Throughout most of the country, the weather is getting warmer, the rainy days are becoming fewer and further between, and the days are getting longer. Summer is kind of a mixed bag in the fitness industry, and can be either your slowest time or your busiest time, depending on the type of facility that you run. For those of you with a facility that concentrates on working out – full of cardio machines and weight benches, you might notice that there is not as long of a wait list to get on a treadmill in the evenings. People can now take their runs outdoors, and various league sports are starting up for them to get their cardio fix. Those of you in Campus Recreation are in for a very slow couple of months as all of the students go home for the summer. However, those of you who have full-service facilities, with tennis courts, outdoor pools, and large youth programs are now getting into the really busy part of your year. True, you might have fewer adults coming to use your facility, but they pretty much take care of themselves. When your facility becomes inundated with children during the summer months is when your staff truly earns their pay.
So why am I talking about this in a software company blog? Well, I want to give you all a few ideas of things you can do with the software to make the summer months easier and to prepare for next fall. As I write this, we are about a week away from Memorial Day weekend, which in addition to being the day that we remember those brave members of the Armed Forces who gave their lives fighting for our freedom, also marks the day that outdoor pools are opening all over the country for the summer season.
There are several ways that CSI Software can help out at an outdoor pool. First, you can set up the system to track all of the visits to the pool, and you can restrict access to only those people who have a pool membership. The system can combine your pool usage with your facility usage so you can get total usage figures, while at the same time tracking them separately so that you can see how many people came into each area. Second, you can set up a Point of Sale station at your pool. This will allow you to sell guest passes, supplies (sunscreen, goggles, etc.), and snacks/beverages if you have a snack bar or cabana by your pool. Third, and possibly the most profitable, the Program Registration module can keep track of your group swim lesson rosters, schedules, and fees for you. Parents can even enroll their kids and pay for their lessons online!
What about those tennis or sand volleyball courts? Well, the system can help out there, too. The Scheduler can keep track of court reservations or private lessons, both of which can be scheduled online. Program Registration can keep track of group tennis lessons, and Event Manager can keep track of when various groups (internal or external) will be using the sand volleyball courts.
Summer is also a big time for youth and teen league sports, and CSI Software has you covered there too – check out our League and Tournament Manager to keep track of all of your teams. Through this tool, you can enroll participants, collect fees, create your schedule, book the fields that will be used, keep track of participation, and track the results of each game and the standings within the league. Guess what, this can all be done online too!
Those of you who are looking down the barrel of a slow summer, I haven’t forgotten about you – this is a good time for you to evaluate your software needs for the upcoming fall season and for you to learn more about the use of the software so you can maximize your investment. What are some things that you can do during your slow time? Well, how about upgrading your software, for starters? If you are not already on Spectrum NG, the summer is a good time for you to look at making the switch. The training calendar is filling up quickly, though, so make sure you get yours booked soon.
If you are already on Spectrum NG, perhaps you can make it your goal to learn the full intricacies of one or two modules that you’re not too familiar with now. Perhaps you should learn a module that you haven’t purchased yet so you can see if that would be of benefit to your facility. Live web seminars are being offered all summer long on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for various modules within the software, and we have a library of previously recorded sessions available on our website for you to view whenever you’d like. Check out our live webinar schedule by clicking on http://www.csisoftwareusa.com/training/schedule.php. Click on the “Watch Now” link on the right side of that screen if you want to see the list recorded webinars. In addition to that, we have a whole series of lessons in our eLearning Library (http://www.csisoftwareusa.com/training/online.php) for you to watch at your own pace as well. Don’t see the webinar or lesson you’re looking for? Just send me an email at education@csisoftwareusa.com and request it. Lastly, you can always schedule a time with your Account Manager to go over the software package you are currently using and try to determine ways that you could be using it better.
Well, I hope that this has given you some ideas for ways that you can spend summer at your facility. If you’re interested in getting a demonstration of any of the software modules I mentioned here, please contact your Account Manager. If you are located west of the Mississippi River, that would be Toni Grafner (tgrafner@csisoftwareusa.com), and if you are east of the Mississippi River, that would be Randy Cruz (rcruz@csisoftwareusa.com). To find out more about how you could be better using your existing software modules, look at the webinar schedule for a pertinent session, or feel free to contact me by email at education@csisoftwareusa.com
I hope you have a great summer!
PJ Gustafson
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