Tim, Founder

How it started

I play Canoe Polo. It's a five-a-side sport played on open water. Suspended goals, strict timing, penalty rules, and sometimes some capsizing. I represented Australia at the World Championships in China.

Even at that level, the scoring equipment was clunky and unreliable. It's a niche sport, so the scoreboards you can get are limited and nobody's in a rush to build better ones. And they were only for the players on the field. If you were a parent, a friend, or just someone watching from the bank, you had to walk over to the scoreboard and view it at the right angle.

Turns out most community sports have the same problem. Games happen on school ovals, local courts, and wherever there's space that weekend. Even venues with permanent facilities usually have scoring setups that are outdated or overcomplicated. Pen and paper, someone shouting the score, or a system that takes longer to figure out than the game itself.

World Championships, China

So I built a scoreboard that could survive being set up next to a river. Something portable, weather-resistant, and simple enough that a volunteer could run it. I started with the hardest environment I knew and worked backward from there.

Scoreboard V1 prototype

That became Arenachamp.

What it is now

Arenachamp is a mobile scoring app and a hardware LED scoreboard. The app is free and works on its own. The scoreboard pairs with it over Bluetooth and shows what the app shows, just bigger.

But the part I'm most proud of is how easy it is to share. Every game gets a QR code. Scan it, see the live score on your phone. No app download, no sign-up, nothing. A parent who couldn't make it to the game. A friend watching from the car park. Someone following from interstate. Zero friction. The score is no longer just for the people on the field.

We're starting with a few sports and getting them right before adding more. Over time, the same core will support connected displays, cloud tools, and new ways to share games beyond the sideline. But only if we can do it without making things complicated again.

Arenachamp. Make anywhere an arena.