Before booking anything, find out what the group wants.

Not everyone wants to spend an entire weekend sitting in a pub, just as not everyone wants to spend the day doing activities.

A quick group poll can help you work out whether your club is looking for:

• Sport and competition
• Food and drinks
• Nightlife
• Live events
• Private entertainment
• A mixture of everything

Once you know what the group wants, planning the rest becomes much easier.

Sporting clubs can be large groups, particularly when players, coaches and supporters are all involved.

Don’t leave accommodation and venues until the last minute.

Once you’ve settled on a date, start looking at accommodation, transport and your main activities. Popular venues can book out quickly, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights.

You don’t need to schedule every minute of the weekend, but having a rough plan makes a massive difference.

A Melbourne sporting club weekend could look something like:

Friday afternoon: Arrive in Melbourne
Friday evening: Dinner and drinks
Saturday morning: Breakfast
Saturday afternoon: Playzone
Saturday evening: The Playlounge
Sunday: Breakfast and travel home

Leave some downtime in the schedule too. The group probably won’t appreciate a 7am wake-up call after a big Saturday night.

You’re organising a sporting club trip, so there should probably be some sort of competition involved.

It doesn’t have to be another serious sporting event.

You could organise:

• Team challenges
• Mini golf
• Go-karting
• Pool competitions
• Trivia
• Arcade games
• Friendly sporting matches
• Games between different teams within the club

The important thing is that everyone can get involved.

Keeping a large group fed is one of the less glamorous parts of organising a club trip, but it can make or break the day.

Look for venues that are comfortable handling groups and can offer food without everyone having to wait around forever.

For larger clubs, a set menu or group package can make things considerably easier.

It also means you can work out the cost per person before the trip rather than collecting money from everyone every time someone orders another round.

Getting a large group around Melbourne can become complicated quickly.

If you’re moving between several venues, consider hiring a bus or arranging group transport rather than relying on everyone to make their own way around.

Keeping the group together also makes the trip feel more like a proper club event.

And it avoids the classic situation where half the group is already at the next venue while the other half is still trying to work out where they’re supposed to be.

One of the biggest advantages of booking a private venue like The Playlounge is having somewhere that belongs to your group for the night.

Instead of trying to keep a large group together in a busy public bar, a private space lets the club relax, eat, drink and enjoy the night without worrying about tables disappearing or people getting separated.

This can be particularly useful for end-of-season celebrations and larger sporting groups.

Group trips can get expensive quickly.

Work out a realistic budget before booking anything and decide what is included.

For example:

• Accommodation
• Transport
• Activities
• Food
• Drinks
• Venue hire
• Entertainment

If you’re collecting money from the group, it can be much easier to set one upfront price rather than asking everyone to contribute throughout the weekend.

The final night is usually the part everyone remembers.

After activities, food and a few drinks, give the club somewhere to come together and celebrate.

The Play Lounge provides a private environment for groups looking to finish their Melbourne sporting club trip with a party. It gives everyone a place to eat, drink, play and enjoy the night together rather than splitting the group across multiple venues.