HomeBase.
HomeBase is a Home away from Home! Aiming to tackle the steady decline of youth participation in sport, HomeBase is a proposed solution that would provide a safe and inclusive, community space within sports facilities for students to socialise and spend time with each other before and after class.
HomeBase is essentially a proposed room within sports facilities dedicated to supporting local youths. It consists of several basic features; sofas and beanbags to lounge on before practice starts, a TV to watch footy finals on, tables and chairs to study after school, or eat a quick dinner before the game that night. Other extra features HomeBase might include are ping-pong tables, for casual sport, and large windows that look into the facility so that students may spectate ongoing sports classes. While HomeBase maintains its strong connection to sports, there is an emphasis on fun, community and relaxation, which should appeal to both sports players and non-sports players. Students who join their local HomeBase will have full access to the features within the room, which makes it a great social and study space outside of school hours.
Furthermore, HomeBase holds monthly and weekly socials and events, including the ever-favoured movie night, game night, and community dinners. These are great chances to make new friends within the community, have fun with other students outside of the field, and perhaps introduce new players into the fold. HomeBase may even occasionally invite special guests to come in and speak to students, such a professional sports players and coaches. HomeBase also features a loyalty card or membership system, that aims to keep track of how many students are using the space each day. This information can be used to adjust services and assets that HomeBase provides, to ensure it is being used to its full potential. The membership system also offer rewards, merchandise and discounts at local stores, which will hopefully encourage students to regularly use the space. The Virtual HomeBase is also a proposed online platform which continues the services HomeBase provides outside of the physical space. This will be a virtual hub where students and coaches may chat online, share videos, news and other sports-related information. This aims to help establish a strong sense of community between the students of HomeBase throughout the week, even outside of the space. It also provides for students who might not be able to attend the physical HomeBase regularly, but who still want to be connected to the people there.
Finding the right place to play and enjoy sport is a crucial factor in introducing and keeping youth participation. As teenagers become more and more independant, the choice to drop out of sports they may not really enjoy becomes quite attractive, particularly if their friends are are also uninterested. Hence, an effort to emphasise the social aspects of sport, as well as creating spaces to do so, has been on the increase. What we are looking to provide is not a revolutionary idea - but it is within youth sports. It is the idea of moving sports away from just the physical activity, the competitions, and the achievements. It is about bringing sports back to the people who play it, for fun or otherwise.
This project was in collaboration with Brian Lo and Anna Pham.
