Hydration is always important. People should consider their hydration needs individually and do their best to meet them based on their daily schedules and activities. Event organizers also need to take hydration into account when planning events. Event attendees need access to clean drinking water so dehydration doesn’t become a concern.
Unfortunately, figuring out the best way to meet the hydration needs of large crowds can be challenging. If you’re organizing a sports event that a large crowd will attend, what do you need to know about hydration?
Importance of Hydration
Hydration is one of the most critical considerations for event organizers, regardless of activity. Dehydration of sports event attendees can create a variety of health concerns that could escalate into emergencies very quickly.
The health and safety issues that can arise when event attendees aren’t properly hydrated include:
- Heat exhaustion
- Heatstroke
- Muscle cramps
- Dizziness and fainting
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Nausea and vomiting
- Confusion and disorientation
- Decreased cognitive function
- Increased risk of injury
These issues are above and beyond what’s likely to occur en masse if you don’t offer access to water at events. Thirsty event attendees will be angry, unpleasant, and difficult to control. You’re more likely to face chaos if you neglect to provide event attendees with clean drinking water.
When organizing a sports event, whether it’s a special one-time occasion or an ongoing season of games, the hydration needs of event attendees are one of your most important concerns.
Assessing Hydration Needs
Now that you understand how important it is to offer access to hydration at events, you must consider the crowd’s needs. Supplying water to a large crowd, especially over an extended period, can seem overwhelming. This is especially true if you aren’t entirely sure exactly how many people will attend the event.
In addition to attendance, you’ll also want to consider the climate and environmental conditions. People attending an outdoor event in the middle of summer in the sweltering heat will need more water than those at an indoor event in the winter.
Finally, you’ll want to consider the length of the event and whether or not attendees will be exerting any physical activity. Do event attendees sit in one seat, leaving only to use the bathroom or purchase refreshments? Or are they moving from location to location, as they might do at a golf tournament or event with multiple games?
Water Solutions
Event organizers can choose from several different types of water solutions, including:
Bottled Water
Offering or selling bottled water to event attendees is one of the most popular options for keeping large crowds hydrated. Most people attend events expecting to purchase at least one bottle of water.
Of course, if someone opts not to purchase water or cannot afford to buy enough to keep them properly hydrated, they’re at risk of dehydration. Event organizers can avoid this by providing bottled water for free, but this can get expensive, and it’s difficult to know how many bottles of water someone will take if offered them for free.
Not to mention, some attendees may waste the water—something that doesn’t do you or attendees any good. It’s also important to consider the environmental impact of excessive water consumption during an event.
You’ll need to consider cleanup after the event, which will further increase the cost. Once the bottles are removed from the event space, they end up in a landfill for hundreds of years. Nowadays, most modern organizations and businesses don’t want to be associated with plastic pollution.
Water Fountains
Another option is to install water fountains for event attendees. This option is only available to event organizers hosting events in permanent spaces. In this case, you’ll need to ensure the water fountains are operational and hooked to a safe drinking water supply.
Water fountains eliminate the need for single-use plastic bottles, but the downside is that they aren’t as hygienic as other options and aren’t available in all circumstances.
Water Stations and Mobile Water Trucks
Your final and arguably best option for supplying drinking water to a large crowd at a sports event is to rent or buy a mobile water station or water truck. These specialty solutions allow event organizers to offer ample clean, safe drinking water without the need for single-use plastic bottles.
These options are flexible and can be scaled based on the size and attendance of your event. Many water stations and dispensers feature touchless operation, making them one of the most hygienic options available, offering high-quality water without impurities, sediment, or contaminants.
Mobile water stations are a great solution for reducing the plastic waste generated by your event. Not only does this method encourage people to avoid single-use plastics at your event, but it also encourages them to consider their overall use of single-use plastics.
Requesting and/or permitting event attendees to bring reusable water bottles with them or providing them with reusable water bottles at the event is a great way to encourage them to always opt for this method of consuming water whenever possible. Event attendees won’t create plastic waste at your event; you might also reduce plastic waste in the future.
Planning for Water Consumption with a Mobile Water Station
You’ll need to consider a few things if you decide to invest in a drinking water system for this route to hydrate event attendees at your next sports event. For example:
- How many people are attending your event?
- Approximately how much water can you expect each person to consume during the event?
- Do you need a “buffer” that allows you to supply extra water if the weather is exceptionally warm?
- How will event attendees know to bring a reusable bottle? How will you notify them?
- How will event attendees identify the refilling station(s)? What sort of signs will you have directing them to water?
- What will you do to encourage event attendees to consume enough water? Just because the water is available doesn’t mean everyone will bother filling up and drinking.
If you’d like to know more about mobile water solutions for sports events or are ready to rent or buy a station, give us a call.