Methinks it should be top of his list to get a really comprehensive survey out to the Season Ticket holders before season end, especially since he's new to the role. With two 3rd Level institutions in the City he should be able to tap into some young academics who might be able to assist compiling and analysing same....

A reply from Saul himself. Not bad

As the new head he'll be keen to make his mark. Here's hoping some good stuff comes out of this.

good work B no.2 hope they will improve these things listed as some are very badly needed. this is what i love about connacht, they do reply to questions and are looking out for the supporters

Got a response to the survey from the branch, here it is:


"Firstly apologies for the delay in coming back to you. Things have been manic as we set about improving things for next year – it is an exciting and busy time to be involved in rugby in the region!

Thank you for sharing the survey results below with me – it is much appreciated.

The details have been very useful in giving me an early insight into our supporters experiences and thoughts. Some of which has helped form our thinking for moving forward."

Yours in rugby,

Alex

Alex Saul

Head of Marketing

Connacht Rugby The Sportsground, College Road, Galway

T +353 91 561568

E-Mailed this off this evening to the Connacht Branch with all details enclosed. In total there were 67 responses which hadn't increased much over the last few days so it seemed the right time to send it on but thats still a decent response. Thanks to all who responded

Hopefully it'll be of some use and the improvements made can be built upon through some of these suggestions.

in relation to the match promotion by connacht rugby i notice 34 said it was strong and 23 said it was weak. That might be influenced by where you live in the province and mite be worth taking a look at. I know i live here in roscommon about 15m from athlone and you wudnt know here when connacht were playing apart from a very brief mention in local paoers.

Forgot to mention the tannoy music being blared straight after the win against harlequins was really annoying, if we don't have natural atmosphere after a cracking win like that when will we ever?

9. What suggestions do you have to improve the Connacht matchday experience?

Ok I have tried to group these as best I can. I will copy all the comments and send them on with the email to the branch so people's views aren't lost in translation. Still the list is a bit rough but these are some of the ideas coming up. Will try to condense this a bit more. Perhaps some of these areas are where we can work as a supporters club to make more effective?

9 x Pre-game entertainment especially before team comes out / Connacht anthem etc. More razmatazz / colour for ordinary Rabo games. Generally people happy with build up ahead of HC games.
8 x More toilet facilities
7 x Continued Ground Development (<strong>Removable covers for Bohermore and College Road end</strong>) Seating in future.
4 x More entry and exit points from clan stand and enforce clearways.
3 x More than Heineken in Clan Bar (Deal with Guinness / Bulmers etc.) Bigger size bar
2 x Increased promotion outside Galway (Western People, Mayo News etc.)
2 x Drummers to help atmosphere, sense mood of crowd
2 x Rain Ponchos / Gloves etc.
2 x Reduced prices for behind Bohermore and College Road ends
2 x More student promotions (improvements in this regard)
2 x Muddy pathways need to be dealt with, potentially dangerous
2 x More vocal direction from stewards in helping find free space
2 x More kids activities (Supervised kids section like Toulouse, frees up others view of game)
2 x More leeway in where people can move (especially for Rabo games)
2 x More Parking
2 x More Irish Language Prevalence/ Songs
Bicycles spaces, free up one parking space for a bike rack
Set barriers back from pitch to help view
Keep kick off times away from 6.30 or so on Friday (too inaccessible)
More food / drink available after game
Flags at every games and flag bins after to collect
Not bombarded with charity collections, programmes etc. when entering ground.
Promotions to bring more women to games
Greater usage of space behind terraces for food / drink / memerobilia etc.
Reduce Programme prices
Price and Selection in bar could improve
Keep season tickets at same price for affordability, try to find revenue from other avenues
Bigger screen
Packages for travelling Connacht Supporters e.g. B&B's
Ref Link
Gather all information on local games / news / reports and place on connachtrugby.ie
Bring back Steak Burgers
Jersey Availability
More promotions with local factories
More assistance with getting ticketing /merchandise for away games for those not around Galway.
PA System sound quality can vary
Thanks to supporters after the game over PA system

Ok 67 responses in so time to provide some results here: The survey is still there for others to fill out. Hope to send off to Connacht sometime early next week:

1. Are you a Connacht Season Ticket Holder?
31 - Standard
14 - Weren't
11 - Student/OAP/Unwaged
7 - Family
2 - Enclosed

2. How would you rate the value of your season ticket?
Satisfactory - 4
Good - 19
Exceptional - 38

3. Do you plan buying a Connacht Season Ticket for 2012/2013?
Definitely - 36
Probably - 17
Maybe - 10
Definitely Not - 5

4. What are the main things you enjoy about following Connacht?
Atmosphere, Underdog, effort of players etc. get a lot of mentions.

5. What do you regard as the best time for Connacht to play their games?
Sat Evening 40
Fri Evening 30
Sat Afternoon 20
Sun Afernoon 2
Sun Evening 1.

6. How would you rate the following:
Poor: Satisfactory: Good: Excellent:
Matchday experience: Poor: 1 Satisfactory: 5 Good: 40 Excellent: 20
View of the Match: Poor: 3 Satisfactory: 12 Good: 43 Excellent: 8
Programme Value: Poor: 6 Satisfactory: 28 Good: 24 Excellent: 4
Food Price: Poor: 3 Satisfactory: 43 Good: 17 Excellent: 2
Food Availability: Poor: 9 Satisfactory: 39 Good: 14 Excellent: 4
Drink Availability: Poor: 9 Satisfactory: 21 Good: 30 Excellent: 5
Toilet Facilities: Poor: 22 Satisfactory: 31 Good: 13 Excellent: 0
Ground Entry and Exit: Poor: 4 Satisfactory: 24 Good: 29 Excellent: 9
Parking Facilities: Poor: 22 Satisfactory: 23 Good: 12 Excellent: 5

7. How would you rate Connacht Match Promotion?
Very Weak 1
Weak 26
Strong 36
Very Strong 2

8. Would you travel to Connacht Home games if they were moved to a different venue (e.g Dubarry Park)
Yes: 22
No: 27
Maybe: 19

9. What suggestions do you have to improve the Connacht matchday experience

I will go through this info and post the main points shortly.

Done

done

Thanks to all. 51 responses so far all very helpful with some good and detailed feedback.

Hope to put up some sort of results and feedback by the weekend. Obviously the feedback people wrote in, I will respect people's feedback and will seek to only publish the main points from it.

Re: RonanL thanks for the info: I do only have a free account but would look to upgrade if needs be. However, I'd be surprised if we get over 100 responses. Just sifting through some of the feedback now will take time.

Apologies for the other issue, don't know whats the problem there.

Done

FYI Borders, if you are using the free version of surveymonkey, you'll only be able to view the first 100 responses, otherwise you'll need to pay.

Also, the survey is allowing multiple answers for questions that should only allow one.

Done.

Done