Introducing: Kairos TV

Our latest product, Kairos TV, is already revolutionising the world of Elite Sport!

Kairos TV is a revolutionary new product which allows teams to share schedule information, announcements, messaging and both video and imagery on the screens within their training ground, stadium or hotel. While Kairos TV has recently been rolled out among key teams competing in major competition, we’re delighted to announce its official release. 

With this latest release, Kairos has responded to a sea-change in how training grounds operate and how staff communicate to players. Through Kairos TV, admin users will scan a QR code, bringing their live schedule, video and any other rolling announcements to a digital screen in any location. Meaning every TV can display unique schedules and information, relevant to that particular team or area.

In alignment with the user-experience of Kairos generally, administrators can create their own theme, build their own layout and customise each TV to display whichever schedule is the most relevant to that particular screen. Kairos TV allows content to be shared, announcements to be made and live changes to consistently be displayed.

Commercial Director, Conor Branson commented, ‘Designed in consultation with numerous clubs, Kairos TV is an innovative solution that solves a consistent problem: sharing information simply, safely and effectively throughout elite sporting environments. With Kairos TV, teams can now have a digital ecosystem that allows them to communicate and operate efficiently.’

Fundamentally, Kairos TV seeks to increase engagement by providing athletes direct access to screens with their team’s plans embedded throughout their natural environment. Removing possible distractions, helping to minimise use of mobile devices in team settings, and importantly, giving coaches, who often carry the mental load of keeping everyone on time, the peace of mind needed to lead their team through their day.

Kairos TV is the latest addition to a system that already caters for the unique workflows required of Team Operations staff throughout elite sport. The release of this industry leading feature speaks to the simplified nature of the Kairos product. Accessible technology solutions are often hard to come across in the elite  sport ecosystem – whether it be for academy setups, women’s or men’s teams. 

It’s not necessary to configure the TV every day, meaning once it’s set up it will update daily as you make any relevant changes on the mobile or web app, with the ability to share multiple days schedules. 

We’re delighted to share that Kairos TV will make an appearance at Training Ground Guru Live where the football industry will connect and network.

Kairos TV offers the elite club solution. If you would like to discuss adding it to your team, schedule a quick demo today!

Guild Esports to use Kairos Moving Forward

How can a Communications and Operations app add value to a global eSports brand?

In an effort to consolidate the loyalty and staying power of eSports enthusiasts worldwide, Guild
recognised the need to improve and professionalise the communication and operation
processes that impact their athletes on a day-to-day basis.

The opportunity presented to Kairos was to add value to a sport that operates globally,
competitively and that has very high demands of digital interfaces by the nature and
demographic of its users. With traditional sporting establishments looking to eSport
organisations and their operation models to leverage sponsorship opportunities, athlete
performance, fan experience and engagement – it seemed a natural fit that our leading
communications and operations app would enhance the communication and operations
processes of Guild Esports..

“In every frontier of the sports industry, there’s a huge amount of background noise and clutter
to wade through. We recognise Kairos as an app that cuts through that, our athletes have their
daily, weekly and monthly schedules at their fingertips and know what’s expected of them!
Kairos has enabled us to professionalize how we run our teams to maximize performance and
success” Matthew Charles, Director of Operations, Guild Esports.

Gareth Quinn, COO at Kairos commented, “When Kairos was founded we had never intended
to sell into eSports, an industry which was still very embryonic in its development. We did
however want to build a platform which was sport, and more importantly, culture agnostic. We
are proud that Kairos can offer significant value to eSports teams and we are thrilled to be
working with the teams at Guild Esports, our very first eSports team.”

If your team is interested in learning more about Kairos, schedule a quick demo today!

How Kairos Helps Teams Competing in Major Tournaments

The Rugby World Cup is set to take place in France from 8 September through to 28 October 2023. Falling on a year where the sport will celebrate 200 years since the initial inception of the game, teams around the world are well into crucial preparations. With 48 matches to be played across 51 days in different locations: nailing the team management, operations and communications elements has never been more important. Operations staff globally are under a growing amount of pressure and Kairos has the proven tools to relieve the biggest pain points experienced during these often draining campaigns.

With World Cup squads like South Africa and Australia using Kairos already, we explored the compatibility of Kairos at three key stages of the tournament:

1. Pre-Tournament Planning & Preparation

Organising logistics, accommodation, training facilities and transportation can be a daunting task. Kairos provides a comprehensive event and travel management platform that streamlines the process for the key staff involved.

With club seasons now finished, players involved in a club and a national squad both using Kairos will enjoy the ease of navigating between their two accounts on the Kairos app. While players will be coming together from all over the world, the travel feature ensures everyone is fully up to speed on travel plans, and is in the right place, at the right time. Staff can allocate bus, train, or flight seats, along with hotel room numbers, tickets or boarding passes to individual players – saving staff from back and forth messaging on platforms such as WhatsApp.

Next up is data collection ahead of the tournament. Staff can send out information requests ahead of time whether to be stored within individual athlete profiles or perhaps more generally through our survey feature. Gathering and storing information such as dietary requirements, kit sizes, wellbeing surveys or even ticket requests are easily managed meaning less headaches for staff and athletes alike. For the more private elements, our bespoke permissions ensure that only individuals can see the chosen information, maintaining confidentiality throughout. No need to worry if those documents need to be signed, that’s where our simplistic e-signatures feature helps speed up the granular processes with players being able to review and sign documents from their mobile device.

Hearing directly from a great of the game who has first hand experience using Kairos, Rassie Erasmus, South Africa Rugby’s Director of Rugby said, “The Kairos app has been a revelation for the Springboks, and has become a vital tool in our planning and preparation for test matches…

It’s an effective tool for any sporting team in their quest for excellence, and as SA Rugby’s Director or Rugby, I highly recommend this app to all sporting teams”.

2. Tournament Communication & Operations

While the more granular logistics are left with the event organisers, Kairos simplifies  training sessions, preparation phases and game-day by showing athletes key timings, starting lineups, game files or videos. The Kairos calendar becomes essential in the ever-changing world of elite sport – through scheduling live changes, updating team events, sharing individual player information such as media requirements and treatment allocations – allowing the player to have one single source of information. Gone are the days of creating PDFs that are constantly changing throughout the day or the need to rely on SMS messages to notify athletes of changes. Kairos takes care of the granular details, allowing athletes to focus on their performance. 

Our favourite features for this stage of the tournament are: Kairos schedule, messenger, Kairos TV and facility management.

Kairos TV is a revolutionary new product which allows teams to show schedule information, announcements, messaging and both video and imagery on the screens within their training ground, stadium or hotel. While Kairos TV will not be officially launched until later this month as we catch up with demand from current customers, do feel free to get in touch to explore how it might work for you.

3. Post Tournament Feedback & Evaluation

After the winners are crowned, it’s time to consolidate all learnings from the tournament…the good, the bad and the ugly. 

Kairos facilitates the feedback and evaluation phase through file sharing, messenger and surveys. 

That’s not forgetting the journey home where the travel feature will play a key role in returning players safely to family and club teams. 

We understand implementing a new piece of technology can be a daunting task when athletes and colleagues are relying on the immediate success of the implementation. Often, there’s a lot at stake when implementing an innovative yet simple solution  to replace traditional processes and ways of working. Kairos has been built intuitively to allow for streamlined onboarding, tailored for each team based on their nuances needs. Ben Golling’s, Fiji 7s Coach reflected on his experience with Kairos, “I’m really enjoying Kairos. It’s the first bit of software I can operate with ease and without needing a huge user manual and non-stop support. It’s similar to Apple’s idea of plug and play technology.”

If, like world class rugby teams, using Kairos is of interest to operate and communicate effectively throughout your next tournament, season or campaign, get in touch to schedule a demo today. 

Good luck to all teams competing!

Equestrian Sports NZ consolidate operations with Kairos

Equestrian Sports New Zealand have chosen to implement Kairos into their high performance and pathway programs in what is a very exciting development for the organisation. Organisations like ESNZ face many logistical challenges with a dispersed athlete and staff group, both domestically and abroad, and a high level of logistical complexity. The opportunity to centralise their operations, communication and scheduling into one reliable platform has proven to be a great step for the athletes and staff alike.

Jock Paget, General Manager of High Performance at ESNZ commented, “Email is increasingly becoming a thing of the past and a slow way to communicate within a team. Having a centralised platform for comms and planning has streamlined our processes and removed the clutter for our athletes and staff. We wish we did this years ago.”

Liam Walker, Kairos representative in ANZ added, ‘It’s extremely exciting to be working with Equestrian Sports NZ. They have a very complex operation and have been extremely diligent in their reviewing of Kairos and what we can offer. It is great that Kairos is going to bring efficiency to their staff as well as clarity for their athletes in what is shaping as a very exciting few years ahead.’

Kairos is really excited to work closely with Equestrian Sports NZ as they continue to evolve and grow over the next few years.

Reigning County Champions, Surrey County Cricket Club opt for Kairos as their Communications, Operations and Planning Provider

Reigning County Champions, Surrey County Cricket Club opted for Kairos as their communications, operations and planning provider. Since 1845, the club has paved the way for the evolution of cricket both on and off the pitch – but how does Kairos contribute to an established cricket club and its long term goals? 

For athletes, Kairos allows those designated users to log on the app and receive the relevant commitments assigned to the individual and the team they play on – it’s relevant to their day, week and month. With real-time updates for available appointments, time changes and facility locations, everything is in the one place.

For staff, Kairos is the place for team communication, administration and operations. Saving time, allowing for collaboration and setting permissions so users only see what they need to – Kairos is purpose built for elite sport.

Gareth Batty, Head Coach at Surrey commented, ‘We are excited to be using Kairos to help streamline our cricket operations at the club. After visiting various Premier League clubs during the offseason, everyone recommended Kairos to us. Since going through the onboarding procedure, it’s clear why they have such a positive reputation. We look forward to the relationship growing over the coming years’.

Conor Branson, Commercial Director at Kairos added, ‘Surrey’s reputation on and off the field is admirable, and we are delighted they have chosen Kairos to streamline all cricketing operations.’

Kairos believes having a secure place for your communications, operations and additional planning processes is key to the success of elite sports clubs globally.

We wish the club the best of luck in the coming months and look forward to watching our relationship grow from strength to strength! 

Rugby Australia and Super Teams to Centralise Scheduling and Communication with Kairos

Rugby Australia and the Australian Super Rugby teams have chosen to utilise Kairos to centralise their operations and communication across their various teams and programs for the coming years. Kairos will be used from Super Rugby academies right the way through to the Wallabies & Wallaroos in what is shaping as an extremely exciting period for Australian Rugby with the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, the 2025 Lions tour and the home World Cup in 2027. Alongside this, the Super Rugby teams are competing in the renewed Super Rugby Pacific competition against their New Zealand counterparts as well as the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika teams.

Kairos will be used to streamline all aspects of player and staff administration including schedules, appointments, messaging, document sharing and all other elements that make up the day-to-day running of teams either in season, in-camp or within tournaments.

Wallabies General Manager Chris Webb said, “Kairos has been a great addition to the Wallabies. It’s a one stop shop when it comes to scheduling, communication and sharing of information and that’s key in a high-performance environment. We’ve been impressed by the functionality of the platform and look forward to working with the team at Kairos moving forward.”

Founder of Kairos, Andrew Trimble, commented, “It’s fantastic to be working so closely with Rugby Australia and the Super Rugby teams in Australia. There is renewed energy within Australian Rugby and an extremely exciting period of time ahead. We know that Rugby Australia scoured the market searching for the best system to give both the national teams and Super teams the edge, and it is great that they selected Kairos. We look forward to evolving our platform through close collaboration with Rugby Australia during this exciting time, and to complement our work with other national Rugby organisations and professional leagues.”

Kairos APAC representative, Liam Walker, added, “Working with Rugby Australia and the Super Rugby teams in Australia is a great endorsement for the quality of the Kairos system. It is exciting to be working with a National Rugby organisation that has got such an exciting period coming up, and to go alongside the other Rugby teams we work with across the Sevens circuit, English Premiership, Heineken Cup, United Rugby Championship, Major League Rugby and International Rugby”.

Kairos is utilised by over 600 teams across 12 countries and 11 sports including teams in Super Rugby, Premiership Rugby, NBA, AFL, MLS, EPL, MLB, NHL & Olympics as the world’s best communication and operation platform in elite sport. Kairos is a modern cutting edge platform, built from the advice and expertise of the world’s biggest sports organisations and continually evolving at pace thanks to the input of our customers.

How All-Ireland Champions use Kairos 📱

Our latest case study explores the importance of using Kairos in the county setup for recent All-Ireland Champions, Kerry GAA.

GAA players are familiar with the grit, resilience and discipline required from the sport. Those who have the privilege of playing club and county know all too well what is needed to keep themselves, their teammates and management on top of things.  Skills like time management, leadership and the ability to prioritise in relation to their teams longer term goals are all critical to sustaining a high performing team. Indeed, given the sheer depth of the county panel and management staff, focusing on these elements can become complicated.

Kerry GAA recognised a need to align the long-term goals of their athletes, management and staff in a way that would build them up for success. Through rolling out the Kairos platform, the All-Ireland team began improving their smaller moments, day by day, that would contribute to those longer term wins as a unit. Consolidating the everyday necessities of the team meant the security of knowing session details, location updates,appointment times, files and important messages all had their own place, at the right time for athletes. 

Time is precious in the GAA, often with a short turnaround period. With club and county teams demanding discipline, commitment and resilience from athletes. Typically, they’ll not only juggle their sporting commitments but their professional and family ones too.

For Kerry, it was important to eradicate pain points for their athletes by streamlining communications, ensuring they maintain a positive relationship with the team and long-term goals.

Through rolling out Kairos across the senior panel, miscommunication has been minimised. Players have the confidence that important information is shared safely and securely, having the confidence to refer back to the Kairos app saves significant time and effort for athletes.

It simplifies the small moments in the ‘behind the scenes’ of successful teams that you don’t often realise can take up the most time.

Seán O’Shea commented, “Kairos has definitely allowed us to level up as a team. Sometimes, the thought of trying to navigate my way through a WhatsApp chat for the sake of one fixtures list or training schedule feels like a lot. Using the platform effectively means everything we need as athletes has its own home with the ability to keep track of any last minute changes.”

While Paul Geaney noted the accountability the platform brings to the county system, “There’s definitely an added layer of accountability because if you’re using the platform effectively with your teammates and coaches, you’re reaping the rewards when you arrive at training or matches and everyone’s on the same page. 

The app itself is clean and minimal, meaning it’s easy to navigate, it doesn’t feel like a drag to go on and locate any kick-out documents we might need, or even find out when the next set of physio sessions are.”

Paddy Tally contributed, “As a coach, you can spend a lot of time sending out messages, asking for responses to certain sessions or events, and even just checking-in with players or certain groups, say defence, midfield and your attack. With Kairos, everything’s there for me, and, instead of scrolling trying to find documents I’ve already sent to redistribute to members, I can actually just pin the relevant files so I, and anyone else who might need to, can easily access them. 

Having a platform that encourages our staff and athletes to collaborate so seamlessly is another confidence boost when the time comes to take the pitch.”

Head of Athletic Performance, Jason McGahan agreed, “What’s great about Kairos is that the platform adapts to the demands of your team. You really get the sense it’s built for an elite sport environment – it is so easily adapted to consider any last minute changes to schedules. All the elements are covered: location and facility management, real-time updates for users on their mobile or desktop and the necessary reminders for players ahead of an important match. Its agility and efficiency are what make it so compatible with our program.”

We look forward to supporting the Kerry squad throughout the next season and wish all staff and athletes the best of luck.

3 elements that make Kairos more effective than WhatsApp for elite sports

The rapid evolution of sports technology over the last decade has seen a new era of accessibility for teams at amateur levels right through to international champions. This revolution has ushered in GPS tracking, dietary monitoring, every kind of data gathering you can imagine. In fact, the abundance of data available can often be overwhelming. 

Communicating effectively is crucial in elite performance environments. One app that has occupied the forefront of instant messaging for 13 years now is Whatsapp. However, it just wasn’t built for the demands and nuances experienced daily in elite sport. 

More and more teams are moving away from tools that are unfit for purpose, to tools that are designed to enhance communication in those key moments leading to game-day.

Check out why we think Kairos delivers that much needed extra edge below!

1. Professional 💻

Built from the experience of professional athletes, our platform is designed and built for elite sport. It’s not a platform that has useful features for sport, it’s a platform where every element was designed to support an efficient high performance environment. Every team that uses the platform can adapt it, making it completely unique to them and their goals.

The platform exists as the day-to-day single interface between staff and players. Every message that’s sent means it gets where it’s meant to go, and only there. Staff can also manage quantitative and qualitative surveys, store and share critical files like videos and PDFs, set private appointments with players and manage personal information that’s accessible at the touch of a button.

The result? Everything staff and players need is in one place. A professional application means your club messages and data won’t be sitting alongside group or personal chats.

Your club platform, built for you. 

2. Privacy 🔒

We recognise that when using tools like WhatsApp, the ability to forward sensitive messages, videos or attachments to other contacts is all too easy. The lack of audit trail means that information is easily lost which can create fragmentation across teams, particularly when young people are involved. 

A lack of control and oversight over who sees what, and who sends what to whom means that information is easily lost. 

Kairos brings assurance. 

We use encrypted cloud technology so all your information is secure and protected. Kairos is ISO 27001 certified, meaning that every possible action has been taken to make sure that the highest standards are met.

If necessary, you can track messages and have a clear audit trail of communication. You can even control who views, accesses or changes your documents helping your players and staff have one source of truth meaning those with academies or youth teams have greater ownership.

3. Productivity 📈

We understand that elite sport is characterized by decisive moments, high demand, and the need to be agile. Kairos is designed to help staff and athletes prepare for these moments by creating a unified communication and operations platform to enhance the preparation stages for players and staff – meaning a clearer, more confident and assured team – ready to perform.

To find out how other teams like English Premier League team, Brentford FC, have moved away from WhatsApp in favour of the Kairos platform, read more here 👉 https://bit.ly/3PNI217