Acting Today – Making Digital a Priority for Sport

For my Welsh Sport_The Conversation a range of experts share their thoughts on the future of sport in Wales.

How can the digital revolution transform sport? Time is of the essence, says Helen Humphrey, Chair of the Welsh Sports Association. 

Back in November 2014, I chaired the Sport Wales Advisory Group who, in partnership with Future Foundation, produced a report, 'acting today for an active tomorrow’, looking at the consumer trends which could have a real impact on the world of sport. Over three years later, there has been little significant progress here in Wales, whilst technology moves on at a pace. A recent survey of Welsh Sports Association members showed that currently, amongst all the competing demands, digital is not a priority. But if we don’t start making big changes soon, we will get left behind.

We all know how important digital technology is and increasingly so. You’re probably sat there reading this on your tablet or smartphone, or the early adopters amongst you may even be reading it on your watch. Concepts that were sci-fi aspirations yesterday are today’s mainstream consumables - the wearable tech that has become commonplace will likely soon be usurped or at least supplemented by ingestibles and digestibles – “digital pills” which release a bluetooth signal to an app on your phone via a patch on your body.

The data produced by this kind of emerging technology is phenomenal, and can give providers unprecedented insight into what consumers need and why. If we pool this with the incredible potential of 'big data', we can learn so much more about our ‘customers’, and make it easier for them to find and book the right activity for them.

As the pace of technological advancement increases and consumers become ever more demanding and time-poor, for sport to compete with the variety of other activities available it must become more sensitive to its audience’s needs, taking a more commercial approach by putting the participant first. Using electronically gathered data and insights gives us the power to directly tailor our sporting products and offers to fit with what individual participants want to do next.

For some time now, Sport England has been working jointly with the Open Data Institute on OpenActive – a major national initiative to open up the data around opportunities to take part in sport and physical activity opportunity data, so that it can be pushed to multiple websites for the customer to access, and book online. This is considered innovation for sport but it has been used by the retail and leisure industries for nearly twenty years. But how is Welsh sport harnessing this shift so that we can maximise the opportunities it presents? What are we doing to reap the benefits of digital?

Well, Sport Wales has started scanning the horizon and has begun discussions with the Open Data Institute in Wales. They have also developed a portal that makes sports facility data accessible and available to the sector.  The data held within this portal can be used for facility decision-making and forward planning.  Despite this progress,  Sport Wales recognises that its digital journey is in its infancy and much more needs to be done. I know they are actively listening to partners to help develop their future plans.

Unlocking the full potential of the digital revolution will be fundamental in transforming how people engage with sport and ensuring that our sporting bodies remain sustainable. Technology can enable us to create new sporting communities and personalised experiences, providing flexible offers so that people get the variety and novelty they need to stay interested and enabling us to tap into sport's power to create shareable experiences - embracing the trend of showing the best of ourselves online.

We also need to be savvier about the health demands of an ever-more informed and autonomous customer. As clear food labelling has improved our nutritional understanding, sport needs to be setting out how activities will benefit potential participants – not just as a quick fix to get fit and lose weight, but also the long-term advantages of a lifelong commitment to increased mental and physical wellbeing.

Because it really is a lifetime in sport these days. With people living much longer, less linear lives, this will increasingly challenge the traditional age-focused sporting structures. Our investment in facilities will also have to reflect this to make sure not only that there is access for all, but that they are multi-purpose and can cater for the breadth of activities wanted by consumers of all ages and abilities.

While all of this presents a unique test for sports providers, it also opens up a world of opportunity and potential for those willing to grasp the nettle. At the coalface of sports delivery, the demands placed upon our sporting bodies means that there is often little time, space and appetite for risk to undertake the creative thinking necessary to develop innovative solutions, but these must be found if we are to create a sustainable sector and reach new audiences. We need the pioneers of Welsh sport to take up this challenge and lead from the front in embracing the power of digital.

At the WSA, we are working hard with our members to build the sector’s capability and resilience, but there is an acknowledged skills gap in Welsh sport when it comes to technology. This is why we are focusing our efforts on the vital work of improving business skills and developing better relationships with industry so that we harness their considerable expertise.

With all eyes now focussed on developing a new future vision, there is no better time to be looking at how we can integrate digital into sport in Wales so that we can all be #FitFortheFuture.

Helen Humphrey

 The Welsh version of this thought piece can be read here. 

Now it's time to let us have your thoughts. Use the Comments section below to share your views.

Sport Wales has launched 'My Welsh Sport _ The Conversation', an opportunity for everyone in Wales to give their view on Wales's sporting future.

For more information and to give your views visit www.mywelshsport.wales

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can schools work harder so that everyone’s a winner?

Image
For My Welsh Sport_The Conversation, a range of experts share their thoughts on the future of sport in Wales. Today Owen Hathaway from the National Education Union argues that re-thinking school buildings could spark new opportunities.  A common theme we see across all high performing schools is that they inevitably have community support. Where schools are truly seen as the centre of their societies, where parents and teachers work in collaboration, and where a child’s development is seen as something which extends beyond the school timetable, attainment and well-being is maximised. One way in which the education sector can ensure better relationships are built between schools and communities is to establish our institutions as a community resource. A school building as an incubator for academic curiosity by day, and a house of extra-curricular exploration outside of those hours. Too often over recent years the consequences, unintentional or otherwise, of Welsh Gove...
Read more

If you want to make a healthy sandwich don’t forget you’ll need a healthy filling!

Image
For my Welsh Sport_The Conversation a range of experts share their thoughts on the future of sport in Wales. Rob Baynham , Further Education Sports Coordinator at Colleges Wales , asks whether by focussing on younger or older people we are missing "the bit in the middle".  In a conversation around the long-term vision for sport in Wales, creating sustainable change and removing barriers to participation, you could ask what this has got to do with making a healthy sandwich? The aim of this blog is to challenge everyone to think a bit more about the filling or more precisely “the bit in the middle”, in this case 16-19 year-old young people. Many government and Sport Wales initiatives to improve physical activity focus on younger children and early years – which makes a lot of sense. Others promote subsidised or new activity for the elderly – another very credible area for development. However, my question would be: have we previously chosen two nice slices of ...
Read more