Athletics Ireland Launches New Website To Cater For Growing Membership And Changing User Needs

Athletics Ireland today launched a new fully responsive website (www.athleticsireland.ie) to meet the growing needs of the users of the site. With Athletics Ireland membership set to hit a record of 55,000 this year (up 100% since 2009), the Association has delivered an upgraded website with a host of new features, chief among which is the adaptability of the new site to cater for mobile and tablet users.

Users accessing the site with mobile phones has increased by 64% while tablets users accessing the site are up 120% year on year. The new responsive design will allow optimal viewing experience with easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling - across a wide range of devices.

Results of an on-line survey carried out amongst website users were also taken into consideration in the redesign of the site to ensure it best meets their needs.

The new site, developed in collaboration with leading Irish website agency Kooba, provides a host of features:
- 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.
- The ever popular results and fixtures are now searchable
- 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.
- Live streaming has become a key part of the Athletics 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.

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."