Clip ‘n Climb launches whitepaper on the future of ‘sportainment’

International recreational climbing operator Clip ‘n Climb has released a whitepaper, exploring the future of what it calls ‘sportainment’.

Partnering with renowned futurologist Dr Ian Pearson, a fellow of the British Computer Society and the Royal Society of Arts and Commerce, the white paper explores how parts of the leisure industry will see a fusion of sport and entertainment as well as increasing gamification in the future.

Dr Pearson reviewed how the market currently stands, analysed existing trends and made informed predictions for the future based on this information

Social habits
The team behind the whitepaper conducted several research projects throughout the UK, Europe and Japan, in order to discover how much time children spend indoors and in front of screens. They also explored what concerns parents have about their children’s social habits.

In a survey of more than 2,000 parents and children, they found that children spend between 15-20 hours indoors on an average weekend. 90% of the parents surveyed said that they would like their children to play outside more.

Sportainment
Pearson looked at ‘sportainment’, and how it is able to have an impact on the development of imagination and creativity, as well as cultural, scientific and geographical education. His report predicts that the concept of sportainment will develop into an immersive experience with the introduction of new technology, giving it the ability to combine the real and the virtual worlds.

In his opinion, the addition of gamification software can encourage audiences to get active and to connect with each other. 

Advising that the combination of technology and physical activity will have a positive impact by bringing people together with a shared focus and encouraging them to work towards a goal, Dr Pearson states “based on the research and my investigations, I strongly believe that activities such as indoor climbing, teamed with advanced technology can help to develop self-confidence in people of all ages, encouraging families to bond through fitness. 

“Tracking and comparing movements, scores, and levels of improvement helps individuals to achieve their full potential. Real-time or post-activity feedback can add to this leisure experience and encourage the person to improve their performance too.”

Encouraging physical activity
Given the report’s findings that parents want their children to be more active, Pearson predicts that young people will be drawn to activities that involve technology and gamification.

Clip ‘n Climb Product Manager, Tiphaine Lazard advises “through our consumer research, product development and our work with Dr Ian Pearson, our goal is to future-proof our climbing centres and make them ready for all generations and age groups. Within the next ten years, consumers will not want to just be bystanders in sportainment, they will want to engage, be involved, and immerse themselves in the experience and the technology is emerging to make this happen.

“There are strong indications that there is an increased desire for activity-based sportainment options and the opportunity to try different physical activities but we know consumer preferences are ever-changing. In the future, consumers will have shorter attention spans, will be even more keen to share experiences digitally and the ‘fear of missing out’ will increase.

Clip ‘n Score software
Lazard adds “in line with this, our new Clip ‘n Score system fits with this shift towards gamification as the contactless technology of the application allows climbers to continually monitor their progress, agility, performance and scores. It is designed to embrace human connectivity, demonstrating our commitment to leading the way in industry innovation and our desire to stay one step ahead and act on future trends now.”

The Clip ‘n Score software was developed with the team at ABEO - a global leader in the sports and leisure equipment sector and group owner of Clip ‘n Climb. 

Clip ‘n Score enables climbers to build their scores based on agility, courage and difficulty. They can track their scores and progress through contactless technology.

Earlier in the year, Clip ‘n Climb launched a new climbing challenge for children and families, called Ascendor, which joins the company’s range of over 40 innovative challenges for all ages.

Click here to contact Clip ‘n Climb International through their entry in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory.

Click here to contact  Australian Clip ‘n Climb distributor The Highgate Group via their entry in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory.

Images courtesy of Clip ‘n Climb.