1. Community Before Competition

One of the clearest lessons from Pete Fawbert's Welsh Open is that people do not only return for the competition. They return because the event feels like a place they want to belong.

Pete came into organising after years of competing himself, and what stayed with him was not only the wins or the results. It was the friendships built through the circuit. His aim with the Welsh Open has been to create a martial arts competition hub in the UK where people come for the sport, but also for the culture around it.

That matters for any event organiser. A technically sound event can still feel forgettable if the only emotional beat is turn up, take part, and leave. Pete deliberately frames his event around empowerment, friendship, respect and shared experience. The competition is still serious, but it sits inside something warmer.

For organisers, that is a useful shift. You are not only managing timings, entries, venues and suppliers. You are shaping the way people feel when they arrive, how they behave around each other, and what they remember afterwards.

The lesson is simple: the strongest events give people a reason to come back even when they do not win.

This Week's Win

Before your next event, write down the feeling you want people to leave with. Then check whether your welcome, announcements, volunteers, awards and post-event communication all support that same feeling.

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2. Fairness Builds Loyalty

Pete is very clear that fairness is central to the Welsh Open. He pays referees from different organisations and makes sure they are not also there with their own competitors or students. In his words, they genuinely do not care who wins.

That is not a small operational detail. It changes how people experience the whole event. Competitors can accept mistakes when they believe the system is honest. What damages trust is the feeling that decisions are biased, unclear or influenced by relationships behind the scenes.

Pete has seen events where judging felt unfair, and rather than complain from the sidelines, he built a different model into his own tournament. It costs more. It takes more planning. But it gives athletes and coaches confidence that they are being treated properly.

Every event has its own version of this. It might be judging, timing, wave starts, category rules, refund policies, prize allocation or queue management. Wherever people are being assessed, selected, delayed or rewarded, fairness becomes part of the event experience.

A participant might not notice every fair decision. But they will remember the moment they feel the event has not treated them properly.

This Week's Win

Pick one part of your event where people could question fairness. Make the process clearer, more independent or easier to explain before anyone has to complain.

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3. Feedback Is Part Of The Event

Pete does not treat feedback as an afterthought. He actively seeks it out from athletes and coaches after the event, then uses it to make the next one better. If someone is unhappy, he wants to understand why. If something worked well, he wants to enhance it.

That mindset is one reason his event has grown. Feedback is not just a survey link sent because organisers feel they should send one. It is a working system for improvement.

There is another important detail in Pete's approach. He wants people to feel they can speak to him. Clubs know they can phone him. Coaches can raise issues. Athletes can approach referees for guidance without it being misread as simply asking why they did not win.

That approachability reduces tension. People are far more forgiving when they feel heard. Even when something has not gone exactly as they wanted, the fact that an organiser is willing to listen can protect the relationship.

For event organisers, feedback works best when it is visible in the next experience. People need to see that their comments did not vanish into a form. They need evidence that the organiser was paying attention.

This Week's Win

After your next event, choose three pieces of feedback and turn them into visible changes. Then tell participants what changed because of what they told you.

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4. Make The First-Timer Feel Safe

A strong detail from Pete's interview is the way his referees support novice athletes. For people competing for the first time, especially younger athletes, the mat can feel intimidating. Pete values referees who offer encouragement, guidance and perspective rather than simply control the contest.

That is a useful lesson beyond martial arts. Every event has first-timers. They may not know where to stand, when to arrive, what to bring, how serious the atmosphere will feel, or who to ask when something goes wrong.

Experienced participants often move through an event easily because they understand the unspoken rules. New people do not. If organisers design only for regulars, they can accidentally make first-timers feel exposed or foolish.

Pete's approach works because it treats development as part of the event's purpose. The young competitors are not just there to be judged. They are there to learn, improve and enjoy the sport enough to return.

That is a powerful organiser principle. If your event can make new people feel welcome, guided and respected, you are not just filling this year's entry list. You are building next year's community.

This Week's Win

Walk through your event as if it is someone's first time. Add one extra piece of guidance at the point where a newcomer is most likely to feel unsure.

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5. Set The Culture Out Loud

Pete does not leave the culture of his event to chance. He makes it clear in the rules, in meetings and in what he says to athletes: if you are not there to encourage everybody on the mat, even if they are not from your club, you are in the wrong place.

That is strong, practical leadership. It tells people what kind of behaviour belongs at the event before the pressure of competition begins.

Many organisers hope the right atmosphere will appear naturally. Sometimes it does. But Pete's example shows that culture improves when expectations are said clearly and repeated in the right places. Coaches hear it. Referees hear it. Athletes hear it. Parents and spectators feel it through the way people behave.

The result is a competitive but friendly environment, where young people make friends and clubs show respect for each other. That is not separate from the event. It is one of the reasons people come back.

If you want a respectful, generous or positive event, people need to know that is the standard. The atmosphere you tolerate becomes the atmosphere you host.

This Week's Win

Choose one behaviour you want more of at your event. Say it clearly in your pre-event email, briefing or opening announcement, and make sure your team models it first.

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6. Give Families A Better Day

Pete's point about time management is one of the most practical lessons in the transcript. Tournament days can be long. A child may compete for only a few minutes, yet their family can end up waiting from morning until evening.

As a parent himself, Pete is clear about this. He would not want to spend an entire day somewhere with young children sitting around for hours between short bursts of activity. That is why he tries to get the young ones on first and structure the day with families in mind.

This is a useful reminder for any organiser. The participant is not always the only customer. Parents, families, spectators, coaches and supporters all experience the event too. If their day is frustrating, expensive or badly paced, that feeling becomes part of the event's reputation.

Better time management is not always easy. Pete acknowledges that categories, software platforms and event structures make it difficult. But the principle still matters: organisers should keep asking who is waiting, for how long, and whether the schedule is fair on the people around the participant.

A smoother day for families makes it easier for participants to return.

This Week's Win

Look at your schedule from a family or spectator's point of view. Find one group you can bring earlier, group together, or communicate with more clearly.

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7. Approachability Is An Organiser Skill

Pete says some organisers are not approachable. Their event runs how it runs, and that is that. His own approach is different. Clubs know they can phone him. If they have something to say, they can say it.

That does not mean every request can be granted. Pete is honest that he cannot please everyone. But he still wants people to feel catered for, heard and respected.

For organisers, approachability is not just personality. It is an operational advantage. People tell you about problems earlier. Coaches explain family scheduling issues. Participants ask questions before frustration builds. Small misunderstandings get solved before they become public complaints.

Approachability also changes how people interpret mistakes. If something goes wrong but the organiser is visible and willing to listen, people are more likely to believe the event cares. If the organiser feels distant or defensive, even a small issue can feel bigger.

Pete's lesson is not that you must personally answer every message forever. It is that an event needs clear, human routes for people to raise things and feel taken seriously.

This Week's Win

Make one communication channel feel more human. Add a named contact, clearer response window, or a simple invitation for coaches, participants or families to flag issues early.

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8. Give People Something Extra

Pete repeatedly comes back to giving people more. The Welsh Open is not designed as a basic turn-up-and-compete tournament. He adds opening ceremony elements, displays, seminars, guest athletes and moments that make the weekend feel bigger than the divisions themselves.

One example is bringing in international world champion athletes to run a seminar that competitors can attend for free. Another is having a Welsh choir involved in the opening ceremony. These details are not random decoration. They support the idea that the event is an experience.

That is useful for organisers in any field. Extra value does not always need to be expensive, but it does need to be relevant. Pete's additions fit the identity of the event: martial arts, Wales, learning, inspiration, community and pride.

The key is not to add activity for the sake of activity. The key is to ask what would make attendees feel they received more than they expected, while still staying true to the event's purpose.

People often remember the part of an event that made it feel special. The competition may be the reason they booked. The extra experience may be the reason they talk about it afterwards.

This Week's Win

Add one relevant extra to your next event that supports the event's identity, such as a short learning moment, guest appearance, ceremony, display or community activity.

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9. Charity Gives An Event A Heart

When Michael asked Pete what someone should never change if they took over the event, his answer was immediate: never take the charity status away. Never stop giving to causes that matter.

That says a lot about what the Welsh Open has become. Over several years, Pete's events have raised money for different charities, including causes connected to cancer and local communities. For him, the business side has to work, but the deeper mission is giving back.

For organisers, the lesson is not that every event must become a charity event. The lesson is that a clear purpose can give an event emotional weight. People can see that their entry, raffle ticket, spectator fee or support is connected to something beyond the day itself.

Pete also understands that giving back can become part of reputation. He wants people to hear about the event and know it offers something, supports something and stands for something.

A purpose like that makes an event easier to explain and easier to care about. It gives participants one more reason to feel proud of being involved.

This Week's Win

Ask what your event gives back. If there is already a cause or community benefit, make it clearer before, during and after the event.

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10. Venue Choice Changes The Whole Experience

Pete is clear that he does not want to run his competition in a leisure centre again. Not because leisure centres cannot host events, but because the venue affects control, atmosphere, parking, food, safeguarding and the feeling that the building belongs to the event.

For the Welsh Open, he prefers a venue where the event has its own space. With lots of children, athletes, spectators and families, that matters. It helps with safeguarding. It reduces the friction of other public activity happening around the event. It also lets Pete control more of the attendee experience.

He talks about practical details that organisers sometimes underestimate: parking capacity, whether food providers can cope with the number of people, and whether the venue team understands the demands of the day.

This is a useful reminder that a venue is not just a room. It is part of the product. A cheaper or more familiar venue can still become expensive if it creates problems that damage the day.

The right venue makes the event feel more intentional. People arrive somewhere that feels prepared for them, not squeezed around other activity.

This Week's Win

Review your venue against experience, not just cost. Check parking, catering capacity, exclusivity, safeguarding, atmosphere and how much control you actually have on the day.

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11. Spend Where People Feel It

Pete's cost list is long: venue, mat hire, hotel bills for referees, referee fees, insurance, medical cover, medals, podiums, backdrops and prize money. His Welsh Open can carry tens of thousands of pounds in outgoings before prize money is added.

What stands out is that he does not talk about those costs as unwanted burdens. He sees them as part of creating a proper experience. The medical team protects the event. Paid referees support fairness. The venue affects atmosphere. The podium and backdrop improve the moment of recognition. The medals and prizes help make the achievement feel special.

That does not mean organisers should spend without discipline. Pete does make choices, especially around venues and extras that no longer prove worthwhile. But he is careful not to strip out the things that make the event feel trustworthy, safe and memorable.

Every organiser has pressure on budget. The question is not simply what can be cut. The better question is which costs directly protect the experience people came for.

Saving money is useful. Saving money in a way that weakens trust, safety or memory can cost more later.

This Week's Win

Split your event costs into two groups: costs people genuinely feel and costs they barely notice. Protect the first group before cutting anything that shapes safety, fairness or experience.

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12. Details Communicate Standards

Pete mentioned investing in a new podium and backdrop, along with unique Welsh slate medals. These are not the only things that matter, but they communicate something important: the event has standards.

Participants notice the details around recognition. They notice whether the award moment feels considered, whether the prize is distinctive, and whether the presentation matches the effort they have put in.

The Welsh slate medals work because they connect directly to the event identity. Pete is Welsh, the Welsh Open carries national pride, and slate feels traditional and specific to Wales. That makes the medals more than a generic item handed out at the end.

This is the wider lesson for organisers. Physical details can support the story of the event when they are chosen with meaning. The award, stage, backdrop, ceremony, signage or welcome point should all tell the same story as the event itself.

People may not consciously analyse every detail, but they do absorb the overall signal. A thoughtful event feels different from a generic one.

This Week's Win

Choose one physical touchpoint and make it more specific to your event's identity. Start with the award moment, welcome area, stage, signage or participant pack.

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13. Atmosphere Comes From The People You Attract

When Michael asked Pete how he keeps the atmosphere positive across a long event day, Pete's answer was revealing. He uses the PA, highlights good fights and points people toward moments worth watching. But he also says much of the atmosphere comes naturally from the clubs, parents, athletes and friends cheering each other on.

That does not happen by accident. It connects back to the culture Pete sets from the start. If the event attracts people who respect each other and encourage beyond their own club, the room carries its own energy.

For organisers, this is important. Atmosphere is not only lighting, music or announcements. Those can help, but the deeper source is often the behaviour of the people in the space.

The audience you attract, the standards you set, and the way your team behaves all feed into the event mood. If people feel included, they add energy. If they feel ignored or frustrated, they drain it.

Pete's approach shows that atmosphere is both designed and invited. You create the conditions, then let the community bring it to life.

This Week's Win

Identify the people who naturally lift your event atmosphere. Give them reasons to engage, cheer, welcome others or be visible in a way that supports the whole room.

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14. Invite Everyone, Then Invite Again

Pete's advice to someone starting a tournament is wonderfully simple: invite everyone. Promote it, talk to people, phone people you have not met, explain what you are building and ask them to come. If they say no, invite them again the following year.

That is not complicated marketing, but it is real relationship building. Pete's Welsh Open has grown from around 150 athletes to nearly 500 each year, and word of mouth plays a major role in that growth.

The lesson for organisers is that reputation grows through repeated contact. People may not be ready the first time they hear about your event. They may have a clash, doubts, budget issues or simply not know you yet. A polite invitation this year can become an entry next year.

Pete's approach also works because there is a clear event behind the invitation. He is not just asking people to fill spaces. He is inviting them into a competition that stands for fairness, community, improvement and giving back.

Promotion is easier when the event has a story worth repeating. But somebody still has to pick up the phone.

This Week's Win

Make a list of 20 people, clubs, groups or partners you would like at your event. Invite them personally, and keep the list for next year's follow-up.

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15. Reputation Compounds Slowly

Pete is realistic about growth. He had a ten-year plan for the Welsh Open and a dream of one day rivalling the US Open, but he also accepts that the journey may take longer than first imagined.

That patience is important. The Welsh Open has already grown significantly, attracts international athletes, and is becoming known as an open competition people want to attend. But Pete does not present it as an overnight success.

For organisers, this is grounding. Events often grow because trust compounds. One good year creates conversations. A better second year creates confidence. A fair, welcoming, well-run experience gives people a reason to bring others with them next time.

Pete also acknowledges that not everyone will come back. That is the nature of events. The goal is not to please every single person forever. The goal is to build something distinct and special enough that the right people keep returning and new people keep hearing about it.

Growth is not only more entries. It is becoming known for something clear.

This Week's Win

Write down what you want your event to be known for in five years. Then choose one decision this year that reinforces that reputation.

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16. Build The Team Around The Vision

Pete is clear that you cannot do it all on your own. He works with Chris and Harry across events, with responsibilities shifting depending on whose doorstep the event is on. Around that core team, regular supporters, referees and helpers have become part of the event's fabric.

The key detail is how Pete talks about looking after people who give their time. If you want something to work, he says, you have to look after those people.

That is an organiser lesson worth taking seriously. Volunteers, officials, referees and helpers do not only need tasks. They need to feel valued, included and respected. If they return year after year, they carry knowledge, culture and calm into the event.

Pete also connects this to the bigger mission of giving back to the sport. Many people are willing to help because they have received something from martial arts themselves and want to contribute.

A good event team is not just a labour pool. It is a group of people who understand what the event is trying to become.

This Week's Win

Choose one group of helpers, officials or volunteers and improve how you look after them. Better briefing, food, expenses, thanks or follow-up can all strengthen loyalty.

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17. Do It For The Right Reasons

Pete is honest that events need to be financially viable. He knows the business side has to work. But he also draws a clear line between events that exist only for profit and events built from passion, contribution and care for the sport.

His advice to new organisers is to be willing to go the extra mile. That might mean investing in good referees even when the numbers are not where you want them yet. It might mean accepting a difficult first year or two because you are building a reputation, not just collecting entries.

That advice should not be misread as ignoring money. Pete's own event carries serious costs, so financial control matters. The point is that people can often tell when an event is only extracting value from them rather than creating value for them.

When the organiser's motive is clear, it shows in the choices: fairness, feedback, charity, prizes, venue, atmosphere and how people are treated.

Participants may not know your spreadsheet. They will know whether the event feels like it cares.

This Week's Win

Look at one decision where profit and participant experience are pulling in different directions. Be clear about what the long-term reputation cost or benefit really is.

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18. Sponsors Help You Add More

Looking ahead, Pete sees sponsorship as one of the routes to growing the Welsh Open. His ambition is to put more into the event, make it bigger, attract more people and create an experience that could even tie into a wider weekend away.

That is a useful way to think about sponsorship. It is not only a logo on a banner. At its best, sponsorship financially carries parts of the event so the organiser can improve the experience, keep giving back, and support growth that would be hard to fund through entries alone.

Pete's vision includes bigger venues, international athletes, seminars, charity giving and a stronger overall package. Those are tangible things a sponsor can understand if the event has a clear identity and audience.

For organisers, the lesson is that sponsors need a story. They need to see what the event stands for, who attends, what kind of community they are joining, and how their support will improve the day.

Sponsorship becomes more compelling when it is linked to a better participant experience, not just another revenue line.

This Week's Win

Before approaching a sponsor, write one paragraph explaining how their support would improve the event for participants, families, volunteers or the wider community.

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19. Know When An Extra Is Not Working

Near the end of the conversation, Pete mentions something he would probably not repeat in the same way: event T-shirts. They had offered T-shirts before, but they did not sell as memorabilia in the way expected and ended up costing more than they returned.

That is a valuable organiser lesson because it balances Pete's willingness to invest in experience. He is not simply saying every extra is worth paying for. He is saying the right extras matter, and the wrong extras need to be questioned.

T-shirts can be brilliant for some events. For Pete's, they did not prove strong enough as a product or charity opportunity. He also mentioned trying an online shop for Germany and selling only a small number, which gave useful proof of demand.

The wider point is that organisers should test assumptions. Just because something is common in events does not mean your audience values it. People may care deeply about medals, seminars, fairness, atmosphere or charity, while ignoring merchandise.

Spending wisely means listening to behaviour, not just hopes.

This Week's Win

Pick one optional extra you currently provide. Check whether people genuinely want it, buy it, use it or talk about it. If not, redesign it, make it pre-order only, or redirect the budget.

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20. Never Stop Giving

Pete's final answer may be the clearest summary of his event philosophy: never stop giving. For him, the charity status is not a side project. It is central to what the Welsh Open should remain.

That connects everything else in the transcript. Fair referees give athletes confidence. Feedback gives people a voice. Seminars give competitors learning. Prize money gives clubs something to reinvest. A better venue gives families and children a safer, smoother day. Charity gives the whole event a purpose beyond the results.

That is why the advice lands. Pete is not talking about generosity as a slogan. He has built it into decisions, costs, culture and future ambition.

For event organisers, the question is not only what you take in entry fees. It is what people feel they received in return. Did they feel respected? Did they feel safe? Did they feel part of something? Did the event support a cause, a community or a future they care about?

The events people remember are often the ones that give more than expected. Not randomly, and not wastefully, but with a clear sense of why the event exists.

This Week's Win

Choose one way your next event can give more without losing focus. Make it meaningful, visible and connected to the reason your event exists.

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Watch More Of The Podcast

If you want to watch more of the podcast conversation with Pete Fawbert, you can find it here: watch the episode.

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