When bankers swap the office for the sports ground for a few days, the Bank Games are back. We have been producing them with ČSOB for many years; our cooperation goes back to 2005. Since then we have been through summer and winter editions, plenty of disciplines and team performances together.
This year we met again at the ČSOB Summer Bank Games 2026 in Nymburk, with around 550 of the bank’s employees. For us that means several days, dozens of competing teams and a programme that has to run to schedule every day from morning until evening.
From the outside, corporate sports games look simple. A few pitches, some balls, medals. In reality they are among the most demanding events we produce. Hundreds of people have to register, find their team, rotate through the stations and gather in one place in the evening, several days in a row. If one thing gets stuck anywhere, the whole programme feels it.
Why Nymburk
The Nymburk sports centre has halls, outdoor pitches and catering space in one place. At this scale that matters:
- Nobody travels. Participants spend the whole games on one site, the stations are close together and moving between disciplines takes minutes, not quarter hours.
- The weather does not decide. If it clouds over, part of the programme moves into the halls and the schedule holds.
- The facilities are ready. Changing rooms, showers and catering space do not have to be built from scratch.
We have also used the same venue for smaller ČSOB tournaments in volleyball, squash and curling. We know the site, where everything is and how many people each pitch can take.
Programme: sport, workshops and a shared evening
The Bank Games are not only about competing. This year’s programme had three parts:
- Sport. Football, beach volleyball, badminton, tennis, athletics, climbing and cross country. Everyone finds a discipline that suits them, and teams collect points across sports.
- Workshops and side programme for the time between matches and for those not competing at the moment.
- A shared evening where everyone meets away from the pitches and the games get a proper finale.
Every edition is a little different, but the energy stays. And when you come back to one project for so many years, it is no longer just an event in the calendar. It is a tradition.
What we handled
From the first brief to clearing the venue, we ran the whole production:
- registration and team allocation, so there are no queues in the morning,
- a schedule of disciplines that keeps every team busy,
- referees and coordinators at every station,
- prizes, medals and the award ceremony,
- hospitality, technology, sound and a single point of contact for the client.
The client gets a finished event. No hunting for referees, ordering medals or wondering who will run the sound for the ceremony. One phone call to us is enough.
How to build a sports day for hundreds of people
Over years of corporate games we have settled on a few rules that apply whether there are 150 or 550 participants.
Registration sets the mood for the day
The first half hour decides how people see the whole day. Queuing at registration before anything has started is a bad beginning. So we split registration across several points, teams have colours or markings in advance and every participant knows where to go the moment they arrive.
No team should wait long
We build the schedule so that teams rotate through the stations regularly and nobody stands aside for twenty minutes. Waiting is the fastest way to lose people to the refreshment tables for good.
Disciplines for everyone, not just athletes
Everyone comes to corporate games. The weekend runner, the colleague who last did sport at school, the management team. So we mix disciplines that reward strength or speed with ones that reward accuracy, teamwork or a bit of luck. A team can win even without a line-up of athletes.
The award ceremony is the highlight, not a formality
The ceremony is the only moment of the day when everyone is together. It needs pace, good sound and a clear ending. We plan it as a full part of the programme, not something that “happens somehow at the end”.
How we prepare
A sports day for hundreds of people is never put together at the last minute. Our process is always the same:
- Enquiry and briefing. The client describes the goal, date and scope. Within one or two days we check the options and ask the questions that shape the budget.
- Concept and budget. Within three to five days we propose a programme, an outline schedule and a budget for approval.
- Preparation and coordination. We handle suppliers, technology, staffing and registrations, with one contact person for the client throughout.
- Delivery. On site we run the programme, the team and anything unexpected. The client can focus on their people.
- Review. Within a week we hand over a summary and recommendations for next year.
What works
With an event we have been producing since 2005, every edition builds on the previous one. We know where queues form, which disciplines people enjoy most and how long the award ceremony really takes. That makes each year a little calmer, even though the number of participants stays the same.
We run a similar format in winter too. The ČSOB Winter Games in Špindlerův Mlýn host around 450 people with the same rules, just slopes instead of pitches.
Frequently asked questions about corporate sports games
How much time do we need to prepare? For an event with hundreds of people, ideally plan several months ahead. Good venues get booked early in the season. A smaller sports day can be prepared faster, and you will have the first programme proposal within five days of the brief.
What if it rains? A plan B is part of every concept. That is why we prefer venues with halls and outdoor pitches together, and we build schedules that can be rearranged.
Do participants need to be athletes? No. We put the disciplines together so that everyone can join in and the result is not decided by fitness alone.
How many people can you handle? We deliver events for up to 2,500 participants. The Bank Games with 550 people are routine for us, not an exception.