Field trip to skate park

First year sport studies and sport business management students went on a field trip to Source Park, a BMX business located in Hastings. Sport Business Management student Andrea Sanchez Carreres talks about the trip:

“On Monday 14^th of March, first year Sport Studies and Sport Business Management students went on a university trip to Source Park, a BMX business located in Hastings. We were accompanied by two of our course leaders, Adam Jones and Mark Jordan.

“This trip was planned for different purpose related to the courses and to give us an inside-business opportunity to understand the key features, issues, challenges and aims of a business. These characteristics are linked to two specific modules: The Global Sports Industry and Media, and Introduction to Sport Business Management. They can also be connected to other modules studied in the past, such as Sport Customer and Who runs Sport?

“We tried to identify the issues and changes of the BMX industry caused by the unstoppable globalization of sport, and we looked at and analysed the different relationships and partnerships that Source Park has developed with its stakeholders in order to maintain and grow the business. We had the chance to take a tour and see the parts that composed the business: the skate park, the shop, the café which is its primary source of income.

“The park is visited by very high-level riders, who compete at international and world stages, and many of them live just across the road! We were able to talk to the retail manager, who gave us a tour through and also provided us intriguing information that is closely related to the topics that we are discussing in class at the moment. He explained the different sources of sponsorship and economic aid that support the business. He also pointed out that the Source Park works in partnership with the University of Brighton and the Parklife Program for the development of coaching, which is a very key issue right now in the BMX world.

“He also emphasised the importance of social media to promote the business, which right now is the stand-out tool to break borders in the market, and the values and purpose of the business, which were based on an exceptional customer service and the provision of a unique and enjoyable experience for everyone who comes to the park.

“We also had the immense pleasure of trying out the different modalities of BMX, and use the skate park – some of us had a go on bikes, some skateboards, and others tried both. It was a very fun, enjoyable, entertaining, amusing and memorable experience. I think we will definitely go back again as customers or maybe next year to develop our placement education.

“From my personal point of view I think the Source Park is a splendid example of how to manage a sport business. It is the perfect case study for every sport business student or entrepreneur who would like to start a business or invest in it. The Source Park has taken the true essence of BMX and its values: creativity, risk, need of independence, emotions, innovation, self-satisfaction, lifestyle, intensity, auto-stimulation, passion and an irrational love for the sport, to portray the business, and by doing that it has been able to engage with not just the BMX community. It has transformed a complex and difficult sport, into something approachable and accessible to everyone.

“The trip has given me a huge confidence injection. The Source Park has demonstrated to me that everyone is capable of dreaming big even if the beginning is so small that you can´t even see it. It definitely is a reminder of how hard-work and sacrifice always pay-off.”