Before TeamUnify

Before we started using TeamUnify all our processes, membership, meet entries, coaches records, swimmer attendance and club communication were managed using a variety of different systems, none of which were integrated in anyway. No one process was joined up, which meant a huge amount of duplication, which was very labour intensive and prone to error. 

Meet entries and payments were a paper process with members entering their own swimmer’s times, which created a lot of administration and checking. Club records and attendance were manual spreadsheets and membership on another system—all unique to the individual who managed them, which made sharing workload difficult.

We also had challenges sending emails and communicating with club members—the website wasn’t the useful resource we wanted it to be.

 

First Impression

We had spent a lot of time trying to decide what we wanted to achieve through the use of technology and, up until I came across TeamUnify, it was looking like a combination of software solutions was going to be required. As soon as I saw TeamUnify I knew that we had to have it. It was the only package that brought together all of our processes into a single highly integrated platform. The fact that it’s designed specifically with clubs in mind and had lots of good case studies also helped to persuade us.

 

The Meet Entry System

It would be difficult to narrow it down to one part of TeamUnify [as the best], as all parts have provided such benefit, which as a whole has completely transformed the running of the club. If I had to, I would choose the Meets module; the whole process from start to finish, from creation to importing the results is so simple. In comparison to when it was a fully manual paper-driven process we now spend mere minutes now dealing with meets, when it used to be hours if not days before. 

I also believe it’s significantly easier for members to enter meets. The fact that swimmers' times are held within the system means that parents can easily see what events swimmers are eligible [to enter] makes it so much easier to enter the correct events, so we have less mistakes. An interesting fact—since we have been using TeamUnify, the number of entries to meets (swimmers and swims) has increased by 25% year on year.

 

Parents

There are many parts of TeamUnify the parents love. They describe entering meets to be as easy as “online shopping.” They love the OnDeck App that gives them all the information they need about their athletes' best times, times against County/Regional/National times standards to check progress, and upcoming events makes it an invaluable tool. We are also starting to use the Jobs tool for volunteering, which is a great tool for any club. It did take a little while to get used to all that TeamUnify can offer a swim parent, but I am 100% confident that no one would wish to return to the days before it.

 

Looking Forward

I imagine we are the same as all other TeamUnify users in the UK, in that we can’t wait for TU Payments. A place where we can integrate payments through the system. This is the one thing that our members would like to see above all else. This facility will totally revolutionise our control of our finances, moving away from what is still a very manual process of reconciliation and chasing of payments.  All I can say is our hard working Treasurer is counting down the days until it comes available. (Payment Processing Coming in 2017.)

I am pleased to say TeamUnify has transformed our swim club over the 12 months or so...not only do the small group of volunteers running the club [agree], but all the swimmers and parents just love it.

Kind Regards,

-Paul McGregor
Club Administrator
Swim Bournemouth

Swim Bournemouth

Swim Bournemouth was established in 2010 with an amalgamation of Ferndown Otters Swimming Club and the Bournemouth Dolphins Swimming Club. Both very successful clubs in their own right, providing swimmers within the Dorset conurbation with the best opportunities to progress from learning to swim right the way through to national level opportunities.

Swimmers from the two clubs have continued on to represent Great Britain in both Junior and Senior Internationals. Medals have been won at major events such as World Championships, Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and European Championships.

Swim Bournemouth has been powering their swimming club with TeamUnify since April of 2016 and have over 250 active members on their team. If you are interested in joining the TeamUnify family follow the link below.

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