Case Study: Canadian Beer League Brings Visibility and Improved Communication to Players and Teams

At a Glance

	Challenge: Canadian Beer League wanted to expand into more cities and offer different league types. It needed a comprehensive management platform that was easy to use and could improve communication and organization between players and their teams.
	Solutions:With SportsEngine’s HQ, the Canadian Beer League has improved team communication and now offers an all-in-one solution for players to register for programs, view their schedules, and relay information to their team.
	Results: The Canadian Beer League now has the infrastructure in place to support continued growth. In the coming years, it hopes to expand into more cities and become a national brand across Canada.

Intro:

Canadian Beer League is an adult hockey league that welcomes beginners and intermediate-level players to practice, compete, and have fun on the ice, regardless of skill level. Started in 2020 as a simple hockey practice, the Canadian Beer League has grown to include four leagues across 17 cities in Ontario. It uses SportsEngine as an all-in-one payment, registration, and team communication solution.

Challenge:

Lack of Features and Poor Customer Support Lead Canadian Beer League to Search for New Team Management Platform

Pete Munro has always loved hockey. In fact, he loves it so much, he commuted an hour and a half to practice with friends in an adult league. But after Pete and his wife Shelby moved to a new city, Pete was left without a team to play on. They decided to start their own hockey league for adults, and that’s how Canadian Beer League was formed in 2020. 

Since then, the Canadian Beer League has grown exponentially, moving from just offering practices only to now offering more competitive game-playing leagues. As it expanded into more cities within Ontario, it became clear to Pete and Shelby that they needed a platform to support their team management. “We wanted to elevate our leagues to offer a more premium product,” explained Shelby, Director of Operations and the driving force behind the League’s administration. 

They selected a popular competitor platform and began using it for registrations. But after just a few months of use, they realized it wasn’t providing what the Canadian Beer League needed. The solution lacked essential features like individual player standings, and players complained about getting too many marketing emails from the platform. “It was also a big process to get on the website,” Shelby explained. “We wanted to have an app that could be everything for everyone.” 

Besides the lack of functionality, the poor customer support caused delays when Canadian Beer League experienced problems. “It felt like we were just another customer. There wasn’t a lot of support when we needed help,” said Shelby. 

Then, a co-worker recommended SportsEngine to Canadian Beer League Co-Founder Pete Munro. Shelby said, “After talking with Tim at SportsEngine, we realized that they had everything we needed, so we made the switch.”

Solution:

Stellar Customer Service and Easy-to-Use App Eases the Transition to SportsEngine

Pete and Shelby began working with Tim at SportsEngine to move to SportsEngine’s platform, even though they had already paid for an entire year of service with the previous platform. The move was surprisingly simple, thanks to SportsEngine’s excellent customer service. 

“Tim was so helpful. He was really there for us,” said Shelby. “It was a step above in terms of the customer service. He was able to walk us through everything we needed, and he was very patient and helpful with everything.” 

Shelby and Pete had plenty of questions for Tim and the rest of the team at SportsEngine, but never had to wait long for a response. Whether Canadian Beer League reached out through emails, calls, or texts, SportsEngine’s responsiveness made the switch painless, despite the fact that Canadian Beer League was changing platform providers in the middle of its summer season. 

Now, Canadian Beer League has the comprehensive solution it was looking for, and the players couldn’t be happier with the easy-to-use app. “All our members register through SportsEngine for our leagues and practices,” explained Shelby. “From there, they use the player statistics, the financial side of registration, everything like that. We direct all our players to the app, and once rosters are created, I send that communication out on SportsEngine as well.” 

Shelby also has some advice for other sports leagues that are considering adopting a platform like SportsEngine for an all-in-one management solution. “Make sure you do the research. Know what your business needs and what solutions there are for you to meet your goals before you jump in and choose a platform.”

Results:

SportsEngine Brings Improved Visibility and Communication to Players Across 17 Cities

The summer season was a test for Canadian Beer League to see if it could gain more players and move into more cities while still providing the support its players, teams, and leagues needed. Maintaining that level of organization across so many cities required a versatile solution that was easy for players and the administrative staff to use. Since implementing SportsEngine, the season was a resounding success. 

SportsEngine makes it easy to save players’ information for any program they want to register with and simplifies team roster creation. Players can set their attendance for the leagues that play games so the rest of the team knows who will be there and if the team needs to find subs before game time. “We want to make sure everyone’s setting their attendance, and we wouldn’t be able to do that without SportsEngine. In the past, that was a huge challenge for us,” said Shelby. 

The team communication feature also builds camaraderie as teammates discuss upcoming games or get to know each other in between games and practice time. Players can track their individual statistics and see how they rank against others, a significant improvement from the previous provider. 

“Ultimately, we’re improving our leagues by offering these features, like tracking statistics,” said Shelby. “SportsEngine helps us do that.”

Conclusion:

Canadian Beer League Plans Future Expansion Through its Partnership with SportsEngine

Canadian Beer League has big plans to continue expanding. “We’re in 17 cities now, and when we expand into a new city, our plan is for practices to be the framework for our programs,” said Shelby. “The goal is to be a national brand all over Canada.” 

And thanks to SportsEngine, Canadian Beer League has a flexible platform to support its growing operations. “If we do continue to grow, we already have everything in SportsEngine,” Shelby said. “I can’t say enough about how wonderful the customer service has been. Everything from sales to our account manager, everyone has just been so helpful.”