Initial research

[tantsandras]

Free Sport Exchange

Describe the problem you'd like to solve

Poor mental and physical health can sometimes be greatly improved through exercise and sport - yet many people can't make the commitment of being part of, or perhaps don't have access to, a club. There should be a way for people to find others nearby who want to casually play sport, practice an outdoors hobby, or just exercise together!

Renting sport facilities - i.e a five-a-side pitch, a gymnasium - is unaffordable for many people. It can also be troublesome as it often requires the commitment of a deposit/paying the fee upfront. Meanwhile, many open, free, public green spaces are left unused.

People who are new to an area, or are isolated, have little way of finding other people to play sport with. In particular, it can be difficult to find others who are of a similar competitiveness and want to play/do the same sport/exercise.

Who are the stakeholders?

Anyone who wants to get outside and exercise, play sport and/or meet people casually, without the commitment of a club!

What is currently being done to solve this problem?

Sports clubs exist, but there are often fees involved, and many people can't make the commitment a team requires.

Initiatives such as parkrun - http://www.parkrun.org.uk/ - organise free, weekly 5k runs in parks.

There are also various charities that help young people by improving their access to sport.

A tech solution might allow people to reach each other directly, without the time and hassle of an intermediary charity/company.

Any similar solutions online?

Go Mammoth

• 'the UK’s largest social sports & fitness club'

• Pay per week, as an individual (join an existing team), or form a team

parkrun uk

• free, weekly, 5k timed runs. Open to everyone.

meetup.com

• Loads of different sports meetups, often free but NOT ALWAYS!

• openplay: a web app where people can post their interest in finding a sport team/ mate.

  • Pro: many people posting about what they need
  • Pro: filters for different types of sport
  • Con: the website looks outdated, and not really "active". Looks very static and boring
  • Con: messaging happen privately, which makes the site look very static. No way to know if something is popular or not.

• pingengland: a web app to find ping pong tables in London, with useful info like weather or not they have paddles and a ball or you should bring your own, indoors/outdoors.

  • pro: active design
  • pro: interactive map makes it more engaging
  • pro: lots of filters (check marks next to the map)

• Footy addicts a website to find a soccer team and join it OR start your own. Lists both free and paid games.

  • pro: search by zipcode
  • pro: mark no shows

• Reddit football meetup: a place for strangers to organize a meetup

  • pro: easy and works
  • cons: small community, easy to miss a meetup

User Research Brain dump

• We are sports agnostic
• The goal is encourage people to be active

Articles

• Cost of playing and poor pitches 'put off amateur footballers'
• Read the Community Amateur Sports Clubs: detailed guidance notes
• Government community amateur sports club initiative
• The price of playing sports at school
• Government launches consultation to tackle fall in sport participation

Ideas for Questions:

• Would you prefer to self organise after being connected to other "players" or would you want to have a suggested time and place?
• If you wanted to play sport with a group of people how would you go about doing that?
• Where do you go to play sports?
• How do you play sports? (organized? friends?)

Ideas for People to participate in User research

• Location: London (for now)
• ages: Any age

https://hackmd.io/vbHg3KV2T-eE2ULRAMTUsA?view

[zurda]

[charlielafosse]

[charlielafosse]