Huddle:
A local, recreational sports platform, connecting people who want to play sports without barriers or additional costs
Research Question
Do people struggle to find other people to play sports with?
I began this project with a simple research question. At the time, I was getting back into volleyball and realized that the reason I had stopped playing was not a lack of interest, but a lack of people to play with. This led me to wonder: do others also struggle to find people to play sports with?
Desk Research
To answer my question in a limited time frame for research, I used desk research, a survey, and casual walk-n-talk sessions to gather info
Key Findings
People don't know who to play with or where to ask
People typically don't where to even ask people to play sports with them.
People can't find other players of the same sport or skill level
It's a challenge to look for people that play at a similar skill level.
People don't want commitment or fees
Having to league or club fees and fully commit time scared people from playing.
But interest in playing sports is high
Many expressed wanting to get back into playing sports recreationally, whether getting back into it or starting.
Problem Statement
People want to play sports recreationally but ... They do not know where to contact others, have anxiety asking random people, and cannot find others who play the same sport at a similar skill level
Design Brief
Creating a design brief based on the limited research helped align me throughout my ideation process
Design Idea
A local, recreational sports platform, connecting people who want to play sports without barriers or additional costs
Users can browse local sports meetups or create their own for others to join
Players can simply browse the platform to see if there are any sports meetups happening. Instead of posting to random online communities, players can see what is happening right in their own local community.
Sports meetups for all kinds of sports, connecting players of various sports and skill levels
Users can find sports meetups for all kinds of different sports and different kinds of meetups catered to various skill levels. Designed for recreation and the love of sport, there's opportunities for advanced players to newbies.
Takes away social anxiety of going up to random people; everyone is gathered to play recreationally
Instead of having to go up to random people and ask them to play, this platform takes away that social anxiety as everyone on the platform has the same goal: to play sports recreationally.
Huddle
A local, recreational sports platform, connecting people who want to play sports without barriers or additional costs. Huddle sets out to connect people in local communities through their love for recreational sport.
Easily join local sport meetups for free and without social anxiety
Impact
With the goal of creating a community-based app that fosters social connection, Huddle aims to bring people together through sport.
While the scope of this project was limited to pitching and designing a concept, Huddle resonated strongly with my peers. Toward the end of the academic year, many of us realized that although we regularly played recreational sports through our school’s gym, we had little idea where to start when it came to playing back in our hometowns. During design critiques, I received consistent feedback about how useful an app like Huddle would be in lowering the barriers to finding and joining recreational sports.
Learnings
Desk research is a useful tool, but does not replace user research
Given the limited timeframe for research, I needed to find ways to quickly generate insights and test my assumptions. I turned to desk research, particularly Reddit discussions within the subject area, to better understand user motivations and recurring issues. Although this does not replace conducting research with real users, it highlighted a practical approach for situations where time or access to participants is limited.