TrainAsONE, along with 9 other startups selected by Sport England and the ODI to help revolutionise the way people in the UK access sport and physical activities using data.
People across the UK will soon be able to access sport and physical activity from their fingertips with the selection of 10 new startups that will join the OpenActive Accelerator, a ground-breaking new programme launching today.
The services will all be plugged into the OpenActive data feed, which brings together information from sport and activity providers in one place.
Currently much of the information about who, what, where and when activities take place is hidden away on old-fashioned websites, social media groups, PDFs or printed flyers. When travel operators unlocked their data several years ago, it revolutionised the experience for holidaymakers. OpenActive aims to do the same for the sport and activity sector.
The ultimate aim is to help more people get active. Currently over a quarter of the population in England are inactive, which means they do less than 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity each week.
The ODI’s OpenActive Accelerator programme is supported by Sport England, and it works in partnership with ukactive and London Sport.
The OpenActive Accelerator will bring together some of the most creative minds in data and technology together with the data about opportunities, and support them to create products and services that make it easier for people to get active.
Each startup on the OpenActive Accelerator programme receives office space, training and mentorship; access to the ODI, Sport England networks and a wide range of services and perks from partners who share a vision to help people get active through interactive ways by stimulating use and innovation with open data.
“Over 1 in 4 people in the UK have no relationship with exercise. Reasons for this range from people struggling to find time to take part in activities to not being able to find an activity which suits their abilities. The OpenActive Accelerator aims to address this issue by bringing some of the most creative minds in data and technology together with rich data sets about opportunities to get active. This is an exciting time for the sport and physical activity leisure industry, and also for data and technology. By supporting these startups, we are supporting both sectors and create tangible impact for people investing in talent for the future.”
Jeni Tennison, CEO of the ODI
“We are so excited to launch the OpenActive Accelerator programme with the ODI. The ten startups will be supported to put people’s needs first when designing their products, appreciating that a mum taking her first steps into activity will need something different than someone looking for a PT to help prepare for their tenth marathon. Sport England will share behavioural insights with the startups and support them to use the data that fits people’s lifestyles. We believe this will reduce one of the main barriers for people trying to get active.”
Allison Savich, from Sport England;
The other startups joining TrainAsONE on the accelerator are:
- Find a Race
- Go Sweat
- iPrescribe Exercise
- Onigo Escapes
- Outdoor Nation
- Shout
- Spryt
- Sweat & Sound
- TrackActive
†The ODI was co-founded in 2012 by the inventor of the web Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Artificial Intelligence expert Sir Nigel Shadbolt to advocate for the innovative use of open data to affect positive change across the globe.
