Case study Sport
Sports app development for a triathlon association
unicrew engineers modernized the sports website and built a mobile app for better membership management and race planning.
Triathlon Ireland, the national governing body for triathlon in Ireland, was running its membership and events platform on obsolete technology. unicrew rewrote it module by module onto .NET Core 3.1 and Vue JS, moved content management to WordPress and hosting to the association's own AWS environment, and shipped a React Native app to replace the old one. The payment module and financial reporting now work as intended, and the project executive reports a net gain in available staff hours for other projects.
- Client
- Triathlon Ireland
- Focus
- Sport
- Market
Ireland- Engagement
- Legacy modernization plus mobile app
- Stack
Vue JS
React Native
.NET
AWS
WordPress
Outcome at a glance
What this project delivered.
- 01Most of the site's features rewritten, for smoother operation and better performance
- 02Payment module and financial reporting working as intended
- 03A React Native app on the public app stores for managing membership and tracking events
- 04A net gain in available staff hours for alternative projects, in the client's own words
Project Overview
Triathlon Ireland is the national governing body for triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon, and related multisport disciplines in Ireland, and its website is the sport’s official online platform. The site covers:
- Event information: race calendars, event details, registration processes, and results
- Membership management: joining Triathlon Ireland, renewing, and managing member profiles
- Coaching and training resources and guidance for athletes and coaches
- News and updates for the Irish triathlon community
- An admin area that handles registrations, entries, and payment reports
The client’s system was outdated and slow because it ran on obsolete technology. The objective was to upgrade it to modern technology, boost performance, make it easier to maintain, and bring it in line with current industry standards. As a sports app development company, unicrew committed to delivering:
- A stable web platform that can manage a growing number of users each year
- A well-performing payment system
- An updated design and a new mobile app to replace the existing one
Challenge
One of the most significant obstacles to the sports app development was an outdated system that performed poorly. The work focused on optimizing and enhancing that legacy system to meet current needs and achieve better performance.
The primary challenge was optimizing the key API endpoints and database calls to improve performance, ensure code maintainability, implement better error handling, and adapt to evolving business needs. The engineers also had to transfer hosting to the client’s AWS environment, enhance the site’s UX/UI, and transition to WordPress CMS. To meet the need for mobile access, Triathlon Ireland managers decided to build a mobile app that complements the website.
Solution
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Transition to WordPress: WordPress CMS made managing website content and improving performance easier.
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AWS cloud hosting: relocating hosting to the client’s AWS environment ramped up security and scalability.
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Payment system: the payment module, coupled with financial reporting, now works as intended.
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Mobile application: available on the popular app stores, the app lets users manage their membership and track events.
To improve the site’s general performance, we rewrote the main functionality from Webforms to .NET Core 3.1 plus a Vue JS module, module by module, and updated the site’s design and user experience along the way. The engineers tailored custom solutions on .NET Core 3.1 and Vue JS for the web platform, WordPress for the content-management part, and React Native for the new mobile app.
Result
Functionality improved significantly, with better efficiency and performance. Most of the site’s features were rewritten, ensuring smoother operation and a more seamless user experience. The payment module and financial reporting now function as intended and effectively meet the client’s expectations.
The sports event app shipped with a clear, usable interface, making it easier for sports managers and athletes to manage related activities. Kevin Power-Kelly, the association’s project executive, attributes the increase in available staff hours to website improvements that reduced the workload, alongside improvements in front-end capabilities and user experience as well as back-end website management and financial monitoring.
unicrew has worked with Triathlon Ireland since 2017. For another mobile project, read the iOS and Android apps for a building-security software company, built on that client’s existing web client. The client reviews page collects what other clients say in their own words.
What the client says
Our website’s overall functionality has been improved both in frontend possibilities and user experience as well as backend aspects of website management and financial monitoring. These are not easily qualitfiable but there has been a net gain in available staff hours for alternative projects as a result of improved website abilities reducing workload.
06/Quick answers
The questions behind the project
What did unicrew build for Triathlon Ireland?
unicrew modernized Triathlon Ireland's outdated web platform and built a new mobile app to replace the existing one. The main functionality was rewritten from Webforms to .NET Core 3.1 plus a Vue JS module, module by module, with the site's design and user experience updated along the way. Content management moved to WordPress, hosting moved to the association's own AWS environment, and the payment module and financial reporting now work as intended.
How was the platform rewritten?
Module by module. The main functionality moved to .NET Core 3.1 plus a Vue JS module one piece at a time, and the site's design and user experience were updated along the way. The primary challenge was optimizing the key API endpoints and database calls to improve performance, ensure code maintainability, implement better error handling, and adapt to evolving business needs. Hosting was transferred to the client's AWS environment, which ramped up security and scalability.
What did the rebuild change for Triathlon Ireland?
The rebuilt platform improved performance, membership management, event tracking and financial reporting. The payment module and reporting now work as intended. The project executive reports that website improvements reduced workload, leaving staff more time for other projects. He also describes improvements in front-end capabilities, user experience, back-end management and financial monitoring. He says the gains are not easily quantifiable, so the case study does not assign them a figure.
What experience does unicrew have with membership and events platforms?
Triathlon Ireland has been a unicrew client since 2017, and the engagement has covered the whole platform. The team also works on mobile products built on a client's existing web client, as in the iOS and Android apps for a building-security software company. More client feedback is on the client reviews page.