Athletics Ireland has unveiled a new online presence to meet the growing needs of a record number of users and members.
The site places emphasis on usability across a wide range of devices. Access to the site through mobile had increased 64% and by tablet 120% over the previous 12 months as sport reflects a wider shift away from desktop towards the mobile space.
Membership of Athletics Ireland is set to hit a record 55,000 in 2014, a doubling of numbers in the past five years.
Survey
An on-line survey was carried out amongst website users and the responses from this were taken into account in the site redesign.
Among the new features on the site, developed in collaboration with Irish website agency Kooba, are:
- A Fanzone homepage celebrating heroes past and present bringing users all the latest news and statistics for Ireland’s top International athletes.
- A new easy to use Join a Club and a new Get Involved section facilitating the recruitment of new members and volunteers.
- Searchable results and fixtures
- Full integration of social media platforms, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube with social media plug-ins available across all pages so users can share through these channels too.
- A new RunZone section dedicated to the ever growing recreational running community.
The microsite has a searchable road race calendar for Athletics Ireland permitted events. It also include key resources for participants including top nutrition tips and easy to follow training plans.
Streaming
Live streaming has become a key part of the website with on average 10,000 viewers now regularly availing of the facility and the new site will provide greater support for a streaming service for key events. AerTV has streamed recent National Championships and received a great response from those who watched it.
Sinéad Galvin Marketing, Communication Manager said “Our website is a key interface with members, fans and the general public. The new responsive site meets the changing needs of our users while the design reflects the vibrancy of our growing sport.”
