Dating apps, like Tinder, have always been very popular for people who want to meet others easily. Now there is an app that is being marketed as a “Tinder” for sports fans.
SportsBuddy is a new app that connects people through sport and physical activities. The twist is that its main focus is not for dating, but for just playing sports with others. The app is being marketed as a tool for people to find new friends in their area to play the sports they love together.
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After downloading the app, the user has to connect with their Facebook and complete all profiles. The user completes a separate profile for each sport: tennis, golf, basketball, soccer, running, yoga and the gym.
When filling out his or her profile, the user will answer questions in each category, ranging from how long he or she has played a certain sport, his or her average running distance and time, or if he or she is interested in joining a league.
The app then uses this information to give suggestions of who the user should be matched up with. The user selects if he or she wants to be matched up with males, females, or both and the distance from their location. This is where the “tinder” feature comes in. After choosing one of the sports, the user can look through matches and either swipe down to skip or swipe up to “buddy up” with a suggested match.
If both parties buddy up with each other, they will get a notification that they are both buddies, and can then message each other to hang out to play the sport that they matched up for.
Buddies can also create events, either private or public, for people to join. The event includes the sport, location and time, as well as a group message for everyone going to the event. SportsBuddy even syncs the event to the phone calendar so that the user will remember to attend.
The only frustrating part of the app so far is that there is a “Near Me” section that isn’t usable. The app says, “Sorry buddy, these features are not yet available for you. Share with friends to help unlock.” After sharing with multiple friends, the section still wouldn’t work. But it looks like the user would be able to find public events and meetups near them, if they were able to get the feature to work.
Other than that, the app works well and is easy to navigate and seems to be a legitimate app for people to meet each other to play sports.
Currently SportsBuddy is only available for apple devices and is free to download.