August 11, 2021
A core mission of the #SquashPlayersApp is to be the authoritative database (repository) of every squash court on the planet.
Which means that we need to know about, at a minimum:
- Every single squash venue on the planet. A squash venue is any building or location that contains one or more squash courts, indoor or outdoor.
- How many squash courts each venue has.
We’ve already written articles on how we quality control this squash data, and how you can add a new squash venue in less than 30 seconds.
We’ve gone from zero squash venues in early 2019, to about 2k in Jan 2021, and 4.5k in August 2021. Where it stops, nobody knows, but we will find out!
You can track our live progress here: # of Squash Venues & Courts Added Over Time.
Question: How do we keep going until we’ve identified every squash court in the world?
Answer: We’re using various methods, primarily these:
- Crowdsourcing. Much like Wikipedia, we’re appealing to like-minded squashies all over the world to help us to reach our goal by adding, updating, and yes deleting (archiving) squash venues. YOU are our eyes and ears, today and ongoing. YOU are much appreciated.
- Added-value engagement. The app itself needs to be more than just the biggest and best repository of squash court data on the planet. It needs to be something that Squashies turn to, and use, as a normal part of their engagement with, and interest, in the sport of squash. The people, the services, the suppliers, the social, the events, the opportunities, the news, etc. Lots (more) to do here!
- Promotion. It could be the greatest app in the world, but if no-one knows about, this is a problem. We need (and will help) Squashies to tell other Squashies. We’ll shout about it on social media. We’ll strike deals and partnerships with the various stakeholders in squash (e.g. associations/federations, suppliers, etc.) who have a vested interest in helping to spread the word. For example: squash associations need good quality and quantities of data in order to be able to better manage and track the growth (or not) of their sport. The more they can promote the app, the more engagement they will encourage, and the better data they’ll get.
- Trusted data sources. Google Map data is our ‘base’ trusted source for squash venues. We work with other trusted sources (and will identify and work with more in the future) to automatically add to and augment our data.
Got any more ideas about how we can improve the quantity (and quality) of our data?
Head on over to your Squash Players App – Discussion Group on Facebook and either share your idea publicly, and/or send us a direct message. Thank you!
