Simplifying Sports Event Management

A recurring issue I've regularly faced is managing sports event schedules 🥲

Whether it's for my favorite football team, the Champions League, Formula 1 races, or even ESports competitions, keeping track of these events often meant manually importing them into my Google Calendar.

It was a tedious and time-consuming task, and I figured there had to be a better way. That's how SportsCalendar was born.

What Is SportsCalendar?

SportsCalendar is a web application designed to centralize sports event planning into a single, user-friendly platform. Its goal is to help users discover their favorite events and create custom calendars that can seamlessly sync with their preferred calendar applications, updating automatically without the hassle of manual imports.

At its core, the app connects to public APIs for various sports, fetches event data, and standardizes it into a unified format.

The standout feature? SportsCalendar can generate .ics/iCal links, making it effortless to sync events with calendar systems like Google Calendar, Outlook, or Apple Calendar.

For those who prefer an all-in-one solution, I also developed an in-app calendar interface, allowing users to manage their schedules directly within the app without relying on external tools

Key Features of SportsCalendar

1. Aggregating Multiple Sports

Finding reliable (and free 😇) APIs for various sports is no small feat. One of the key challenges in building SportsCalendar was designing a system to fetch data from diverse sources and standardize it into a unified format. This approach ensures that adding a new sport to the app is streamlined—requiring minimal development effort beyond implementing the data-fetching layer.

2. Customizable Calendar Exports

One of my main pain points with existing solutions was the lack of customization. SportsCalendar allows users to:

Assign custom names to their calendar links.
Apply filters based on event type, teams, etc.
Choose specific sports or leagues.

These options ensure users only see the events they care about, neatly organized in their calendar.

3. Built-in Calendar Interface

While syncing with Google Calendar is a key feature, I also wanted SportsCalendar to be a complete solution in itself. The app includes an interactive calendar where users can:

Browse events by day, week, or month.
Search for specific events or keywords.
Customize the interface to suit their viewing preferences.

This makes the app versatile, catering to users who prefer a centralized hub without external integrations.

What's Next for SportsCalendar?

As SportsCalendar continues to grow, here are some key features and improvements planned for the future:

Expand Sports Coverage: adding support for more sports remains a top priority, as it's the most impactful feature for users.
Enhanced Calendar Filters: introduce additional filtering options when creating custom calendars, giving users even more control over the events they include.
Event Results Integration: add functionality to display the results of events (games, races, etc.) directly within the app, making it a comprehensive sports planning and tracking tool.
User Interface Improvements: refine and enhance the app's interface for a smoother, more intuitive user experience.

Why I Built This

SportsCalendar is a project I created for several reasons:

Passion for Web Development: I enjoy developing web applications and exploring new technologies, but I always prefer doing so with a clear purpose in mind.
Problem-Solving: I find satisfaction in identifying problems I encounter in my daily life and building practical solutions to address them.
Showcasing My Abilities: this project allows me to demonstrate my skills in web development, from back-end to front-end, while working with different technologies to bring the idea to life.

Final word

If this app sounds like something you'd use, stay tuned! I'll be sharing updates as I refine the app and add more features.

In the meantime, feel free to reach out with feedback or feature suggestions on Bluesky @arthurdufour.dev