connectMyBlog
Running Club Life
20th August 2021
This week's updates

We had a few update requests in this week which we've now incorporated into club portals. One of which was for the ability to create bundles in the club shop. 


Club Shop - Bundles

Bundles can now be created in the club's shop. A bundle may consist of a club beanie hat, vest, and a mug. These items may normally cost £35, if purchased individually, with a bundle you can set the cost as £30 when purchased together. Hopefully another way to swell the club coffers whilst giving club members a bit of a discount.


13th August 2021
///what3words address for all races

We have now complete the task of updating all races in our race database with their own ///what3words address. You can use the My Running Club or My Tri Club app to find your way to the start of Kenilworth Half Marathon ///brick.other.epic or Brighton Marathon ///haven.hooks.joins

12th August 2021
///what3words partnership
Following connectMyClub's partnership with ///what3words we have been adding more ///what3words features to the club app and portal.

Training Sessions

When setting up training sessions and groups, ///what3words addresses are automatically generated when setting locations by clicking in the map. This can be particularly useful when a session or group is to meet in a new or out of the way location. Club members will then see the ///what3words button assigned to their training group. Tap the button and the ///what3words app or website will load the exact location. What could be simpler?

Already know the ///what3words location?

If you already know the ///what3words location this can be entered in the ///what3words input box when setting up training. The map will updated and the address verified.

Hosted Races

Does your club put on races which public or other clubs' members can enter? Now you can create these races directly in the connectMyClub race database so that all connectMyClub users can add your club race to their race calendar. When setting up the race be sure to add the race location, using the interactive map, so anyone entering the race will be able to find the race HQ with the auto generated ///what3words address.
9th August 2021
Club Admin - Permissions and a few other updates

Admin Permissions

We had a request to add in extra admin permission for members with club admin rights. E.g. Bob Jones looks after merchandise but we don't need him to have access to the members list and members' personal details. This feature is now in place. If a member has been given admin rights be default they will have access to all club portal pages. Club's can now limit areas of the club portal by turning off admin rights in the member's profile


Club Location

When setting up training session you will have seen the location map. If a club has saved a postcode the training map will centre on the postcode co-ordinates. As we know postcode areas can be quite broad. You can now fine tune your club's main location in the club set up page


Event Reports

Club members can now submit race / event reports for any event which they take part in. Previously the event needed to be in the member's event calendar. Club's can also copy n' paste any reports which they receive via email so they show in the app.

2nd August 2021
Multiple Training Group Leaders

We've just pushed through an update to the training session creation page. The update will allow each training group to have multiple set group leaders whereas previously this was limited to two set leaders per group.

This has taken some head scratching due to the Covid-19 features which we've developed of the past 16 months. We think all is working as expected in both the app and connectMyClub portal.

If something isn't quite working as you expect please do let us know and we will endeavour to rectify the issue.

/// what3words

We've also now added a feature where locations can be set on the interactive map for both training sessions and separately for each group within the session. In the next app update club members will be able to view each session and group location on the in-app interactive maps.

Group leaders will also be able to set up the ///what3words and interactive map location for new training sessions / groups directly from their app. 

30th July 2021
Updated Features

From app version 4.1.49 clubs can show an interactive map of training session locations. The Training Map button can be toggled on or off by each club via the app setup tab of the club training page

Clubs can now set the location of a training session using the new map feature in the training session setup section. The location of the session can then be used to populate all training groups within the session. Training group locations can still be set at the group level should they differ or be changed by the groups leader.

If the Training Map is turned on a marker of each training session location will be shown on the Training Map in the app. When a marker is tapped the corresponding training session will scroll into view in the training section.

This feature is more likely to be useful if your club has training sessions spread over a large geographical area. 

What else is new?

We have added a new Message Board admin feature. In the unlikely event that someone at the club uses abusive language in a message board post the post can be deleted at club level.

We have added a similar feature for training group messages. This feature can be accessed the same way as editing a group's details.

We hope each club can make use of these features. If you do use them and think of a way in which they could be improved please do let us know.


19th July 2021
No Set Leader Option

With the easing of Covid-19 restrictions we have now re-activated the No Set Leader option for training groups. No Set Leader can be set with or without the Covid-19 Statement being activated.

Like before, the No Set Leader option allows for any training leader in the club to access member's ICE detail and check members into and out of training sessions. As well as complete other group leader functions.

We hope this helps with organising your training sessions.

15th June 2021
Updating Training Session Times

We understand that mistakes can happen so we've implemented a small update so training session times can now be updated.

If there is a requirement to update a session's start time and date each club member who is in any of the groups within the session will receive a push notification, to their mobile devices, and an email to let them know of the updated details.

We have tested this feature within our small test group. We feel this feature may need some adjustments going forward, to improve it's functionality, when used with larger training sessions. If your club has any working feedback when this feature is put into use please do let us know. We can only improve features with your feedback. 

29th May 2021
Membership Numbers

Just a quick update today. 

Club members' membership numbers are now linked to their club profile and can be updated by the club admins, as well as the club members, using their app. Some people will have already stored their membership numbers i their app.

The intention of the membership number is to store club members' athletic association membership numbers e.g. English, Welsh, Scottish, Athletics Membership.

25th May 2021
Club Training Routes

We have just uploaded app update 4.1.44 for approval with Apple & Google.

In this update training leaders will be able to create training routes, using their mobile app, using either publicly viewable Strava or Garmin Connect routes.

If a training leader would like to create a training route using a GPX file they can still do this, as well as using Strava or Garmin links, via their connectMyClub portal.

We hope this make managing club training a little simpler.