How To: Have Fun While Away At A Tournament

By: Alana DeRose

I'm pretty sure if you have an athletic sibling or come from an athletic family you've had to travel out-of-state for a tournament, competition, or meet.

I used to be on a travel softball team and my brother has been doing AAU basketball since 2017, so I've worked up a nice amount of tournament experience to give you this list on how to have fun while away at a tournament.

1. Know Where You're Going

I know this may sound like an obvious one, but seriously know where you're going. When I went to Cincinnati this past weekend I wasn't actually in Cincinnati.... I was in Sharonville, I just happened to be 20 minutes from Cincinnati, but not actually in Cincinnati.

However, this was also a good location as it was in the middle of downtown Cincinnati and Kings Island, so I had two major tourist attractions on both sides of me and my parents were actually considering going to Kings Island because of how close it was, so yes knowing where you are going can change your experience drastically.

When you know where you're going you can search on Google what restaurants are nearby and fun things to do near your hotel.

2. Book The Right Hotel

Booking the right hotel is very important and you may have to go a little higher on the price, but it'll be worth it.

If you're traveling to a Northern or a Midwestern state I suggest you book a hotel with an indoor pool and always, ALWAYS try to get a hotel with free breakfast.

My favorite hotel has to be the Hampton Inn as it comes with both free breakfast and an indoor pool.

However, my least favorite hotel has to be the Double Tree, which had an outdoor pool and that really made me dislike the hotel.

3. FIND OUT GAME TIMES BEFOREHAND!!!

Considering you're there for the tournament always find out what times the games are, because this can determine what you do during the day. Also a lot of places are requiring reservations before entering so knowing game times are more important now than they've ever been before!

So I would suggest finding out playing times about a day or two before you leave for the tournament.

4. Pack clothes for any circumstance

We all know that clothes can seriously make or break an experience so I would suggest packing clothes for any circumstance possible and you want to pack an outfit for

- going out to eat outfit (If going somewhere nice)

- working out outfit

- causal outfit (Wear during games and if you just go to the arcade or amusement park)

- athletic outfit (for places like skyzone)

- Extra shirt and pants (just in case you sweat through your shirt or get stains on your pants)

- Jacket

- Pants and shorts (especially in the Midwest as you'll never know what the weather will be)

- Rain jacket

- Drippy Outfit (the outfit where you don't want to look red carpet ready but don't want to look basic either; some would wear this to an amusement park or arcade)

5. MAKE A SEASON SCHEDULE!!!!

Making a schedule for the travel season is extremely important!!!!!

The schedule will tell you everything you need to know from what clothes to bring, how much money you're willing to spend, because if you're going to Fort Wayne Indiana one weekend but you'll be in Orlando a couple weeks after that, then I'm pretty sure you'll budget your money differently for those two trips.

Also making a schedule can allow you to see what weekends you will be home so if you want to hang out with your friends you can do that or if you want to go on a family vacation outside of the sports tournaments you can do that too.

So these are all the tips I have for you guys, it may be short but these are the 5 most important things to remember if you want to have fun during your tournament.