43-AthLink

Inspiration

The search for people to play sports with is always tricky. Whether you’re new in town, your usual crew bailed, or you just want to try something new, finding a partner can be a hassle. We thought, why isn’t there a fun and easy way to connect people who love the same sports? That’s how AthLink was born! It’s like Tinder… but for sports buddies.

What it does

AthLink helps you find people nearby who want to play the same sports you do. Whether you're into basketball, tennis, running, or yoga, AthLink connects you with potential partners at your skill level and location. Just swipe, link up, and play! It’s simple, quick, and makes meeting people easy (without the awkwardness).

How we built it

We built AthLink using React Native, so it runs smoothly on mobile devices. Our backend is powered by Firebase Firestore for user data and chats, and we use Firebase Authentication to keep everything secure. The secret sauce is our AI similarity model, trained to match users based on sports interests, skill levels, and how close they are to each other. The model runs through Firebase Functions or directly on the app using TensorFlow.js, making matches fast and accurate.

Challenges we ran into

Matching people isn’t as easy as it sounds! Training a model that actually understands similarity took a lot of tweaking.
Getting the model to work with React Native and Firebase was a learning curve.
Making the user flow simple and fun while juggling a tight deadline—challenge accepted!

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We successfully trained and deployed a similarity model that feels smart and makes awesome recommendations.
We created a clean, smooth multi-step signup flow that gets you swiping in minutes.
We connected AI, Firebase, and React Native into one seamless experience!