It has been just over 18 months since the first Victorian basketball association, Yarram, was onboarded to PlayHQ for the Summer season 2019/20. Now with the roll-out across the state complete with all active associations and clubs on board, let’s look back at the journey so far and ahead to what’s in store.
Background
In 2017, Basketball Victoria’s member associations voted to align the state with a new individual registration process and fee, which would result in more accurate participation data and enable us to move the sport forward as a whole. In order to implement this process and create a better user experience for all, there was a need for a new registration and competition management system.
Unfortunately, the previous system provider, SportsTG, which had served the sport well in years gone by, was no longer meeting the expectations of the sport in regard to innovation and support levels. This resulted in a deteriorating experience for our administrators and participants, as well as widespread segregation across the state with only 60% of associations and clubs using the system. Further to this, we needed to ensure that associations, clubs, and Basketball Victoria were meeting modern legal requirements regarding privacy and data, which wasn’t able to be achieved with the incumbent system.
Following discussions with local sports digital agency, Codeware, PlayHQ was born and Basketball Victoria would be its foundation client. We worked closely with PlayHQ to provide the sport’s requirements (in conjunction with associations and club administrators) and ensured the foundation was in place for a superior experience for participants and administrators alike. Development began in 2018, with the goal of getting a base-level registration and competition management platform up and running in time for Summer 2019/20, where a platform trial would take place. Ultimately, this proved to be a success and once further essential functionality such as electronic scoring, clubs, and registration supplements was built, the state-wide roll-out of the platform commenced in Autumn 2020.
Although in its infancy, there was a need to roll out PlayHQ as soon as possible, while the system was still being built out. There were significant risks to the sport, including imminent changes to the platform (a potential changeover to a newer version of the platform and the impending decommissioning of Stadium Scoring, the electronic scoring system used by VJBL, and many of our associations). So, it was essential to move on to PlayHQ to avoid the community having to go through two significant system transitions in a short period of time.
Throughout 2020 and during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite resourcing challenges, PlayHQ continued to build on the platform, delivering major modules such as the fixture upload tool (fundamental to some large and complex associations and the VJBL), tournaments, transfers, and programs, as well as other enhancements to existing functionality.
Where are we now?
Now with basketball back in full flight, the platform has seen a total of 417,000 registrations so far and an average of 7,000 games electronically scored weekly. Given the impressive foundations and promise of the PlayHQ platform, other major Australian sporting bodies such as the AFL, Cricket Australia, and Netball Australia have signed on as clients. In addition, Basketball Tasmania has recently come on board, with other state basketball bodies in discussions with PlayHQ. These additional clients provide real benefits to basketball in Victoria with additional funding supporting the growth and delivery of PlayHQ, plus multi-sport functionality for parents and participants alike. Basketball Victoria still maintains its own ‘instance’ of the system and is in control of the delivery of ongoing requirements for basketball.
In only a short period of time, basketball in Victoria now has a platform with a clean advertising-free interface, an easy-to-use “wizard-style” configuration for administrators, a one-stop-shop for clubs/associations, and a holistic platform that everyone across the state is using.
Despite the success of our PlayHQ journey so far, we are very aware that there is still more work to be done. However, it is important to view where we are at with the context that this is a platform that's been built from the ground up and we'll continue to see regular releases of features and functionality in coming months and indeed years, to further meet the needs of basketball.
PlayHQ has grown to 75+ staff and has some exciting innovations for participants and administrators on the horizon. We have a fantastic working relationship with PlayHQ, which holds us in good stead as the platform continues to be built out.
Development
Recent platform releases include:
- Integration with Mailchimp (CRM/email marketing platform) - enabling quality communication with members
- Finals eligibility enhancements
- My Teams - Ability to view you and your dependents’ fixtures from your profile.
Other functionality currently in development:
- Statewide suspension management
- Enhanced reporting
- Team management
- Season statistics
- By now, pay later (installments)
- Plus, other registration and competition management enhancements.
For more information on the releases please visit the PlayHQ Help Centre and review the ‘Release Notes’.
New Basketball Victoria Help Centre
To improve our support levels for clubs, associations, players, and parents using PlayHQ, we have transitioned away from PlayHQ’s support platform and launched a new Basketball Victoria-specific support platform. This will help us better manage and respond to support requests in a timely manner.
For any questions, concerns, or feedback regarding PlayHQ, users will now be directed to submit a support request via BV’s request form which will then be reviewed and responded to by the BV Digital Support team.
Please find below some useful links to the relevant support sites and support request forms:
- Basketball Victoria Help Centre (generic basketball support articles with specific information to help clubs, associations, players, and parents)
- PlayHQ Help Centre (articles on PlayHQ features and functionality)
- Basketball Victoria support request form