1. SIMS SAILING INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
TITLE
SIMS SAILING INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
DATE

2. Paradigm Shift

3. SIMS What are SIMS? Sailing Information Management Systems
Translation: IT systems provided by Yachting Australia to help affiliated sailing organisations
SIMS
mySailor
myClub
myWebsite
myClass
myCentre

4. Current Focus Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 myWebsite myClub myClass
myCentre
Phase 4
Competition
Management

5. Why has Yachting Australia Invested in SIMS?
A quarter of all member subscription income has been committed to SIMS over the next 3 years – second biggest YA financial commitment behind insurance
Reduce workload and create efficiency in sailing organisations
Identified need by Yachting Australia in conjunction with member States to invest in IT systems to better serve the sport of sailing
Desire to have industry leading IT systems for the management and administration of the sport
Necessity to improve data quality

6. Who are Fox Sports Pulse?
Fox Sports Pulse (FSP) is a leading provider of IT systems to National and State sporting bodies as well as sports clubs. Some of their clients include:
FSP acquired our previous supplier (BVIT) in They are part of Fox Sports and ultimately owned by News Ltd
YA evaluated alternative providers and selected FSP on the basis of their combined technology and customised systems suited to sailing

7. Why Working with FSP is Good for Sailing?
Stability: FSP are part of Fox Sports and have the backing of News Ltd. Being part of large organisations helps create stability within FSP – they’re not going anywhere.
Scale: FSP is a large organisation that works with many clients. This allows them transfer the benefits of work between clients.
Progressive: FSP is committed to being at the forefront of technology
Support & Training: Easy to use online support and training material is provided via the FSP network
Customer Driven: FSP works to provide solutions based on customer needs

8. What Do SIMS Do? Membership Registration and Renewal
Course and Qualification Management
Event Set Up and Entry
Reporting
Communication
Provision of Websites

9. 1. Membership Registration and Renewal

10. The Facts - Membership System/s: myClub, myClass
Used by: Club administrators, Class administrators
Cost: No cost other than the fee for online payments
Key Benefits/Features:
Online Registration/Renewal & Payment: Easy to follow process for membership registration/renewal and payment online
Flexible Payment Options: Ability to restrict payment to online only or allow other payment methods (cash, cheque, direct debit etc…)
Customisable Registration Form: Specific fields can be added to the standard national/state registration form to create a customised form
Integration with other SIMS: Information recorded against a member during registration/renewal flows through to other SIMS, meaning there’s is no need to update records across multiple sources

11. Key Point – Responsibility with the Member
Organisations can set up a customised registration form and distribute online
Members renew/register via the online form and their record is updated to current in the system once the have completed the registration process
Other than setting up the registration form there is no further administrator involvement with getting a member updated in the YA system

12. Practical Application
Example Sailing Club
Current YA System
Club membership season runs from April to March
Membership details can only be entered into YA system from August
Drawbacks
Members are not ‘current’ for a period of 4 months between when they register at the club and when they can be entered into the YA system
Payments for membership cannot be taken in the system until YA has set up the season
New YA System
Membership in the YA system is based on club year
Benefits
Whenever club membership is updated by a club in the YA system, members will be ‘current’ in the YA system

13. 2. Course and Qualification Management

14. The Facts - Courses System/s: myCentre
Used by: Club administrators, Discover Sailing Centre administrators
Cost: No cost other than the fee for online payments
Key Benefits/Features:
Customisable Course Set Up: Course registration forms can be customised to collect specific information for different courses
Online Registration & Payment: Easy to follow process for participant registration and payment online to ensure maximum course participation
Flexible Payment Options: Ability to restrict payment to online only or allow other payment methods (cash, cheque, direct debit etc…) – entry available 24/7
Courses Displayed on Calendars: Across multiple websites to ensure maximum exposure
Confirmation of Entry: Automated entry confirmation sent to participants

15. Key Point – Control of Money
Compulsory payment for course entry – an entry will not be processed online unless payment has been received via the online registration form
Flexible payment options can also be enabled after online registration – cash, cheque, direct debit etc…
Money from course enrolment is paid into an organisation’s account within 2 business days
Custom reports can be created to track payments

16. Practical Application
Example Sailing Club
Current YA System
Courses set up online and entries received online
Payments received offline
Drawbacks
High number of participants pulling out of courses or not showing up
Essential income being lost due to course quotas being filled online but payments not being received for all entries
New YA System
Courses set up online can make online payment mandatory for course registration
Benefits
Guaranteed income from course registration
No need to chase offline payments

17. 3. Event Set Up and Entry

18. The Facts - Events System/s: myClub, myClass
Used by: Club administrators, Class administrators, Event organisers
Cost: No cost other than the fee for online payments
Key Benefits/Features:
Customisable Event Set Up: Event registration forms can be customised to collect specific information for different events
Online Registration & Payment: Easy to follow process for participant registration and payment
Flexible Payment Options: Ability to restrict payment to online only or allow other payment methods (cash, cheque, direct debit etc…)

19. Key Point - Online
Events are set up online and entries received online
Offline entries can be restricted and payment for entry can be limited to online only
Eliminates the hassle of having to tidy up entry on the day of an event

20. Practical Application
Example Class Association
Current YA System – 2012/13
0 event entries online
Events set up and entry processed manually offline
Drawbacks
Problems tracking and reporting payment and registration
New YA System – 2013/14
217 event entries
Thousands of dollars worth of event entries received online
Benefits
Payment required before entry is completed
Tracking and reporting via customised reporting functionality
Payments received within 48 hours from entry being completed

21. 4. Reporting

22. The Facts - Reporting
System/s: myClub, myClass, myCentre – via the Reporting tool
Used by: Club administrators, Class administrators, Discover Sailing Centre administrators, Event organisers
Cost: No cost
Key Benefits/Features:
Customised reporting: Reports can be created using any information recorded in SIMS enabling administrators to create reports as they wish
Stored reporting: Reports can be set up and stored so they can be run at any time in the future to allow for quick and easy reporting going forward
Segmentation: Customised reports can be used to define segments within the database for communication

23. Key Point – Flexibility to Create and Save Reports
Reports can be created and run at any time
After an initial investment of time in creating a report, it can be saved and run in the future with updated data as needed
Saved reports can be amended whenever required

24. Practical Application
Example Sailing Club
Current YA System
Reporting run manually by manipulating spreadsheets
Drawbacks
Reports need to be set up from scratch every time they need to be run
New YA System
Reports can be set up and saved in the system
Benefits
Saved reports can be run at any time

25. 5. Communication

26. The Facts - Communication
System/s: myClub, myClass, myCentre – linked to the Communicator tool
Used by: Club administrators, Class administrators, Discover Sailing Centre administrators, Event organisers
Cost: No cost
Key Benefits/Features:
Free: No cost to send communications
Segmentation: Segments can easily be defined and uploaded directly from the reporting tool
Development & Enhancement: The Communicator tool is continually being enhanced to include more advanced features

27. Key Point – Segmentation
Segments can be created based on any information collected in SIMS
Segments feed automatically (via the reporting tool) into the communicator tool
Segments can be saved and updated at any time

28. Practical Application
Example Sailing Club
Current YA System
Communications for specific events go out to all members
Drawbacks
Members ignore or block all communications to avoid receiving irrelevant communications
New YA System
Communications can be segmented and sent to specific groups within the club database
Benefits
Relevant communications sent to relevant members, creating a more responsive database
Sensitive or restricted communications can be sent to specific groups within the club database

29. 6. Provision of Websites

30. The Facts - Websites System/s: myWebsite
Used by: Club administrators, Class administrators, Event organisers
Cost: $200 (+ GST) annual fee
Key Benefits/Features:
Easy to use: The Content Management System (CMS) is easy to use and can be learned within a matter of hours
Training and support: Online learning resources and support available to access at a users discretion
Affordable: Only $200 per year for everything except the domain name registration – low cost compared to most alternative solutions
Features and functionality: The functionality and features allow for a professional website that reflects positively on the organisation
Secure:  Hosted offsite and backed up
Development & Enhancement: Ongoing improvement of the platform to prevent sites from becoming dated

31. Key Point - An Evolving Platform
The Standard/Advanced platform has more than 40,000 active websites across multiple sports
The platform is subject to continuous development and enhancement, driven by Yachting Australia and other sports using the platform
Since Yachting Australia commenced using the platform (October 2013), more than 20 functionality enhancements have been made after feedback provided by website users
A current major focus based on feedback provided by users is to enable editing/updating of websites on mobile devices

32. Practical Application
Carrum Sailing and Motor Boat Club

33. Practical Application
Leven Yacht Club

34. What About the Transaction Fee?
All online transactions processed through SIMS provided by Yachting Australia are subject to 3.9% (inc GST) fee.
Currently the transaction fee is 5% (inc GST) split between:
Merchant (Bank) fee & BvIT share: 2.8%
YA cost recovery: 2.2%
The 4.9% fee is split between:
Merchant (Bank) fee & Fox Sports Pulse share: 3.9%
YA cost recovery: nil!
The transaction fee is necessary to:
Cover the cost of the merchant (Bank) facility
Provide income to the service provider (FSP)

35. Privacy
Yachting Australia recognises that privacy is important and that individuals have a right to control their personal information
As such, Yachting Australia in conjunction with Fox Sports Pulse is committed to protecting personal information through the use of SIMS in compliance with Australian Privacy Principles as set out in the Privacy Act
For further information please visit the Yachting Australia website:

36. Privacy – Communications
Members will not be sent any communications from YA unless:
They opt-in via their mySailor profile
They subscribe to a specific communication
Members will have the ability to opt-out or unsubscribe at any time
FSP will not communicate with any members unless they have a Sporting Pulse Passport and have opted in to receive communications

37. Mandatory Fields
New mandatory fields:
Gender
DOB
Address

38. Gaining Access to SIMS
To gain access to SIMS a request must be sent to your State Super User
Each State has a process for verifying user access
To comply with privacy principles, it’s important that this process is followed and authorisation is provided via the correct channel
Access to training and support is available to all administrators – State Super Users can guide administrators to the best point of support

39. No More Cards Mailed

40. Thank You