The complete sports club presentation day kit list
One clubhouse, six age groups, one afternoon: a presentation day outgrows most clubhouses long before it outgrows the club. Here is the hire list that closes the gap, worked at 150 guests.
A 150-guest sports club presentation day (several age groups' families, alongside the clubhouse) typically needs: a 40m-class marquee sited against the clubhouse to share its power and toilets, a small trophy staging deck, a PA with a wireless mic for calling teams up one by one, 13 tables (buffet and trophy table) at the standing-reception ratio, around 77 chairs at a 70% standing share, 3 toilets plus 1 accessible if the clubhouse facilities cannot stretch, 5m of bar frontage or a clubhouse bar extension, interior and safety lighting if presentations run into the evening, catering equipment for a buffet, and a PIPA-tested bouncy castle to occupy younger siblings through the older age groups' turns. Typical hire budget: £2,800 to £6,000.
The kit list, line by line
Worked at 150 guests. Every line links to the full category guide with prices.
| Item | Quantity logic | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Marquee (clubhouse extension) | 1.4 sqm per guest → 40m-class for 150, sited against the clubhouse | Skip this line if one age group's presentation fits the function room; hire only fills the gap on a multi-team day |
| Trophy staging | Sized to the presentation, not the guest count: a 4×3m deck for the trophy table, the MC and team photos | A step-free deck matters: seven-year-olds climbing a bare pallet stage is the injury nobody plans for |
| PA & sound | Wireless handheld for the MC calling squads up team by team, plus playback for a warm-up playlist | Test the mic before the first team is called, not mid-presentation with forty children waiting |
| Tables | 1 per 12 guests, standing buffet ratio → 13 at 150, plus a dedicated trophy table | The trophy table needs its own spot near the stage, clear of the buffet queue |
| Chairs | Seats for the presentation itself at a 70% standing share → 77 at 150 | Grandparents and younger siblings take the seats; parents mingle at the back |
| Toilets | Only if the clubhouse cannot take the whole afternoon's numbers: 1 per 50 with a bar open → 3 + 1 accessible at 150 | The moment more than one age group's families arrive at once, most single-pitch clubhouses need this line |
| Bar / drinks | 1m of frontage per 35 guests → 5m at 150, or an extension to the clubhouse bar | A club premises certificate covers members and their guests; opening the day to the wider public needs a Temporary Event Notice on top of it |
| Lighting | Interior rig for the marquee + safety lighting from car park to entrance for evening presentations | A March or April presentation day loses the light by 7pm; a June one does not |
| Generator | Only if the clubhouse supply cannot be safely extended to the marquee: typically 40kVA for PA, lighting and a hot-food van | Ask the committee what the existing circuit already carries before assuming a generator is needed |
| Catering equipment | Hot-holding for a buffet, or power and a pitch for a hired hot-food van | The clubhouse kitchen was built for teas at half time, not a buffet for 150 |
| Bouncy castle | PIPA-tested, attended, sited well clear of guy ropes and the car park | Keeps younger siblings occupied through the older age groups' turns on stage |
The problem this list actually solves
A single team's presentation fits in the clubhouse function room with room to spare. A whole club's, six or eight age groups, their parents, grandparents and younger siblings, on one Sunday afternoon, does not: it is a capacity problem the clubhouse was never built to solve, and the hire list exists purely to close that gap for one day a year.
The marquee goes against the clubhouse rather than out on the pitch wherever possible, so it can share the building's power, water and toilets instead of needing its own site services from scratch. That single decision is usually what keeps a presentation day's hire bill a fraction of a comparable field marquee event.
The licensing detail committees get wrong
Most clubs with their own bar hold a club premises certificate rather than a standard premises licence, and it already covers alcohol sales to members and their bona fide guests without any extra paperwork. What it does not cover is opening the day to the wider public, a fun day advertised beyond the club, or extending trading hours past what the certificate allows: either of those needs a Temporary Event Notice submitted at least 10 working days ahead, capped at 499 attendees.
Committees that already run a TEN for the end-of-season adult social event sometimes assume the same cover extends to a family presentation afternoon. It does not automatically: check the certificate and the guest list against each other before assuming the existing bar arrangement covers the day as planned.
What it costs, honestly
For 150 guests sited against an existing clubhouse, the hire list, marquee, staging, PA, welfare, lighting, catering equipment and a bouncy castle, typically runs £2,800 to £6,000, well below a field marquee party of the same size because the clubhouse is already supplying power, water and usually most of the toilets.
The single biggest lever is the marquee: a smaller structure that only covers the overflow from the function room, rather than one sized to seat everyone from scratch, is usually the right call once the clubhouse's own capacity is counted honestly.
Sports club presentation day: the questions that follow
How much does a sports club presentation day cost to equip?
For 150 guests sited against the clubhouse, £2,800 to £6,000 covers a marquee, trophy staging, PA, welfare, lighting, catering equipment and a bouncy castle. It runs cheaper than a comparable field marquee party because the clubhouse already supplies power, water and most of the toilets.
Do we need a licence to serve alcohol at a club presentation day?
If the club already holds a club premises certificate, it covers sales to members and their bona fide guests without extra paperwork. Opening the day to the wider public, or trading beyond the certificate's hours, needs a Temporary Event Notice, submitted at least 10 working days ahead and capped at 499 attendees.
Do we need our own toilets if we are using the clubhouse?
Only once the numbers outgrow what the clubhouse itself can handle, which happens fast once more than one age group's families arrive at the same time. The standard ratio is 1 per 50 guests with a bar open, so 3 units plus 1 accessible at 150, on top of whatever the clubhouse already has.
Do we need a generator for a marquee against the clubhouse?
Usually not: a marquee pitched against the building can often run off an extension from the clubhouse's own supply. Ask the committee what the existing circuit already carries, and only hire a small silenced set, typically 40kVA, if the PA, lighting and any hot-food van would overload it.
Planning a different kind of event?
These kit lists share most of the same line items as sports club presentation day.
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