Over the weekend, Canada’s CBC News reported on GoalieUp, an on-demand app designed to solve a “uniquely Canadian problem.”
GoalieUp connects local hockey goaltenders with teams looking to fill last-minute holes in their lineups. It was created seven years ago by Mark Manning, a Montreal-area netminder, and has reportedly grown to include about 2,000 goalies in and around Canada.
Teams pay $40 for their first hour of renting a goaltender, which covers a booking fee and the player’s earnings, and more if the game goes longer. They get charged an extra $10 for late-night or last-minute requests.
“We’ll automatically match you up with qualified goalies that meet your calibre requirements, and game preferences,” GoalieUp explains on its website. It offers goalies for ice hockey and ball hockey in five-on-five and three-on-three formats.
Toronto-based Puck App offers a similar service, helping teams sync up with skilled goalies ahead of the good old hockey game.
“It doesn’t really work in other sports, in other sports anyone can play any position,” Puck App founder Niki Sawni told CBC News. “It’s definitely a unique Canadian problem.”
The so-called sharing economy has many odd corners. There’s an Uber for planes, maids, for pets, for massages, for camping, for groceries, for jets. An Uber for hockey goalies might be the best one yet.