January 26, 2010
Win Your Organization $ 1,000.00 ,
And win yourself and 3 lucky friends, an adventure trip
plus an Additional$ 1,000 spending money.
WaterplayUSA.com announces the start of its semi-annual Post & Play Contest. Entry in the contest is free to all Legal US Residents, 18 years of age and older. To enter WaterplayUSA's Post & Play Contest, simply upload your water sport photo to our user gallery. Visit us at www.waterplayusa.com for official contest rules and registration information. Registration is simple and FREE. Register Now.
The winner shall receive $ 1,000.00 and choose one trip of their choice from the “Sponsored Trips” offered for this Contest. The Sponsored Trips are: a Fishing Trip, a Scuba Diving Trip, a Whitewater RaftingTrip, or an Eco Tour followed by a Sunset or Dinner Cruise. Each trip offered includes four (4) people, and is valid for a period of 12 months after the drawing determining the winner. In addition,
WaterplayUSA.com will give the winner’s representative organization, a $ 1,000.00 donation. The winner’s organization must be listed on winner’s registration form at time of entry to be valid.
About WaterplayUSA.com
WaterplayUSA.com is the online directory of businesses that offer water sports and water-related activities throughout the USA. The website, with interactive mapping, helps promote local tourism on a national level, as well as providing an outlet for water sports enthusiasts. This easy to use site is designed for anyone planning to visit a body of water ( river, lake, or ocean ) for a day, a weekend, or an entire vacation. WaterplayUSA.com can help make your next adventure more exciting by finding your desired activity, where it is available, and who offers these services. Please visit our site and PLAN YOUR FUN !!!
Janurary 7, 2010
WaterplayUSA.com Names Rik Beitel Director of Sales
20+ Years Water Sports Marketing Experience
WaterplayUSA.com announces the appointment of Rik Beitel as Director of Sales effective immediately. Rik brings a lifetime of water sports experience to WaterplayUSA.com ranging from surfing, windsurfing and kiteboarding to offshore sport fishing and sailboat racing. Most recently Rik has been a partner in Total Offshore Yacht Sales, LLC, a yacht brokerage in North Carolina. With over 20 years sales experience with such companies as O’Neill Wetsuits, DaKine Hawaii, G&S, Hobie Cat, Burton Snowboards, Bertram Yachts and Marinemax, he brings a wealth of knowledge and relationships to continue growing WaterplayUSA.com.
“I’m excited about the service WaterplayUSA.com provides as the only free online water sports directory with interactive mapping”, said Rik. “It’s the perfect tool for anyone looking for fun, instruction or just a relaxing time around the water. With as little as 3 clicks the format allows anyone to find lessons, guides, charters or rentals for water related activities anywhere in the U.S.”
This easy to use site is designed for anyone planning to visit a body of water ( river, lake, or ocean ) for a day, a weekend, or an entire vacation. WaterplayUSA.com’s business listings are categorized by City and State, in addition to the individual Water Sport or Activity. Submission information is available on www.WaterplayUSA.com.
Wright Smith, President, said, “I am very pleased to have Rik on our team. His vast knowledge and experience in both Sales and Management will help us continue our current expansion program throughout the USA. We should never forget that this is a Service Industry, and our excellent service is one of our very best assets. Rik’s level of professionalism and respect throughout the Water Sports Industry is known nationwide and I am happy to have someone of his caliber associated with WaterplayUSA.com.”
November 19, 2009 - Star News
Family-owned mortgage company finds new life with water sports Web site
Published: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 7:29 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 7:29 p.m.
A look at the economic road ahead led a Wilmington mortgage broker and his two sons to take a direction they'd never planned: launching a travel and tourism Web site.
The recession's adverse effect on their mortgage company, Wright Smith Co., and on opportunities for the development company convinced the Smith family of mortgage brokers it was time to capitalize on the profitability of online advertising for Web-based businesses.
“The good news is because of these changes it moved us into a business that we're absolutely having a blast with,” said patriarch Wright Smith. “We're going about 180 degrees from where we were.”
They shuttered their mortgage business and Smith Properties, their development business, and started the new endeavor about 1 1/2 years ago – a free Web site for water sports enthusiasts called Waterplay USA. The Web site launched in September. It operates from the Atrium office building, 1410 Commonwealth Drive, Suite 100.
Smith, 58, and sons Walt, 30, and Will, 28, whose hobbies revolve around water sports, decided it was the ideal business for them. “We talked about it and tweaked it until we came up with this,” Smith said, adding their Web site serves a previously untapped market. “The more we looked into it, the more it appeared nobody was offering this information.”
Visitors to the Web site, WaterplayUSA.com, can search for water-related sports activities ranging from canoeing to fishing to parasailing, find places that offer lessons and locate retail stores that stock equipment. They can search by city or town, or by zooming into an area on the map.
Other listings include lodging and restaurants and related tourism information helpful when planning a vacation.
The map can locate water sports information anywhere in the country, “The map is interactive where you can zoom in and move around,” Will Smith said. Sponsors who have paid to advertise on the site at $20 a month or $200 a year have an icon on the map. The icon shows their contact information and can link to a company's own Web site. Banner advertising costs depend upon the size of the advertisement.
The Web site is inclusive, however, with a listing of water sports information of all companies, including advertisers. Eventually, the Smiths plan to expand Waterplay USA into a larger market, and include the Caribbean and Mexico.
Walt Smith said they continually update the Web site with more information. In October, he said the fledgling company tracked more than 35,000 Web site impressions, or instances where a user clicked onto a specific section. They aren't tracking data on the number of times the Web site is accessed.
“The advertisers are more attuned to the impressions that their advertisement is going to get,” he said.
Plans are under way to increase their exposure on Google. “We're in the process of creating the campaign,” Will Smith said.
Recently, the Smiths attended a boat show in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to promote their company. They've also started a contest for users of the Web site, who can register and post personal water sports photographs to be entered in a drawing for a free trip. The contest ends April 30.
November 16, 2009
WaterplayUSA.com Offers Free Online Water Sports Directory
Nationwide Exposure for Local Businesses
WaterplayUSA.com announces an online directory that offers everyone a complete, comprehensive listing of businesses that provide water sports & water-related activities throughout the USA. Access to WaterplayUSA.com’s online directory is free-of-charge.
The current list of water sports & water-related activities includes:
Kayaking, Wakeboarding, Kiteboarding, Windsurfing, Paddleboarding, Waterskiing, Surfing, Kneeboarding, Parasailing Whitewater, Rafting, Tubing, Scuba Diving & Snorkeling, FlyFishing Charters, Boat Tours & Cruises, Saltwater Fishing Charters, Sailing Schools & Associations, Freshwater Fishing Charters,
Rentals (Jet Skis, Sail Boats, Pontoon Boats, Kayaks, & More)
Business listings are categorized by City and State, in addition to the individual Water Sport or Activity. Submission information is available on www.WaterplayUSA.com.
Will Smith, Co-Founder & Operations Director said, “In an effort to offer the most complete and accurate information available, new listings are being added and updated daily. We plan to have all 50 states completed within the next several months. After that we will be expanding into areas outside of the United States. We have also registered the domain name, waterplayworld.com.”
This easy to use site is designed for anyone planning to visit a body of water ( river, lake, or ocean ) for a day, a weekend, or an entire vacation. WaterplayUSA.com can help make your next adventure more exciting by finding your desired activity, where it is available, and who offers these services. Please visit our site and PLAN YOUR FUN !!!
About WaterplayUSA.com
WaterplayUSA.com is the online directory of businesses that offer water sports and water-related activities throughout the USA. The website helps promote local tourism on a national level, as well as providing an outlet for water sports enthusiasts.