The U.S. Eventing Association has announced that Xentry, their new online competition entry system, will launch Feb. 8 and will be immediately available for the registration of current open events. The new system aims to simplify and quicken the online entry process.
Though the USEA previously used www.evententries.com to accept online entry applications, USEA Director of Information Systems Management Robert Winter said that the association has long recognized the need for an internal system.
“The long story short is that we needed more integration with our services than another site could provide,” said Winter. “It just seemed easier for us to work within our own realm.”
Xentry has been in the works for over two years. Winter admitted that team behind the development process stopped to start again from beginning more than once. Now the final product recognizes entrants upon submission of their name or identification number by immediately accessing their information. USEA foresees this dissolving confusion over whether or not a rider or horse is qualified to enter or compete in a certain event, as Xentry will only allow eligible candidates complete the form.
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“We really wanted to approach doing an entry online in a different way,” Winter explained. “In this case, we wanted to make it that so someone who was a novice computer user could go in and quickly enter an event without having to know all the interworking of eventing fees or provide a lot of data. You log in, you make your selection, and you complete your payment.”
Other Xentry features include:
- Free access for all USEA members
- Option of paying by credit card for all events (3.5 percent credit card fee)
- Digital storage of Coggins paperwork
After Xentry goes live on Feb. 8, USEA staffers will begin another phase of adding these additional features:
- Integration with the online USEA Omnibus
- Electronic entry exchange for Startbox Events
- Barn secretary and family access for group entries
- Non-member access
- Electronic signature for event documents which would enable a complete paper free entry
