Designed to assist the Sea of Gold captains in promoting attendance at the School’s athletic events, “the app was inspired by the desire to build spirit and recognize Sea of Gold fans as well as to clearly communicate information to Menlo students,” George says.

Through the app, users can browse upcoming events chronologically, and when they click on any event, they’ll see specific details, like the date and location. Users can then opt to join an event and will be able to see who else has joined and is planning to attend.

George says, “This way, you can connect with your friends who are going.” The app also includes a “check-in” feature. “If you are at the event, you can check in and earn points for yourself and your grade,” George continues. The Sea of Gold app uses Google maps to determine whether you are actually in attendance, and it only lets you check in during the time of the event.

“The app is helping promote school spirit,” George notes. “Students love to be acknowledged for supporting Menlo athletes.” The check-in feature is very popular because users like to compete against friends and show off their school spirit. To encourage this friendly competition between students and grade levels and to help promote event attendance, the Sea of Gold app also includes a leaderboard that shows who has the most points out of all users. It also displays the total amount of points each grade has.

George also believes the app is also a helpful communication tool. “As younger students are using Facebook less and less, the Sea of Gold Facebook group has fewer  users,” he observed. “The easy-to-use app aims to reach and communicate to the entire student body.”

All students can download the app for free through the Apple app store, and it is compatible with iPhones and iPads. George adds, “The hope is that if someone does not have an iPhone, they can use their school iPads to use the app.”