The Commitment
Everyone organising is a volunteer doing this in their free time - the numbers below are a rough guide, not a target to hit.
- Time: usually 1-3 hours per week depending on the sport
- Consistency: ideally your sport is covered most weeks, between you and your fellow organisers, or a backup
- Communication: responsive on WhatsApp when you can be, especially around event days
- Teamwork: work well with your fellow organisers and admins, and respect their decisions, even the ones you'd have called differently
You get recognition, input on how your sport runs, and the satisfaction of making it happen - plus a genuinely nice way to meet great people in Barcelona. You don't get payment or exemption from community rules. See Partnerships & Reciprocity for more.
The Weekly Cycle
Every sport follows a similar rhythm:
| Step | Task |
|---|---|
| 1a | Post a short blurb about the upcoming session |
| 1b | Post a WhatsApp Event so people can confirm Going/Maybe/Not going |
| 2 | Monitor responses, answer questions |
| 3 | Close poll, organise games/groups/teams |
| 4 | Post final details, confirm with bookers |
| 5 | Event day - be available, handle issues |
| 6 | Follow up on no-shows, thank helpers, note improvements |
Tips:
- Post at consistent times each week
- Pin important messages
- Tag @everyone sparingly - reserve for key announcements
- Some of our groups have over 1,000 people in them - keep event posts short and concise out of respect for everyone's feed, not a wall of text
- Lead with the short blurb (what, when, where, in a couple of lines), then follow up with WhatsApp's built-in Create Event feature so people have one clear place to confirm - don't ask for RSVPs in free text replies scattered through the chat. See How to Host an Event, step 2 for how to set one up.
- Blurb + Event is the whole format, not step one of something longer. Once the Event is posted, that's where RSVPs live - don't follow up with a separate poll, or a "reply below to confirm" message, or a second Event for the same session. Stacking announcement formats on top of each other is confusing for attendees and creates duplicate, conflicting places to RSVP.
Ownership and Backup
- One event, one owner. Whoever posts an event owns the logistics calls for it - venue, timing, cancellations. If you spot something that needs changing on someone else's event, propose it to them rather than posting your own update or correction - two people posting different information about the same event reads as a contradiction to everyone in the chat, even when both of you meant well. If it's urgent and they're unreachable, raise it in Keep Calm Organisers rather than acting solo in the main group.
- Don't run an event solo, especially if money's involved. Bring in a co-organiser. A simple "money person / logistics person" split works well: one person chases payments, the other handles on-the-day details. It halves the workload and means nobody's stuck alone chasing a long list of people for cash - see Handling money for the payment-collection side of this.
Recording Attendance
If you run an event (a regular session or a one-off), record roughly who came and report it back so it can be added to the community's activity record.
- A headcount is the minimum, names if you have them handy - the sign-up poll/form responses usually cover this
- Post it in the Keep Calm Organisers group afterwards so it can be logged
- Doesn't need to be formal: "12 people, mostly regulars, plus Maria and Tom trying it for the first time" is enough
- This is what backs up Core's ongoing activity bar and governance eligibility - without it, nobody can actually be credited for showing up
Organising Games
For sports that need team formation (padel, tennis, volleyball):
- Note poll results
- Group players by time preference
- Balance by skill level within groups
- Assign a booker to each court
- Post assignments clearly
Managing Bookers
Tell bookers to:
- Book within a few hours of assignment
- Share the link with all players (use "Share Externally" for Playtomic)
- Let you know if anyone hasn't joined or paid
Handling Problems
No-shows:
- Check if they gave notice
- If not: private message asking what happened
- If it becomes a pattern: apply the strike system
Last-minute cancellations:
- Post in group asking for a replacement
- Check reserves or waiting list
- If no replacement: redistribute players or cancel the court
Weather:
- Check venue cancellation policy
- Communicate clearly - games are on unless officially cancelled
- See sport-specific rain policies
Conflicts:
- Don't take sides publicly
- Speak to people privately
- Escalate to other organisers if serious
- See Community Conduct
Under-18s:
- Keep Calm is an adults-only community - everyone taking part must be 18 or over
- If you reasonably believe someone is under 18, ask them to confirm their age
- Turn away anyone who cannot - make no exceptions, even for accompanied minors
- See Safety & Liability
Onboarding New Members
When someone new joins, send a welcome message:
Hi [Name], welcome to Keep Calm [Sport]!
Quick start:
1. Watch for the poll on [day]
2. Vote if you can make it
3. Check the games post for your assignment
4. Show up and have fun!
Let me know your experience level so we can match you well.
Questions? Just ask.
At their first session: introduce them to others, pair with a friendly regular, check in afterwards.
When You Can't Make It
- Tell your co-organiser ASAP
- Hand over specific tasks for the week
- Stay available by phone for emergencies
Stepping Down
Give as much notice as possible (ideally 2-4 weeks) and:
- Document your weekly process step-by-step
- Share any login credentials securely
- Hand over venue contacts and booking procedures
- Transfer player records and strike counts
- Introduce your replacement to regular players
- Have them shadow you for 1-2 weeks
- Update WhatsApp admin rights
- Announce the change to the group
Starting a New Sport
Before proposing something new, have answers for:
- What's the activity and when would it run?
- Where (venue options) and what's the cost?
- Is there demand?
- Can you commit to running it for 3-6 months?
Rule of thumb for running as your own subgroup: an activity that's recurring (3+ times a month) and has a named owner runs as its own subgroup - own WhatsApp group, own automation where it's useful (this is how Hiking and Climbing already work). Anything less frequent, or without one clear owner, stays on the standard Blurb + Event format in the main Keep Calm group - that's not a lesser status, it's just what keeps things simple until an activity is running often enough to justify its own space.
Talk your proposal through with the other organisers. To become a recognised working group of the association, with access to association funds, it then goes to the board, which decides at its next meeting and reports it to the following General Assembly (statutes Article 22a). If approved:
- Announce in the main Keep Calm group
- Create a WhatsApp group
- Set a first session date
- Confirm venue and equipment
- Plan a beginner-friendly first session
Related Documents
- Role Descriptions - Role definitions
- Who Does What (RACI) - Responsibility map, including what is automated
- Organiser Onboarding - The expectations pack for bringing a new organiser on board
- Per-sport organiser one-pagers -
<sport>/organiser-one-pager.md, the one-page version of this guide for each sport - Event Rules - Participation policies
- Community Conduct - Conduct and conflict resolution
- Organisers - Current organisers