Club Websites that make life easier.

With the hustle and bustle of Modern living seemingly on the rise, there is a big demand for anything that saves time. This includes websites. Today I am going to talk about club websites in particular. But not just any website, club websites that make life easier. From your local football club to larger run sporting associations, the success of any given sport is reliant on volunteers. Sometimes life just gets too busy for those who are generous with their time. Utilising the club website as a time saver is a very effective tool.

Add an On-Line entry system.

When I say on-line entry system I emphasise the word system. Many website platforms offer templates where you can customise your own entry form. WordPress is probably still the most popular and if you only require the entries information to run your event or club then this a great solution. However some sports require something with a little bit more gusto. I have been a club secretary for a club that runs horse competitions for ten years now. After the first year I identified the need for a system that would make my job as show secretary a heck of a lot easier.

Stage 1 – The Entry form.

When I first created the on-line form there were a number of items to consider.
1. Is the form easy to understand and fill out?
2. Can it calculate the entry fees owing?
3. Will I get email notification when someone submits their entry?
4. Will the person submitting the entry receive an email confirmation?
5. Will all the information go into an on-line database?

After the form was created to fill this criteria I then had to structure the databases to function in a way that could make my job as show secretary so much easier. This system wasn’t created in a day and to some extent I still find bits and pieces to add for improvement. It’s taken eight years of tweeking to get the system to where it is today. Despite not having a fancy name this system works. It works well. And it saves me, the show secretary an immense amount of time.

The entry form was the easy bit.

Yep it was. Coming up with a system that worked on-line in the same as a computer program was a big ask. But somehow I did it. So what happens after all the information hits the database? Not much …. but a lot. Committee members can log into the system to check what entries have come through. This updates itself as entries come in. The information at hand can be viewed by those issued with log in credentials without having to physically lift a finger. (except to login of course). Not only that but the club treasurer can view what monies are owing and by whom. It doesn’t stop there though (yeah but wait there’s more). If someone needs to change their entry the secretary is able to do that. The treasurer can enter what payments have been received. Draws can be done, judges sheets printed, results entered and if your club has high point awards at the end of the year, those standings will automatically update themselves as the results come in.

Throw away your calculator.

The club treasurer has been kept in mind during this exercise. Of course not only does the form calculate totals owing but the system can calculate a whole lot of other things as well. If someone scratches an entry the system will recalculate the total monies owing. It will also calculate any shortfalls or over payments so the treasurer can issue refunds. If you have more than one judge it will total the scores for you and automatically reorder total scores highest to lowest. There’s even an on-line calculator to assist you in working out the final prizemoney payouts. The results can be displayed on the clubs website as well as the annual hi point standings. All this at your fingertips, anywhere, anytime.