5 Ways to make your Rugby Club instantly more Techie
In the digital age, the ways in which we can apply technology in sport are forever expanding. Rugby is quickly placing itself at the forefront of this advancement, but it isn’t just professional clubs and big budgets that can take advantage of the situation. As technology becomes more synonymous with our lives, so too does the ease with which we can harness it for use in Rugby.
You can give your club a handy injection of tech with these 5 simple steps, all of which are readily available to us all today.
Get a Website
If your club hasn’t got an online presence yet- where have you been? The Internet is the perfect place to shout about your club, and you need to start utilising its power to launch your club into the digital age.
You can do this with Pitchero who offer an intuitive platform for building a club website in minutes.
This can become the base of your entire club. Supporters, players and staff will know where to come to find all your club’s latest news, fixtures and match reports from previous games.
Make the most of your social channels
To run alongside your shiny new website, you need to get on board with social media. Social media is a great avenue for communicating directly with your fans. Create a buzz before match day by tweeting fans that are attending and live tweet the match as the action unfolds.
Post-game, create a match report and use your Facebook and Twitter pages as a gateway for readers to access it. Any and all major news and results should roll out on social media, regularly engaging fans and staff alike.
Get a Good Camera
The emergence of the digital lifestyle and our impulse to be forever connected have given rise to a growth in how much video content we consume today.
Every club will dream of footage taken from their club matches going ‘viral’, but if you haven’t got the basic equipment, it’s never going to happen.
Dig into the club coffers and grab a quality camera to film your teams in action. Your video content can supplement the work you’ve already done on your new website and social channels.
Capture a mazy 40-yard dash to the try-line, or a last minute try-saving tackle that wins you the game. This type of content crops up all over the web from teams right across the globe. Make your club a more professional and shareable prospect across the web by capturing the drama of match day on video.
Aside from that, video harbours significant advantages for your team’s post-match analysis, training and ultimately performance. Collect footage on your team in game, and use it to enhance your analysis of individual and team performances in the aftermath of a game.
Camcorders are coming down in price all the time, but their ease of use and capacity to create good footage still leaves them as a sound investment for any club. Stick to trusted brands such as Canon, Sony and Panasonic, and ensure you grab one that films in crisp High Definition (HD) quality.
For footage that gets even closer to the action, consider a compact and robust action-cam. Made famous by extreme sports enthusiasts, action-cams are ideal for getting right in the thick of the action. Strap them to a player’s head and get a great view of player performance. Check out GoPros outstanding Hero range for the best in class.
Invest in Wearable Technology
As a sector of the technology industry, wearable tech is one that is experiencing consistent growth- and its only going to continue. One of the most significant applications for wearable technology is that of health and fitness- and your club could harness these tech developments to enhance your training.
In the near future, we’re likely to see items of clothing such as shirts and shoes that will collect data on various aspects of player performance. For now though, there are a number of wrist-mounted products available that are designed specifically for monitoring fitness activity and health.
Generally held within the category of “fitness bands”, these bracelet style wearables contain tracking equipment such as pedometers (counting steps), heart rate monitors and calories counters.
Taking wearables to other level, many fitness bands and smartwatches have GPS capabilities, allowing you to track their movements as they dash around the field.
Examples in the market are beginning to mount up. Take the Fitbit Charge HR or Jawbone UP3 a wrist-mounted wearable that tracks steps, heart rate and even sleep. For a comprehensive sports wearable that handily doubles up as a timepiece, look for the Garmin Vivoactive smartwatch. With GPS options to track running, cycling and even swimming, the Vivoactive is a great sports companion for fitness sessions.
Kit your team out with wearable tech and unlock the potential it could have on your team’s performance; monitor player intensity during training, tailoring sessions for their needs and aid a player’s recovery between matches by keeping an eye on their health.
Smartphone is King
Whilst no longer a revolutionary device in the world of technology, smartphones can play a significant role in keeping up to date with every aspect of your club.
Never miss a beat with the Pitchero app and Team Manager app, giving you complete control over your club wherever you are. Check in on all your club’s latest news and results, and communicate with your club’s members- all from the same interface.
Plus, the Pitchero Team Manager app allows you to make team selections for upcoming fixtures, input results, and even upload stats live from the sidelines.
Ultimately, smartphones provide us with information and simple communicative tools. It’s quickly become the best way to remain in the loop on your Rugby Club, and it’s still the most convenient way to interact with other club members- no matter where you are.
