Data Drives Hockey Decisions In 2021

Hockey NSW in partnership with the SPRINTER research group, has been able to harness the power of data to improve the organisation’s strategies and key projects heading into 2021.

SPRINTER are a collaborative Sport and Physical Activity Research Group led by Dr Lindsey Reece within the Charles Perkins Centre, Prevention Research Collaboration at the University of Sydney. SPRINTER works closely with the NSW Office of Sport on a number of key projects, including tracking the effectiveness of the Active Kids voucher program.

Over the past three years, Hockey NSW have partnered with Dr Reece and her team to analyse participant demographics and member survey data in order to better understand our members, what motivates them to play hockey and what Hockey NSW can do to improve the overall experience across the State.

The insights from this analysis have formed a major part of Hockey NSW’s strategic planning for 2021, and have allowed staff to direct resources and energy into particular priority areas that have been identified through the research.

A great example of the fascinating insights being delivered by SPRINTER is evident in the findings from the analysis of 2020 Hockey NSW member data and feedback.

For members who didn’t return to the field during 2020, COVID was the overwhelming reason for their decision. In previous years, the top reason for not returning to the sport was medical or age factors, followed closely by change in circumstance.

Interestingly, of those who reported COVID-19 as their reason for not returning, 40% cited health and safety as their primary concern, compared to only 11% who said financial hardship. It was also discovered that older members and those who live in disadvantaged and regional/remote areas were most likely to indicate that COVID-19 was the reason they did not return.

Of those players who returned to hockey in 2020, the top three motivations across all participants were to have fun, to get fit and to socialise. Younger participants were more likely to indicate skill improvement as one of their main motivating factors, while older athletes were more likely to list stress relief as one their main reasons for playing.

One of the most reassuring pieces of information discovered through the research was that over 90% of participants had a positive experience playing hockey in 2020.

Additionally, a large percentage of players who didn’t return to hockey last year indicated that they were satisfied with their most recent hockey experience and that their reason for not returning was not due to negative reasons.

Armed with this data, the Hockey NSW Media and Communications team developed the “Retake The Field” membership campaign aimed at encouraging past players back to the sport in 2021. The campaign was built around the insights that SPRINTER had provided and zeroed in on what motivates people to pick up a hockey stick.

With COVID-19 being identified as a major concern for many participants, Hockey NSW has focussed on ensuring that the sport remains at the forefront of COVID Safety throughout the season with a range of resources for our grassroots volunteers and a robust COVID Safety plan in place, along with our COVID committee that is available to assist with information, concerns and logistics throughout the season.

Dr Lindsey Reece is the Academic Director of SPRINTER and hopes that the work done by her team will allow Hockey NSW to understand their members on a deeper level, which will allow for the development of more targeted strategies and programs.

“SPRINTER are delighted to strengthen our partnership with Hockey NSW as it helps us achieve our goal of enabling more people to move everyday in a way that positively affects their hearts, bodies and minds. To do this, we must create positive and inclusive opportunities for everyone to play and this novel research conducted in partnership with Hockey NSW, allows us to understand the motivations and barriers to playing sport which can be used to inform future delivery,” said Dr Reece.

“SPRINTER are committed to supporting the sport sector to deliver fun and social experiences that are suitable for everyone and this research certainly helps us understand the powerful role sport has in our daily lives. We look forward to continuing to work closely with everyone involved in Hockey NSW.”

Craig Beed, Hockey NSW’s Chief Operating Officer, believes that the data crunching and analysis done by SPRINTER is industry leading and will allow hockey to grow and improve over the coming years.

“Over the past few years, it has been evident that sports need to work smarter, not harder when it comes to growing participation, retaining members and volunteers, and developing strategies in key areas. The data we’ve been able to capture with thanks to the revSPORT system and the insights from SPRINTER have really put hockey on the front foot in this space,” said Craig.

“With the insights that Hockey NSW have been able to access, we’ve been able to focus our energy and resources into specific projects and areas of the business that will help with recruitment, retention and education.”

“We’ve also been able to pass this data onto our Associations and Clubs so they can track their performance from year-to-year in key areas. This lends itself to an all-of-sport approach that is really beneficial overall.”

Hockey NSW & Hockey Australia recently sat down for a panel discussion with Dr Lindsey Reece from SPRINTER to discuss more about this collaboration and some of the benefits hockey is already seeing from their insights. Check it out above.

Further information about SPRINTER can be accessed on the NSW Office of Sport website by clicking here.