How to Run a Sports Board, Part One - Parts and Definitions

The concept of sports boards is relatively simple, but without a basic knowledge of its parts and layout it can seem very complicated. A sports board is a promotional tool used in conjunction with a selected sporting event in which the results of the event dictate the outcome of the promotion. There are far too many varieties of sports to discuss them all in detail but fortunately aerobics all follow the same basic concept. Numbers are selected, they are matched up to the score, this corresponds to a square and the player in that square wins a prize. All sports boards are basically set up the same way with a body containing the squares, teams, the title of the event and the reference area which dictates how the prizes will be distributed.

Body of the Sports Boards

• Event Title: Clearly displays the event or team the sports boards are centered around, i.e., Event: Superbowl, World Series or Team: Dallas, New York
• Team Placement: The Home team is always placed along the top in the grid and the Away team is always placed along the left side of the grid.
• Board Numbers: These are the numbers that are randomly selected and placed in the squares above the "Home Team Placement" and the squares to the left of the "Away Team Placement".
• Players' Squares: These are the squares in which the players write their names once they have selected one. In this example there are 100 squares which is most common, other styles include 25 squares and 48 squares.
• Value Square: This is the large square found in the upper left hand corner of the grid, it is the responsibility of the person running the pool to assign it value. This value is tied to the reference area and the prizes awarded.

Sports Boards Reference Area All good sports boards have a clearly displayed reference area to show the players what potential prizes they may win. These are referred to as winning and touching squares.

• Payout intervals: This is dictated by the sporting event, for example in football boards or basketball boards there are four quarters which equals four opportunities for prizes. Baseball boards have nine opportunities because of the nine innings; hockey boards have three chances, corresponding to the three periods. The winning and touching squares are also shown in this area. This will instill confidence in the players as they will know beforehand the value of each prize prior to the event.
• Winning squares: These squares are selected when the board numbers that match the game score and where they intersect reveals the player's square.
• Touching squares: These squares are directly above, below, to the right and to the left of the winning square. At no time is a touching square diagonal from the winning square. The values of the touching squares are always less than the winning square similar to a consolation prize.

Tip of the Week: Do your homework; knowing the sporting event and the rules of the sports promotion is very important. Be sure of one thing, you will get numerous questions on both.

Want to learn more? See how it all works at Sports Boards Central! Visit Sports Boards Central at http://www.Sportsboardscentral.com - And stay tuned next week for Part Two!

Lily Allard for SBC Productions: http://www.sportsboardscentral.com