Hack Sports Back Hackathon
On May 21-22, Sports Innovation Lab hosted its first Hackathon design challenge, focused on the theme “Hack Sports Back.” The sports industry is under tremendous pressure in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to not only have live sports return safely but to provide a fan experience that taps into the powerful feeling of “togetherness” that sports fans feel at a live sporting event. The industry needs innovative solutions that expand that remote viewing experience, connecting fans with each other and with the athletes in the match.
With this challenge in mind, 158 participants from 23 different countries launched into rapid design sprint, going from creative ideation to pitch in just 48-hours. Teams worked remotely and were required to produce a 15-slide presentation as well as a short video introduction. Throughout the process, Sports Innovation Lab staff held check-in conference calls and hosted office hours to help the teams stay focused and to give them guidance on how to improve and refine their ideas. At the end of the event, finalists were chosen to win the opportunity to have their projects presented to the more than 60 sports executives of the Sports Innovation Lab’s leadership boards, representing major sports companies and brands from across the industry.
The final projects were submitted before midnight, on May 23rd, and six finalists were announced on a live stream last Friday, May 29th. Noticeably, the submitted projects focused on many themes that align with the Sports Innovation Lab’s research on the Fluid Fan. 60% of the projects focused on OTT or Livestreaming solutions that allowed for interactivity or new forms of content. 56% of ideas presented features that allow for personalization, be it through vanity items or creation and curation of content. These trends speak to the increased demands from Fluid Fans for more behaviors to engage with sports content beyond just watching, from sharing to creating to betting and beyond.
The six finalists featured a diverse range of projects, including:
An innovative approach to the digital design of TIFO
A crowd-controlled camera OTT experience
A digital luxury box experience
A custom OTT content platform for user-generated streams
A fan-controlled audio-visual seat installation that athletes can see and feel
A drive-in movie-style sports fan experience
The event was supported by partners at Major League Baseball, architecture design firm HKS, and the Premier Lacrosse League. On May 21st, Sports Innovation Lab President Josh Walker hosted a roundtable discussion with Heidi Browning, CMO of the NHL, Peter Hutton, Head of Sports at Facebook, and Vasanth Williams, Chief Product Officer at MLB. On Friday, Sports Innovation Lab CEO Angela Ruggiero hosted a founders’ conversation with Paul Rabil of the Premier Lacrosse League.