10th Annual Accessibility Internet Rally-Austin Winners Announced

Each fall in Austin, for ten years straight, teams of busy technology professionals volunteer their valuable time and skills to create Web sites for nonprofit organizations. And not just any Web sites -- these sites are created with accessibility features that allow them to be accessed by everyone, including people with disabilities. The program is the Accessibility Internet Rally for Austin (AIR-Austin) and was created in 1998 by the nonprofit organization Knowbility. Winners of competition to build the "Most Accessible Web Site" were announced Tuesday night, October 30th at an Awards Ceremony.

On Saturday, October 13th Web teams from more than two-dozen Austin companies including Dell, the University of Texas, TradeMark Media and Austin Energy converged for a voluntary day of intense competition to build or improve Web sites for non-profit organizations. The companies are participants in the10th Annual AIR-Austin, a nationwide initiative to ensure that those with disabilities have access to the Internet as a tool for gaining knowledge, independence and exploring job opportunities. Austin winners will go head-to-head with the winners of AIR-Houston and AIR-San Antonio to determine the Statewide Champion in the first ever Texas Accessibility Championship.

The sites were judged on 36 criteria that determine ease of use of the sites, best practices in Web design as well as design features that recognize disabilities such as those who have poor eyesight or are color blind.

The competition has two categories; Stock Car and Formula One. The Stock Car class sites are judged on basic accessibility, like text alternatives for pictures and the quality of link text (no "click here," please) while Formula One entries are also judged on advanced technologies like multimedia, data tables, flash, and scripted applications.

This year's winners for the most accessible Web site are:

First Place Winners

Stock Car: Vesper Web Design -- Site created for: BDPA (Black Data Processing Associates)

Formula One: Elemental Blend -- Site created for: Kent Cummings Magic Camp

Second Place Winners

Stock Car: Hoovers Dot Comrades (Hoover's Inc) -- Site created for: St. Stephens Tennis Academy

Formula One: TradeMark Media / Sko Lab Designs -- Site created for: TiE Austin

Third Place winners

Stock Car: Dell Old School (Dell Inc )-- Site created for: LifeSteps of Williamson County

Formula One: Con AIR (Convio Inc) -- Site created for: Pegasus Schools

The statewide AIR competition is a major initiative of Knowbility, an Austin non-profit organization that is known globally for making the Web accessible for all people and offering solutions to businesses that can provide information and opportunities to under-served populations. Since 1997, in Austin alone, this competition has produced more than 300 accessible Web sites for non-profits that include a wide range of community groups, schools and assistance programs.