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Oakville Beaver
Need a goalie
on short notice? New website can help.
Herb Garbutt Feb 17, 2007
It's tough to win a hockey game without a goalie,
but a new website based out of Burlington wants to make sure local
recreational teams never find themselves without a netminder.
Meshminder.com, launched just over a week ago, hopes to bridge the
gap between teams and goalies.
"It's always a hassle," said Meshminder president
Frank Fortino, himself a recreational player. "You leave a message
but you don't hear back and you're left wondering. I thought there's
got to be an easier way to do this."
Since Meshminder started, the company's president
Frank Fortino said, more than 60 goalies have registered. While
other sites offer the same service, Fortino says what sets
Meshminder apart is that it automatically matches up goalies with
teams upon receiving a request. When goalies register on the site,
they list criteria such as playing level, available nights and
times, how far they are willing to travel and what they charge. When
a team submits a request, the site automatically sends an e-mail to
all the goalies that fit the criteria. They can in turn contact the
team.
Fortino said the system works better for goalies
because they only receive requests that fit their designated
criteria.
"A lot of services are just a classified listing
and 90 per cent of the goalies have taken their name off because
they are being bombarded with calls. This filters the junk out."
Within a month, Fortino said, it will be possible
for players to make requests and confirm games from mobile devices.
While Fortino is currently focusing his efforts on
recruiting goalies, he said the site already has the capability to
provide a similar service for referees, trainers or players looking
for a pickup game.
"Goalie rental is really just the starting point,"
he said.
Another added feature is an arena locator with
more than 4,500 arenas in its database. If you are a registered
player, the site will automatically provide directions from your
home to the arena.
Fortino said another unique aspect to the site is
that it does not charge finders fees. Though it cost between $60,000
to $70,000 to develop the software, which was created by PdMAIN,
and get the system operating, Fortino said the cost will eventually
be recovered through advertising.
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