Aug. 18, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Shutterfly, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFLY), the leading Internet-based social expression and personal publishing service, today enhances its lineup of free, customizable Share websites with the addition of new Youth Sports features. Simultaneously, the Company announces a partnership with Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) to deliver resources for parents and coaches to enhance the youth sports experience for themselves and their children. The announcements come on the heels of a recent survey revealing that 77 percent of adults feel that youth sports are too competitive, and that parents identify themselves as the worst offenders.
“As a company, we are focused on celebrating life’s joy: moments large and small,” said Peter Elarde, chief marketing officer at Shutterfly. “That not only includes the wins, but also the unexpected moments that occur between plays and on the sidelines. Too often parents miss those moments because as team volunteers they are tasked with everything from snack planning to making transportation arrangements. In partnership with PCA, we’re reminding parents to put the fun back in youth sports while helping ease the logistical burden through our new Share sites.”
According to an online company-sponsored survey administered by AbsolutData from August 4-9, 61 percent of parents with kids involved in youth sports say they would like a centralized place where parents and coaches can share game pictures - featuring photo and video sharing and more. Shutterfly’s Youth Sports Share sites are the perfect tool for making team management easier. The key features for the new Sports Share sites include:
Command Central for Roster, Calendar & More: Shutterfly Youth Sports Share sites are designed to be command central for your child’s team, housing roster and contact information, game day updates and even tracking snack duty. With the new youth sports setup wizard, the site creator – usually the team parent or a coach – receives a series of short prompts to input the key information about the season needed to get the site up and running. An improved calendar feature not only sends reminder notifications for practices and games, but also sends automatic email updates on who’s bringing snacks and player availability on game days - parents are the recipients of all site communications.
Free Photo and Video Sharing: Every Youth Sports Share site comes with a page for uploading an unlimited number of images and up to 10 short videos for free. After each game, a new folder is automatically created for site members to upload their team photos, complete with detailed instructions. Photos are posted in their original size, and are available for download for free or can be purchased as prints directly from the site. Photos from the site can also be easily made into coach's gifts like photo books and posters.
