Sport Communication and Management Applications

The Lethbridge Sport Council is proud to launch its latest resource: a comparison of commonly used sport team management and communication applications.

There is a long list of software providers on the market when it comes to sport team and association management solutions, but no two software packages are alike. Each provider offers a different mix of features, at a different price point. In this document we aim to provide a baseline on which these software solutions can be compared, drawing on their advertised features, prices, and reviews we have received for them from our sporting community. Hopefully, this resource can provide a good starting point to any teams looking to get into, or potentially change, their software solutions providers.

Sport Communication and Management Applications

There are many options when it comes to choosing a platform to organize and communicate with your team or organization. Prices vary significantly from free to hundreds of dollars a year; likewise, the features vary greatly from platform to platform. In this resource the Lethbridge Sport Council has compared seven commonly used sport team and association communication platforms, based on their features, price points, and peer reviews we have received from users in the Lethbridge sport community.

While we did not cover every application available on the market, this document can give you a sense of what is common or standard throughout the industry and provide you with a point of reference to compare other providers.

Applications Compared in This Resource

Whatsapp, Teamlinkt, RAMP Interactive, Uplifter, SportsEngine, TeamSnap, Team Reach

Pricing

• Whatsapp - Free
• Teamlinkt - Free
• TeamReach - Free
• Teamsnap - 4 Versions. Free ($0), Basic ($9.99/month or $69/year), Premium ($13.99/month or $99.99/year), and Ultra ($17.99/month or $129.99/year).
• SportsEngine - 2 Versions. Free ($0 + Processing Rates), and Premium ($69/month or $749/year + Processing Rates).
• Uplifter - 4 Versions. Lite (Free), Bronze ($29/month), Silver ($149/month), and Gold ($549/month), these prices do not include payment processing fees.
• RAMP InterActive - Unlike the previous applications RAMP has no free version and, rather than tiered paid versions RAMP offers 4 separate products: RAMP Registration, RAMP Official Assignor, RAMP Websites, and RAMP Team. Prices vary based on organization size. One local organization pays $400 annually for the website and pays $2 for each registration while using RAMP’s registration services.

Features

Legend: Whatsapp (WA), Teamlinkt (TL), RAMP Interactive (RAMP), Uplifter (UP), SportsEngine (SE), TeamSnap (TS), Team Ranch (TR)

For products with multiple versions we have used: “Basic” for Teamsnap, “Bronze” for Uplifter, “Free” for SportsEngine, both “RAMP Team” and “RAMP Websites” for RAMP Interactive. Features vary slightly across products and versions. See each application’s website for detailed comparison across versions.

Note: exact specifications of each feature may vary slightly from application to application. For more details on how each application delivers each function listed please refer to their website.

Reviews

Across the seven chosen applications we received five peer reviews: 1 for Teamlinkt, 2 for RAMP, 1 for Uplifter, and 1 for TeamReach. Should anyone wish to add a review, either for one of the applications reviewed in this resource or for a new one please contact [email protected]

Teamlinkt:

“The South Peace Volleyball Club found that as a website to deliver information and news it is very user friendly. Like anything, there is some training required, but the folks at Teamlinkt are very helpful. They usually respond to emails quickly and I’ve called them directly many times. We deliver the practice schedule for the full year on the platform. The app that parents download on their phone is used to communicate with the team, see who is confirmed for practice, send tournament schedules, share photos, etc. Parents use the website to register their child and pay fees. After tryouts, we build the teams from the registered athletes, assign coaches, then send the list to our Technical Director. We use the same list to register with Volleyball Alberta. The developers continue to improve the product as well. Overall it has been a very good product and service provided. I would recommend it to any group or league.”

RAMP InterActive:

1. Customer Service
   1. Lethbridge Minor Softball - 9/10. Always reply within 24/48 hours.
   2. Lethbridge Ringette Association - Good and Bad. Great over the phone, quite slow responding to emails.
2. Which Features Are Most Useful?
   1. Lethbridge Minor Softball - Having a link to the site when changes have been made so I can see the changes right away. The how-to videos make it easy to follow along. Having everything we need all in one company (website, registration site, and email). Also a direct line to support.
   2. Lethbridge Ringette Association- All info being sent to the highest level of the organization making it easy to share.
3. Ease of Use
   1. Lethbridge Minor Softball - I have found it pretty easy to use all the functions we have, website, email system, and registration site. And they have a bunch of videos that take you through everything so if you need any help I can find it easy.
   2. Lethbridge Ringette Association - Very user-friendly.
4. What Drew You to This Product?
   1. Lethbridge Minor Softball - Cost / local product / easy formatting.
5. Would You Recommend This Product?
   1. Lethbridge Minor Softball - Yes
   2. Lethbridge Ringette Association - Yes

Uplifter:

“The Lethbridge Skating Club has been using Uplifter for a number of years. It is an excellent, customizable tool for online registration, the management of seasons, programs, athletes, and member accounts. There are also functions for the tracking of athlete skills and achievements, although these functions can be tricky to set-up. Email functions allow filtering by program, season, level, age, etc., which allows efficient and timely communication with our members. Help functions and learning videos are available. The level of customer service through online support is very good with a very quick turnaround. We would recommend this software to any sporting organization.”

TeamReach:

“Team Reach is a free app available from both the App Store & Google Play. The Lethbridge Pickle Club uses this app mostly to schedule playtimes - players then book available time slots and are put onto a waitlist if all time slots are full. When another player deletes their booking, waitlisted players are automatically booked for that time slot in the order that they became waitlisted. Many players would like the app to notify them when they come off the waitlist but the creators have not been able to accommodate this request. The creators, however, are VERY responsive and have updated many other features over the years to our delight and always suggest workarounds that are quite helpful.

Additionally we use this as a communication tool for posting messages and players can directly message individual players if they prefer - no one on the TeamReach group can identify anyone's personal email address though, it just goes through on the app = nice privacy feature! The app allows leaders to pre-approve members and any photos/files being posted to the group.

There are a number of pickleball groups that use this app and most everyone finds it easy enough to use with a little coaching. This app is not available for desktop use and this was a bit of a problem for some players who didn't own a smartphone. There are some 'work-arounds' for these players to receive messages but they are unable to book time slots without a smartphone or tablet.”