WO2001029747A1

WO2001029747A1 - Method for arranging sporting events at website and advertising method therein

Info

Publication number: WO2001029747A1
Application number: PCT/KR2000/001199
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yung-Seok Sul
Original assignee: Sul Yung Seok
Priority date: 1999-10-22
Filing date: 2000-10-23
Publication date: 2001-04-26
Also published as: AU1059801A

Abstract

A method for arranging sporting events at website according to the type of sporting events and the level of players through Internet, and an advertising method at the sports website, are disclosed. The sporting events arranging method is achieved by (a) establishing a sports website, (b) receiving entries from users, (c) setting information on sporting events including the time, place and players of sporting events, and (d) recording and displaying the results of the sporting events at website. Thus, sporting events can be divided by areas, seasons, ages, sexes and vocations so that a variety of sporting events can be arranged and managed. Also, by adding a predetermined advertisement to the website, effect of advertisement can be improved.

Description

METHOD FOR ARRANGING SPORTING EVENTS AT WEBSITE AND ADVERTISING METHOD THEREIN

Technical Field The present invention relates to a method for arranging sporting events at a website, and more particularly, to a method for arranging sporting events at a website by which sporting events classified by the type of sporting events and the level of members are arranged and managed, and to an advertising method therein.

Background Art

In general, in sports games such as a soccer game, a basketball game, a volleyball game or a baseball game played with a ball or a corresponding exchanging medium, a team competing with a counterpart team and first taking a set score during a set time wins.

The above sports games need counterpart teams. It is relatively easy for professional groups having a systematic player registration and game management, or equivalent amateur groups, to select the counterpart teams. However, pure amateur groups have difficulty in arranging and managing sporting events according to the type of sports games, such as first searching teams according to areas or groups, selecting an appropriate team among the searched teams, setting the place and time for a sporting event by contacting each other, and managing the sporting event. Also, sporting events for competing between pure amateurs having a host has the following problems. First, since the time and date each of players can participate in a sport event cannot be taken into consideration when a match schedule is prepared by the host of the sporting event, the match schedule is fixed regardless of situations of each participant so that the participants of the sporting event may experience inconveniences. Second, since the situation of each participant of the sporting event according to the place (area) where each participant lives is not considered when the host of the sporting event determines the place of the sporting event, the participant living at a place far away from the determined pace for the sporting event should inconveniently go to the place of the sporting event. Also, when the sporting event is held at a place far away from the place where players who desires to participate the sporting event lives, the players may not participate in the sporting events due to the inconvenience in movement so that the rate of participance is lowered. Third, sporting events for pure amateurs are usually managed in the form of a tournament or a short league and players having a variety of levels from a novice to a high qualified player participate. Here, when a sporting event is held between a low qualified team and a high qualified team at the first round, the low qualified team is definitely defeated at the first round and no further chances are allowed. That is, the participants may lose interest in a sporting event due to a sporting event planning disregarding the handicap of participants.

Meanwhile, in a conventional advertisement through the Internet , a banner advertisement is arbitrarily displayed by a website administrator regardless of preference or section of a viewer viewing the advertisement so that an effect of the advertisement is lowered.

Disclosure of the Invention

To solve the above problems, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a method of arranging sporting events at a website by which sporting events are arranged considering the conditions and situations of each of members through a website for managing arrangement and operation of the sporting events.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide an advertising method at a sports website which can improve an effect of advertisement delivered from a sponsor to the members.

To accomplish the above object of the present invention, there is provided a method of arranging a sporting event at website comprising the steps of (a) establishing a sports website in which types of sports are classified on the Internet, a match arrangement method is prepared according to the classified types of sports and sporting events are operated, and the results of sporting events are displayed for a predetermined period, (b) obtaining a membership by providing personal information to the website, (c) a member setting information on play of a game including a counterpart selected by an administrator of the sports website, time and place of the game, and a player entry of the game played according to a selected match arrangement method, and (d) having the members play the game at an actual place according to the set game information, and storing the result of the game at the website and displaying the stored result at the website so that the members can see the result.

It is preferred in the present invention that the sports are games competing with a counterpart to score by using a medium such as a ball or an equivalent thereto. Also, it is preferred in the present invention that the step (a) further comprises a step of providing a predetermined advertisement by a sponsor who supporting one of the classified sports.

Also, it is preferred in the present invention that, in the step (a), general information on sports including history, rules, and energy consumption amount is included with respect to each of the sports, and the administrator stores optical conditions of a game including the place of a game and the type of a game in a database.

Also, it is preferred in the present invention that, in the step (b), when a person joins the website as a member, he/she selects one of a plurality of sponsors provided at the website, and an advertisement of the selected sponsor is stored in a database for the member so that the advertisement of the sponsor stored in the member's database is output on all screens of pages of the website the member is viewing.

Also, it is preferred in the present invention that, in the step (d), further comprises the steps of assigning a predetermined point set according to the result of the game to a team and members and storing the points of the team and members are in a database, determining whether the points assigned to the team and members exceed a predetermined level, if the points are not determined to exceed the predetermined level, repeating the assigning step until the points reach the predetermined level, and if the points are determined to exceed the predetermined level, providing a compensation corresponding to the deposited points to the team and members.

Also, it is preferred in the present invention that, in the step (b), data of a sponsor selected by a member is stored in a database of the member so that an e-mail provided by the sponsor is automatically received by the database of the member.

Also, it is preferred in the present invention that the step (b) comprises the sub-steps of a user obtaining a membership of the website by accessing the website through the Internet and the member selecting a single sponsor, the member searching for a team provided by the website by using general information such as area, age, the type of a game, the level of skill, and the name of a team, if a desired team is searched, outputting the searched team on a screen to introduce to the member, if the member joins the searched team by clicking a predetermined button, storing information of the member in a database of the team, if a desired team is not searched, establishing a new team by inputting general information, automatically registering the member who establishes the new team as a captain of the new team on a database of the new team, and transmitting a message informing of the newly joined member to a representative of the searched or established team.

Also, it is preferred in the present invention that the step (c) comprises the sub-steps of asking input of information on whether to participate in a sporting event and detailed information to a representative of the team on the website, the representative of the team inputting the possibility of participation of the sporting game and detailed information including expecting time such as in the morning or in the afternoon if the team can participate in the sporting game, if it is determined from the input information that the team participates in the game, an administrator processing a type of a game or a match arrangement schedule with a counterpart by a match arrangement program based on general information including data such as an expecting area, type of a game, level of skill or age stored in a team database input when the team is established, if the input information is determined not to participate in a selected gram, establishing the next schedule, and outputting the processed type of a game or match arrangement schedule to the member.

Also, it is preferred in the present invention that the step (d) comprises the steps of having a match at an actual playground with a counterpart according to a set match arrangement schedule, an administrator or operator who manages and operating the website, inputting the result of the match in a database for each team, and outputting the result of the match to a predetermined page of the website.

Also, it is preferred in the present invention that the step of outputting the match arrangement schedule comprises the sub-steps of the member requesting purchase of a product on the website, setting place and time for delivery of the product according to the match arrangement schedule by reading data of the match arrangement schedule of the member, storing the set place and time for delivery of the product in a database for ordering, and outputting the place and time for delivery of the product on a screen and delivering the product. To accomplish another object of the present invention, there is provided an advertising method at a sports website comprising the steps of (a) opening a sports website displaying general information needed for operating a predetermined game, (b) a user using the website joining the website as a member, (c) the member selecting an advertisement sponsor who supports the website, and (d) displaying an advertisement provided by the advertisement sponsor on the website wheneverthe member logs in the website.

It is preferred in the present invention that, in the step (c), the member selects one among a plurality of advertisement sponsors supporting the website.

Thus, sporting events can be divided by areas, seasons, ages, sexes and vocations so that a variety of sporting events can be arranged and managed. Also, by adding a predetermined advertisement to the website, effect of advertisement can be improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG. 1 is a flow chart for explaining a method of arranging sporting events at a website according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a flow chart for explaining the admission for membership of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining setting of embodiment information of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining a process of displaying the result of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining a process of product order and delivery according to the displayed match schedule of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 6 is a view showing a screen displayed when Nike^®is selected as a sponsor; FIG. 7 is a view showing a screen introducing a team searched by a member;

FIG. 8 is a view showing a screen for checking the possibility of joining by a member on a posted sporting event schedule; and

FIG. 9 is a view showing a screen indicating points and league ranking of a member and a ream when the member has logged in the website.

Best mode for carrying out the Invention

To sufficiently understand the objectives achieved by a preferred embodiment of the present invention and advantages in operation of the present invention, the accompanying drawings disclosing the preferred embodiment of the present invention and the contents disclosed therein should be referred to.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by describing a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. The reference numerals shown in the drawings denote the same members.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart for explaining a method of arranging sporting events at a website according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , a method of arranging sporting events at a website according to the present invention will be described in detail.

First, sports games are classified according to the type thereof and a matching method of sporting events is prepared and operated according to the classified sports games. A sports website for posting the results of the sporting events for a predetermined time is open (Step 10). Here, the sports website includes general information of sports such as history, rules, the amount of energy consumption of the sports according to the classified sports, and information on places of each area for playing sporting events.

A predetermined advertisement by a sponsor supporting a selected sports game of the sports games provided at the website is provided (Step 20). That is, a sponsor supporting an arbitrary sports game sells discounted products to members or supports sports games played by the members. Then, one who desires to join the open sports website provides detailed information on oneself or a team one belongs to, and join the

5 sports website as a member by selecting a sponsor who supports one (Step 30). That is, as one inputs detailed information of oneself or a team one belongs to through the Internet and selects a sponsor, he becomes a member accordingly. Then, one can have a sporting event with other teams who have already been members or will be joined as members at an o actual playground or stadium.

Also, the joining members select one of the sports games and a sponsor supporting oneself. The advertisement of a sponsor selected by the member is displayed at the website together with all menus of the sports game selected by the member. That is, the arrangement method of 5 sporting events and information on its execution are set. Each of members select a sponsor supporting a corresponding sports type through the respective menus provided by a program in which the open website is set as a home page. Here, when the members select sponsors, the name of the selected sponsor is stored in a database of a corresponding member 0 and is engaged with advertisement data the sponsor previously prepared. Then, when the member surfs on the website, the advertisement data of the selected sponsor stored in the member's database is read out and displayed on all page screens the member views.

For example, when a member who wants a basket ball game selects 5 Nike as a sponsor, Nike can sell shoes, suits and other supplies for a basket ball at discounted prices for the members who want to play a basket ball game and displays product advertisements, directly selling products, and conducting a questionnaire on every screen, thus utilizing the website as a marketing tool. That is, the advertisement of Nike on the website is o output through all menus of the sports website or included in the basket ball menus of the website, as the screen of the Nike website.

In FIG. 6, a portion A-1 is an example of a screen displayed when Nike is selected. As shown in the drawing, only the advertisement of Nike is displayed on all pages of the website. Also, it is possible to make the members who have selected the sponsor necessarily receive an advertisement provided by the sponsor or e-mails corresponding thereto.

The member sets information on play of a game including a counterpart selected by an administrator of the sports website, the time and place of the game, and a player entry of the game played according to the selected match arrangement method (Step 40). For example, to play a basket ball, the members play actual games referring to a set team, a matching method, a matching table, a time, and a place, under optimal game conditions based on database of each team at the website. For example, the time, place and counterpart of a game are checked from a match arrangement table at the website so that an actual game is played.

Then, according to the information set in the step 40, members participate in a sporting event at an actual place such as a stadium, an indoor gymnasium, or an outdoor playground, and the result of the sporting event is recorded and displayed at the website so that other members can see the result (Step 50). For example, members who want to play a basket ball game play an actual basket ball game at the set time and place under other set conditions with a selected counterpart team predetermined at the website of the present invention. The results of the basket ball game, that is, one team wins or is defeated, are recorded and displayed on the website so that other members can see the results. That is, leagues and tournaments are grouped by sexes, ages and further areas according to the type of sports and the agreements by the members. Also, the sporting event can be managed or guided separately according to each group. For example, a variety of sporting events such as a Korean spring season middle school basket ball league, a U.S. summer season elementary school base ball league, a Jeju fall season grownups in their 30's table tennis league, a winter season basket ball tournament of female teachers of elementary school, can be operated and managed at the website through the Internet.

After the step 50, a predetermined point can be assigned to each team according to the results of the sporting event. Of course, a winning team will receive a large amount of points while a defeated team will receive less points or lost earned points. That is, a predetermined point is assigned to the member and the team that the member belongs to according to the result of each team (step 60).

Thus, since a team have won many times earns points over a predetermined level for a short time while a team lost many times earns points slowly, the point system may be a sort of a compensation system for winning.

Then, a program managing the sports website of the present invention determines whether a point assigned to each member and his/her team according to the result of each team is over a predetermined level (Step 70).

When the point is determined not to exceed a predetermined level, the previous steps are repeated until the point reaches a predetermined level. However, when the point is determined to exceed the level, a compensation for the points deposited for the member, for example, cash, products, or a coupon corresponding to the products as a compensation for the points, is provided to the member (Step 80). For example, the arrangement method includes a sporting event arrangement table including a league or tournament, the name of each team, team members, and the results of matches. The execution information includes cyber money as a deposited points, the current status of a sponsor, advertisement provided by the sponsor, or advertisement of products.

All sporting events including ball games actually played on a playground or stadium can be managed or operated based on the time and place, arrangement method, and execution information provided by the sports website of the present invention which is opened on the Internet. Also, if a sporting event is played by pure amateur players, the sporting event can be systematically managed so that a large number of members can join the sporting event.

Accordingly, as the member views advertisement while checking menus to enjoy sports or obtain detailed information, an effect of advertisement is improved so that participation by more advertisement sponsors and increased support can be expected.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart for explaining a process of a membership obtainment of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, the membership obtaining process 30 is described in detail. First, a user accessing the website through the Internet obtains a membership and the member selects a sponsor (advertisement sponsor) who will support him/her (Step 200). Here, the member selects a single sponsor among a plurality of sponsors. Then, advertisement of the sponsor selected by the member is output all web pages of the website which the member views. Thus, the sponsor establishes a partnership with the member as a sponsor selected by the member so that an effect of advertisement is improved.

Table 1 contains information on members stored in a database of a server. The advertisement sponsors selected by the members are stored in the database.

[Table 1 ]

Since a ball game is played in a team, an individual obtaining a membership makes a team online or joins a previously established team. Here, in a process of making a team, the website of the present invention provides information related to the name of a team and team members including team members and a captain in a predetermined page so as to make a team. The website requires the member to input general information including an area where a sporting event will be played, ages, the type of a sporting event, level of skill, and the information is classified and stored in a database.

Table 2 contains an example of a team database stored in a database of a server.

[Table 2]

As indicated in FIG. 2, the team database contains files where expecting areas, ages, the types of match, and the level of skill are stored by being classified and general information of each team.

In a process of joining an established team, a member accessing the website searches the database stored in Table 2 for a variety of teams provided by the website (Step 202). When a predetermined team is searched in the search process 202, the searched team is output to a screen of the website so that the team is introduced to the member (Step 204). The member joins the introduced team by clicking a "JOIN" button (Step 206). However, if an appropriate team is not searched in the search process 202, a new team is established by inputting general information (Step 210). Also, a member who established a new team is registered as a captain of the new team in a team database (Steps 212 and 214).

That is, a member who wishes to join a new team can search for the team by using a predetermined search information or by using general information such as area, age, the type of game or the level of skill. Since the searched team includes the general information and information on a leader and players of the team, a member confirming the information can register as a member of a team by clicking a button of a team that he/she wishes to join through a predetermined page advertising the corresponding team. The personal information of a member registered as above is automatically stored in a database of a corresponding team.

Thereafter, points are assigned to a member according to the result of a match, that is, victory and defeat. When the assigned points are added, not only the team but also each member of the team receive points according to the information stored in the team database. Also, when a member wishes to withdraw from the team, he/she can easily delete his/her personal information from the database where the information of team is stored by simply clicking a "WITHDRAW" button provided in a predetermined page related to the registration and withdrawal without a special procedure.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a screen of introducing a team searched by a member in which general information can be checked, a viewer can join a team as a member, or an existing member can withdraw from the team instantly. When new information such as registration or withdrawal of members occurs, the information of the member is transmitted to a representative of the searched or established team (Step 208). That is, when a member inputs information to join a team at the website, the information of joining the team is sent to an administrator such as a representative, a leader or a captain of the team through an e-mail system. For example, when a user named Kil-dong Hong wishes to join a team A as a member, the team A is searched by using a search function and information on the team A is displayed on a monitor of a user. Then, the user clicks a "JOIN" button to join the team the user selects so that the user is registered as a member of the team.

The information on Kil-dong Hong is stored in a database by being classified as the information of the team A. Here, the e-mail system reads e-mail addresses of a captain and members of the team from a database of the existing team A and automatically sends e-mails containing a predetermined message and information on Kil-dong Hong joined the team A to the leader or captain of the team A. For example, e-mails containing a message reading: "A member, Kil-dong Hong, has been joined team A a member, xxx, established. ... Congratulations on his joining the team." are sent to the existing members and the leader or captain. FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining the execution information setting of FIG. 1. in the step 40 of setting arrangement method of sporting events and information on execution will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3. First, the representative of the team is requested to input information on whether the team can participate in a sporting event and, if possible, detailed information on participating time such as possibly participating in the morning or afternoon (Step 300) . Members determine whether they can participate in the outstanding sporting event and, if possible, input detailed information such as possibly participating in the morning or afternoon (Step 302). A portion D1 -1 of FIG. 8 is an example of a screen showing a portion for indicating a member's intention to participate a sporting event in an arrangement schedule. If the member is determined to indicate intention to participate in a set match, the type of an arrangement or the schedule of the arrangement with a counterpart is processed by an administrator by using an automatic arrangement program (Step 304). When the expectation to participate in the sporting event is input, all the teams provided in the website are classified based on the information stored in the database by being classified according to the information input when the team is established, such as an expecting area, the type of a sporting event, the level of skill, and age, and a schedule of arrangement is set by the automatic arrangement program.

Here, the automatic arrangement program classifies the teams according to the an expecting area, the type of a sporting event, the level of skill, and age, and automatically sets the schedule of arrangement of the classified teams. The schedule of the arrangement is set by the program or administrator. Also, the automatic arrangement program stores a place for the sporting event previously contracted according to areas in the database. The information on the time previously calculated according to time slots of sporting events is stored in the database. The automatic arrangement program first reads data about an expecting area of the classified information and stores teams classified into places located near to the expecting area among the previously contacted places in the database. Teams having similar data in the conditions, the type of game and the level of skill are grouped into a unit based on the stored expecting area data. Whenever a sporting event occurs, teams are randomly selected from the group to have a match at each time of a sporting event.

Table 3 shows a match arrangement schedule stored in the database of a server according to the classification information. In Table

3, "Yongwha Girls High School" in a place column is located in Nowon-ku so that if the teams in Table 3 input Nowon-ku, Seoul as an expecting area, Yongwha Girls High School is arranged as a place for a match.

As shown in Table 3, the schedule of games between teams which are common in the type of game, the level of skill or age is automatically set based on the expecting area. When a basketball is described as a preferred embodiment, teams can be classified by an expecting area of Nowon-ku, Seoul, an age of High school, the type of a game of 3 : 3, the level of skill of middle. Here, the expecting area can be divided by areas, the age can be divided into an elementary school division, a middle school division, a high school division, a university division, and general division. Also, the type of a game can be divided into 3 : 3, 2 : 2, 4: 4 and 5 : 5, while the level of skill is divided into one of predetermined grades such as high, middle and low, so that one of a variety of grades can be arbitrarily selected by a member. According to the above preferred embodiment, after intention of participation is confirmed, teams having conditions matching a location of Nowon-ku, Seoul, an age of high school division, a 3 : 3 type of game, and a middle level of skill are searched from the database and classified. The automatic arrangement program sets a match schedule based on the above information and the set schedule is displayed on a screen of a user or a member. That is, the match schedule of a member or a team the member belongs to is displayed on a screen of a terminal of the member by the automatic arrangement program or an administrator (Step 306). Here, the terminal includes a computer system and a mobile communications terminal.

Here, if the member intimates intention not to participate in the set game, the automatic arrangement program automatically delays the game of the member for the next game and sets the next match schedule and output to the member. That is, if the member is determined not to participate in the selected game, the next schedule is set by the automatic arrangement program (Step 303).

Also, when the member predetermines the data and time for a game and inputs the information by using the automatic arrangement program at the website, a match schedule can be set based on the above information. Here, to effectively operate each playground, the time and place where no league is held is displayed on a predetermined page. When there is a reservation for the corresponding time and place by a member or the automatic arrangement program, a regular and non-regular game can be held between members using the corresponding time and place. Also, according to the match arrangement set as above, matches between teams are continuously played in a league or tournament method until a particular date. For example, assuming that there are teams A, B, C and D satisfying the above preferred embodiment, a match schedule is set by an administrator or operator by using the automatic arrangement program based on the information stored in the database so that these teams can play games in a league or tournament at a predetermined playground near Nowon-ku, Seoul.

The teams A, B, C and D will continuously play games at a playground near Nowon-ku, Seoul in a certain period or according to a schedule set at the website. Here, the expecting area is a place of which lease is contracted by the administrator or operator of the website according to the present invention, that is, a playground near an area where the member lives. The website of the present invention automatically assigns the playground and manages so that games can be periodically played at the playground.

That is, since the website of the present invention make the member play at a playground near the place where the member lives, the time of the member can be saved so that the member can participate the game more actively. According the above conditions, street basketball, soccer, baseball, and other ball games can be repeatedly held in a particular period so that many people can participate in sporting events at many prearranged playgrounds near the place where the member lives according to a match arrangement schedule.

Also, as an assigned place for a sporting event is set as a basic information value, the age, the type of game, and the level of skill are determined based on the above information plus physical conditions. That is, a high school division is matched by a high school division, and games are played between teams of a similar level classified by information in the data base such as a desired type of a game, for example, 3 : 3 or 5 : 5, or the level of skill of high, middle or low. Thus, the games become more exciting, and the information can be updated as games between various teams continue. That is, when the members are substituted and the skill of a team is improved through games, a corresponding counterpart may be obviously selected. When a first match arrangement schedule is determined, the program of the website according to the present invention notifies the leader or captain of the ream and each of members of the determination via e-mail, and outputs the notified match arrangement schedule through a predetermined page. The automatic arrangement program classifies information on play available teams and play not available teams according to the information about the possibility of play and the match arrangement schedule and sets a next schedule. The above information is stored in the database and a finally determined arrangement schedule is output at a predetermined page of the website.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining a process of notifying the result of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 4, a process 50 of notifying the result will be described in detail. First, the teams selected according to the arrangement schedule output from the step 306 have games at actual playgrounds (400). That is, the game is played at a place provided according to the arrangement schedule with assistance by staffs set by the administrator or operator to help the operation of the game, and the result of the game is collected. Then, the administrator or operator process the results of the games (Step 402). That is, the result of the game, for example, the wins and defeats of the game, is processed by the staffs who access the website according to the present invention by using a predetermined password and input the result of each game to a predetermined page.

The result of the game input as above is stored in the database of the website according to the present invention, and also in a database of the counterpart team of the game. The database may be provided in a server where an operation program for operating the website to control the website is stored. The result of the game stored in the team database is output at a predetermined page of the website according to the present invention (Step 404). Here, according to the result of the game stored in the database, a point calculation program assigns points according to the wins or defeats of the game to a corresponding team and team members. The points are continuously added and stored according to the results of subsequent games, and the added points are assigned to each of the team and team members.

Since the points, the ranking in a league, and the wins and defeats of a game stored in the team database are automatically displayed in a predetermined page of the website, the information relating to the result of a game displayed at the website can be easily seen without conducting a special search through a predetermined page when a corresponding member and other members logs in the website.

In FIG. 9, a portion E-1 is an example of a screen showing the points (cyber money) and the ranking of a league of the member and team when the member logs in the website. Also, when the added point reaches a predetermined point value set by the point calculation program at the website, a predetermined prize such as cash or a free gift is provided to the member and team. Then, of the added point of a team, a remaining point excluding the point provided to the member or team remains so that it can be continuously added. In contrast, for a team who fails to reach the predetermined point, points are added according to the result of games continuously played thereafter. Also, with the point of a member, the member can be given a discount in purchasing a product through the website of the present invention or other sites franchised with the present website. Here, in addition of points to provide cash or a product, in the conventional technology, there is a point obtained by participating an online game, a point for viewing online advertisement, or a point according to the purchase of a product. However, in the present invention, a game is played offline at an actual playground competing the skill and a point is assigned to the team and team members accordingly.

Also, when a member is going to buy a predetermined product from an arbitrary seller, the match arrangement schedule can be referred to for searching the match arrangement schedule stored in the database and accordingly the product can be delivered to the places where the member plays a game on the date when the game is played.

Referring to FIG. 5, the process of product ordering and delivery according to the match arrangement schedule is described. First, a member requests purchase of a predetermined product through the website of the present invention (Step 501 ). When the member places an order of the product, the seller of the product sets the time and place of a game periodically played so that the product can be delivered to the place where the game is played according to the match arrangement schedule stored in the database (Step 503). The set information is stored in a database for orders (Step 505). Here, the time and place for the delivery of a product are displayed on a screen at a predetermined page of the website so that the member can see the information (Step 507). As a result, intention of the member or product delivery person can be exchanged.

Since the final delivery destination of the product is each of local playgrounds, the product is delivered directly to the member participating in the game (Step 509). Thus, since the member is aware of a fact that the product is delivered on the date when the game is played through the contents displayed at the website of the present invention, the member can accurately know that the product he ordered arrives. Also, since the product is delivered in a predetermined delivery vehicle circulating the respective playgrounds, the product can be accurately delivered to a plurality of members for a relatively short time.

It is noted that the present invention is not limited to the preferred embodiment described above, and it is apparent that variations and modifications by those skilled in the art can be effected within the spirit and scope of the present invention defined in the appended claims.

Industrial Applicability

According to the present invention, since the members and sporting events can be classified by areas, seasons, ages, sexes, vocations, and level of skills, the operation and management of a variety of sporting events can be effectively performed at the website on the Internet as follows. First, since an amateur sporting event should be held at a particular playground only , geographical inconvenience to participants in the sporting event who live at positions far from the playground is removed. Second, when a host party of a sporting event plans a match arrangement schedule, personal conditions of a participant of the sport event, such as handicap in skill or time availability, can be considered.

Third, when too many people wish to participate in a sporting event, without limiting the number of participants due to the limitation in a playground and match arrangement schedule, a lot of participants are distributed to the respective areas by using the Internet and database related technologies so that efficiency in operation can be obtained. That is, the type of a game suitable for a feature of each person according to the database information for each person stored in the server is provided. When a match arrangement schedule is set through communications with a client, the intention of the client is reflected so that an amateur sporting event can be operated while respecting one's situation.

Also, in the operation of a sporting event performed through the website, a predetermined advertisement connecting the client and the sponsor is added so that members can view the advertisement, thus improving an effect of advertisement. Further, points are deposited according to the result of games through the website and a product or free gift according to the deposited points can be presented to the members.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method of arranging a sporting event at website comprising the steps of:

(a) establishing a sports website in which types of sports are classified on the Internet, a match arrangement method is prepared according to the classified types of sports and sporting events are operated, and the results of sporting events are displayed for a predetermined period;

(b) obtaining a membership by providing personal information to the website;

(c) a member setting information on play of a game including a counterpart selected by an administrator of the sports website, time and place of the game, and a player entry of the game played according to a selected match arrangement method; and (d) having the members play the game at an actual place according to the set game information, and storing the result of the game at the website and displaying the stored result at the website so that the members can see the result.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sports are games competing with a counterpart to score by using a medium such as a ball or an equivalent thereto.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step (a) further comprises a step of providing a predetermined advertisement by a sponsor who supporting one of the classified sports.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, in the step (a), general information on sports including history, rules, and energy consumption amount is included with respect to each of the sports, and the administrator stores optical conditions of a game including the place of a game and the type of a game in a database.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein, in the step (b), when a person joins the website as a member, he/she selects one of a plurality of sponsors provided at the website, and an advertisement of the selected sponsor is stored in a database for the member so that the advertisement of the sponsor stored in the member's database is output on all screens of pages of the website the member is viewing.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein, in the step (d), further comprises the steps of: assigning a predetermined point set according to the result of the game to a team and members and storing the points of the team and members are in a database; determining whether the points assigned to the team and members exceed a predetermined level; if the points are not determined to exceed the predetermined level, repeating the assigning step until the points reach the predetermined level; and if the points are determined to exceed the predetermined level, providing a compensation corresponding to the deposited points to the team and members.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein, in the step (b), data of a sponsor selected by a member is stored in a database of the member so that an e-mail provided by the sponsor is automatically received by the database of the member.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step (b) comprises the sub-steps of: a user obtaining a membership of the website by accessing the website through the Internet and the member selecting a single sponsor; the member searching for a team provided by the website by using general information such as area, age, the type of a game, the level of skill, and the name of a team; if a desired team is searched, outputting the searched team on a screen to introduce to the member; if the member joins the searched team by clicking a predetermined button, storing information of the member in a database of the team; if a desired team is not searched, establishing a new team by inputting general information; automatically registering the member who establishes the new team as a captain of the new team on a database of the new team; and transmitting a message informing of the newly joined member to a representative of the searched or established team.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step (c) comprises the sub-steps of: asking input of information on whether to participate in a sporting event and detailed information to a representative of the team on the website; the representative of the team inputting the possibility of participation of the sporting game and detailed information including expecting time such as in the morning or in the afternoon if the team can participate in the sporting game; if it is determined from the input information that the team participates in the game, an administrator processing a type of a game or a match arrangement schedule with a counterpart by a match arrangement program based on general information including data such as an expecting area, type of a game, level of skill or age stored in a team database input when the team is established; if the input information is determined not to participate in a selected gram, establishing the next schedule; and 5 outputting the processed type of a game or match arrangement schedule to the member.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step (d) comprises the steps of: o having a match at an actual playground with a counterpart according to a set match arrangement schedule; an administrator or operator who manages and operating the website, inputting the result of the match in a database for each team; and outputting the result of the match to a predetermined page of the s website.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of outputting the match arrangement schedule comprises the sub-steps of: the member requesting purchase of a product on the website; o setting place and time for delivery of the product according to the match arrangement schedule by reading data of the match arrangement schedule of the member; storing the set place and time for delivery of the product in a database for ordering; and 5 outputting the place and time for delivery of the product on a screen and delivering the product.

12. An advertising method at a sports website comprising the steps of: 0 (a) opening a sports website displaying general information needed for operating a predetermined game;

(b) a user using the website joining the website as a member;

(c) the member selecting an advertisement sponsor who supports the website; and (d) displaying an advertisement provided by the advertisement sponsor on the website whenever the member logs in the website.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, in the step (c), the member selects one among a plurality of advertisement sponsors supporting the website.