Dual challenges have been through at sport organisations in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic:

• A need to dynamically adapt to government public health directions; and

• The accelerated shift in consumer trends towards sport participation.

This is the sport developer’s time to shine; to truly develop and futureproof a sport rather than promote or deliver it. With resourcing poised to stay leaner, sports could be forgiven for reverting to their old ‘program mix’ but to do so would ignore the changing ways that society interacts with sport. There are seven major trends emerging in sport participation that we will touch on in this article:

1. Condensed formats

2. Outdoor formats

3. Social and casual sport formats

4. eSports (sports played virtually)

5. eSports (digital video games)

6. Asynchronous competition formats

7. Health and fitness collaborations

1. Condensed Formats

Futsal, T20 Cricket, 3X3 Basketball, Fast Five Netball, Rugby Sevens, Fast4 Tennis, AFL9s, Hammer Series Cycling.

The vast majority of innovative sport formats over the past century have come from reducing one or both of two constraints:

1. Event time

2. Player numbers and area size

Occasionally a rule relating to scoring is the order of the day (e.g. basketball’s three-point shot, cricket’s sixes) but generally ‘less is more’ wins when seeking to keep sport in snackable bites. Even the Tour de France has steadily decreased in length (27%) between the 1940s and today. Many of these shifts have been driven by TV and digital, but these drivers simply reflect the wants of society in any given era. People want vine-length content delivered on-demand, and sports will need to consider how they too can deliver vine-length sport on-demand.

(For those who don’t remember Vine - here’s a reminder)

Providing these options will meet participants where they are, rather than where they were. The average person perceives to have less discretionary time across all domains, and the thought of dedicating 10 hours a week to single community football or cricket team is going to be difficult for many to maintain in 2021.

Smaller and shorter formats quite often provide a more effective sport delivery model, increasing profit margins without adversely impacting participant experience. In fact in many cases, the experience is enhanced through closer contests and less idle-time.

2. Outdoor Formats

‘Some sports are born outdoors, some become outdoor sports, and some have the outdoors thrust upon them’. William Shakespeare (kind of)

Regardless of which category your sport falls into, it’s critical that it falls into one of the three. Repeated and ongoing waves of COVID-19 transmission see sports that can promote safe outdoor participation prioritised over those that continue to rely solely on indoor facilities.

Open spaces such as parks, carparks and beaches can be converted into pop-up sport delivery spaces and spark new relationships with local businesses and stakeholders. Beach volleyball and beach futsal are positive examples of sports diversifying into sand-based formats over recent decades, removing barriers to participation and igniting new audiences. Beachbasketball is yet to expand notably outside the USA and Germany but would have promising applications with netball and basketball across the coming Australian summer.

3. Social and Casual Sport Formats

Research consistently cites social interaction and the development of fitness as key determinants of ongoing sport participation as players approach adulthood. However for many sports, the diversification from solely competition-focused delivery has been slow or non-existent.

2020 has placed a large stop-gap in how many had approached their sport for decades though, and social sport formats such as Football Victoria’s GO Soccer Mums will play an increasingly important role in the ‘program mix’ that sports offer. Importantly social formats do not work to the antithesis of organised sport - rather they can often act as a gateway for participation in competition supporting roles such as coach and volunteer.

4. eSports #1 - Virtual Sports

On face value this may seem contradictory given the trend towards outdoor sport, but the global diversification of eSports for endurance sports will continue to trickle down to the grassroots level. Zwift has been a major player in the normalisation of what some may call ‘true eSports’ participation, headlined by some innovative international collaborations. Super League Triathlon introduced their latest disruption to the triathlon game with the indoor-based SLT Arena Games in August, whilst the UCI will conduct its inaugural Esports World Championships via Zwift in December 2020 . These formats provide organisers a level of flexibility and certainly by overcoming the operational hurdles of authority permits, road closures and weather contingencies. Not to mention the ticketing opportunities which open up from a controlled stadium setting, akin to cycling’s expansion to the velodrome in the late 1800s.

Whilst they won’t replace the open outdoor formats anytime soon, virtual sports offer connectivity and belonging in a different way and should carve a niche with an engaging stadium format once spectators return in earnest.

5. eSports #2 - Digital Video Games

For many sports, digital video games are a paradox set to be their biggest opportunity and biggest threat over the coming years. The introduction of eWorld Cups by international peak bodies FIFA and FIBA places an impetus on national federations to continue (or in some cases start) challenging their traditional definitions of ‘participant’ and ‘member’. To what degree we will see a trickle-down effect through national pathways remains to be seen, but it marks the growing trend of eSports from being an adversary to the physical sport experience towards a complementary and perhaps even introductory format. In this author’s eyes, a real opportunity exists for bold sporting organisations that can leverage eSports as a vehicle to grow and enhance membership.

‘If you can’t beat them, join them.’ The second silver lining of video games impact on physical activity is that we can take lessons from their addictiveness to bring our participation programs into the 21st century. An increased application of digital video game principles into quality coaching design for will see more children receive more fun and engaging sport experiences.

6. Asynchronous Competition Formats

Traditionally sport competition has required participants to all race at the same time, under the same conditions. Advances in the validity of GPS-based tracking apps such as Garmin and Strava have allowed nimble sports to maintain national championships, scale their talent development efforts and introduce new people to their sport. Participants record their time on a course of their choosing or a location prescribed by competition organisers. Athletics New Zealand introduced its national Virtual Championships via Strava, allowing athletes of all abilities to take part regardless of travel restrictions.

The movement hasn’t been limited to endurance sports. The Jr. NBA Global Championships pivoted to a virtual skills challenge using the Homecourt app, enabling youth athletes from six continents to connect and compete against each other without leaving their home.

Online female cycling community SheRace leveraged the function of Strava segments through their Social Distancing Segment Series for their members to compete on the same stretch of road as others and upload their results to Strava. Not happy with your time? Simply don’t share it, and try again tomorrow.

Away from a competition front, the combined power of applications like Zwift, Strava and Zoom has enabled peak bodies to cast a wider talent identification net and expose a broader participation base to quality coaching and programming. For a leading in-market example, check out Cycling Victoria’s Junior Social Distancing Development Squad.

For many people ‘asynchronous sport’ allows them to participate in sport in the right time, in the right place, in the right style, as defined by them. Despite requiring an app to participate, these formats are often more inclusive by removing participation barriers such as travel costs, calendar availability, fear of judgement and uniform requirements. As such, they stand poised to form a low-cost introductory tool for sports, allowing prospective members to experience belonging within the organisation in a safe and flexible environment.

7. Health and Fitness Collaborations

The activewear boom was well underway before it became our global work and social attire during COVID-19 lockdowns, as society increasingly shifts towards active recreation and fitness. As barriers of time and self-confidence continue to impact organised sport participation through adolescence and into adulthood, sports have the opportunity to integrate and collaborate with the health and fitness sector to produce engaging and relevant experiences.

At Forward Pivot we have developed HIIT The Court as a blend of functional HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and 3x3 Basketball, to support basketball clubs to adapt to the drop-out from organised competition in adolescence and young adulthood.

Sport clubs from the grassroots to elite have also recognised the positive role they can play within communities improving mental health. We hope and expect to see a wider integration of programs practising gratitude and mindfulness into sport delivery to improve resilience and wellbeing, such as those led by The Resilience Project.

Summary

Agile sport organisations that lean into the trends place themselves optimally to navigate the uncertain times that follow. The implications for sport programs can be summarised in four themes:

1. Versatility of sport across different spaces - indoor, outdoor and home;

2. Quality (of participation) over quantity;

3. Digital as a connector, enabling participants to choose when and where to play; and

4. Upgrading sport to maximise social impact and community health.