Cincinnati Open - GigFlex-GeoIntelligent Scheduling Software
Event Management Case Study

How the Cincinnati Open
Keeps Hundreds of Marshals On Post,
Every Shift, for 10 Straight Days

A look at tournament operations at one of the world’s oldest tennis events used GigFlex’s EventWorks™ to schedule, track, and communicate with a large seasonal workforce across a multi-court venue — without the usual chaos of paper post-lists and radio check-ins.

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Client

Cincinnati Open (Western & Southern Open)

Venue

Lindner Family Tennis Center, Mason, OH

Event Length

10-Day, Multi-Venue Tournament

GigFlex Product

EventWorks™

The Challenge

The Cincinnati Open is the oldest tennis tournament still played in its original city — an ATP and WTA Masters 1000 event that draws thousands of fans a day across 17 courts. Behind the matches is a much less glamorous problem: getting hundreds of marshals, security staff, and guest services workers to the right zone, at the right time, for ten straight days, while shift needs shift by the hour.

A tournament this size doesn’t run on one schedule — it runs on dozens of overlapping ones. Gate security needs different coverage than a VIP suite. A rain delay can push an entire day’s rotation back without warning. And when someone doesn’t check in on time, the Command Center needs to know immediately, not find out an hour later when a post turns up empty.

Why It Matters

In event security specifically, an uncovered post isn’t just an inconvenience — it’s a real gap in coverage. The Cincinnati Open’s operations team needed a system that could plan the daily rotation in advance, adapt when things changed on the ground, and give the Command Center a live, accurate picture of who was actually where — not just who was supposed to be where.

The Solution: EventWorks™,
Built for Zone-Based Staffing

GigFlex’s EventWorks platform was used to run the tournament’s daily staffing operation from two sides — a desktop Command Center for operations and administrators, and a mobile app for marshals working the floor. Both were built on GigFlex’s patented Geo-Intelligent Scheduling®, which used each worker’s live location — not just their check-in time — to confirm coverage.

Zone & Post Assignment

Workers were assigned to a specific zone and position, not just “a shift.” Zone captains could reassign their own staff without waiting on the Command Center.

Real-Time Site Map

The Command Center saw every marshal’s current position against their assigned post on a live map — including who was covering a critical position and who had drifted from theirs.

Critical Position Coverage

If a critical post went unstaffed, it surfaced immediately on the operations dashboard with the workers available for reassignment — one click to fill the gap.

Mobile Check-In / Check-Out

Marshals checked in and out at their actual post through the mobile app, with location verified automatically — no manual sign-in sheets, no guessing.

Break Management

Break assignments, worker acknowledgement, and return-to-post timing were tracked automatically, with alerts if someone ran late getting back.

Two-Way Communication

Shift reminders, schedule changes, and direct messages with the Command Center all ran through the same app marshals used to check in — nothing got missed in a separate channel.

A Day in the Rotation

What that looks like on the ground, from the first shift of the morning to the last check-out at night.

01

The daily rotation is set before doors open

Zones, posts, and coverage windows were built ahead of the day, with critical positions flagged so they were never left as an afterthought.

02

Marshals check in at their actual post

Not at a gate, not from memory — check-in happened where the worker was standing, verified by location.

03

The Command Center watches coverage live

The site map showed who was at their post, who had moved, and who was available to be pulled into a critical position on short notice.

04

Gaps get filled in one click, not one radio call

When a position opened up — a no-show, a late arrival, a reassignment — the operations desk saw who was free and assigned them directly from the dashboard.

05

Everything checks out, literally

Check-out times, hours worked, and any issued equipment were logged automatically, giving operations an audit-ready record without extra paperwork at the end of the day.

“With GigFlex our volunteers can more easily adjust their schedules and quickly get answers to any question they may have regarding their duties.”

MC
May Conner

Director of Volunteers, Western & Southern Open (now the Cincinnati Open)

Staffing a Large Event? See How EventWorks Handles It.

Talk to us about how Geo-Intelligent Scheduling® can handle zone-based staffing, real-time coverage tracking, and mobile check-in for your next event — whatever the size.

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Common Questions
About Event Staffing With GigFlex

How many workers can EventWorks manage at one event?

EventWorks is already used to coordinate hundreds of workers across a single multi-day tournament like the Cincinnati Open, spanning multiple zones, vendors, and staffing pools from one Command Center dashboard.

Does EventWorks work for events outside of tennis?

Yes. The same zone-and-post model applies to marathons, golf tournaments, outdoor concerts, stadium events, and county fairs — anywhere staff need to be matched to a specific location and time window.

How does GigFlex confirm someone is actually at their assigned post?

Through Geo-Intelligent Scheduling®, GigFlex’s patented location technology. Instead of relying only on a check-in timestamp, the platform verifies a worker’s live position against their assigned post and flags it on the Command Center’s site map if the two don’t match.

What happens when a critical position isn’t staffed?

It’s surfaced immediately on the operations dashboard, along with the workers currently available for reassignment, so the Command Center can fill the gap without leaving the screen.