AT launched its very own platform on the app “Fanzone” to boost Blazer pride and reward students for getting involved in school’s most fun events during the upcoming school year. The app, which has already been used by hundreds of students, is proving to be a big success.
According to Student Inclusion Director Robert Schader, around half of all students at AT had joined the app by the end of the second week of school.
To join the app, all students need to do is download “Fanzone” on their smartphones, create an account, and select Addison Trail. From there, students can join in on the competition to earn points and win prizes by checking in at various events throughout the year. Prizes include AT laptop stickers, water bottles, and sling bags.
To raise the stakes even higher, a leaderboard displays which students lead the school in points.
“Everyone’s trying to beat someone else,” said senior Kyle Parker, who is in a race for first place with his younger sister. “That makes us want to attend even more events.”
Some students have already checked in to as many as 17 events featured on the app.
Schader, the mastermind behind the idea of implementing the app, felt that Fanzone was a great way to reach his goal of reviving AT after the pandemic.
“There’s something for everyone at AT,” said Schader. “We don’t want students just going to class and then coming home every day. This app is a great way to see what’s going on and get involved.”
Even for students not looking to top the leaderboard, Fanzone is proving to be a hit. Many of AT’s students are enjoying using the app’s Fan Cam feature to post photos of events they’re attending as the school year begins.
Senior Emil Rizvic, who received an impressive 54 likes on a picture captioned “On my way to the scrimmage” before attending a JV vs Varsity contest at AT’s blue and white night, is one such student. Rizvic’s post was the most liked so far this school year.
“I was excited to go to the scrimmage after not being able to attend a football event for a year and a half,” he said.
The Cam is a favorite feature among several students such as senior Fernando Padua.
“It’s cool to see what other people want to share and it’s also really cool to be able to share our pictures with the school community,” he said.
Even teachers are able to take advantage of some of the app’s features. Club sponsors and athletic coaches are attaching extracurricular instagram and twitter handles to the app’s social media feature. This creates a stream where students can see every post from all of AT’s social media groups.
“We have all of our school’s social medias such as twitter in one spot so that students can see everything at once,” said Schader. “Instagram is next.”
Some students have ideas to even further the Fanzone fun.
“I think it’d be pretty cool to add something like teachers versus students,” said Padua. “I also think that more notifications could be sent out to notify us of events.”
“I think it needs to be easier to get points,” added Rizvic.
Schader feels the app will remain an exciting component of AT for a long time. Even though it’s just the beginning, Schader is determined to reach a monumental goal.
“Every event will be offered on this app’s calendar,” he said. “We are going to get everybody in this school on the app.”
