Mad Monday might feel like something you can organise at the last minute, but popular venues can book out quickly.

Once you know roughly when your season will finish, start looking at potential dates and venues.

This is particularly important if you’re organising for an entire club rather than just one team. You may need to accommodate players, coaches, committee members and supporters.

The earlier you start, the more choice you’ll have.

Before booking anything, work out how many people you’re actually catering for.

Is it just the senior men’s team? The whole senior club? Multiple teams? Coaches and volunteers?

Getting an approximate headcount early makes everything else easier, particularly when you’re organising food, drinks, transport and venue capacity.

It’s also worth allowing for a few last-minute additions.

The venue can make or break a Mad Monday.

A busy public bar might work for a smaller group, but larger sporting clubs often benefit from having their own private space like The Playlounge.

A private venue means the group can stay together, have its own area and enjoy the day without worrying about finding tables or losing half the team somewhere between the bar and dance floor.

Look for a venue that can comfortably accommodate your group and has enough food, drinks and entertainment to keep everyone there.

Once the drinks start flowing, keeping a large group entertained isn’t always difficult.

But having a few planned activities can make the day even better.

Think about:

• Team trivia
• Games and competitions
• Pool or arcade games
• Sporting challenges
• Awards
• Best and worst moments of the season
• Funny team videos
• Player superlatives
• A coach’s speech

You don’t need to organise activities from start to finish. Just a few things throughout the day can keep the energy going.

Mad Monday is the perfect opportunity to look back at the season.

Put together a slideshow or video of the team’s best moments, funniest photos and questionable decisions.

You could also hand out your own end-of-season awards.

Forget the standard Best & Fairest for a moment. Think:

Most Likely to Miss Training

Worst GPS Excuse

Clubman of the Year

Most Questionable Haircut

Best Third Half Performance

It’s usually these awards that get people talking.

A big group needs to eat.

If you’re organising a Mad Monday for a sporting club, look for a venue that can offer a proper group food and drinks package.

A set package can make things much easier because you know what everyone is getting and how much it’s going to cost.

It also means the organiser isn’t spending the entire day trying to keep track of everyone’s individual orders.

And after a full season of training and games, the team has probably earned a decent feed.

Mad Monday shouldn’t just be another night out where everyone happens to be in the same venue.

Get the whole club involved.

Create a theme, organise matching shirts or outfits, put together a playlist or run a few competitions between teams.

You could even have different teams compete against each other throughout the day.

The more people involved, the more it feels like a proper club celebration.

This is one of the easiest things to overlook.

If you’re organising drinks for a large group, work out how everyone is getting to and from the venue before the day arrives.

Depending on the size of your club, you could look at:

• Private buses
• Mini buses
• Rideshare
• Designated drivers
• Public transport

If everyone knows the plan beforehand, there’s far less chance of someone disappearing halfway through the night because they can’t work out how they’re getting home.

Mad Monday doesn’t need to cost a fortune.

Work out what the club is contributing and whether players are paying for themselves.

Then factor in:

• Food
• Drinks
• Entertainment
• Transport
• Any prizes or decorations

The Playlounge offers packages that includes food, drinks, and entertainment can make budgeting much easier, particularly for larger clubs.

If you’re looking for a private venue for your Mad Monday, The Play Lounge gives sporting clubs somewhere to bring everyone together.

With a private party environment, groups can eat, drink, play and celebrate without having to move between different venues throughout the day.

It’s particularly suited to clubs that want something more organised than simply booking a few tables at a pub.