The Triple Thread

While the evenings are slowly drawing out, we are still several weeks away from the return of daylight training. For many, these final months of winter represent an annual fitness hiatus, driven by a reluctance to venture out after sunset. This raises a fundamental question: is the danger of exercising in public after dark a tangible reality, or is it a perceived threat shaped by instinct and headlines?

The "Perceived Curfew"

We fully support and applaud the work of Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign, which has been instrumental in highlighting the barriers women face when exercising outdoors. Their research for the "Let’s Lift the Curfew" initiative found that nearly half of all women (46%) change their activity routines because of the darker months, a phenomenon they aptly describe as a "perceived curfew." However, our own research suggests that this isn't a gender-specific issue. In our recent survey, we found that 45% of respondents across all genders adjusted their outdoor exercise habits during the winter. This suggests that the psychological weight of the "darker evenings" is a universal challenge that affects the entire fitness community.

The fear isn't just about crime. It is a mix of:

• Poor Infrastructure: Inadequate street lighting can make even familiar paths feel treacherous.
• Isolation: The "eyes on the street" theory suggests we feel safer when others are around. When the cold drives people indoors, the lack of witnesses increases anxiety.
• Vulnerability: For many runners and cyclists, the fear of harassment or unwanted attention is a daily negotiation, regardless of the season.

What Do the Statistics Say?

Interestingly, the data often presents a contradiction. Reports from the Greater London Authority and other urban studies have suggested that individuals are not statistically more likely to be a victim of violent crime at night than during the day in many public areas. In fact, some data suggests that because the "Night Time Economy" (pubs, shops, and transport) is active, there are often more "guardians" in town centres during the early evening than in quiet residential streets mid-morning.

However, "perceived" threat does not mean "imaginary." Harassment statistics remain sobering. A University of Manchester survey revealed that 68% of female runners had experienced some form of abuse. It is also worth noting that harassment levels often fluctuate with the seasons; while winter feels more threatening due to isolation, the summer can bring its own challenges. Increased footfall in social spaces, such as crowded pub gardens or busy parks, can lead to a higher frequency of verbal abuse or intimidation for those running or cycling past. While the crime itself might not be more frequent at night, the feeling of being unable to escape or be seen is significantly amplified by the darkness.

Bridging the Gap

If the threat is a mix of reality and perception, the solution must be a mix of practical safety and community support. We shouldn't have to wait for spring to reclaim our health.

1. Visibility is Safety

In the eyes of a motorist, a runner in black leggings is essentially invisible. Invest in high-quality reflective gear and active lighting. Being seen by traffic is the most immediate way to reduce the "real" physical threat of accidents.

2. Strength in Numbers

There is power in collective movement. The fact that female membership in running clubs has surged by nearly 90% in recent years highlights a growing desire for the safety and accountability that a group provides. Community platforms are essential for bridging this gap. By using tools like connectMyClub, you can easily discover local clubs and training partners, ensuring you never have to tackle a dark route alone.

3. Tech as a Tool

Modern safety apps allow you to share your live GPS location with a "buddy" or set an alarm that triggers if you don't check in by a certain time. These don't just provide a safety net; they provide the peace of mind necessary to actually enjoy the workout.

Final Thoughts

Within the connectMyClub app, we have introduced the ActiveSafe feature. This tool allows you to record incidents of harassment or identify the specific perceived threats that cause you to change your plans. By sharing this anonymised data with local clubs and our ActiveSafe Partners, we can work together to map safer routes and advocate for better local infrastructure, and social change.

The "threat" of the dark is a complex blend of ancient instinct, genuine infrastructure failings, and very real societal issues regarding harassment. While we advocate for better lighting and safer streets, we can take immediate steps to ensure our fitness doesn't have to be seasonal.

Stay visible, stay aware, and most importantly, stay connected.

Have you ever been asked by a member of the public for more information about your club whilst you were out training? Good news! In the upcoming app update, your members will be able to simply show people your club's new QR Code, which will display in the club information section of the connectMyClub app.

This QR Code is a fantastic, simple way for your members to direct people instantly to your club’s website, or other specified link.

How to Get Your Club QR Code

Setting this up is quick and easy:

If your club hasn't already, upload an SVG version of your club logo.

Add your club’s web address or the QR code link in the club setup section of your connectMyClub portal.

Why an SVG Logo?

The system generates SVG QR Codes, which is a scalable format. This means the QR Code can be scaled up to any size without pixelating, ensuring it looks professional whether it’s on a phone screen or a large poster.

Free Download for Marketing

Once generated, your club can download the QR Code, free of charge, to use on flyers, posters, and other artwork that your club may produce. It's a powerful tool for your marketing efforts!

We're excited to announce a powerful new option for your training groups, designed to support your club's community engagement and enhance safety: the "Allow Non-Club Members" toggle switch.

This feature was inspired by clubs hosting relaxed, social run groups—like Northbrook AC's  "Run together" initiative—during winter months, where the focus is on camaraderie rather than structured training. These groups encourage participation from unaffiliated runners and members of other clubs.

The primary driver for this update is safety. Enabling this toggle will, in the upcoming app release allow external participants to tap into your group, providing leaders with instant access to their crucial In Case of Emergency (ICE) details during the session.

How it Works
You will find the new toggle switch within the settings for each training group.

Important Safety Guardrails

To protect the integrity of your club's main training sessions, this feature cannot be enabled if the selected group has any of the following restrictions:

• Limited places or capacity caps
• Associated costs or fees
• Gender restrictions
• Age restrictions

We believe this feature will be highly valuable for building community and ensuring participant safety during your more relaxed, informal sessions.

We have an update regarding the next connectMyClub app release.

We are currently working on a major app update. There's a small delay because we're awaiting essential updates for a few third-party plugins, which became necessary after a recent Android operating system update. We are using this waiting period to perform a full, strategic overhaul of the app's entire underlying code.

What This Means for Your Club

This comprehensive code refresh is focused on delivering a smoother, more powerful experience:

Faster, Modern Loading: Say goodbye to those slow, outdated page loading spinners. You can look forward to a much smoother and quicker experience across the entire app.

Highly Requested Features: We are integrating several key updates you've asked for, including image saving, and the ability to add additional member notes for calendar events.

Resolving Complex Bugs: We are dedicated to finding and fixing reported bugs. We appreciate your patience, as the most challenging issues are those we cannot consistently replicate on our internal testing devices, but we are committed to their resolution.

While we understand delays are never ideal, this deep dive into the code will result in a more robust, stable, and future-proof platform for your club's operations.

We will provide a precise launch date as soon as the third-party plugin updates are confirmed.

Thank you for your continued support, and we're excited to deliver this improved version soon.

We are excited to announce a significant change to our subscription model designed to make connectMyClub more accessible and flexible for clubs of all sizes. We've reduced the minimum number of member licences required for new and additional subscriptions.

Here are the key changes:

• Annual Club Subscriptions: The minimum requirement has been reduced from 50 licences to 10 licences. We've made this change to better support smaller, and often newer, clubs and enable them to grow with our platform.
• Additional Licenses: The minimum number of licences you can add to an existing subscription has been lowered from 25 to 5.

Unlike some generic club management platforms, we don’t claim to be free. Our business model is focused on long-term sustainability, allowing us to invest in our platform and protect your club's privacy. As an independent company, we are committed to providing you with a high-quality, trustworthy service.

We believe these adjustments will help more clubs benefit from our platform and we’re committed to continually improving our service to meet your needs.

We're pleased to announce a significant upgrade to websites powered by connectMyClub, giving you even more control over your club's online presence.

This update introduces powerful new customisation options within the website feature, allowing you to tailor your site's appearance like never before:

• Expanded Font Selection: As well as your current club colours and existing header options, you can now choose from a variety of fonts for both your page headings/quotes and the main page copy.
• New Background Options: While the standard off-white page background remains available, you can now select from four shades of light grey or apply a textured background from our new selection.

We think these enhancements will empower you to create a truly unique and distinctive club website, helping your club stand out from the crowd and reflect its individual style.