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Understanding Responses

Comparison to OpenActive source data

The imin responses are compatible with the OpenActive modelling specification, and even pass using the OpenActive validator.

Augmented Fields

The imin search results have additional properties added to them for convenience. For example imin:fullAddress reliably contains the full address, regardless of the components present. All the fields in the response can be found documented in the API Reference.

2-week API Lookahead Window

The API will only return information about events that are due to take place within the next 14 days. This is to ensure that the amount of data returned is manageable (by reducing the EventSeries object size) and relevant (our research shows that the bookable window for most leisure operator members is 2 weeks in advance).

HighFrequencySession

As a result of COVID-19, many leisure operators, when restrictions permit them to open their doors, will increase the number of swimming sessions and gym workouts available at their centres. Generally speaking, these take start every ten minutes (or fifteen minutes, etc.) to ensure a constant and regulated flow of people through the centres. Antithetically to this, the number of other activities, e.g. group exercise classes, reduce dramatically to comply with social distancing guidelines. The knock-on effect of this is a dramatic increase in the number of swimming and gym workout data available as open data, and a reduction in other activities.

In order to prevent the search results you receive from being overwhelmed by swimming and gym workout data, the default behaviour of the Events API is to include iminTag[not]=HighFrequencySession in every call. As a result of this, a general Events API search will return neither swimming nor gym workout sessions.

For information on filtering High Frequency Sessions, please see here.

null Values and Empty Arrays

Across all of our APIs, we will remove any field if:

  • The value is null; or
  • The array is empty.

This is a general principle set out in the OpenActive Specification here.