Redsports.sg: Singapore’s ESPN

Had the opportunity just before I left to get in touch with Les, the creator of redsports.sg. Redsports is a sports news and opinion site that focuses on the Singapore sports scene- from school sports at the different levels, to the national team. You can read more at this page, in which Les describes their mission.

The current look of the Redsports site

It was interesting listening to why Les talk about how he started Redsports. He had started off developing Redsports as a photography news site, and slowly gathered volunteers and helpers to cover the many sports events in Singapore, while also finding advertisers and sponsors to keep the site going. The sheer scale of what he had accomplished was amazing- he had effectively started a sports media company of his own, with volunteer reporters and photographers, and a revenue model to sustain it- all of this from his home coffee table.

Talking to him confirmed my belief that sometimes all it takes to spark change is a dedicated individual who is willing to change things. I was a not-very-good waterpolo player in secondary school who did not continue the sport in junior college. A small part of the reason was that nobody seemed to notice whether I played or not (how immature I was then!). Though my eventual decision was based on many other factors as well, I wonder if a few mentions on a site like Redsports would have given me the positive encouragement to continue playing. In a society where academic achievements are perhaps over-recognized, sites like Redsports provide crucial recognition to the arena of athletics in Singapore.

It was amazing listening to Les. In Singapore, where the local newspapers’ sports desks consist of re-broadcasting foreign sports news, Redsports fills a crucial gap in the news industry. By covering the school/varsity sports scene he attracts the eyeballs of the youth population- most notably the 16-25 crowd who are in JC/Poly/Uni. The marketing opportunities of Redsports, if fully exploited, would be incredible- and knowing Les, the funds would probably be put into developing the sports scene in schools.

PS: I talked to Les about a few ideas on how to improve the usability of the site- and how to make it easier to crowdsource photos and articles- something like the Bleacher Report. If you’re an expert in web usability and are interested in helping the school sports scene drop me an email and I’ll put you in contact with Les.