The ETHGlobal Hackathon in San Francisco marks the next stop on the Flow World Tour, October 18-20th, 2024, where developers will compete to win prizes with a focus on Sports IP and composability. 

During the tour’s last stop in Singapore, Flow was the layer 1 of choice for builders — congratulations to winners and runners-up in the special focus category of DeFi and the general tracks. As the tour continues, devs are invited to San Francisco for ETH Global to build the next killer sports app on Flow.

Why Flow is Ideal for Building Consumer Sports Apps

Flow is an open field for sports platforms to thrive. The network is powerful enough to sustain tens of thousands of simultaneous fan activations, and the instant distribution of unique digital assets to sports fans at arena-scale events. Newcomers to Web3 find that Flow supports an intuitive asset claims process featuring the merits of a blockchain network without excessive technical complexity.

Flow means building accessible Web3 solutions for users, who can use their mobile devices to set up main accounts and back them up, and more securely collect unique digital assets, claim sports memorabilia, and more. While Flow simplifies account management, it also allows for sophisticated onchain interactions, so that users can engage in more complex activity without undue technical burdens.

How The Flow Protocol Empowers Sports Developers

Flow gives sports app devs the best tools in Web3, providing them access to the sophisticated capabilities of Cadence alongside complete compatibility with any Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) based chain. This unique environment gives EVM apps the benefits of Flow, and devs the ability to mesh Cadence-exclusive features that amplify what their apps can do onchain beyond what EVM chains offer alone.

The sub-second block rates, and high transaction throughput permit apps to maintain stability with rapid adoption and sustain a relatively low transaction cost (e.g. $0.00001237 per transaction) during times of peak demand.

Access communities primed to earn rewards for exploring the Web3 App Store on Flow, including the massive audiences from brands like Mattel, Disney, the NFL, NBA, and more that have already deployed apps and IP on the network.

Sports Products You Can Build On Flow

The future of sports lies in immersive fan engagement experiences, data and new revenue models. Flow offers the tools to build the next generation of sports apps and connect with passionate, engaged communities across the Flow ecosystem. Join the next revolution in sports:

• Player-Owned Data: Athletes own their performance stats and biometric data, allowing them to sell or license it directly to sports companies, media, and fans, revolutionizing how exclusive athlete data is monetized.
  
• Tokenized Fan Engagement & Loyalty: Fans earn tokens by attending games, watching streams, and interacting with content. These tokens can be redeemed for exclusive access, merchandise, or digital collectibles.
  
• Decentralized AI Fantasy Leagues: Fantasy sports platforms where player trades, scores, and prize distributions are all recorded on-chain, ensuring transparency and fairness without a central governing body. AI can be used to simulate outcomes of fantasy sports matches.
  
• OnChain Sports Predictions: Fully transparent, smart contract-powered sports prediction markets where every transaction and outcome is recorded on the blockchain, reducing fraud and ensuring fair play.
• ‍Sports Games: Players participate in digital sports games or simulations, earning tokens for winning matches, completing challenges, or advancing in rankings, blending entertainment with financial incentives.

• Asset Composability: Build or integrate with composable sports platforms. For example, apps could allow users to "train" their Top Shot NFTs, unlocking new stats, animations, or augmented reality features, or enabling peer-to-peer competitions where Top Shot moments face off in fantasy-style games.
• ‍Real World Assets (RWA) Tokenization: Tokenize real-world sports assets such as stadium ownership, sports equipment, or team shares on Flow. Fans and investors can purchase tokenized fractions of these assets.
  
• Onchain Verified Digital And Physical Memorabilia: Any digital media related to sports that can be captured can become an onchain collectible. Support the certification of legacy sports memorabilia and the onchain certification of newly issued physical and digital collectibles.
  
• Event Activations: Leverage distribution capabilities that can serve mass audiences without missing a beat of uptime.
  
• Onchain Fantasy Leagues: Verifiable onchain stats dispel any concerns over who came out on top — lock in teams onchain and reap rewards from pools, or play for fun for in-app rewards.

Sports Startups to Learn From On Flow

The global sports industry is on track to surpass $623 billion by 2026, with sports data, analytics, media, and technology leading the charge. Flow blockchain is at the heart of this evolution, powering the world’s most innovative and engaging Web3 sports platforms. From NBA Top Shot, with over 700,000 collectors of iconic basketball moments, to NFL ALL DAY, Flow is reshaping how fans interact with their favorite sports.

Take a note from some established Flow sports apps:

NBA Top Shot — Get limited edition packs to build a collection of the greatest moments from NBA player careers, buy and sell in the marketplace, and compete in Fastbreak, where collectibles come to life. Build a lineup, guess the outcome of on-court events, and vie to win epic rewards.

NFL ALLDAY — Get limited edition packs to build a collection of moments featuring iconic NFL player career highlights. Acquire or sell moments in the marketplace, or use them in the PLAYBOOK game and win prizes with the right predictions about NFL games, such as passing yards, receptions, touchdown passes, and more.

‍MetaVerse Football League — Manage a football club, make strategic decisions, and live the thrill of real competition in a football universe where the stakes are real. Collect daily rewards, get packs, or scour the marketplace to assemble a team of players of various rarities ranging from common to legendary. Pit teams against rivals in competitive league-style gameplay to climb to the top ranks and take home a share of the prize pool.

Start Building the Future of Sports Today

Join the Flow World Tour in San Francisco on October 18th, 2024, for the ETHGlobal Hackathon. Sign up now to enter the special category: Sports IP and Composability.