Hantsweb Awards 2007

The Ramblers' Association Andover Group has fought off stiff competition to scoop a top web accolade at this year's Hantsweb Awards 2007.

The group was announced as the winner of the Best Recreation and Tourism Web Site category at a special award ceremony held at The Ark Conference Centre in Basingstoke on 18 September.

The Andover Ramblers have been organising and leading walks every week in and around Hampshire for nearly 40 years. They offer walks ranging from short evening walks in summer, to walks of up to 12 miles. They also organise weekends away and the occasional trip abroad. As part of the Ramblers' Association they help promote walking and protect rights of way. The web site contains everything anyone could wish to know about the group, and offers expert advice to anyone thinking of joining.

The Hantsweb Awards are organised by Hampshire County Council and aim to recognise web site excellence in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Anyone can nominate a web site and the awards are open to almost everyone, from businesses and schools to special interest and voluntary groups. The one thing they must have in common is an excellent web site that is simple to use and delivers exactly what the user is looking for.

Now in its fifth year, the Hantsweb Awards continue to attract increasing numbers of entries. This year the competition attracted over 900 nominations for the 11 award categories. These were whittled down to a short-list of 33 finalists, three in each category, by a panel of expert judges.

Commenting on the Andover Ramblers' web site the judges said it was "a first rate site that answers all the questions. Easy to read and navigate, packed full of useful information - a great resource. Straightforward yet vibrant, clearly well used and supported. Highly browsable, accessible and full of well targeted information …".

From left to right: Councillor Rod Baulk, Clive Frankham, Ted Diggins
and Richard Spalding from the category sponsors, Dell.

Collecting the award on behalf of the group, Clive Frankham, said "We were delighted to have come second in the same category last year, but we always felt that there was room for improvement. The quality of entries in the category was extremely high this year. To have beaten 68 other web sites is very satisfying and a great accomplishment."

Hampshire County Council's e-Government Champion, Councillor Rod Baulk, said: "I wish to congratulate the Ramblers' Association Andover Group, which is leading the way when it comes to providing quality online services for the people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. They should be proud of the work they have put into creating an accessible, user-friendly and worthwhile web site.

"I would also like to thank all the sponsors of the Hantsweb Awards for their support and commitment to raising awareness about the importance of online services in the region."

The Hantsweb Awards are sponsored by: Axon (main sponsor), Dell, Wave 105, Southern Daily Echo, ESRI, EPI-USE, Hedra, Microsoft, Lagan, SAP, Citrix, Progenit, Start, SEEDA, IBM, Wyse, Aberdeen, XMA, Macmillan and EMC.

Hantsweb Awards

Ramblers' Association Andover Group