As we near the end of our 6th year, we are looking back at some of our defining contracts, one of our earliest being The School Games National Finals. The School Games, delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, is a four-day multi sport event for school-aged elite athletes from across the UK. Alliance Events has been appointed as the primary security contractor since 2019, when Loughborough University was chosen to provide their world-famous campus and sports facilities.
This is a colossal event, covering majority of the campus, with over 1000 young individuals taking part, travelling in teams from all 4 nations of the UK. Alliance Events provided over 100 members of stewarding and SIA security staff for each day of the event as well as the arrivals day with opening ceremony production. We ensured competitors along with their coaches, physios, match officials, medical teams and families/guardians were welcomed onto campus with a smile by friendly and approachable staff who carry themselves with impeccable confidence and understand the complexities of a competitive sports environment.
A stand-out feature of The School Games is the Olympic-style Athletes village that is set up around the various halls of residence complexes on campus. Loughborough University is famous worldwide for it’s athlete experience and facilities, young athletes are therefore able to experience this unique ‘village’ environment with their teammates whilst competing, making Loughborough University the perfect setting for this event. Our teams patrol the athlete villages throughout each evening and early hours of the morning. This is both to limit any antisocial behaviour and also to ensure that full safeguarding procedures can be adhered to. Our management team consult regularly with the official safeguarding officers to ensure that incidents are taken care of swiftly and with the utmost sensitivity. Constant patrols, along with static accreditation checkpoints ensure that participants and their guardians are given peace of mind for their safety whilst staying on and around the campus.
During competition days, we provide venue-wide coverage for each sport, with hundreds of matches taking place across the 4 days. Roles focus on pitch-side stewarding/spectator safety, changing room access accreditation checks, entry point checks, as well as way-finding and general customer service. Each sports venue comprises a team led by an experienced security supervisor who liaises with the venue sports manager and Control to ensure that all areas are covered to expected standards and necessary adjustments are made.
Naturally, events are not without challenges but we strive to overcome these; a prime example being the 2021 edition, in which COVID-19 restrictions were still strictly in place for large-scale sporting events. Our team adapted accordingly to ensure a fully compliant and safe delivery was achieved with maximum output and minimum disruption to competitors and spectators.
The School Games National Finals has been a bright feature on our summer events calendar for many years now. With our team’s rich experience of working in sporting environments, it is the perfect showcase for the high level of competency and understanding that our staff possess.