QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

The city can decide: whatever works best for you. It could be a sports organization, a University, a group of students and older volunteers, someone working for the Sports Department. You will need a person or organization with some experience in organizing an event. The community itself will organize it, several people playing a role.

The event combines several objectives. It’s  about generations sporting together,  people of all ages having a good time participating in several sports and activities, in a relaxing, non-competitive atmosphere. Learning from each other, inspiring one another. Passing on the passion for sport.

The Generation Games is multi-sports, multi-generations, multi-purpose. The event gives room to social and educational topics, stimulating a healthy lifestyle, strengthening intergenerational solidarity.  With a focus on positive community impact and respect for everyone’s role. With valuable legacies for future generations around the world.

No, there is no fee involved. The reason why? The Generation Games is a non-profit event, based on the principle of sharing, co-creating, volunteerism, connecting. The event is about doing good, realizing positive community impact around the world. That’s why we share the event as well. By an open source website and toolkit. Any city, any school, any neighborhood, any organization to set up an edition. Sharing the concept will contribute to the objectives of the event. So, it’s free. And valuable. And priceless.

Yes, we have some requests/requirements. An edition should be based on the on the 10 principles you find on the website. We also have some guidelines regarding sponsors and partners (no tobacco and alcohol for example). And we ask a city to inform us. And, of course, we ask for a good organization. Enthusiasm and commitment are important conditions.

You decide. How many teams can you handle? This depends on 1. location, 2. number of sports, 3.how many hours you offer the activities. Example: if you offer 12 activities (and on average each activity can handle 7 teams per hour), and the event is between 10h00-16h00: 12 x 7 x 6 = 504 teams (in theory). In that case, you better go for 300 teams (with 4 people on a team). Also important: how far apart are the sports? If you spread the sports over a 2 kilometer circuit in the city center,  that’s different than having all the sports on one square.

Yes, please. We expect and appreciate that you inform us, if you have plans to organize an edition of the Generation Games. We keep track of all editions. Also to be able to know the worldwide effect of the event. And we can support you, give advice and feedback. So, if you consider organizing an edition, please let us know.

No, it is not very difficult. The creative framework is available, including ready-to-use designs. You need enthusiastic organizers. Every community is capable of organizing an edition, even without professionals. Teamwork will be important, connecting/involving expertise in the field of event management, communication, and so forth. Many hands make light work. Preparing the event is part of the fun. And you decide on the scale and ambition.

The teams do not play each other, each team participates in several sports. For some sports, you can also think of some quick matches between 2 teams: not too fanatic, because all of the participants should enjoy!

The event can be realized with very limited resources. Almost with no budget. By involving several partners. We stimulate cities to co-create as much as possible. Work together. Find partners that understand the concept. You don’t need expensive and fancy materials  to realize a great event!

On average, 4 to 5 months. Since every edition is different, also preparation time could be different. You need enough time to find the people to play a role, to get permission for a location, to promote the event. Most of these activities can be done at the same time, parallel to each other.

There are no qualifications. And no training is needed. Anyone can take part in the sports activities offered during the Generation Games. A good warming-up before the event would be good. And of course, if the teams want to practice a bit, in the weeks and months before the event, that’s great.

Even if you have over 500 teams participating, this won’t be a problem for traffic. The event is different from a running event, with a huge group of people, all at once, running in the street, blocking the streets. During the Generation Games, small groups of people (3-5 people per team) walk through the city. So, the event has no negative traffic implications.

Partners can play various roles: sports clubs providing sports materials, local supermarket could supply fruit, a national sports federation could organize a clinic, and so forth.

Yes, that would be nice! It contributes to the atmosphere of the event, to have festival banners. You could place a banner at every sports activity, so the teams know where to go. The toolkit provides the design. You can print these yourself.

You decide! The Generation Games is a multi-sports event. For that reason, we would advise a minimum of 7 sports. You can think of very popular, well-known sports. And sports many people never played before. One activity will last about 10 minutes. The teams walk from one activity to another. It is important that each activity is fit for the whole team.

Around 3-5 persons form a team. The best would be to have 3 generations in a team. Like kids, parents, grandparents. But two generations is also fine. The sports activities are developed for teams of this size.

The people in the city form their own team. For instance, a team with some family members. A city can also decide to stimulate new connections: making teams of people in the city that don’t know each other. People will get to know other people in this way. For school editions, teams can consist of the pupils and their families.

Yes, that is certainly possible. A company could organize an edition with their employees and their families.

Yes please. We will share with you how to measure, and which performance indicators to use.

Sure! You can connect the Generation Games with other projects and events in the city. The Generation Games offers a podium for projects with mutual objectives. If you can connect with initiatives and organizations in the field of social inclusion, educational projects, or stimulating an active lifestyle, please do.

During the event, the participating teams can decorate their own baton (carton packaging material), and pass it on to another cities, with inspirational messages inside. Like a message in a bottle. To make valuable, purposeful connections within communities, and between cities. The relay baton has a strong symbolic value, an important symbol of the Generation Games. The relay baton stands for teamwork, sharing, passing on, positive legacies. Please let us know if you are interested.

Sure! A city can involve many (sports) organizations, businesses, partners. We stimulate cities to connect with partners working on healthy lifestyles, intergenerational solidarity, inclusive societies. With a good match with the Generation Games. Companies in the field of sports equipment and healthy food for example. No sponsors in the field of alcohol and tobacco. Please check with us if you are not sure.

You need around 2 volunteers per activity. For some sports, 1 volunteer is enough. And you need some volunteers to hand out the scorecard, to provide general information. Also for photography and other activities you need volunteers.