Comment: Sponsors and sports emerge as winners

The relationship between sponsorship and sports was highly evident at the 8th Jimmy George Memorial Volleyball Championship which concluded on Tuesday night. It was one of the best organised sports events in the capital.

Without doubt one of the more popular events, particularly during Ramadan, the Kerala Social Centre has carved a niche for itself with the highly efficient manner in which it has organised their popular tournament over the last nine editions.

Despite the prize money being just Dh 6,000 for the winners and Dh 4,000 for the runners up the importance of this event can be gauged by the fact that local teams drafted international players from India, Egypt, Bahrain and Qatar apart from the UAE internationals.

And the packed crowd which in fact was overflowing almost into the playing arena, bore testimony to the success of this event.

Two main aspects which come to the fore - a event well organised will always have the right support from sponsors and secondly will also prove to be a major draw among the spectators.

During the announcement of this year's Jimmy George memorial tournament, a fellow scribe highlighted the lack of proper viewing facilities at the KSC courts at their premises.

In a quick response, the New Medical Centre Group agreed to support the construction of temporary stands. The representatives of the NMC Group must have been highly gratified to see their support being fully accepted and appreciated by the large crowd.

A word of praise is a must for the large bunch or officials and volunteers of the KSC who managed and kept the large crowd and the tournament itself running smoothly.

Unlike most sporting events being organised in the capital where the organisers are more keen to get their press conference and prize distribution pictures in the papers, the officials here were helpful and provided team lists and other valuable information needed for the scribes.

It is these factors which make the event popular unlike a few other events where, immediately after the final, the officials forget to provide the media with necessary information needed to help their event gain better coverage.

The crowd itself was at its best as they lapped up every moment of brilliance unleashed by the international players from the various countries. This event can only get better and probably the organisers might find it difficult to restrict the spectators.

This and an increase in the prize money will encourage the companies sponsoring teams to fly in more international players and whet the appetite of the ever-hungry volleyball fans.

The lesson here for other organisations involved in conducting sports events is that sponsors do feel the pinch in the prevalent financial markets but for any event that is well-organised and popular the willingness to help will be evident from the sponsors.