Bowlers’ Tournament Connection Platform

The primary goal of this website is to provide a comprehensive online platform that connects athletes—starting with bowlers—to relevant tournaments, coaches, and resources. Over time, the platform will expand to include other types of athletes. Currently, bowlers face challenges in easily finding upcoming tournaments, coaches, and resources, relying heavily on word of mouth and a few scattered online sources. This website aims to centralize and simplify this process, offering an easy-to-use tool for athletes to discover local events, connect with coaches, and access the resources they need to improve. In addition to connecting bowlers with tournaments and coaches, a key feature of the site will be the Youth Bowler to College Coaches section. This will serve as a vital resource for high school bowlers and their families to connect with college bowling programs across various divisions, including NCAA (Divisions I, II, III), NAIA, and USBC-sanctioned/Club teams. This section will allow youth athletes to explore collegiate opportunities, understand scholarship possibilities, and connect directly with coaches—all within a searchable, filterable platform. The website will generate revenue through ads from relevant businesses and paid tournament promotion services. As the platform grows, it will also serve as a hub for bowlers and athletes looking for training resources, coaching advice, and career development opportunities. Features & Functionality 1. Homepage Primary Call to Action: Display a search bar and filters prominently on the homepage so users can easily begin their search for tournaments, coaches, and resources. Advertising Space: Sections on the homepage should be designated for paid advertisements (both banner and side ads). 2. Tournaments Filterable Searchable List: A page dedicated to listing all upcoming tournaments. Filters should include: Location Filters: State, City, or a specific mile radius (e.g., within 50 miles). Tournament Type: Single, doubles, mixed doubles, handicap, scratch, women’s, men’s, youth, amateur, professional, etc. These should be selectable options, that you can select multiple boxes. Price Filters: Cost to enter. Side Pots: Whether or not there are side pots. Search Flexibility: Allow users to leave any filter unmarked, so they can see all tournaments within the selected area. Tournament Details: Each listing should have detailed information including: Name of the event Date and time Location (address, venue name) Type of event (singles, doubles, etc.) Cost of entry Whether side pots are available Contact information for the tournament director How to sign up Submission Feature: Tournament directors or users should be able to submit new tournaments directly through a form on the website. After submission, entries should be reviewed by an admin for approval and then automatically added to the listings. 3. Coaches Filterable Searchable List: A page where users can search for coaches based on location and specialty (e.g., bowling, sports psychology, fitness). Filters include: Location Filters: State, City, or within a specified mile radius. Coaching Specialty: Bowling, mental game coaching, strength & conditioning, etc. Price Filters: Hourly rates, session rates, etc. Search Flexibility: Allow users to leave any filter unmarked for a broader search. Coach Details: Each coach should have: Name, bio, and qualifications Location (city/state) Contact information Availability and pricing Submission Feature: Coaches should be able to submit their details via a form. New coach listings should be reviewed by an admin before approval. 4. Resources Categorized Resource Library: A page that includes resources for bowlers (and eventually other athletes), categorized by: Training Materials: Articles, videos, drills, etc. Equipment & Gear: Links to products for purchasing equipment like bowling balls, shoes, etc. Tournament Prep: Tips for preparing for tournaments. User-Generated Content: Allow users to submit resources to be reviewed and approved for inclusion. 5. Youth Bowler to College Coaches Tab Purpose: This section will connect youth bowlers with college coaches from various institutions. The primary goal is to provide a centralized place for athletes to explore collegiate opportunities in bowling and connect with coaches from NCAA programs and other sanctioned programs. Filters: Division Filters: NCAA divisions, etc. Location Filters: Allow users to filter by state, region, or within a specified mile radius. Major Filters: Filter by academic major School/Coach Information: Each school listing should include the following details: Coach's Name and Contact Information School Location: City, state, and school name. Program Overview: General information about the school’s bowling program, including the type of team (varsity, club, etc.) and any notable awards. Scholarship Opportunities: Details on potential scholarships or other financial assistance offered by the program. Previous Achievements: Notable awards the team or individual athletes have received. Application & Recruitment Info: Links to the school’s recruitment process, eligibility requirements, and application guidelines. Submission Feature: Schools can submit their information to be listed, which will go through an admin review before being added to the site. 6. Admin Dashboard Easy Content Moderation: Admins should be able to review submitted content and approve or reject them before they appear on the site. Admins will create most submissions from scratch, with necessary details. Analytics: Admin should have access to traffic analytics, click rates on ads, and other key metrics to monitor site performance. This includes: Foot Traffic: The number of visitors coming to the site overall and to specific pages Source Tracking: Breakdown of how users are arriving at the site User Engagement: Information on how visitors are interacting with the site (e.g., which pages they visit most frequently, how long they stay, bounce rate). Ad Performance: Data on how well the ads are performing, including click-through rates (CTR) and revenue generated from each ad placement. Revenue Management: Admin should be able to manage paid ads and tournament promotions. 7. Monetization Strategy Ad Revenue: Businesses related to bowling (or other sports in the future) can purchase advertising space on the website, especially on high-traffic pages like the homepage or tournament pages. Tournament Promotion Service: Tournament directors can pay a fee to have their events prominently featured on the homepage or within specific search results. There should be an option for tournament directors to promote their event for a set period (e.g., one week, one month). Subscription or Paid Features: Future features could include premium membership for users, offering exclusive content or features. Technical Requirements 1. Website Architecture CMS Integration: Consider using a robust content management system (like WordPress or Drupal) for easy content submission and management. Database Structure: The website will require a well-structured database to store tournament, coach, college program, and resource information. Each entry should have fields for all necessary details (name, date, type, cost, location, etc.) and relationships between data (e.g., coaches linked to locations, tournaments linked to coaches, and college programs linked to schools). 2. User Experience (UX) Design Intuitive Navigation: Ensure the website has clear, easy-to-use navigation. Users should be able to seamlessly switch between searching for tournaments, coaches, college programs, and resources. Responsive Design: The site must be mobile-friendly and work well on all device types (smartphones, tablets, desktops). Search & Filter: The search functionality should be intuitive, with a wide range of filter options to narrow down search results. 3. Submission Forms & Automation Tournament/Coach/College Program Submission Forms: Forms should be simple but detailed. They should include validation rules to ensure accurate data entry (e.g., checking that the date is valid, verifying location). Auto-Approval and Moderation: After submission, the information should be added to a queue for review. Once approved by an admin, the information should be automatically populated on the site. 4. SEO & Speed Optimization SEO Best Practices: The website should follow SEO best practices, with keyword optimization for tournament types, locations, coaches, college programs, and relevant resources. Fast Loading Times: Ensure the website is optimized for speed, particularly for the tournament search, college program search, and large datasets. 5. Security User Authentication: For certain features (e.g., submitting tournaments or coaches), users should be required to create an account. Data Protection: All user data should be stored securely and compliant with relevant data protection laws (e.g., GDPR). 6. Payment Integration For monetization purposes, integrate payment systems (such as Stripe or PayPal) to facilitate transactions for paid ads and tournament promotions. Development Phases Phase 1: Website Framework & Basic Functionality Set up the website’s content management system (CMS). Develop basic pages: homepage, tournament page, coach page, resource page, and the new youth bowler to college coach page. Implement search and filter functionality for tournaments, coaches, and college programs. Basic submission form for tournaments, coaches, and college programs. Phase 2: Advanced Features & Monetization Implement the admin dashboard with traffic analytics and revenue management. Develop the payment system for tournament promotion and ads. Refine the submission system for tournament, coach, and college program listings. Phase 3: Future Expansion Add other sports and athletic categories as the platform growsContinue to refine user experience, including personalized features and subscription services