organizers also face the challenge of how to serve a wide range of athletes, from beginner to elite. more....