After 17 years as webmaster, Trials Australia founder Keith Jobson is stepping aside. In his place comes a new webmaster Matt Langtree. Matt is a keen Victorian rider, and his skills in web development will ensure Trials Australia continues to grow and provide all the latest information on mototrials in Australia.
Trials Australia has been in operation since 1996, started by Keith as a way of combining his interest in trials and his skills in web development. He reflects here on that time.
"When I first started riding in 1995, the primary method of communicating to riders about upcoming events was the Club newsletter. Every club had their newsletter editor, who, each month, laboriously chased down content, typed it up, included any entry forms for that month's events, and mailed it out to club members."
"I had been using computers and bulletin boards for some years, and I decided that I could get these newsletters, scan them, and put the content online so that everyone could see what the other clubs were doing."
That was the start of Trials Australia, and the start of the best part of two decades of developing, tweaking, adding features and content to help promote trials in Australia.
"The underlying theme for TA has been about providing information for Australian riders, and helping the non-riding public find out more about our fantastic sport. That's it. Everything that happens on the site serves only those two purposes."
In the 17 years since its inception, Trials Australia has experienced nothing but growth. Starting during the period of Internet infancy, in 1997 the site was visited by 15-20 people each day. Fast-forward to 2013 and the number of unique visitors per day is around 600, with three-quarters from within Australia. The content for the site is provided by twenty-six individual Clubs around Australia, plus more than twenty site sponsors, who all regularly contribute important news on events, bikes, products, industry news, and more. Clearly Trials Australia serves as a very important resource for riders and general public alike.
"I'm pretty happy with what Trials Australia has become. There are so many people who contribute, which makes the site a lot richer, and obviously makes my life easier. I would especially like to thank the Forum moderators who keep the site free from spam. Also, a big thanks to Peter Arnold who has done a lot in the background over at least 10 years."
With so much growth and ever-changing technologies, there comes extra responsibility in maintaining relevance to the audience of Trials Australia. People are using technology differently - instantly on their mobile phone, and of course via Facebook, Twitter, and any number of social platforms. To harness these properly in a way that people can use requires new skills.
"For some time I've been on the look-out for a replacement. I've had a number of criteria in mind: they have to have the appropriate web skills, the capacity to take it on, and most importantly an enthusiasm for the sport. I'm happy to have found it in Matt."
"Last year Matt popped onto the scene, and created the website for the Mt Tarrengower World Trials Championships event. He started riding at more and more events. He spoke to me last year about some enhancements to the Trials Australia site, and then I found out his day-job was developing websites. When I asked if he would be interested in taking over TA, he jumped at the chance. I have no doubt that TA is in good hands."
Keith may have stepped away from the development and maintenance of the site, but he will continue to be involved as a contributor.
"I look forward to seeing what Matt can do with Trials Australia. It'll be strange seeing changes happen without me, but really it's time to see TA take the next big leap forward."
For an interesting look back in time at Trials Australia, take a look at the "Wayback Machine" Internet Archive site:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.trials.com.au
