A new multi-platform social networking site has been launched by former Scottish athlete Brian Whittle.
Developed in Scotland by CEO and co-founder Whittle, who formerly competed in the Olympic and European Championship 400 metres, ‘DemonSport’, is said to have been inspired by the legacy of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
He says the new sports social media website, which is being backed by the European Athletics Coaches Association, will give sportsmen and women the chance to create profiles around their sporting interests, as well as access to national and international coaches.
According to Whittle, DemonSport has the ability to deliver expert tuition and tips from the sports elite “direct to the grassroots”.
Whittle, who won gold in the 4 x 400-metre athletics relay at the 1986 and 1994 European Championships, said: “DemonSport will give each and every beginner a pathway through our site all the way to the elite star at the other end of the scale.
“DemonSport will allow them to immerse themselves in their own sport, see how their peers are training and communicate with them, set challenges, share their training regimes.
“The truly unique element of DemonSport however is that they can also see all the way up the tree to see what pathway their elite hero is taking to achieve their sports goals.”
Whittle, who is famed for running the third leg of the 1986 Euro Championships in one shoe, stressed that while individuals are key to the success of his social media venture, it will be clubs and organisations who will be at the heart of this new online approach to training and engaging with sport and coaching.
He added: “Clubs are core to how the new site will work. DemonSport will allow them to communicate with their members by setting up groups and sharing training plans and goals for teams and individuals.
“People are looking for an alternative to Facebook and this will allow a purely sport-focused space online in which sportsmen and women can thrive.
“Whatever level of sport and whatever the sport, DemonSport will be able to provide a platform to springboard better sharing and communication across every level of participation.
“Having the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow left the city, and Scotland, with a tangible sense of a new sporting identity, DemonSport hopes to play a part in that legacy and help develop the stars who watched this time around but may take their place in the next major sporting challenges.”
The site, which was launched in beta form last year, gives athletes and organisations an online social destination for every sport, from golf to athletics to Formula E motorsport.
It allows users to register and create a personal profile, with the ability to add others as friends, exchange messages, upload video, post status updates, issue sporting challenges and share photos.
The site also allows the creation of groups who share an interest, sport, organisation or club.