Fudecosta | Natalia Revelo

Fudecosta: The First Automated Tournament System in Bogotá

Fudecosta is a non-profit basketball club that organizes one of the most recognized basketball tournaments in Bogotá, Colombia, twice a year. With a significant need and no budget for an online scheduling system, this became one of the most challenging projects I’ve worked on.

Role: Graphic Designer, Project Manager, .

Team: Junior Designer & CEO

Platforms: Wix, Google Analitys, Google Forms, Google Sheets

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The Challenge

A major challenge, not just for Fudecosta but for many sports teams in Bogotá, is the excessive verbal and written communication during a tournament. My role was to find the best automated digital solution for the club and the participant teams to improve the scheduling system for games played every weekend during the tournament season. These were some of the challenges we were facing:

Coordination was handled through phone calls and WhatsApp messages, leading to delays, lack of transparency (since the schedules were only visible after manual scheduling)
Lack of transparency in the scheduling process, as schedules were only visible once all games were manually scheduled.
Budget constraints at the start of the project meant there were no funds available for an online scheduling system, limiting the tools that could be used.
Some participant teams were involved in other tournaments, requiring a flexible weekly scheduling system.

Objectives

Create an automated system for teams to schedule weekly games during the Basketball tournament.

Allow teams to access to schedule their games each week.

Integrate the scheduling system with the website to bring transparency to the tournament’s progress.

Use free tools to build the system, leveraging existing paid tools.

Prepare the platform for future tournaments, enabling new teams to register easily.

Process and Approach

Research

I conducted interviews with coaches to understand their pain points with the analog scheduling system. I also held daily meetings with Fudecosta's CEO to identify the most time-consuming steps in the scheduling process. Also, I made a competitive analysis with other sports teams that had existing digital systems to learn best practices.

Development

We created an MVP using Google Forms and Google Sheets, synced directly to the website via embedded codes. This low-cost solution allowed coaches to choose two time slots for their games, with priority given to teams that scheduled first.

Iteration

We began by testing a simple game registration form where coaches to schedule weekly games. This allowed them to start transitioning to a digital product. After receiving feedback, we realized most coaches relied solely on their phones, prompting us to further simplify the process.

Testing

I interviewed 10 coaches to ensure the system met their needs and expectations. All 10 test subjects found the form easy to use and appreciated the ability to book games at convenient times. We continue iterating and validated our approach providing insight for future iterations.

Outcome

Reduced scheduling time from days to hours.
Increased transparency for all participating teams.
488 total visits in August, compared to significantly fewer in July.
Of these, 201 visits came from mobile and 38 from desktop, showing strong mobile engagement.
10 new paid basketball members joined the club.
3 direct contacts reached out to discuss donation opportunities.