Thousands of Kiwi sports clubs go online

Thousands of Kiwi sports clubs go online

In the age of the internet and with the growing popularity of social networking sites, Sportsground.co.nz has revolutionized the way in which sports clubs, teams and schools can communicate.

Sportsground has reserved a free website for every sports club and school in New Zealand. Each site accepts over 100 pages of content, including photo and video galleries, sports draws, calendars, newsletters and group email for announcements. They also include a free sub-site for every associated sports team and classroom in the country.

“We saw a need for a simple way for everyone from my 8 year old son’s football team to the largest sporting body to be able to interact quickly, easily and cheaply,” says founder and CEO Mike Purchas.

Over 3,000 Sportsground websites have been adopted since the launch of the service in October last year. The popularity of the sites has rapidly made Sportsground the largest single provider of websites to the sports community in New Zealand.

"We expected the service to initially attract those clubs and schools that did not already have a website. However we've also seen hundreds of organisations upgrade an existing site to one from Sportsground due to their increased functionality and ease of use," says Purchas.

The Sportsground websites can be updated from any computer at any time, with no software or web design skills required. They can be managed by people with limited computer skills and can be easily extended by more advanced users. Additional features are being made available based upon requests from clubs and schools. Importantly, the sites allow more than one person to update content, so clubs and schools can share the responsibility across an organisation instead of being dependent on one person.

The websites also offer local businesses the opportunity to get behind their local sports club or school through interactive advertising on the sites. Two thirds of funds raised go to the club or school, while the remaining third contributes towards the cost of providing and hosting the websites. Schools or clubs that don't want to see advertising or who want a more customised looking website can upgrade to a VIP version.

"Kiwis have a great reputation as innovators in education and they are passionate about sport. We're thrilled to help improve communication between sports clubs, schools and Kiwi communities. And we're just getting started - watch this space," states Purchas.

See www.sportsground.co.nz for more information.

ENDS

© Scoop Media