IT is an integral part of any successful club. With the development of IT systems, clubs can now reach more people, communicate more effectively and efficiently, and reduce the workload. There are numerous ways in which IT has made life easier for rugby clubs.
There are now several ways that clubs can communicate with its members through IT, including:
- Text message
- Mobile
- Website
- Marketing automation platforms
Rugby Xplorer allows club admins to communicate via email to current and previous participants using different filtering options. Clubs can also send push notifications to current participants for quick messages.
One of the first places people search for a club is the internet. Your club needs to have an up-to-date website which is easily searched though any search engine (e.g., Google). Do a search of your rugby club on the internet and see if your website shows up as the 1st listing. If not, speak to your IT person and get your website promoted to the number 1 position.
Through Rugby Xplorer every Rugby Club in Australia is entitled to a free website - My Club Website. Club websites can be found within the Rugby network by clicking the nine dots (9) on the top left-hand corner next to “Rugby Xplorer”: https://australia.rugby/. Your My Club Details, fixtures and results will automatically flow through.
Rugby AU also has a find-a-club website where individuals can search for rugby clubs in their area, searching for club name, postcode or suburb: https://australia.rugby/participate/find-a-club.
Google search engine has a 94% market share in Australia, so the vast majority of people who are searching for your club will search via Google. On a Google search, Google will have a banner that runs down the right-hand side of the page. This will be the business (club) you are searching for. Google automatically sets up this page based on information on the internet. If you have not done so yet, the club needs to take ownership of this page by applying to Google. Once this is done, you can then insert/edit all the information contained in this listing including website address, contact numbers, club logo, home ground address etc.
Every club should have all their documents stored and backed-up on a cloud-based document storage system. The advantages of using one of these systems include usability and accessibility, security, cost efficient, multiple users, synchronization, convenience, scalability and disaster recovery. Some organisations even provide the services free-of-charge for non-profit sporting organisations.
Examples of cloud-based document storage software are:
- https://www.google.com/intl/en_au/drive/
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/nonprofits/offers-for-nonprofits
- https://www.dropbox.com/
Consistent and centralised club email addresses for major roles can play a large role in simplifying committee transition e.g. President@YourRugbyClub.com. This allows the club to easily transfer email accounts when individuals on club committees change. It allows incoming committee members to have access to the history for that email account and removes the issue of having to update email addresses when people change or positions are updated. Some organisations even provide the services free-of-charge for non-profit sporting organisations.
Examples of platforms that provide free services for non-profit sporting clubs include:
- https://www.google.com.au/nonprofits/offerings/workspace/
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/nonprofits/offers-for-nonprofits
Rugby Xplorer is the national registration and competition management system in Australia. Players, team officials can self-register to their clubs, allow clubs to communicate with their participants, team managers can select their team and live score their matches using the Rugby Match Day app.
More information on Rugby Xplorer can be found on the Help webpage.
These services allow the club to easily communicate with players and registered members of your club, and non-players groups like past-players, sponsors, supporters etc. A valuable part of any club is having an up-to-date mailing list. This enables the club to effectively and efficiently keep people involved in the club up to date by providing services such as newsletters, event marketing information etc. Examples of marketing platforms are as follows:
IT has allowed clubs to make payment and receipt of money more transparent and accountable, while also reducing the cash component of a clubs finances. Only 1 in 4 people carry cash today, so providing cashless alternatives is now a priority for rugby clubs.
Registrations done through Rugby Xplorer can be paid using a debit/credit card or Zip Pay. Canteen payments could use portable Point-of-Sale (POS) machines.
Keeping real-time tracking of your club's finances is essential. Cloud-based accounting software enables accurate accounting accessible by multiple people at any time. Examples of this software include:
73% of all transactions in Australia are now done electronically so it is important that your club provides its customers with electronic options. The main advantages of a POS system over cash are accurate inventory management, higher security (less theft), better customer experience and better staff management. Examples of POS systems are:
- https://squareup.com/au/en
- https://easypos.net.au/
- https://onlypos.com.au/
- Your local bank (e.g., Westpac, CBA, NAB, ANZ)
Setting up an online booking system for events is an important step for your club. The advantages of having an online booking system as opposed to accepting cash is the system is available 24hrs per day, you can easily set limits on availability, the money is automatically banked into your account, you have detailed reporting on all transactions and is very simple to setup.
Examples of an on-line booking system are (please note these are NOT rugby registration related and are only events - all registrations must be done through Rugby Xplorer):
- https://www.eventcreate.com/
- https://www.eventbrite.com.au/
- https://www.trybooking.com/
- https://www.iwannaticket.com.au/
