SPORTS ADMINISTRATION,management and leadership

Definitions
1)administration
2)management
3)leadership

Sports administration covers all forms of sport organization which include organization of
athletics meeting and games competitions.
It also throws some light into the roles and functions of team officials in as far as team
management, training and coaching are concerned.

Sound organization and administration are concerned with getting up or planning activities of a
department ,ensuring all important aspects involved are accomplished.
Organization includes getting up the overall pattern or plan whereas administration deal with
putting it into operation and keeping it functioning.

Successful administrators must act. wisely, be friendly, strive to keep associates happy, make
decisions, be reliable and honest, willing to accept responsibility and have a good general
understanding of the entire unit e.g. college, club, etc.

TOURNAMENTS
The term tournament originates from medieval French. I described the military exercises in
which knights engaged one another inorder to display their skill and courage in combat.
In the early years of the 20th century the word tournament came to be applied to certain method
of conducting competition in sports events.
Tournaments were invented by a French Barn Geoffri de Preulli in the mid 11th Century as here
the tournaments become military exercises carried out for practice and display of prowess.
METHODS OF ORGANIZING TOURNAMENTS
Athletics:-
An athletics meet can be organized under the following areas:-
i) Pre-arrangement
ii) Actual day
iii) Post Arrangement/Aftermath
1. PRE-ARRANGEMENT
Here the various committee are formed
The venue is agreed upon for marking.
The guest of honour is contacted
The printing of certificates is done
 Various teams are contacted
Trophies are organized for
New media is contacted
Programmes are made and the number specified
The equipments, score sheets etc are made ready
An appeals committee and rules are made.
ii) The organizers check to see that the equipment is available.
- Ensure whether the terms have arrived or not
- The sitting arrangement is organized.
- All equipments are put in position
- Organizers find out whether all the officials are in.
If not they are substituted.
- The posts and National Flag are made available.
- When everything is available /ready the signal to start is given.
- Organizers/Coordinators ensure that the programme is followed.
- Protocol/Order is used in carrying out speeches.
- Presentation of awards and certificates done.
- Tentative results given.
- Then all the equipment is gathered.
POST OR AFTER MATH ARRANCEMENTS
- Return of equipment
- Writing to thank various people
- Official results published
- Clearing of the field
- Committees meet to give reports
- Finalicing accounts
OFFICIALS
- Management officials
Include one manager (clerk of the course), one or two delegates appointed by I.A.A.F. or
Regional Assistant.
- Jury or appeal.
Competition Officials:-
- One or more referees for track events
- One or more referees for Field events
- One referee for running events outside the stadium.
- One referee for walking events.
- Four or more judges for track events
- Four or more judges for field events
- Four or more judges for walking events
- Four or more track umpires
- Three or more time keepers
- One or more starters
- One or more Recallers
- One or more starters Assistants or marksmen
- One or more lap scorers
- One or more recorders
- One or more marshals
- One or more wind gauze operators
Additional Officials
- One or more announcers
- One official surveyors
- One or more doctors
- Stewards for competitors, officials and press
- Referees and chief judge shall be indicated.
Duties of the Manager.
He shall be incharge of the meeting and be responsible for all proper carrying out of time programme. He
shall see that all the officials have reported for duty and where necessary shall appoint substitutes. In
cooperation with the marshal he shall arrange that only authorised persons are allowed in the Arena.

Secretary
Responsible for calling meetings for the executive and other committees and shall prepare all minutes,
shall be incharge of all administrative arrangements and shall receive and conduct all principal
correspondence relating to the meeting.
Starter and Recallers:-
The starter shall have entire control of the competitors on their marks and shall be sole judge of any
activity connected with the start of the race.
The starter shall ascertain that time keepers and judges are ready. Recallers shall assist in the supervision
of the regularity of the start. Incase of non-compliance he shall give a signal (pistol firing ) sign of recall
can be given by the starter.
Starter Assistants
To check that the competitors competing in the correct heat or race and that their number are won
properly.
They also place each competitor in his correct lane or station, assembling competitors on the assembly
line – i.e. 3m behind the starting line etc.
ORGANIZATION OF GAMES COMPETITIONS
In games competitions the most common methods of organizing tournaments are as follows:-
1) knock - out
2) League
3) League cum knock – out

KNOCK – OUT
This is a system in which two teams play and the defeated team is eliminated from further participation in
the competitions. In using this system there must be clear winners at the end of each match. If the match
ends in a draw (where the two teams have the same number of goals/scores) there should be some
provision on how to get the winners.
Some organizing bodies/associations may prefer having a full time replay at a later time of play
immediately after the stipulated time.

Advantages of using knock – out system

1. Its a time saving system. Takes a shorter time to complete the competitions and its preferred in
situations where many teams are involved and time for competitions is limited.
2. The system has a climax/peak reached in the finals after elimination of (the supposedly weaker
teams in the initial stages of the competitions.
3. System requires few officials since there comparatively fewer matches as opposed to the league
system.
4. Knock – out can be organized over with.
5. System is economical/money saving to the organizers and the participating teams.
6. System is more competitive since teams fear being eliminated thus cannot take chances in any
one round lost they be knocked out.
7. System is less taxing for teams since there are fewer matches.

Dis-Advantages of the Knock – out system:-

1. Teams are given limited exposure since opportunities are not given to play and test the prowess
of all teams in the competitions.
2. At the end of the competitions its not possible to position the teams in the championships other
than 1st and 2nd positions ( and sometimes a third position if there be a play – off of loser in the
semi – finals) as more than one team are dropped out in any one round.
3. Unless proper seeding (knowing the potential winners so that they are not drawn to play one
another during the initial stages/rounds.
- Strong teams can be eliminated in the initial stages of the competitions thereby rendering
the finals less exciting and competitive.
4. Teams knocked out in the initial stages may not realize the worth of the amount of time and
money involved in preparing the team.
5. The system is capable of killing the ambition and anxiety of the teams which are eliminated after
only one or two matches.
Winning teams tend to resort to defensive play thereby making the game boring as their number
of goals scored are not used in breaking a tie in as long as they are winning with one goal.
6. Sufficient entertainment is not accorded the fans/supporters as interest fades once teams they
support are eliminated.
7. As the number of matches are few and with fading interest of the fans/spectators, the little money
is realized in the gate collections.
8. Its more taxing mentally per gate.

LEAGUE (ROUND ROBIN) TOURNAMENTS)

This type of tournament is played when time is sufficient and facilities are available.

Each team plays every competitors in the league. In a single round robin one game is played with every
other team or player and in a double round robin two games are played with each of the opponents.
Formula that determines the total numbers to be played in a round robin tournament is n(n – 1) with n
representing the number of teams in the tournament eg. for 8 teams.

The formulae is 8(8 – 1 ) - 8(7) = 28 games

2 2 2
Since every team plays every team but itself then 8 – 1 is used and since it taken two teams to play one
game it is necessary to divide the figure by two.
NB: If the match is a two league then you multiply 28 games x 2 = to get 56 matches
gotten by the formulae n(n – 1) – 8(8 – 1) – 8(7) = 56 since each team will meet every other
team twice than you do not divide this figure by two
NB: For scoring according to F.A.A.A. a soccer team is awarded three points for each victory,
one point for a draw/ie and 0 – for a loss.

Advantages of using the league system.

1. The system offers each team an opportunity to test their strength all teams irrespective of a loss,
draw or a win.
2. It provides for extended entertainment for the fans as there are many matches.
3. At the end of the competition the teams can be positioned from the first to the last.
4. It enables the organizers to make higher gate collections.
5. Since the matches are played only during regular times, players are not likely to be exhausted at
the end of every match.
6. The system offers ample opportunity for organizers to detect good players if a combined teams is
to be formed out of the championships.
7. Teams remains hopeful of achieving good positions whether they lose or win in any particular
match as they still have time to make up for their failure in any given match.
8. The system offers opportunities for the players and coaches to learn from others skills and tactics
which are superior to their teams.
Disadvantages of using the league system.
1. The system demands use of many facilities.
2. It requires many official (referees, umpires etc
3. When using the system there is no climax (peak) as strong teams maybe drawn to play in the
earlier matches.
4. Teams have incur extra expenses for traveling accommodation and meals etc.
5. Since there are may matches to be played, there are increased risks of injury.
6. There system requires a longer period for all matches to be played.

LEAGUE CUM KNOCK – OUT

This is a system which is widely used particularly where very many teams have been entered. It
is a combination of the two systems ( i.e league and knock – out).
The teams entered are divided into pools/zones and different pools organize league matches in
the preliminary rounds, such that winners and runners up in each pool qualify for the second
phase of the competitions.
Eg. If there are eight teams, each pool will have four teams during the preliminaries which means
that there will be two pools with winners and runners up from each pool qualifying for the
second phase, hence there will be a total of our teams. If the pools be need ‘A ’ and ‘B ’ then
winners of pool ‘B’ will play runners up of team ‘A’ and vice verse.
Winners of the semi-finals will meet in the finals to decide the winners and runners up of the
competition. To decide positions three and four losers in the semi-finals will have a play-off so
that the winners in the play-off will be third while losers will be fourth.
In the 2nd phase of the competitions the matches shall be played on a knock-out basis/system
which means that there must winners in each match played.
When making a draw to decide which teams should be different pools seeding should be done so
that the strong teams – ( i.e. usually winners and runners up in previous seasons) are placed in
different pools.
Characteristics of League Cum Knock-out
1. This system takes advantage and or good aspects of the two systems (league and
knock-out).
2. When using the system adequate facilities are required so that different pools are assigned
different fields.
3. It equally requires a sizeable number of officials (Referees, umpires, scores, timekeepers etc)
4. As much as possible each pool/ and or game should have a coordinator whose duty is to ensure
that there is fair play and that the matches are completed in good time.
5. The coordinators should decide on and pick competent referees as soon from the preliminaries to
officiate in the second phase of the competitions.

IMPORTANT TERMS IN ORGANIZATION OF GAMES TOURNAMENTS.

1. SEEDING
 A team mainly used in knock-out competitions.
It is a process employed to place competitors who by virtual of previous performance and
reputation are considered superior – in separate brackets so as to minimize their chances of
meeting in the early rounds. It there are bye, the seeded teams get them in order of their ranking
e.g. No. 1 team gets the first bye. The number of games in a single elimination tournament ie
always on a less than the number of entries e.g. for thirteen teams, twelve games would be to
complete the tournament.

2. BYE - RULE
This term also applies in knock – out competitions especially if the number of entrants is not an
even power of two e.g. 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 etc then “bye ” must be arranged to avoid having an
uneven number of teams or players left to complete in the semi-finals.
This is accomplished by subtracting the total number of entrants from the next, higher power of
two e.g. 11 entrants/teams are subtracted from 16. Which is the next higher power of two above
number 11. This leaves 5 – which is the number of byes. So 11 – 5 leaves six (6) teams or
contestant to play in the 1st round is A & B, C & D, E & F – etc. Three contestants will lose
leaving 8 contestants in the 2nd round. Since 8 is an even number of two, only two teams can
now meet in the final round. The byes should be distributed as even as possible between the
upper & lower brackets.
A team with 21 entrants requires 11 byes i.e 32 ( which is the next higher power of 2) subtract 21
– meaning that during the initial rounds 11 teams should first rest and 21 – 11 leaves 10 teams to
participate so that during the 2nd round there will be 5 teams which have won plus 11 teams had
byes giving 16 teams to play during the 2nd round. This will eventually give us an even number
of teams for the final rounds.
Question: How many byes should be given 29 teams.
3. BREAKING OF A TIE IN A LEAGUE MATCH
In a league system two more teams may end up having an equal total number of points in which
case they are said to be tying. To break the tie the following procedure is used.
1. The team with higher goal average is awarded a higher position i.e. goals for : by goals
against.).
2. If no decision is reached, the team with a better goal difference is awarded a higher position
(i.e. goals for minus goals against).
3. If no decision is reached the team with a better number of goals for is given a higher position.
4. If no decision is reached the team with a lower number of goals against is given a higher
position.
5. If the tie is not broken consideration is given to the match/matches of the affected teams with
the one with better results in that match/matches of the affected teams with the one with
better results in that match being given a higher position.
 6. If no decision is reached the teams trying are normally awarded the same position unless the
organizing body sets rules to decide the winners like the toss of a coin a reply of the trying
teams.

P W1 D2 L1 GF GA POS
TEAM A B C D
S

A /// 2–1 2–2 0–1 4–4 4 1 2 1 8 8 5

3 1 0 1
B 1–2 /// 3–0 1–1 0–0 4 1 2 1 5 3 4 3
C 2 –2 0–3 /// 1–0 3–0 4 2 1 1 6 5 5 2
D 1–0 1–1 0–1 /// 5–1 4 2 1 1 7 3 5 1
E 4–4 0–0 0–1 1–5 //// 4 0 2 2 5 12 2 5

NB: Scores indicated on this score sheet are such that the teams on the horizontal columns have
respective scores first while those for the teams on the vertical columns are shown weak
Key
F - No of matches played
W - “ “ “ won
D - “ “ “ Drawn
L - “ “ “ Lost
GF - “ “ goals for team
GA - “ “ “ against team
TECHNICAL AND TEAM OFFICIALS IN BALL GAMES
DUTIES OF A COACH
The coach is usually the technical head of his team. His duties include:-
i) To ensure the availability of adequate coaching facilities and equipment prior to
the commencement of training
ii) To obtain a brief each member of the team
iii) To include the element of sports psychology in day to day dealings with the
teams
iv) To arrange for physical and medical tests for all members of the squad prior to
and during training sessions.
v) To have adequate technical knowledge of the sports.
vi) To be able to recognize and effectively communicate to his team ejecting
 vii) To effectively motivate the participants
viii) To direct other technical assistants working with him.
ix) To come up with a comprehensive programme, adjusted to individual differences
planned on daily, weekly and seasonal basis as the case may be.
x) To liaise with the manager on proper welfare provisions for the squad ( if need be
seek advice from a dietician ).
xi) To enforce relevant discipline aspects.
xii) To attend daily consultative meetings with the manager, participants and other
team personnel.
xiii) To be able to produce an acceptable final product ( a winning outfit)
xiv) To produce a written technical report to the parent body. (Association with 14
days on completion of the competition.
OVERALL TEAM MANAGER
i) Responsible for the entire team
ii) He must make sure that all necessary facilities are available
iii) To ensure that there is harmony among officials, participants and any personnel involved at
all times.
iv) To ensure the general welfare of the entire squad at the camp and when traveling.
v) To arrange for other supportive recreational activities within the camp
vi) He is responsible for the safe keeping and disbursement of finance meant for the team
welfare.
vii) He ensures the team is furnished with relevant information concerning the competition to
follow.
viii) Should be fully conversant with rules and regulations governing that particular composition
and not accordingly on matters pertaining to dispute.
ix) Responsible for the safe custody and use of all equipment in the camp.
x) He should be available at all times
xi) Responsible for coordinating the responsibilities of other team officials
xii) Should travel to the venue of the competitions to make earlier preparations for the teams
welfare when they arrive.
xiii) In liaisen with coaches, submit his report to the association responsible within 21 days on
completion of the competitions.
3. DUTIES OF A CAPTAIN
i) The captain plays the role of middlemen between the competitors and the team
administration.
ii) He is the competitors spokesman and or representative at any talk concerning the team.
iii) He plays the role of administration in terms of coaching, discipline and general
management in the absence of the coach and manager.
iv) A captain channels any complaint through the manager for any malpractices during the
competitions.
v) He takes part in the toss of coins at the start of a match.
vi) In the course of a match, it is only the captain who is allowed to address the referee or
umpire
vii) He should be an example of the rest of the team in terms of attitude, punctuality and
general disciplines
viii) He should be very diplomatic when talking to officials
ix) He should command the respect of the teams.