to ask for some tips on networking in a semi social situation

[Veraaa]

A couple of us have been asked to represent our sports club at an evening event with several other similar clubs - essentially a networking event to encourage sharing of ideas with a view to doing more stuff together. I've never met anyone.

I'd appreciiciate some guidance / opening comments, maybe?

Just go up to people and introduce yourself. Think up something to say about ideas for doing more stuff together and take it from there. Not really that hard.

Alternatively you could ask someone else from your club to attend in your place.

My first tip would be business cards, so you have all of your details there to pass over with minimal effort.

Another would be, eye contact, smile, ask engaging questions and be genuinely interested in what the other person has to say. A good tactic is find a feature about someone, their coat or their hair and compliment them. It's a good opener and makes people feel good about themselves

I find thinking about what you can do for them, rather than just how they could be useful to you, because they might become more useful later on and you'll already have a relationship.