As part of our ongoing effort to increase the youth and community sports coverage in Carson Valley, The Record-Courier is proud to introduce what we believe will be the next step toward providing all athletes in the area the coverage they deserve.
In the next several weeks we'll be launching The R-C Sports Network, an online media platform designed to help bring additional visibility and enhanced coverage for the various leagues and teams that compete or have ties to Carson Valley.
We'll be working with Community Sports Desk, a Wisconsin-based software and service company that developed the technology we'll be using to boost our coverage of youth and recreational sports leagues in the area.
Very simply, we're starting up a Web site that will allow local coaches (or team moms and dads) to post photos, stories and stats on their games.
In turn, we can take the material posted online, which will already be viewable by the general public on the internet, and publish it in our newspaper.
The big problem for us in the past has been that with only one sports writer and one photographer, our time is severely limited when it comes to getting out to everyone playing sports out there.
For the sports and leagues we aren't able to cover on a regular basis, this has often meant that anyone wanting our coverage had to basically write up an article on their own before submitting it to us.
With this new Web site, team representatives will be able to plug in the appropriate names and scores, along with any extra desired notes about the game, and the site will compile the information into a uniform article format for you.
Each participating team will also have its own site that can serve as a communication base for individual teams for practice schedules, tryout information, travel information and last-minute game changes. It will also track standings for participating leagues.
The technology is open to a wide variety of sports, from traditional team sports like football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, baseball and softball, to individual sports like rodeo, skiing, track & field and wrestling.
As a reader, you'll also have the option of selecting the specific sports or teams that you want to keep track of.
We'll provide this service free of charge for anyone who wants to participate - All you have to do is contact The R-C and we'll get you connected with the Community Sports Desk people who can set up your site for you.
Our hope is that The R-C Sports Network will grow into a valuable tool in the future to bring our local youth athletes the recognition they deserve for the efforts they display on the field.
Keep an eye out in the coming weeks for when we officially launch the site.
For more information, e-mail Joey Crandall at jcrandall@recordcourier.com or call 782-5121, ext. 212.
