Clubs Update: March Recap

I would expect it to work as the current meetup method work (meetup + keep together mode + select workout file). I think the meetup keep together rubber band is better than the current workout rubber band. The appeal of the club is to make inviting people easier.

But without the option to pick your own workout or just ride in the event it won’t appeal to how we ride in the morning.

So we just need the module not turn off the option to select a workout when a rubber banded event is created.

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My suggestion: Clubs and Pack Dynamics

The idea is that in open races like ZRL, your team of club members could ride close to each other to improve team/club feeling and make team tactics easier to apply.
This would also make sense in other races where clubs are ranked against each other.

I’d like to counter this argument.

Assuming meetups will still be a thing, that works for your use case. For Club workout events it makes much more sense to have a workout pre-selected and automatically loaded.

I have hosted numerous meetups trying to get my IRL club members to load a workout and it’s a nightmare. Half of them don’t actually load it, or they don’t load it in time so are out of sync, and it takes clear comms each week as to which workout needs to be selected. Pre-selected and automatically loaded workouts make more sense for ‘events’.

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Thanks @Steve_Hammatt, appreciate the feedback! :+1:

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I think this is way too complex and wouldn’t work with the current physics engine at all. There is something to the general idea though - the idea that you can identify and benefit from fellow club members in a race environment.

I think a team power up would be good to enable a breakaway, or the ability to pass a powerup to a team mate.

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Thanks @Jon_CrazyFlame!

Hmm I haven’t come across this yet, how long has this been going on for?

I agree there need an option like you describe and it is probably more needed then pick your own workout. Can we have both?

Scenario 1:
Setup a club event with keep together then you can select a workout if you want.
(it sound like the current keep together club event has the option to select a workout in the pen disabled)

Scenario 2:
Setup a club event with pre selected banded workout

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I don’t think this is the case (but can be corrected but a Zwift employee). Clubs uses events, which are fundamentally different from meetups, which are basically freerides with other riders hidden (or not). There’s lots of things you can’t do in events, like load workouts.

I may be not describing the issue clearly.

Currently we can’t select a workout when we are in the pen for any event. My request is to enable that behavior for a club event where keep together is selected.

For example this morning we had a meetup with some just free riding and others doing a workout not the same workout. We would like to use the club function to do the same then we can include even more people.

I understand what you are asking for. I just think that naturally fits in to a ‘meetup’, not an ‘event’. It’s not an event if people are doing different things.

Maybe meetups could be initiated from a club (to make inviting people easier) in the future.

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Agree it maybe better to improve meetups. Either way there is a use case for banded rides that reoccur and all members are invited. We like the meetups where we can all do our own thing - free ride, different workouts, etc - but find it challenging and burdensome on one person to setup and invite those interested and the organizer feels obligated to come so have had difficulty getting rides established.

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Great suggestion, thanks @Gordon_Rhino-Racing.

I’ve split this into 3:

The plan for club kits still needs to be scoped out further.

Our main focus at the moment is leveling up the tools, settings & modes available to club owners to create awesome events for their communities.

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Hey @gloscherrybomb!

I’ve spoken to Eddy and tweaked my wording of this as the long term plan isn’t to work on separate toolkits, as this is confusing both internally and externally for our users.

Instead, we would like to have one workflow that clubs owners use with the settings & features available to them (depending on their club type).

This falls under a large body of work currently underway defining different club types and the features associated with each.

:+1:

@MRBaldi_T-ZHR the above may provide more clarity :point_up:

From my understanding, it’s unlikely editing & managing public events exclusively on web will remain part of the long-term plan (please continue to do so for now though!)

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Sounds perfect, good job!

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Hey @Oliver_ZRace_Central, just looping back on this.

Currently we are committed to the below priorities but please know that U16 clubs is something the team are looking into but due to the compliance and safeguarding risks it’s something that needs thorough planning and consideration.

I love your enthusiasm and commitment to Zwift at such a young age, Ride On!

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Noted, thanks @Gerrie_Delport_ODZ!

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Thanks @OleKristian!

I’d agree with @gloscherrybomb here. This would be a very technical problem to solve and would require a complete rework of the current pack dynamics.

I can see value in being able to easily identify fellow club members visually when in events or free-riding.

Let me pass this along internally to review. :raised_hands:

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Thanks for the reply. I understand that it could be challenging.
The best ideas come when you first don’t put any filter on your ideas. Sometimes it can trigger new ideas or different approaches to solve the same problem.

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I thought this too. Maybe something that’s stronger when more of the team are within, say, 5m of the person who triggers it. It’s already sort of possible for a team to ride near others in a pack if they’re skilled enough at Zwift draft/physics, but it’d be wrong to engineer some sort of “keep us together” mechanic.

An alternative might be that the draft effect from team mates could be slightly stronger than from other riders. Seems reasonable, as that could hinder a rider as much as help them - but assumes teams have equal of very similar numbers in a given race.

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I’m not sure if I have been clear on this. I don’t think about anything like the “keep together” groups, where you will get help if you are falling behind. I’m thinking that instead of having random people around you, the draft dynamics should try to place club members laterally together in a group. If the engine has the choice, the club member’s backs should be the preferred choice.

@Daren Don’t you think this would be more realistic than a team power-up? A bit less random.

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