Sportside, the innovative sports tech company seeking to connect millions of grassroots participants to meet their sporting match, has chosen the London Borough of Bromley to launch an exciting pilot volunteer scheme to help thousands of residents stay healthy and active as the Borough enters Tier 2 restrictions following the latest national lockdown.

Sportside is seeking Bromley-based sports enthusiasts to sign up as ‘Community Captains’ and lead the charge in helping locals stay active, while following the latest UK government rules around exercise in Tier 2 regions. The scheme, which sees Bromley locals become the first people to trial the new free Sportside app, will empower the volunteer ‘Community Captains’ to alert fellow residents on the app and encourage them to join together before taking part in permitted sport and exercise activities, including the likes of running, cycling, tennis, football or walking.

Local residents can apply to become a ‘Community Captain’ by visiting http://www.sportside.com/communitycaptain and completing the online form. Community Captains will benefit from increased visibility and promotion within the Sportside app and social media, as well as a dedicated in-app badge and the satisfaction of inspiring their neighbours to connect and play!

The early access launch of the Sportside app comes at a time when sporting play is perhaps more important than ever before following the first COVID-19 lockdown in March, which is still having a lasting impact on the accessibility and availability of sport.

The current UK government guidelines for Tier 2 areas means that organised outdoor sport and exercise classes are once again permitted, meaning a return to the likes of football, rugby, hockey and rowing for many. However, whilst gyms and indoor swimming pools are open, organised indoor sports are largely either unavailable or restricted to household bubbles only. To ensure compliance with the latest government guidelines, users are encouraged to check the gov.uk website for the latest information.   

While currently restricted to Tier 2 approved activities, the Sportside app, available to download for free on both iOS and Android devices for Bromley residents today, is a new one-stop platform which will soon enable people to connect and play across 20 sports, and find their perfect sporting match by age, ability and geography. Following the initial pilot in the London Boroughs of Bromley and Richmond, the app will be rolled out across all London Boroughs and nationwide in 2021.

Jeremy Bourke, CEO of Sportside said:

“We are excited that the London Borough of Bromley will be the place where we begin our mission to connect the nation through sporting play. There has never been a more important time for all of us to recognise the role that sport and exercise can play in our lives, and at Sportside we know that people connecting and coming together will be a massive part of our physical and mental recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.  

Our ‘Community Captains’ will play a key role in initially helping residents in Bromley have the chance to exercise safely in line with UK government guidelines, while we eagerly look forward to more sports reopening for access in the coming weeks and months.”

Sportside has ambitious plans for growth, emphasised by a July fund raise which secured backing to the value of £15million from impact investors Fortunis Capital Group. To help users of the Sportside app, COVID-19 alerts have been integrated into the technology*.