Opening the Gate: A Comparative Design Analysis of Onboarding in Athlete-Facing Digital Platforms

This working paper examines how onboarding design patterns across athlete-facing digital platforms shape access to sponsorship, funding, and professional opportunity. While such platforms are often positioned as expanding access, their onboarding processes may embed assumptions about commercial literacy, institutional support, and digital confidence that are not universally shared. Using a comparative design analysis approach, the study analyses publicly accessible onboarding flows across sponsorship marketplaces, athlete monetisation platforms, community funding platforms, and public or intermediary sport organisations. Observations are synthesised into composite representations to identify recurring patterns related to language framing, data requirements, progression structure, and trust signalling. The findings suggest that corporate-oriented language, early emphasis on quantifiable metrics, high cognitive load, and limited trust scaffolding can unintentionally function as gatekeeping mechanisms at the point of entry. By foregrounding onboarding as a critical site of access negotiation, the paper contributes to discussions in human–computer interaction, inclusive design, and responsible platform development. This is a working paper. Future versions may incorporate additional figures, refinements, or extensions of the analysis.