Athletics In The South-West

Describing the sport of Athletics
in Avon, Cornwall, Devon,
Dorset, Gloucestershire,
Somerset and Wiltshire.

Website / Meetings: Technical Matters

Intercom Radio Protocols

You have had an intercom radio thrust into your hands at a meeting. This YouTube Video from Welsh Athletics gives a guide to what you should and shouldn't do and say when operating it.
 
Broken Website Links
Broken Links?: Sometimes websites are closed, or their owners / controllers rename them without telling anyone. Website managers might find this Dead Link Checker site (free for occasional use) useful.

Late October 2020: This site's Webmaster did a check on a random sample of SW County and Club websites -- and entries came up for a few of these.

December 2020: Note: the above link checker doesn't pick up all problems. One club (no, I'm not saying which one!) changed its website URL a bit ago. The "extinct" URL had been bought by a venture which, to put it mildly, does not conform to the normal ethos of an athletic club.
 
Secure Sockets Layer -- What's That?
More simply known as SSL, this is a small piece of software which guarantees that websites whose URL begins https: have a guaranteed level of secure, encrypted communication, very significant for sites which accept subscriptions, race entries, etc. on-line. You can read more about these at This Site.

However these 'Certificates' can expire, as UKA found out a few months ago when their website went down. Hopefully the relevant software supplier will remind you in time, but if you want to check the expiration date and are using the Google Chrome browser:
  • Start by clicking the padlock icon in the address bar for whatever website you're on.
  • Click on Valid.
  • In the pop-up box, click on 'Valid' under the 'Certificate' prompt.
  • Check the Expiration Data.
  •  
  • (Other methods exist for other browsers)
 
"It's On The Website" -- "No, It's Not"
If a website user complains that they can't see the site update you recently made, it could simply be that the complainant is looking at the previous version of the site, 'helpfully' being held in the Browser Cache to save upload time when you re-visit a site. To clear this problem, ask the user to:
  • 'Force Refresh' , either: by using the refresh / reload icon on the browser (typically a reverse-arrow) or: by using the appropriate keyboard short-cut (Windows: CTRL + F5; Mac/Apple: Apple + R or Cmd + R; Linux: F5)
  • Or: to clear their Browser Cache (procedure will be different for each browser)


Sections of This Site:

The South-West Counties

This will direct you to the websites of the seven South-West Counties and of the corresponding County Schools Associations


The EA South-West Council

What it does for athletes, coaches, officials, etc.; Who currently serves on it.


South-West Championships

Details of the Championships which the South-West Council organises or manages.


Other SW Competitions

Information about other competitions available to athletes in the area.


Non-Competition Events

Opportunities other than competitions for athletics activists.


Other SW News

Other aspects of athletics in the area; Information links.


Tech. Stuff

Suggestions for enhancements for websites, meeting arrangements, and the like.