The 2009 Club and Division Web Site Contest will take place during the second half of July.
All club and division web sites listed here on the district web site will be automatically entered in the contest. You can check to see if your club or division site is listed by going to the Club Locator.
Judging will once again be done by webmasters from other Kiwanis districts in North America.
The following judging criteria will be used, with each worth 10 points:
- Is the site up to date? Are there any out-of-date references? Are new and upcoming events listed?
- Does the club/division have its own domain name?
- Is a link to the Kiwanis International web site featured?
- How useful is the information available to both non-members and members?
- Do the links on the site work properly? Is the navigation easy to follow? Are graphics displayed properly?
- How strong is the site's overall impression on a visitor?
The web site of the Kiwanis Club of Utica won the top prize in the 2008 District Web Site Contest. The site scored 54 points out of a maximum of 60 to edge out a strong list of competitors.
There was a three-way tie for second place in the club division, with the sites of the East Meadow, Patchogue, Sand Lake Kiwanis clubs each posting a score of 52.67. All three sites have been strong finishers in past competitions.
There were a total of 9 sites which had a score of 50 or better; with only 60 points available, that is an outstanding group. Also scoring more than 50 points were Oneonta, 51.33; Merrick, 51; Lewiston, 50.67; Rochester, 50.33, and Maspeth, 50.
Winning the division contest was the Van Rensselaer Division with 56 points. Also scoring above 50 in the division contest was the Long Island South Central division, with 52. Van Rensselaer defended the title it won last year.
Judging was done by Roger Deem, webmaster of the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District; Dwight Watt, webmaster of the Georgia District, and Glen Kleine, webmaster of the Kentucky-Tennessee District.
The judges offered some comments on the sites they viewed. The year-in-review video on the East Meadow site was called an "impressive addition."
In the division contest, a judge said the "Van Rensselaer site is about the cleanest and best division site I've seen. Classy!"
Drawing some criticism were sites using music or other "cute" things such as mouse tails. They served to detract from the sites' message, the judges noted.
Problems caused by web hosts, including the ones that allow site posting for free, also were noted. Spam messages, slow loading sites and other issues related to the hosting were a distraction, judges noted.
Here are links to the winning sites:
Club Competition:
1. Utica
2. East Meadow
2. Patchogue
2. Sand Lake
Division Competition: