RESEARCHING WHAT KEEPS YOUNG PEOPLE PLAYING.

THE COMPETITION IS NOT EQUAL

Common Sense Media found that entertainment screen use, excluding schoolwork, averaged 5 hours 33 minutes per day among US children aged 8 to 12 and 8 hours 39 minutes among teenagers aged 13 to 18. That is approximately 39 to 61 hours each week.

• Organised sport occupies limited scheduled hours.
• Screen entertainment is permanently available.
• Equipment provides the means to play, but not always a reason to return.

THE MISSING MIDDLE

The largest untapped opportunity exists at home, between organised sessions, during short periods of unstructured time and when a child has nobody available to organise a game.

WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE

Physical activity at home needs clear challenges, immediate feedback, visible progress, achievable goals and a reason to come back.

SOURCE: COMMON SENSE MEDIA, 2021 · WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2019

Flare is being built for the hours organised sport cannot reach. Our mission is to make real-world practice compelling enough to earn a place in everyday life.

WHAT THE RESEARCH FOUND

Amanda Visek and colleagues identified 81 determinants of fun across 11 factors. Being a good sport, trying hard and positive coaching ranked highest. Winning ranked 40th among the individual determinants.

THE MEASUREMENT PROBLEM

Youth sport measures goals, scores, wins and selection. It rarely measures effort, confidence, persistence, enjoyment or connection. Adults therefore receive constant information about results and little information about the experiences that retain children.

• Recognise individual improvement.
• Match challenge to current ability.
• Give positive, specific feedback.
• Value competition without making victory the only meaningful outcome.

SOURCE: VISEK ET AL. · GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2015

Flare is designed to recognise the progress traditional scoreboards miss. When effort becomes visible, children gain more reasons to keep playing.

WHAT CURRENT DATA SAYS

A 2026 US national study reported an average quitting age of 12.93 among former youth athletes. More than one third stopped between ages 12 and 14.

WHY THE CLIFF APPEARS

• Sport becomes more serious and selective.
• Playing time becomes less equal.
• Costs and travel commitments increase.
• Feedback concentrates around mistakes.
• Late developers feel left behind.
• Progress becomes difficult to see.

THE FEEDBACK DROUGHT

A young athlete can train for an entire session and receive only a handful of personal interactions. When they cannot answer “Am I improving?” or “Does anybody notice my effort?”, motivation becomes fragile.

SOURCE: ASPEN INSTITUTE PROJECT PLAY · UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY · LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITY · 2026

Flare cannot remove every barrier around youth sport. It can help ensure that progress, encouragement and connection do not disappear between sessions.

GAMES RESPOND

When a player acts inside a well-designed game, the system acknowledges it. Sound, movement, scores and progress indicators create micro-feedback. Game designers often call this responsiveness “juice”.

THREE NEEDS BEHIND ENGAGEMENT

• Competence: I am getting better.
• Autonomy: I have meaningful choices.
• Relatedness: I feel connected to others.

These are human motivational needs, not gaming tricks. Strong sport environments can serve them through achievable challenges, visible development and social play.

SOURCE: RYAN, RIGBY & PRZYBYLSKI · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · 2006

Flare takes the engagement logic of gaming and points it towards real movement. The screen should not become the activity; it should make the activity more rewarding.

WHAT COMPUTER VISION CAN SEE

Modern systems can identify body landmarks, movement patterns, object locations, direction, trajectory, repetition and timing. Google Research demonstrated 33-landmark mobile pose tracking at more than 30 frames per second on a Pixel 2.

EDGE AI VERSUS CLOUD AI

• Edge processing: fast responses, offline use, lower transfer and greater privacy control.
• Cloud processing: access to larger models, with added connectivity, latency and data considerations.

PRIVACY BY DESIGN

Children’s technology must collect only what is necessary, explain processing clearly, secure data, limit retention and obtain parental consent where required. COPPA protects US children under 13. Ireland’s digital age of consent is 16.

SOURCE: BAZAREVSKY ET AL. · GOOGLE RESEARCH · 2020 · FTC COPPA GUIDANCE · IRISH DPC

Flare is exploring how smartphone computer vision can make useful feedback more accessible. The ambition is elite-level clarity delivered through technology families already own.

THE SCALE OF THE NETWORK

The GAA reported 134,029 Cúl Camp attendees in 2025, equivalent to approximately one in five Irish children aged 6 to 13. This is evidence of trust, local infrastructure and a national appetite for sport.

THE SPACE BETWEEN SESSIONS

A coach may see a player once or twice a week. Technology can support the relationship by setting take-home activities, recognising effort, providing a next step and extending a camp experience into continued play.

• Keep clubs and coaches at the centre.
• Support multi-sport movement rather than early specialisation.
• Extend community connection beyond scheduled sessions.

SOURCE: GAELIC ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION · 2026 PARTICIPATION REPORT

Flare is football-first, but the engagement problem crosses every sport. Ireland is the ideal proving ground for technology that strengthens grassroots participation.