OHL North Bay Battalion

Battalion Nation Gets Upgraded Application

Published on October 24, 2014 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - A new mobile application will keep fans of the North Bay Battalion even more connected to the Ontario Hockey League club.

Staff and students at North Bay's Canadore College are releasing an updated version of the application that debuted last season during the Battalion's inaugural campaign in the Gateway City.

"This is designed specifically for Battalion fans, and it has a lot of information they'll want at their fingertips," said Krista Hildner, a technologist and professor in Canadore's Mobile Application Development program.

"The possibilities with something like this are very exciting. It has news which tells you which game is coming up and it has a countdown timer to the next game. There are news stories, and the app also has a feature that shows the current game score, and this is updated live with the score, shots and time remaining during games. This keeps people who can't be at the game up to speed and involved."

Users also can access the team's roster, schedule and statistics, as well as the OHL standings. There are links to the club's social media outlets and a link to purchase game tickets online. Hildner said there is a photo gallery that will be updated after every home game. Plans for a video section are in the works for a future release.

"It's very interactive and it's packaged in a way that's very user-friendly. It's very up-to-date, with a lot of live information. It lets you connect with the team and the players. The menu is organized in a fashion that makes it easy to find the information."

Hildner said the app contains features to permit fans to reproduce the sound of a cowbell and submit a message to be shown on the Memorial Gardens videoboard.

"If you're at the game and you have the app, you can click on the cowbell and, as long as you shake your phone, the cowbell will ring. A lot of people think this is a fun feature. If you're at a home game, you can fill in a form with your name and a short message for the videoboard. This can be anything from 'Go Battalion Go' to 'Happy birthday, John,' and it will be sent to the gameday production crew, who will vet it, and it might be shown on the videoboard."

Hildner said the app is available now to Android users, with versions for Apple devices and BlackBerry expected shortly.

"We're currently packaging an Apple version, and hopefully that will be available to download in the next two weeks. We're putting together a BlackBerry version that will have the same functionality. That's been submitted for review, and we're waiting to see when that will be available and we're hoping that will be in the next week."

Canadore was involved in the production of the original app, which Hildner said was downloaded 2,300 times by Apple and Android users.

"The first version had a lot of involvement from the students here. We took what was created last year and made it bigger and better. The first thing we did last year was look at what other OHL teams were doing and what National Hockey League teams were doing. We took what we felt were the best features and pulled them all together to create this great app for the Battalion."

Hildner said her colleague Phil Cowcill, Canadore's coordinator of Mobile Application Development and Advertising programs, received interest in the Battalion app from the NHL's Detroit Red Wings.

"He was at a conference in the United States, and somebody there had seen the app and was very interested in what we had done. There were aspects they had liked and, whether it goes anywhere or not, it's very exciting to know the Red Wings had seen it and were interested in it."

Canadore has been involved with the Battalion in a variety of ways.

"We're fortunate and appreciative of our partnership with Canadore College and the School of Media, Design and Dramatic Arts," said club president Mike Griffin. "The faculty and students in Graphic Design and Television and Video Production play key roles in our videoboard presentation, while Phil and Krista have used their expertise to develop an excellent app for our fans."

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from October 24, 2014


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