For Equestrian Canada, advancements in the use of technology allowed their sport to find novel and cost effective ways to engage with stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic. This included working with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to have some of their events shown on its streaming platform, which has helped to increase the visibility of the sport on a national scale.
Use double quotes to find documents that include the exact phrase: "aerodynamic AND testing"
Use double quotes to find documents that include the exact phrase: "aerodynamic AND testing"
The Summer 2021 SIRCuit is now available!
The SIRCuit is designed to highlight important research and insights to advance the Canadian sport system. With the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo on the horizon and the winter Games in Beijing just around the corner, this edition of the SIRCuit dives into issues and trends that will be centre stage at (and after) the Games.
Highlights
- Sports fans and spectators, from the grassroots to the professional level, have had to engage with their favourite teams and athletes in new ways during the pandemic.
- Canadian sport businesses, broadcasters, leagues and teams are driving fan engagement through digital innovation, from virtual stadiums to streaming services.
- The introduction of new technologies, including advanced videoconferencing and streaming apps, helps to build virtual sport-centred communities, which is a key part of fan engagement.
- Sports organizations can, and should, create special moments for fans. For example, virtual meet-and-greets are great ways to connect fans with their favourite athletes and teams.
Sport, like all industries, adapted to the challenges of the ongoing COVID‑19 pandemic. Competitions and events were cancelled or they continued in empty stadiums. Over the past year, high-performance athletes have become used to long periods of isolation and competing on the world’s biggest stages without the roar of the crowd. At the same time, fans found new ways to engage, from home, with their favourite athletes and teams.
Following the announcement that no foreign spectators could enter Japan this summer for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Games will be a unique spectacle. Having been postponed to 2021 due to the COVID‑19 pandemic, the Games present a challenge for Canadian sport organizations looking to build their fan base and raise their sport’s profile during the Games, despite the absence of foreign spectators.
Fortunately, Canadian sport organizations, broadcasters, leagues and teams have had nearly a year and a half to adapt to the ‘new normal’ of the pandemic. During this time, digital innovation has driven engagement and evolved the fan experience. Nonetheless, the fundamental principles of being a sports fan remain the same: It’s all about engaging with favourite athletes or teams, building a sports-centred community and experiencing special moments.
This article dives into the pandemic lessons and teachings of a Canadian sport broadcaster, professional sports and entertainment company, sport streaming business, and a professional league and team. Their stories offer strategies and examples to improve the viewing and engagement experience for any spectator.
Driving engagement through innovation
For Canadian sport organizations, businesses and broadcasters, the pandemic presented new opportunities alongside challenges. These opportunities led to new and more diverse audiences tuning into sports throughout the country. The driving force behind these opportunities? New technologies and digital innovation.
For example, as Team Canada’s official broadcast partner, CBC Sports adapted its coverage of a wide range of sports, from basketball to curling. This was largely facilitated by new technologies that Monika Platek, Senior Producer of Social Media at CBC Sports, likes to call “the shiny new things that we didn’t have a year ago.”
Over the past year, CBC Sports started to use Instagram Reels, short online videos that allowed Canadians to experience jaw-dropping moments or incredible athletic feats, and to reshare athlete-generated content. Another pandemic-spurred innovation was the introduction of StreamYard. As an easily accessible social broadcasting platform for podcasts and web shows, StreamYard allowed CBC Sports to produce sport-specific shows with contributors from across Canada. For example, figure skaters Dylan Moscovitch and Asher Hill hosted “That Figure Skating Show” on CBC’s YouTube channel throughout the winter. Additionally, Canadian curler and media personality Colleen Jones joined CBC journalist Devin Heroux to host “That Curling Show.” By highlighting underrepresented sports, CBC Sports received great feedback from the sports community, and reached new fan bases.
“StreamYard allowed us to break down geographical barriers and suddenly have all sorts of people in the same virtual space,” says Platek.
Like CBC Sports, many leagues, teams and companies across Canada have taken advantage of digital innovations to connect with fans and spectators. At the professional level, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE), owner of Toronto-based professional teams including the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors, created the Digital Arena where fans could interact with each other and participate in online games. Similarly, the Canadian Premier League (CPL), a professional soccer league, developed an augmented reality “virtual stadium” during its 2020 season that enhanced the viewing experience for fans watching from home.
Duncan Fraser, Director of Event Experience at MLSE, says his team is “starting to use the term ‘hybrid’ a lot” when discussing post-pandemic plans. While everyone is eager to return to in-person sports and spectator experiences, there are some benefits of the virtual experience that will likely continue.
For instance, MLSE hosts workshops for local hockey and basketball coaches at the Maple Leafs’ and Raptors’ respective training facilities. During the pandemic, these clinics moved online. Instead of the usual 300 to 400 coaches in attendance, the online platform reached 2500 coaches from 43 countries worldwide. Although not fan specific, this experience showed MLSE that virtual platforms had the potential to expand the organization’s reach.
In 2020 and 2021, organizations have accelerated their implementation of streaming services for youth, amateur, and scholastic sports. GameOnStream is a Canadian company that provides state-of-the-art streaming technology for sports leagues and venues across North America. Using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to operate its camera systems instead of an in-person camera operator, GameOnStream’s services became increasingly popular during the pandemic.
“The pandemic has increased the speed of people realizing that if they don’t have streaming, that they should have it, and then figuring out how to do it,” says GameOnStream’s CEO Bob Wilkinson.
Wilkinson believes that “streaming has a positive impact on keeping people engaged in following and supporting sports, especially at the youth level.” These benefits can extend beyond spectators to analytics, teaching, game-tape reviews and evidence for in-game penalties.
From national sport broadcasters to independent streaming services, these examples show how new technology and digital innovation are driving fan engagement and virtual spectator experiences at all levels of sport, not only during the pandemic, but for years to come.
Building connections and a sense of community
While technology has kept the fan experience afloat during the pandemic, it’s only a part of the equation. At its core, being a sports fan is about building connections, either with a favourite team or athlete, or with other fans. The meaning and construction of these connections has changed significantly during a year defined by social distancing, quarantine and isolation. While quickly pivoting toward engaging fans virtually early in the pandemic, the sports sector’s big focus was on ensuring that connections were still being built and maintained. This required sport organizations to recognize some honest truths and get creative.
“As marketers, we asked: How can we create an at-home experience that makes it feel like you’re in the arena? We can’t. That’s the beauty of live sports,” says Fraser.
MLSE compensated for this reality with extensive innovation. In spring 2021, MLSE launched the Digital Arena to introduce elements of a live venue to fans at home. While watching a Maple Leafs or Raptors game on their televisions, fans could access Digital Arena through a smartphone app. This app facilitated fan engagement by using tools like trivia competitions, chatrooms and 50/50 draws. As a result, fans connected with their favourite teams, as well as with each other, and built a sense of community.
National Hockey League (NHL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) games were also able to reach millions of fans consistently through broadcasting partners such as TSN, CBC and Sportsnet. In fact, Canadian hockey viewership during the pandemic has increased substantially relative to past years.
While MLSE took strides to promote fan engagement during games, it also realized that most fan experience occurs outside game time. “A year ago, a live experience event group facing a pandemic is not necessarily exciting, but we’ve created a ton of amazing at-home experiences for our fans that have been elevated throughout the entire year,” says Fraser.
MLSE’s event experience team has planned hundreds of events ranging from intimate Zoom calls with Maple Leafs legends to cooking lessons with MLSE’s chefs to sending game-day pucks to lucky season-ticket holders. These wide-ranging and creative ideas allowed fans of all sorts to get excited and stay connected with their favourite teams. MLSE effectively coupled its game-time experiences, such as Digital Arena, with non-game-time experiences, like virtual meet-and-greets that continually engage teams’ fan bases.
That said, MLSE was fortunate to have entered the pandemic with ample resources and large, long-standing fan bases for their teams. Meanwhile, lesser-known sports and leagues had to find ways to build connections with new fans and use more limited resources to reach out to their followers.
For example, Canadian soccer has persisted as a fan-centred sport with devoted supporters’ groups and dedicated followings throughout the pandemic. Nowhere is this clearer than in Nova Scotia, home of the Halifax Wanderers Football Club (HFX Wanderers). Despite HFX Wanderers being a brand-new team in the Canadian Premier League, its supporters banded together to form a vibrant and inclusive community whose influence extends beyond the sport.
The club’s #TogetherFromAways motto exemplifies the strength of the team’s community in the face of challenge. HFX Wanderers Marketing and Brand Manager, Dylan Lawrence says, “In Halifax, we don’t have these larger NHL or NBA franchises. I think there’s a lot of people in this community that needed a platform like the Wanderers to showcase that love for each other and the support of the game.”
Lawrence also describes the pandemic as “a blessing in disguise … it was good for us to have an opportunity without soccer being the prime focus to understand the market a bit better.” This helped the club find new ways to interact with its fans and establish its presence within the Halifax community. For instance, HFX Wanderers players participated in vaccination initiatives and developed relationships with local youth soccer clubs. Fans responded in kind. An example is superfan Missy Searl, widely known as “Mama Searl.” She cooked and delivered personalized meals to HFX players during Nova Scotia’s most recent lockdown. Throughout the pandemic, HFX Wanderers and fans formed new connections and deepened pre-existing ones.
MLSE and HFX Wanderers represent opposite ends of the professional sports spectrum in Canada. One owns some of Canada’s most recognizable sports franchises, while the other is building itself from the ground up as part of a new league. However, both recognized the importance of connecting with fans during the pandemic by continuing to build their respective sports-centred communities.
Creating special moments
The pandemic provided sports with opportunities to engage new audiences and experiment with state-of-the-art technologies. But the most exciting part of being a sports fan remains the same: the special, edge-of-your-seat moments. These are what make sports memorable.
Fortunately, you don’t have to be there in person to experience the excitement. Millions of Canadians celebrated Sidney Crosby’s 2010 golden goal at home with family and friends. Entire households cheered from their couches as Penny Oleksiak stormed back to claim gold in the 100m freestyle in Rio de Janeiro. Fans right across the country celebrated the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 championship run. Despite the challenging circumstances of the pandemic, moments such as those haven’t disappeared. Fans can experience them from home, and the pandemic has even made these moments more accessible to all Canadians.
“At the onset [of the pandemic], we were always looking for what is the biggest and best idea. How are we going to get thousands of people to all watch the game together?” says MLSE’s Fraser. This turned out to be a trap. As MLSE quickly realized, driving fan engagement is often less about the size of the crowd and more about the quality of the experience.
“People are tired of screens. Unless that moment is really special, or feels individual to that person, it’s just not going to be worth it,” says Fraser.
This prompted MLSE to implement smaller virtual meet-and-greets and personalized experiences that created special moments for both fans and athletes. Whereas in-person meet-and-greets can sometimes be awkward for professional athletes, Fraser says the players had outstanding feedback for this year’s virtual events: “They were funny and engaging…. The players didn’t stop talking. They loved sharing stories.”
Interestingly, the pandemic has prompted a new hunger for ‘special moments’ at the grassroots level, as well. With family members often unable to attend their children’s practices and competitions because of capacity limits and social distancing requirements, streaming technology has played a key role in bringing youth and scholastic sport events to family, friends and classmates.
Parents who can’t make it to a game can still watch their kids. And students can cheer on their school’s team from afar. “You can watch the game from the parking lot on your phone or on your tablet at home… all the games are live and on demand there,” says GameOnStream’s Wilkinson.
Elderly individuals, who have been especially isolated during the pandemic because of health concerns, can also watch their grandchildren on the field, court or ice, from their computers.
“You get some of the most amazing letters and notes from grandparents being able to watch their grandchildren,” says Wilkinson.
There may be fewer people in the stands seeing a special highlight-reel goal, but there are many more people watching from behind a screen.
Toward a ‘new normal’ for fan engagement
With Tokyo 2020 on the horizon and Beijing 2022 just around the corner, the lessons for fan engagement learned during the pandemic are already being put into practice. CBC Sports extended its use of the StreamYard platform to cover Swimming Canada’s Olympic trials as well as late June’s final Olympic qualification tournament for Canada’s men’s basketball team. In addition, a virtual watch-party featuring guests and commentators is planned for Tokyo 2020’s opening ceremony, on July 23. And while a small media delegation will travel to Japan this summer, most of the Olympic and Paralympic coverage will originate in Canada.
“We are in really good shape to take on the Games from this sort of virtual space, because we’ve been doing it now for 16 months. We have really innovated and changed a lot in the last year, and I think we’re really prepared to take on these games from our at-home offices,” says CBC Sports’ Platek.
Through tough times, sports have proven to be a uniting factor for fans around the world. In the face of immense challenge, Canadian sport businesses and organizations have adopted several innovative strategies to engage their fans virtually and strengthen sports-centered communities. From intimate Zoom calls with athletes to new sports-specific programming, digital innovation continues to thrive and connect fans with each other and the special moments that sport offers. All the while, the sports community continues to grow.
As HFX Wanderers’ Lawrence remarks, this year for sports fans has been about “recognizing that we all wander individually, but it’s when we wander together that life is how it should be.”
The growth of competitive virtual cycling could be a great equalizer. Gone are the days when North American athletes are required to head to Europe for the highest levels of competition. Virtual cycling also reduces the complexities of event hosting relating to local officiating capacity, road closures, and inclement weather.
Gamification is the use of game techniques, such as the allocation of points and rewards, to provide incentive and fuel the competitive spirit in aspects of life outside of sport. Learn how MLSE LaunchPad has used gamification to support the development of prosocial life skills in the SIRCuit.
Human error is the leading cause of data and security breaches – weak password management; using old, non-updated software; careless handling of data; and lack of knowledge. To protect your organization’s online data, experts recommend building a culture of security centered around digital security awareness training.
Data Privacy Day is an international effort held annually on Jan. 28. The purpose is to create awareness about the importance of privacy and protecting personal information and encourages dialogue for organizations about which best practices should be implemented.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about many changes for the Canadian sport sector including a shift to remote work and working from home. Unfortunately, this digital response to the COVID-19 crisis has also created new security vulnerabilities. Many sectors are seeing an increase in cybercrime and cyber attacks, not only in frequency but in size, sophistication, and cost to victims. A recent survey of Canadian organizations found an increase in both cyberattack volume and breaches during the past 12 months in Canada. It is a mistake to think that hackers are only interested in the large databases of big companies – work-from-home systems can be ripe targets for cyber criminals simply because they are often much easier to infiltrate.
The risk
As modern society leans into an era of revolutionary technological advancement, awareness of the inherent risk of our devices and networks falls short. A lack of understanding around online tools, apps, and technology could lead to catastrophic results for your teams, organization, and public reputation. During a cyber attack, all types of data – employees’ personal information, corporate data, customer information, intellectual property, and key infrastructure – are at risk.
Human error is the leading cause of data and security breaches. For cyber criminals, people are the most exploited vulnerability or “vector of compromise.” A 2019 study by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office revealed that human error caused 90% of data breaches. These come from weak password management; using old, non-updated software; careless handling of data; and, as previously mentioned, lack of knowledge in the cyber security field.
So how can sport organizations take a proactive approach to mitigating their data risks before the unthinkable occurs? The answer is building a culture of security centered around digital security awareness training.
How to protect your data
Security awareness training is a fundamental step in the process of modernizing your organization and better enabling it to deal with cyber threats. However, despite its growing importance, keeping employees engaged in these programs remains a major challenge for management teams. To encourage developing a “security-first” culture amongst staff:
- Make data security a priority for everyone, from staff to volunteers.
- Develop policies and training opportunities to educate your team about the best practices to minimize data-related risk.
- Ensure staff have a clear understanding of what actions to take in the event your organization’s data is compromised.
Choosing to invest in a security awareness training program will yield immediate benefits for your organization. These benefits include strengthening organizational resilience against cyber threat risks, developing a “security-first” culture amongst staff, generating buy-in towards greater data security initiatives, and reducing the odds of human error – all contributing factors to mitigating the modern cyber risk.
Read about Ringette Canada’s experience with a ransomware attack, and their management tips if your computer network is compromised.
Participants using a physical activity app with team-based incentives accumulated more steps per day during a 12-week intervention period compared to matched controls. The findings offer further evidence that even very small incentives (users earned on average $3.60 CAD over 12 weeks) can be used to influence behaviour change and increase physical activity.
Did you know the worldwide esports industry revenues are expected to top $159 billion by the end of 2020, and to have engaged more than 2.7 billion gamers? Within these staggering numbers, virtual cycling has carved out a not insignificant piece of the pie. Learn more about the benefits and possibilities of virtual cycling in the SIRC blog.
On December 9, 2020, the inaugural UCI Cycling Esports World Championships will be hosted on Zwift. For more information on following the Canadian team at this event, and Cycling Canada’s multi-platform virtual cycling calendar for the 2020/2021 winter season (including all-level group rides and public races!) click here.
Esports have experienced a meteoric rise in the last few years. According to a recent Reuters article, worldwide esports industry revenues are expected to top $159 billion by the end of 2020 with projections to surpass $200 billion by 2023. It is projected that more than 2.7 billion gamers will have participated in esports by the end of 2020. Within those staggering numbers, virtual cycling has carved out a not insignificant piece of the pie. Pre-pandemic numbers for the Zwift platform alone showed 1.6 million active users with over 600 million virtual miles logged, boasting a recent valuation of north of $1 billion.
So what is virtual cycling and why has it developed such a following? Virtual cycling, while still falling under the wider esports banner, stands apart from most other esports in that you actually “play” by virtue of physical exertion. To actively participate in a virtual cycling event, be it a ride, race or workout, you must turn the pedals on your bike. Virtual platforms such as Zwift, RGT, Fulgaz and Peloton have “virtualized” the long-standing activity of stationary cycling by developing sophisticated products that connect consumers to workout plans, virtual worlds, and a global community – all from the comfort of home. The result is a user experience with exciting new challenges and opportunities to stay connected. Amidst a worldwide pandemic, virtual cycling has allowed us to ride and compete with thousands of fellow cyclists and travel to vast virtual worlds without fear of breaking physical distancing protocol or even leaving our living rooms. Although virtual cycling communities have existed for a number of years, this discipline of cycling is certainly still “new” relative to the sport itself and we’re continuing to learn about its vast potential. Over the past year, I’ve had a chance to dive head-first into the virtual cycling world and familiarize myself with the various platforms and communities that have developed within them. This blog shares some of my learnings.
Virtual cycling is a true community builder
When I started riding and dabbling in racing, the biggest bummer every year was when the snow really started to come down and the temperature dropped to the point that riding outside was literally painful. Most of the time, that meant putting the bike away and saying so-long to my riding buddies until the spring. Since then, a lot has changed.
Alongside exciting industry developments such as the fatbike to better enable year-round riding outdoors, people also began “warming up” to the idea of riding indoors, sparked by advancements in smart trainers and virtual cycling platforms. Local races, clubs and meetups began popping up on platforms such as Zwift, and with the advent of apps like Discord you could actually heckle your friends in real-time voice chat. All of a sudden, you could plan group rides with your riding buddies despite the foot of fresh snow, or connect with other riders from around the world. Since my own foray into virtual cycling, I’ve developed friendships with riders from across the globe stemming from a virtual finish line sprint or ride-along, cemented by regular “ride ons” to keep the stoke level high. The community-building aspect of virtual cycling platforms is one of the most important benefits. Virtual platforms have allowed us to stay in touch and continue to challenge each other in a whole new connected world, easing the traditional pain of indoor stationary riding. With the right equipment, a stable internet connection, and a subscription to the platform(s) of choice, users can connect to a like-minded community built around a similar objective of improving health and fitness while maintaining some level of fun.
Esports can effectively complement “traditional sport”
Esports are often criticized as promoting a more sedentary lifestyle, encouraging laziness, and distracting people from the importance of physical activity. There can be merit to these arguments, but we need to look at the bigger picture. Many sport organizations are finding unique ways to integrate esports into their programming. One great example is Canada Basketball’s recent Hoops at Home initiative which connected fans and esports consumers to star athletes such as Chris Boucher and Aaliyah Edwards to raise funds for their charity foundation. It is also not uncommon to see traditional sports leagues use esports as a way to keep the community connected during the offseason by virtue of in-house esports leagues, events and tournaments.
One pre-pandemic study showed that 4.4 million Canadians have followed esports in the past year, with 57% of Gen Z, 43% of millennials and 31% of Gen X taking in the action. Our younger demographic is actively consuming esports, and traditional sport administrators should be looking closely at ways to seize this opportunity for increased engagement and overall relevance. Esports initiatives such as those mentioned above have provided traditional sport organizations an expanded audience, offering new opportunities to promote their wider initiatives, perhaps even leading to increased participation “on the field.”
With virtual cycling, If you’ve ever participated in an event and had to clean the resulting pool of sweat off the floor, you’ll know the word sedentary has no business being associated. Not only does this new realm of cycling complement existing riders’ training when it comes time to put the rubber side down outdoors, it has encouraged a new group of people to take up the sport. It is reasonable to assume that the same person who purchased a Peloton bike as a means of winter exercise or saving money on a gym membership may very well be interested in buying a traditional bike and riding outside when the temperatures rise.
An all-new equalizer
From a national cycling federation perspective, virtual cycling possesses great equalizing power. Over the years, North American athletes competing at the highest level of cycling have grown accustomed to making the annual pilgrimage to Europe to access the highest level of training and competition. With virtual cycling, Canadian cyclists can compete against the best, without the added costs and inconvenience of travel. The result is a more diverse playing field when it comes to top level virtual racing events such as the Virtual Tour de France and the inaugural UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. These events have provided a platform for the emergence of new virtual cycling specialists – often athletes not associated with traditional top-level teams, not stemming from traditionally strong “cycling nations,” and sometimes not even stemming from a background in cycling itself.
From an event hosting perspective, virtual cycling has significantly reduced the capacity needed to host large-scale events – gone are requirements relating to local officiating capacity, road closures, financial support, and climate conditions. With the right equipment, some marketing know-how, and a sound knowledge of the platform/community of choice, an organizer from anywhere in the world can host a competitive virtual cycling event.
Final thoughts
At the heart of virtual cycling lies the essence of indoor cycling’s humble beginnings – a means of building fitness from the comfort of home. As this exciting new discipline continues to develop, virtual cycling is quickly building an identity of its own that extends well beyond the circumstances that attracted many to indoor cycling in the first place. In a relatively short time, virtual cycling has progressed to the point of becoming a distinctly recognizable discipline of cycling, not unlike road, mountain bike or BMX. As we continue to weather the COVID-19 storm, virtual cycling has been an invaluable tool in keeping the cycling community connected, and in fact, growing our numbers.
To consider virtual cycling as a fad that will end when the pandemic restrictions are finally lifted would be incredibly short-sighted. Virtual cycling existed well before the pandemic and will continue to exist beyond it, albeit with a fresh boost of participants. We are seeing the industry develop specialized gear, federations nominate national teams, and average Joes and Janelles around the world take up cycling from the comfort of their homes. We are also being presented with brand new challenges such as technological doping – a term that wasn’t anywhere near federation radars only a few years ago. Alas, with growth inevitably comes challenge, and I remain confident that the cycling world will rise to the occasion and embrace an exciting new way of participating in our favourite pastime. Perhaps the most exciting outcome is that virtual cycling has done incredible things to attract new people to the wider cycling community as a whole. The end result: more people on bikes – an outcome we can all get excited about.
This blog is a collaboration between SIRC and Cycling Canada. Check out Cycling Canada’s Shifting Gears blog, featuring posts from athletes, coaches, the integrated support team, and staff on what drives them in the sport of cycling through triumphs and tribulations.