Association case study: HEYVA use 'excellent' VolleyZone platform for administration

How the league was administered previously - and making the change 

Before switching to the new VolleyZone platform, we at HEYVA used to use our own website which was designed and built by a volunteer web designer. This system was basic but very robust and allowed us to track results, league tables, player of the matches and basic players registrations. 

This system was getting very old, however , and was shortly in need of some investment in order to ensure it would remain fit for purpose moving forward. With the new VolleyZone platform coming online with the promise of more advanced functionality, we as a committee decided it would be advantageous to get involved with this platform at an early stage. 

One of the most important factors for us was that it would allow us and Volleyball England a greater ability to access data on participation levels at a grassroots level. This will help us in writing of funding bids and when talking to the local council to increase the volleyball provision locally. 

Support with the VolleyZone onboarding process 

During the initial phase of being onboarded to the new VolleyZone platform, Volleyball England arranged for meetings and demonstrations of the system by the platforms developers SportLoMo. 

Because HEYVA does not run a standard league format in the traditional sense (standard home and away fixtures), setting up our league structure within the platform was not without its hitches. We did receive an excellent level of support from Volleyball England and SportLoMo in order to rectify and work around issues. 

The experience of hosting the league on VolleyZone 

Although, as previously mentioned we experienced a few hitches early on (mainly due to it being a very new system and our league structure being different from the norm) the VolleyZone system has made administering the league very straight forward. 

And with the soon-to-be-introduced iframe solution, it will allow us to integrate it into our existing website. 

At present, we have probably only scratched the surface of what the system can be used for and we are hoping to use it additionally for cups and tournaments in the future.  

Standout features of the platform 

We don’t run a standard home and away fixture structure in the HEYVA league. We use a system of triangular fixtures at neutral venues meaning that it can be quite complicated to work out fixture combinations, etc.

One of the really good features of the VZ league admin system is that you can program in your own fixture combinations so that when you enter the teams in each league it will automatically generate the fixtures for you. Although, it took us a sometime to program these in, in future seasons this will save us hours of work. 

Also, in the members’ section it is possible to view data on player participation at all levels, not just local league. This gives us a much more comprehensive overview of volleyball participation and the demographics of those participating in the region and will help us with funding bids in the future. 

Thoughts for other leagues and associations who may be consider using VolleyZone 

I would say that its understandable to be cautious or apprehensive about moving to or starting to use this new system, especially if you have an established league administration facility or platform on your current website or mobile App. 

However, VolleyZone does represent an excellent platform to use going forward... in my experience it can be utilised in as simple or and advanced way as you would like. 

The ability to use establish league or tournament structures (which are pre-programmed into the system) or custom formats allows for maximum flexibility. Leagues can set up and take payments for league fees, membership fees or tournament entry. 

The ability to manage match day team sheets online, assign referees etc – or alternatively keep it simple - make it a very versatile system. 

Lastly, and most importantly for me, is that ability for the grassroots participation data to cascade up the volley ladder which can only be a benefit, both to us and the wider volleyball community going forwards. 

For more information...  

HEYVA are happy to be contacted regarding this and can be reached via heyvachairperson@gmail.com