Administrators of National Olympic Committees (NOCs) from around the Caribbean region recently gathered at the Barbados Olympic Association Inc. (BOA) for training on the Zeus Athlete Data Management System. Zeus is a simple, secure sports data management system that can be managed from anywhere in the world.
European Regional Development Manager for Commonwealth Games Federation, Ellen Barwise of Canada and Administrative officer of the BOA, Gail Craig-Archer of Barbados were the facilitators of the course which attracted participation from 14 territories (Dominica, Grenada, Anguilla, Antigua, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Guyana, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad & Tobago and Turks & Caicos).
Barwise interned at the BOA in 2009. She told the participants who were all at different stages of using Zeus that they should see the software as more than a database but as a business management tool that allowed each country to own their secure database. “We see only what the NOCs want us to see. The information is truly theirs, and they have to give us access at every stage. Zeus has come a long way, and the new feature that we are rolling out is the ability of officials and others to be given access to update their information. This makes the information even more up-to-date and useful,” Barwise said.
Cleave Michael Farrington, who represented the British Virgin Island, said that he saw the Zeus software as vital. “I have been to a number of refreshers for Zeus, but this time around the introduction of the athlete’s portal has taken the program to the next level. The training for me was very beneficial and a success,” Farrington said.
Zeus allows NOCs to manage personal contact information, accreditations for major games, health and anti-doping information and outfitting information for example. Barwise told participants that there was even more to Zeus, and the region should explore as a body the implementation of more of its features including using the Zeus wireframes on their websites. NOCs are current using Zeus to register for the upcoming Pan American Games in Canada.
