The Top 5 Sites to Use to Pay for Sport Teams - Urban Rec

May 5, 2022 - 2 years ago

The new season's launched and sport is back in your life! Passing the ball with your mates each week, the post-game clubhouse feed, and a few drinks to end the perfect night.

This can't get any better ... but it does! 

An absolute cracker of a game, 5 Fun points all around, and no one's ready to call it a night. You all head down to the local clubhouse for dinner and the rounds keep flowing as your 5 Fun Point opposition rocks up ... joining tables just feels right. Everyone's already talking about how amazing next season will be as the captains confirm numbers for next season - Yes' all round! Someone mentions a cheeky late-night karaoke and we're on here!   

We've all had one of these nights, and it's the best experience a league could go through. Whilst the drinks, next season's rego, pub feed, and karaoke is flying around, no one's kept a track of what's owed.

That's not really fair, so we've got our Top 5 Sites for you to use when you're out next: 

Splitwise

A crowd is a favorite and super easy to use. Create a group (everyone's secret soft spot), take a photo of the receipt, and select who had what and who paid. The App does the rest.

SettleUp

SettleUp is an App focused more on larger Groups and traveler expenses with features such as the share function allowing you to send expenses via a link or the ability to add the day’s local exchange rate to the transaction. 

Secure your Spot with an Urban Rec Deposit

We know how it feels to be a captain. The center of attention, respect, and love each week is worth getting your mates on the field each week. All is well EXCEPT for the when it comes to collecting money for the season. SHOCK! It's a tough gig being a Captain so we're here to support you. Our $150 Deposit will save your team spot for next season, providing you plenty of time to gather the funds from the team and you don't have to pay the remaining balance until your first game. We got you! 

Glunk - Pub Beer Shout / Round

Glunk is an app designed to keep track of whose turn it is to buy the next round of drinks. Claimed to have saved many a friendship and has helped avoid those awkward moments when friends "can’t remember" whose turn it is to buy the next round of drinks. There's also a pause option if a friend decides to leave and come back. 

BeamIt

So you've figured out the split, but the transfer could take a couple of days because it's the weekend. Just BeemIt! The Beem It app allows you to send & receive money using your phone in seconds, regardless of the bank. Easy, secure & free to download, it’s the smarter way to move money.

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How To Not Be a Douchebag Whilst Playing Social Sport

May 4, 2022 - 2 years ago

The million dollar question, ‘How do I not be a douchebag whilst playing Social Sport’, well it’s simple. Just, don’t! Not being a douchebag is a lot simpler than you think...

Still need some tips? Take a seat in my office, lets talk.

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Let’s set the scene shall we..

It’s a nice Summer Thursday night, around 19 degrees, no wind, beautiful sunset & the vibes are immaculate.

🏐We head over to Netball, bibs are on, smiles are on (tip number one: always smile) and the games are getting started. You quite quickly figure out that your opposition are newer to the sport and are still picking up the rules and concept of the game.

• DO NOT: Show them how it’s done by intercepting every ball, defending at 100%, putting players in positions of strength.

• DO: Mix up your positions, give them extra space to pass and shoot, encourage them, help them, HAVE FUN WITH THEM.

🏀If we look over to our left, we have a Basketball game, the sounds of ‘Shoot a 3’ and ‘Half Court, you wont’. The laughter is broken with a ‘oh come on man, that was a dick move’. Let's go over and see what it’s all about.

• DO NOT: Assert your dominance by swatting the ball on someone half your size, stealing the ball from behind when they’re not looking or out of their hands. Full court pressing to get those defensive stats up & act as if you’re in the NBA (hot tip: they don’t even full court press 90% of the time).

• DO: Take & encourage the 3 point & half court shots. Someone on a roll and dribbling towards to hoop? Give them space and let them give it a go. Half court defence is the best defence (why tire yourself out for no reason ya know?). Yelling out plays? No one thinks your cool.

🏉What’s that to our right? Touch Footy & ‘Untouched’ by The Veronicas blasting from the sideline. Hell yeah, lets go. Doesn’t take long on the sideline to notice the guy with backwards hat is really making an impression, not in the good way…

• DO NOT: Notice a female on the wing, drive as hard as you can towards her, goose step left, no, goose step right, spin, burn her so hard she slips over, jump over her and sprint towards the sideline, TRY!

• DO: Notice a female on the wing, keep running straight, you might be able to get around her, she slips over, stop running and help her up. Take the tap and start again from where you are. Not all heroes wear capes, or backwards hats..

As you can see, it really isn’t hard. Being a douchebag is not cool, especially in SOCIAL sport. If you need any more tips, hit us up, were always happy to help make douchebags less douchey.

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This article was written by Leish Charters – League Manager, Canberra. 

If you would like to play non-douche bag sports with us, check out our leagues or locations page to get started. 

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What Not to Ask Urban Rec on a Rainy Night - Urban Rec

May 2, 2022 - 2 years ago

"I mean, I for one am absolutely stoked with the current weather here in Sydney, I mean who wants to actually be able to run sports leagues when working at a sports company…not me, these consistent rained out weeks aren’t breaking my heart or sending my life into a downward spiral whatsoever, not one bit, nada!…”

If ever there was a more sarcastic paragraph written, than the one above…I haven’t read it! Haha

Let’s get one thing straight here guys, we hate this weather and raining out leagues as much as you guys…perhaps even more, as outside of running sports leagues we at Urban Rec HQ do not have lives. Sad but true. Fortunately for us losers there’s some subtle things we have in our day-to-day goings on that act as coping mechanisms and help us stay positive and upbeat, I’ve created a list below – Enjoy.

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“Do you think our games will be on tonight” 

Says Keith via email at 7:50am on a Monday morning.

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“Due to the delays to my league launch I can now only play 9/10 games of the season, can I get a full refund and withdraw my team as this league is now not as advertised” 

Says Karen, on the day her league launch.

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“Hey guys, I’ve been down to the oval on my lunch break and I noticed the grass is pretty long, upon reflection I think I may struggle to perform my Benji Marshal sidestep at touch, can you get the mower down to the oval” –

Says Albert, on the first day it hasn’t rained in 3 months.

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“Any chance you can just move this league to an indoor venue, in the same locality, on the same night. For the same price. That way we wont get rained out you see” –

Says Hugo, with tremendous industry knowledge and after clearly doing endless amounts of market research that lead him to such a simple and ingenious solution to our weather issue.

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“Oh sorry we just assumed that games were off so we didn’t bother to turn up, or let anyone know we didn’t fancy playing” 

Says Kim, a complete team no show of their 9:10pm Netty game on an overcast Wednesday.

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 It is at this point I’d like to take the time to thank everyone not named in the list above for their unwavering support and patience! LEGENDS! For those named in the list above, thank you, you’re the reason we get up every morning.

This article was written by Daniel from UR HQ

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Member Perk - Strive Fitness & Wellness Centre! - Urban Rec

April 28, 2022 - 2 years ago

Urban Rec is excited to announce a brand new Partnership with Strive Fitness & Wellness Centre in Sydney.  This brand new 24hr smart-gym based in Marrickville includes a huge gym floor, cardio, reformer pilates, cylce studio, spa room with hot and cold tubs, sauna, and a very diverse group fitness timetable.  

If you are feeling indulgent or want to further enhance your rehab, they also have a wellness centre, equipped with floatation pods & pools, massage, infrared saunas, cryo chambers . 

Strive Fitness are offering all Urban Rec members a huge discounted membership package that gives access to EVERYTHING for only $17.99pw – All you need to do is follow THIS LINK and use promo code: URBANREC.

• $17.99 / week on a 12-month contract
• 24/7 Gym Access
• Unlimited Group Classes
• Dry Heat Sauna
• Hot + Cold Recovery Spa

“I have legit never seen a gym floor with this kinda carry on, it’s a seriously sick place to get your sweat on. The equipment in the class rooms are first rate, and the classes are such a great way to get in your health tokens!” Danny Skidmore. Get in touch with us at head office for any more information [email protected] or contact the gym directly on [email protected]

Join Strive Fitness

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Urban Rec Wedding: Nick & Sophie

February 17, 2022 - 2 years ago

So, word has it you guys met through Urban Rec and are NOW MARRIED, how did that happen? What sport? What league? What situation?

We met in 2018 in the UrbanRec flag gridiron season in an individual team (our team is still playing today with a few new faces). Although the team were all strangers when we started playing we would usually go to the bar after each game to relive the highlights of the game and get to know each other. After a few weeks of this, Soph and I started messaging privately and not in the team's whatsapp and before I knew it we were on our first date. It was funny watching the rest of the team slowly catch on, the major give away was me no longer asking for lifts from everyone and consistently arriving with Soph.

One eerie detail we discovered later was how we both got into UrbanRec. I already knew of UrbanRec, previously playing in the indoor soccer league on the North Sydney Tennis courts. Soph however was new to it and discovered UrbanRec when her usual tennis partner was injured and couldn't play with her anymore. Looking for a new way to play sport she recalled seeing UrbanRec flags on the courts next to her when she would play at North Sydney. That's right, for about six months each Tuesday night, I would play soccer and Soph tennis on the courts next to each other. On top of that we independently moved to join the same team in the gridiron league. Small world.

How long have you been together and when did you get married? Tell us about your wedding?

We will be celebrating our 4 yr anniversary this year as well as our first year of being married. Our wedding was in June 2021, one week before the Sydney lockdown. We were extremely lucky because we were not only able to have our 80pax wedding with no restrictions, but also squeezed in a honeymoon to QLD before being locked down

With your dating history, is online or offline dating better or worse?

Neither of us have much experience with online dating so can't compare too well

Tell me why you think Urban Rec was the inevitable way for you to meet your hubby or wife?

I think the great thing about individual teams in UrbanRec is that it gets you out of your comfort zone and usual routine. It's a great way to meet new circles of people, friends and partners alike. In the same team I met Soph, we both became great friends with another couple and regularly catch up. They were even part of my groom's party.

Tell me one thing about your partner that would make them cringe for you sharing? I

won't fall for this trap

What's the secret sauce to making your relationship fun?

For us, we are both spontaneous and enjoy joking around. So trying new things and not taking things too seriously is a winning recipe for us.

Describe your partner in 3 words!

Spontaneous, empathetic and funny

If you could only play one sport with your partner for the rest of time, what would you choose and why?

Squash, we got into it recently and it has bought out the competitiveness in both of us. We are both pretty clumsy on the court but the games are very close

Lastly, tell others why you think meeting people and dating through Urban Rec is a good idea?

UrbanRec makes it easy to try new sports with no pressure to be good at them. Every individual team I've joined has had great people to become friends with that I would otherwise have never met.

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Urban Rec Lovers: Leish & Darcy

February 10, 2022 - 2 years ago

So, word has it you guys met through Urban Rec, how did that happen? What sport? What league? What situation?

We had known of each other from a mutual friend a year before Darcy started playing with Urban Rec. Darcy started in one of the Basketball Leagues and I didn’t really see much of him. He then joined one of the Netty Leagues and I started slowly stepping up my sideline banter whilst he was playing (telling him was shit at shooting 3s). Short story short, the banter got more and more & that turned into getting a drink, which turned into a second date and 2 weeks later we were officially dating. 

How long have you been dating? How serious is this? Living together? engaged? babies on the way?

Almost 14 months, basically lived together since COVID lockdown but officially roommates since December! No babies, Leish is impatiently waiting for a puppy…. 

Were you both using online dating apps before or when you met?

We were on them but both kind of weren’t that active with using them. A date here and there, a bored swipe every other day. Shits & Gigs. 

With your dating history, is online or offline dating better or worse?

OFFLINE! We both have old souls and think meeting the old fashioned way is the best way! Meeting organically is wayyy less pressure. 

Tell me why you think Urban Rec was the inevitable way for you to meet your current squeeze?

We didn’t know until it happened! Whilst we knew of each other before we definitely wouldn’t have started dating without UrbanRec! Like we said before, our old souls brought us together organically. It’s an easy, less stress way to meet to people and have genuine connections. 

Tell me one thing about your partner that would make them cringe for you sharing?

Darcy does ‘fake’ wrestling and his wrestler name is Hugh- Beauty  (I can hear him say ‘it’s not fake Leish’). Leish sometimes gives a little piggy snort when I make her laugh too hard 

What's the secret sauce to making your relationship fun?

We are definitely on the same wave length and have the same sense of humour. We’re constantly laughing and always never go to bed mad at each other, say I love you at least once a day! Also, never watch a tv show episode without the other person…

Describe your partner in 3 words!

Leish about Darcy: Nerdy, Gentle, Goofy. Darcy about Leish: Compassionate, Smiley, Social

If you could only play one sport with your partner for the rest of time, what would you choose and why?

 Basketball, all day, every day. We just have so much fun when we’re playing together, collecting dimes, shooting 3s and playing smart not hard (also known as not playing defence). 

Lastly, tell others why you think meeting people and dating through Urban Rec is a good idea?

It is the absolute best and easy way to meet people. There’s no pressure, you’re always having fun together & you’re being active. You never take yourself or each other too seriously and that’s the best part. Perfect bonding 

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To find out more about signing up as an individual with Urban Rec, check out the FAQ’s!

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Making Sport Accessible to LGBTQI+ Community

February 1, 2022 - 2 years ago

The LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex) community has long faced discrimination and exclusion in various aspects of life, including sports. At Urban Rec, we believe making sports accessible to this community is not only a matter of equality and human rights, but also brings a range of benefits.

1. Improved Physical and Mental Health: Sports and physical activity have been shown to have a positive impact on both physical and mental health. For members of the LGBTQI community, who face high levels of stress and trauma due to discrimination and stigma, sports can provide an outlet for relieving stress, improving mood, and reducing the risk of depression and anxiety.

2. Increased Sense of Belonging: Sports provide a space for people to come together and form a community based on shared interests and goals. For members of the LGBTQI community, this sense of belonging can be especially important as it can help to counter feelings of isolation and loneliness.

3. Opportunity for Leadership and Empowerment: Sports can provide individuals with the opportunity to develop leadership skills and take on leadership roles, such as team captain or coach. For members of the LGBTQI community, this can be a powerful tool for empowering individuals and promoting positive self-image.

4. Increased Visibility and Representation: When sports are made accessible to the LGBTQI community, it helps to increase visibility and representation. This can be especially important for younger members of the community who may be struggling with their identity and looking for role models.

5. Breaking Down Stereotypes: By making sports accessible to the LGBTQI community, we can help to break down stereotypes and challenge preconceived notions about what it means to be LGBTQI. This can be particularly important in the world of sports, where traditionally rigid gender roles and expectations have often been used to exclude members of the LGBTQI community.

Urban Rec is passionate about making sports accessible to the LGBTQI community as it’s not only a matter of equality and human rights, but also brings a range of benefits that can help to improve physical and mental health, increase a sense of belonging, provide opportunities for leadership and empowerment, increase visibility and representation, and break down stereotypes. By promoting sports for all, we can help to create a more inclusive and supportive society for all.

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Celebrating Turning 10!

January 17, 2022 - 2 years ago

By Madeleine Wilkie, Managing Director. 

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When Urban Rec turned 10 last year, we decided it was a milestone worth celebrating. Our 10-year anniversary was chosen as our original launch party which happened back in 2012. Embarrassingly, the event was a small group of friends who were promised free drinks… and looking back… it was a cringeworthy few hours.

But persistence pays off!  In the Summer of 2012, not even 1 team had registered to play in the upcoming season. Going into 2022, Urban Rec Australia boasts 4 cities, 265 leagues, 2,303 teams and thousands more individuals. This tiny side hustle has certainly grown some legs.

Throughout our 10th year, business is up 38%, which for a pandemic-prone business – is something we should be pretty proud of!  Over the years our humble team of  just 1 part-time founder is now employing 10 staff across all the cities.  

So during our second lockdown, I made us fix our thinking caps and we curated a collection of way that Urban Rec Australia celebrated turning 10.

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We designed a 10-year logo. Inspired by the 90’s basketball era, the logo had to be fun and nostalgic. If sport is our bread, then beer us our butter, so it made sense to have a can of frothy Aussie inspired beer as the main character. After several iterations and a lot of hilarious feedback “Is it a condom, no, it’s a tennis ball can”. We finally landed on the below. Let’s call him Rick. Watch this space for more Urban Rick appearances.

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We made our own 10-year anniversary beer! In collaboration with the fine folks at Freshie Beer Co, we were able to can and label 60 cases. The limited edition fresh pils were used as prizing for our members as well as a giveaway for our “Mad Monday” promotion. These cans will forever be kept as part of our Urban Rec historic museum.  

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We got some vintage eskies and stubby holders. Merchandise is a fun part of what we offer and we knew we wanted to create some pieces that fit in with our Aussie Summer theme. So, vintage eskies and stubby holders seemed like the right idea. There were only ever 50 eskies made, and the stubby holders were designed in 2 colours and will never be printed again. They were used as prizes throughout our 10-day promotion.

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We hosted a 10-day promotion for our members. Turning 10 was about giving back to our members, some of which have played for the entire 10-year span. Each day we had a special giveaway, discount or event for our members to help us celebrate.

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Our 10-year boat party! – La Nina has really enjoyed ruining our Summer and this day was no exception. With a vision of our closest partners and staff in white linen sipping champagne as we cruise under the harbour bridge, sun beaming down - this was going to be the over-the-top, treat yoself celebration we all deserved. Instead, in true Urban Rec style… it absolutely pissed down. The winds whipped, the lighting cracked, and the drinks flowed steady and strong because we were all trapped inside a catamaran sized lightning rod. Proudly we cracked on with an afternoon of cancellations, interruptions, changes and too many shots of Fireball. The team at Urban Rec are not adverse to making fun out of unexpected and uncontrollable factors, and this event was no exception.  

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So, as we embark on our full 10th year in business, I want to say a huge and special thankyou to all our members, players, staff and employees who have helped grow this brand in Australia to be something I’m very proud of. Here’s to the next 10 years!

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Covid 19 & Community Sport - UR

December 15, 2021 - 2 years ago

Updated 15.12.2021

With the newly released NSW Gov Covid-19 Business & Community restriction guidelines we have updated our policy going forward until such a time as we need to amend again.

Our interpretion on the easing of restrictions is that, sport is now accessible to all, regardless of vaccination status, players and staff are no longer required to check in or show a proof of vaccination.

We believe that there is still a public responsibility to uphold during these times so we will continue to provide the opportunity for players to still use QR codes to check in and out if they wish, we will also continue to sanitize balls and equipment throughout the evening. Hand sanitizer will be available at all leagues and we still resepctfully ask that large crowds do not gather to spectate the games.

**Please note if you do not wish to check in, that is entirely your choice going forward.

Our staff will continue to sign in as they are present for the entire evening.

The following statement was released in regards to C-19 and community sport.

“Sport, exercise and outdoor gatherings

General rules

Anyone can participate in sport, exercise, and outdoor gatherings. 

• Customers are not required to be fully vaccinated or carry vaccination evidence.
• COVID-19 Safe Check-in is not required (except at gyms).
• Face masks are not required.

Businesses are no longer required to have a COVID-19 Safety Plan.

Optional COVID-19 Safety Plans are available to help businesses keep a safe environment for staff and customers. 

Community sport

Community sports, including matches, competitions and training, can take place for all staff, spectators and participants.”

Here is a link to the entire press release – UPDATED C-19 Restrictions NSW

If you have any questions what so ever please contact [email protected]

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Urban Rec Turns 10

November 11, 2021 - 3 years ago

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US. 

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