How does the Epeak app boost member participation in Union Athlétique Châteaubourg’s training sessions?
The Epeak Testimonial from Union Athlétique de Châteaubourg (UAC)
Welcome to this Epeak testimonial video. Who are you?
"Hello, my name is Yoann Royer. I am in charge of IT matters at the UAC, Union Athlétique de Châteaubourg. I also oversee the running section of the athletics club."
Can you introduce us to the Union Athlétique de Châteaubourg?
"The UAC is divided into three sections. We have the youth athletics section, with about 80 young members, the Nordic walking section with 100 members, and a running section, also with around 100 members."
The UAC is part of the Entente de Haute Bretagne Athlétisme (HBA). What’s the benefit for your athletics club?
"The major benefit is bringing together the best athletes from the seven sections of the HBA to create teams at a good level, such as the regional level. This gives us a chance to qualify for the sections of the New Pôle France."
How do you keep your members engaged with the club?
"It’s not always easy, to be honest. But we’re fortunate to have a very dynamic board of about fifteen people. We organize a lot of festive events and community runs to maintain a positive atmosphere in the club. This year, 2023-2024, has been great for us. Members are showing up in large numbers for workouts. You can see it in Epeak, with the number of 'raised hands' – the 'I am joining' responses have been increasing for a year now. It’s motivating for both the coaches and the board."
Which sport is growing the most at UAC?
"This year, it's mainly trail running. It’s really popular in the club. In Brittany, there are quite a lot of trail runners, though there’s no clear reason why."
What issues have you solved with Epeak?
"Before Epeak, we had an outdated website and many different WhatsApp groups by interest and race, which made things complicated to manage. With Epeak, everything is centralized. We have dedicated Epeak sections for running, Nordic walking, cross country, the board, and more. Communication with members has improved because we can reach everyone from the app. We also have a race summary feature, which we didn’t have before, and the planning of social events has become much easier."
Where are the best places to run in Rennes?
"We’re lucky to be in a region with many forests. There’s the Corbière forest, the Liffré forest, and the beautiful Brocéliande forest, which is more famous in Brittany. We also have great spots to prepare for trail running, like the Boël Valley and the Couesnon Valley, with some nice hills to train on."
The Group Management App for Track Clubs
Union Athlétique Châteaubourg manages its community through dedicated groups.
Running Group
As Yoann explained, having a race calendar for club members is a first for UAC. With Epeak, members can directly choose the races they plan to participate in, and these races are automatically added to the racing group. This way, everyone can easily see who is participating in which races throughout the season. The ultimate goal is to increase UAC’s presence in regional races and across France.
Workout Group
To race, you have to train! The coaches at Union Athlétique Châteaubourg share workout sessions and training plans in the club's workout group. Epeak allows the creation of structured sessions, whether recurring or one-off. For long runs, this group also makes it easy to share course maps in GPX format.
Cross Country Group
Cross country is the school of life! The terrain is muddy, it’s cold, and you have to go fast. It’s a great way to build endurance during the winter. The UAC cross country group centralizes all the training sessions and cross country competitions for the club.
Nordic Walking Group
Nearly 100 members practice Nordic walking at Union Athlétique de Châteaubourg. Group management on Epeak makes it easy to share events and messages with a specific section of the club. With one central tool, the club’s board and coaches can communicate directly with each group without overwhelming the rest of the club members.
UAC Board Group
The UAC Board group handles the club’s administrative activities. This is a private group that is not visible to members outside the board. To ensure the club’s confidentiality, only administrators can invite members to join the board group on Epeak.
UAC Party Group
Saving the best for last :) A sports club is also, and above all, about moments of fun and camaraderie. UAC fully utilizes Epeak’s group management features with a dedicated group for organizing the club’s social events.
Effortless Workout Planning for your Club
Training Sessions details at a glance
In just a few seconds, UAC members can check the day's workout carefully prepared by the coach. They’ll find all the necessary details, including location, date, and specific content of the upcoming session.
And even if a member misses a group session, no worries! Epeak provides a complete history of past workouts. This makes it easy to catch up and train solo at their own pace, following previous programs.
See who’s attending to better plan group sessions
Club members can see who will be attending the training session, making it easier to arrange carpooling and reduce the environmental impact of their travel. This approach allows them to actively contribute to environmental preservation by limiting the number of vehicles used to get to the session.
Knowing the number of participants also provides a significant advantage in organizing the session. By understanding the group's composition, they can adjust the intensity and complexity of the workout according to each individual's level.
Easily create recurring workouts to save coaches time
The running coaches at UAC can create recurring workouts in just one second.
With this feature, they can quickly duplicate an existing session while keeping the same location and time settings. This easy creation process saves them time in planning sessions and allows them to easily customize workouts based on individual goals or group preferences.
