Dear Region, Please find below an excerpt from an e mail about the
new website. Have a look and see what you think... The address is the
same at ara-rowing.org

For feedback or to report teething problems, write to
sitefeedback@...

Best, Rob

We wanted you to be the first to know that we are just about to
launch thenew version of the ARA website, incorporating both national
andinternational rowing. Over the next few months the website will
continue to develop as we add more content and features and respond
to your feedback.

Why? Back in 2007 we conducted a survey of our members asking how
you usedthe website and how we could improve it to provide a better
service for you.Here are some of the key changes that have been made
in response to feedback:

Navigation Some found the old navigation confusing. In order to
reduce the amount of time searching for pages we have picked a
smaller number of main sections of the website, which run along the
top of the site.

Styling We have opted for a cleaner, easier to read style that makes
more use of available space, while still working for those who still
use smaller screens. The aim is that pages with content are now less
cluttered and easier to read.

Browser support The new site runs efficiently on different browsers
and screen readers for the blind. GB rowing news and information We
have brought the two sites together.

ClubFinder We have created a new, improved version which helps
people find clubs in their local area, providing maps and more
detailed information. This is based on the excellent response to our
mailing requesting additional information from clubs and we thank
everyone who responded so promptly.

Racing Calendar The Racing Calendar has also had a revamp and
contains more information on upcoming competitions and allows you to
search for competitions by name. Click on a competition to see more
information. The information here as elsewhere will be improved and
revised based on your feedback.

News One of the main reasons given for using the ARA website was
access to current news. The front page now shows the latest three
items from both national and international news, with links to view
more.

Regions Regional pages have been enhanced and you can now subscribe
to news feeds relating to regions and also see upcoming competitions
and events for the region. The more news and information we receive,
the more useful it will be to our members. If your club has some news
or is planning to hold 'learn to row' courses, training camps or
coaching courses etc, let your local CDOs know and we will publicise
it for you.

Integration The new site framework gives us more flexibility to
integrate with video and interactive content, already in use in
RowHow. How you can help us continue to improve the website The
website revamp has been done for the benefit of you, the members of
the Association, but we also hope it will make things easier for
those who know nothing about rowing and would like to take up the
sport. We are following design standards and principles and the
results of the survey as much as possible, but we are reliant on your
continued feedback. If you have any comments or ideas about how we
can improve further, or notice any errors or broken links please
email sitefeedback@...