Benchwarmers: Providing a sportswear solution to improve player performance and safety

Australian company Benchwarmers have developed an innovative solution, through their functional sporting attire, to keep players warm when they are not on the field.

Their product, a body-length garment, is specifically designed to keep the most vulnerable parts of the body warm such as the upper legs, whilst keeping the arms free to allow players to regulate their own body temperature.

The item is ultra-lightweight and includes other features such as insulated inside pockets, a hood, a resistance to water and wind, as well as fully fleeced lining for extra warmth.

Creator of the product, Andrew Lauder, recently developed the Benchwarmer after his previous experiences as a coach on the sidelines.

“I identified that there was a problem years ago, he told Soccerscene.

“I was coaching young kids and was having to take down blankets and stuff to keep them warm on the benches.

“Some kids in football once they get a head knock or something, they go into a little bit of a shock and there was nothing to keep them warm on the bench apart from club hoodies or something along those lines, which was ridiculous.”

“Over the 2020 period I sort of started designing Benchwarmers, working out the features of how best to do it and have continued to go on from there.”

Lauder explained it was extremely necessary for grassroots players to keep their muscles warm on the bench before they came on, to avoid hamstring strains and other common soft tissue injuries.

“The main point is, especially with juniors and amateurs, they are sitting on the bench waiting for their time to come on and they don’t warm up like the professionals do,” he said.

“Professionals may say ‘let’s jump on the bike and get your legs moving’, but the kids and the amateurs they run on without properly warming up their body.”

The design of the Benchwarmers product.

Lauder has built up the product to a local and international audience and has found some success in doing so, despite it being a relatively new product.

“I put it out there to the kids, because that’s where I started it all,” he said.

“But at the moment it’s the amateurs in England who have started grabbing it and some clubs here.

“One thing that I get sometimes with the smaller clubs is they love it but they don’t want to pay for it. With junior clubs they are obviously volunteers and they are more hesitant to make the decision to spend the money. It’s crazy because you ask them every time, what do you have in the kitbag to keep the kids warm? They usually have nothing, just club jackets, which I don’t believe is sufficient.”

Lauder continues to invest his time into avenues which will grow the presence of his item, such as social media work, further marketing of Benchwarmers and listening to customer’s feedback.

“My main thing at this point of time is that I’ve been doing a lot of direct email marketing which I’ve put out,” he said.

“I am also building the Instagram and Facebook pages to target clubs and people to sort of get them onto it and that has started to work in some cases.

“Some feedback I’ve received by one of the clubs, for example, showed me the benefits of how important it is to be a lightweight product. One club wanted ten of them and wanted his manager to be able to put them into the kit bag and carry them from job to job. They don’t take up too much space, their waterproof, their fully lined inside, they’ve been developed with 40cm pockets on the inside which are insulated – all these things help.”

The creator of Benchwarmers hopes the product will continue to have steady growth here in Australia and overseas in the long term.

“In the future I wish that the Benchwarmers brand is in a hell of a lot of clubs and people are wrapped they have them for their kids,” Lauder said.

“Basically, I want them to think to themselves, why didn’t we do this or buy this years ago?”

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Football Victoria roll out PlayFootball 2.0 for 2025

Football Victoria and Cleaning Melbourne

Football Victoria has launched PlayFootball v2.0, delivering a comprehensive upgrade to its national registration platform for clubs, players and referees nationwide in 2025.

The modernised system introduces significant improvements, headlined by a complete interface overhaul prioritising accessibility and efficiency for all stakeholders.

The platform’s user-centric design promises to streamline administrative processes across all levels of the sport.

Key enhancements to PlayFootball 2.0 will allow for a modern player and official identification system that will include a sophisticated reporting module.

A notable addition is the integrated Working with Children Check workflow, reinforcing Football Australia’s commitment to child safety protocols.

Football Victoria is spearheading the transition by offering comprehensive training programmes, with both face-to-face and virtual sessions available to club administrators and association officials.

These sessions have been specifically designed to ensure optimal utilisation of the platform’s enhanced capabilities.

Football Victoria Chief Executive Officer Chris Pehlivanis has spoken on this new update and how they see it as crucial for enhancing the footballing experience for participants and clubs.

“We are looking forward to participants having a streamlined registration process while simplifying administration for our Clubs from 2025. FV will work closely with Clubs to ensure they are well supported through the transition and familiar with the benefits of the new system,” he said via press release.

A crucial update to the registration process will require participants to settle both Football Australia and Football Victoria Governing Body Regulation Fees at the point of registration through PlayFootball v2.0.

To help participants adjust to the change, however, PlayFootball is offering 4 different payment models:

  • All Fees Upfront: Club and Regulation fees paid online at the point of registration
  • Regulation Fees Upfront: FA and FV fees paid online at the point of registration
  • Scheduled Payment: FA, FV, Association and the first portion (¼) of the club fee is paid online at the point of registration
  • Subsidised Payment: Club subsidises payment and pays for Governing Body fees on the participant’s behalf at the point of registration

Player eligibility is rewarded upon the successful payment of these governing body fees.

This new program was tested by inviting four Associations, including 34 Clubs and 4,839 players to attend feedback sessions with FV and FA and beta test the new platform.

The invitation for Clubs to explore the What’s Changing Playbook has opened and for further information on all the changes coming to PlayFootball v2.0.

The platform’s updated rollout represents a significant milestone in Football Australia’s ongoing digitalisation strategy, aimed at reducing administrative burden whilst improving service delivery across the football community.

Melbourne Victory joins forces with RUBIX

Melbourne Victory has confirmed RUBIX will continue to operate as the club’s official data partner for the 2024/25 season. The collaboration follows a prosperous first year between the club and RUBIX.

RUBIX is a prominent Melbourne based data company, with offices across Australia and the US. The company has worked for high profile clients such as the Victorian State Government, Australia Post, Telstra and more.

RUBIX has successfully delivered over 350 projects for leading Top 50 companies, rapidly expanding FinTech and software firms.

The company was also a back-to-back SmartCompany award winner in 2022 and 2021 and earned a CRN Fast50 award in 2020.

RUBIX will aide Melbourne Victory’s growth and fan engagement strategies using the company’s knowledge in statistics, data technology, analysis, and artificial intelligence.

Melbourne Victory Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, warmly welcomed RUBIX via press release.

“We’re thrilled to have RUBIX on board as the Club’s Official Data Partner for a second season,” she said.

“Their world-leading solutions have already offered incredible insights across our operations, and we’re excited to leverage their tools further to help Melbourne Victory grow and engage more deeply with our fans and community.”

Head of Marketing and Brand at RUBIX, Kathryn Smith, also expressed her eagerness for the collaboration.

“This partnership with Melbourne Victory continues to be a fantastic opportunity for us to support one of Melbourne’s most iconic sporting teams with data-driven insights and technology,” she said via press release.

“We look forward to using our innovative solutions to help the Club drive growth, enhance fan engagement, and deliver a richer experience for supporters.”

Together, Melbourne Victory and RUBIX will continue to analyse and adopt new initiatives to improve experiences for fans and drive the club further then ever before.

Through the collaboration, Melbourne Victory will hope to build off of a successful 2023/2024 season, which saw the club reach the A-League Men’s Grand Final.

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