Australian Sportstech News

LIGR Live leads its growth into Europe and North America through partnership with the Crionet Group. CEO and Co-Founder of LIGR Live announced his relocation to Europe to grow the business activities in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Australian Composites Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre has begun a new project with investment company Gowing Bros to develop a travel surfboard (that requires minimal storage space, whilst not compromising performance) through Gowing’s brands Gowings Pacific Trader, FCS and Softech. Through this partnership, ACM CRC will identify and develop advanced manufacturing techniques for increased board laminating quality, and will adapt automated processes for core shaping, composite material deposition (glassing) and finishing, retaining the board’s high quality while reducing manufacturing costs.

ActiveXchange's National Infrastructure Database passed 50,000 sites this week. It's Australia's largest repository of sport and recreation data made possible through 200+ recreation and sport organisation integrations and a network of 1,200 contributing platform users. The database helps with planning, investing and operating sports infrastructure including usage, resident profile and demand and benchmarking of sites. 

A newly released survey on the fitness and health market has revealed that Australians spent up to $3.5 billion on fitness clubs and gyms in 2023 and that one in five of Australians over 18 have a gym membership. The information, released by retail intelligence platform GapMaps and based on data powered by CommBank iQ - which tracks the largest 27 brands within the industry - shows that the top fitness chains across Australia have over 3,000 locations. The report also reveals that despite cost-of-living pressures, the industry continues to grow, with the majority of operators increasing their network size in 2023. Excluding F45, the tracked brands added a net 53 locations in 2023. Brands such as Fitstop and BFT continued major expansions, adding 39 and 27 locations respectively.

BetMakers Technology Group has entered an agreement to acquire assets of RACELAB, a leading international supplier of enhanced racing wagering products and technologies. This is a highly strategic acquisition for BetMakers, adding leading race form, preview, and statistics technology to the BetMakers ecosystem, as well as proprietary fixed odds pricing technology and associated algorithms. The acquisition also offers potential for BetMakers to further expand its services in the harness and greyhound form and preview racing sectors and bring new customers to BetMakers.

STEPN has joined forces with adidas to revolutionise the web3 world, launching an exclusive “Step into the Future” collaboration. A total of 1,000 limited edition STEPN x adidas NFT Genesis Sneakers will be unveiled on the Solana Blockchain. According to Shiti Manghani, CEO of STEPN: “This collaboration between STEPN and adidas underscores how powerful it is when you can move-and-earn in both the virtual and real world simultaneously. That such a physical and digital - or ‘phygital’ - partnership between the most widely used lifestyle app and a global brand of such magnitude are now a reality indicates the direction lifestyle rewards are going".

The Bodhi & Ride x 2XU Limited Collection has officially launched. Each piece is designed to enhance performance but also provide unparalleled comfort, providing the perfect amount of compression and sculpting to ensure riders feel and perform their best during every Ride.

The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) and SPORTPASS, a fan engagement and gaming platform and a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, today announced the entry into a framework in respect of a partnership to transform the fan experience for triathlon and endurance sports that leverages Web3 and blockchain technology. The arrangement seeks to redefine the way professionals, fans and amateur athletes engage with endurance sports, offering tokenized rankings, dynamic incentives, gamification, content and rewards across digital and ‘in real life’ starting at the newly announced T100 Triathlon World Tour, which began in Miami on 9 March.

Fans are now able to purchase food and drinks using cryptocurrency at Adelaide Oval following an agreement between the venue, its Australian Football League (AFL) tenants the Adelaide Crows, and Crypto.com. Supported by financial systems software DataMesh, which is providing the payment technology and terminals, the integration marks a world first at this scale.

In collaboration with the National Rugby League (NRL), Advance Queensland is offering a unique opportunity for up to 20 local businesses to showcase their groundbreaking products and solutions to key decision-makers from the NRL, clubs, stakeholders, and major sporting organisations across Queensland. Advance Queensland and the NRL are seeking expressions of interest (EOIs) from businesses with innovative solutions in areas such as: innovative fan engagement and fan experience enhancement, event operations and broadcasting optimisation, health and wellness technologies for athlete performance improvement, business data solutions for customer engagement and performance, any other technology solutions that can elevate the NRL's product offerings and sponsorship value. Applications close 23 April 2004.

VALD Performance has been become a successful recipient of an Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship grant, applying sports technology to prevent knee injuries in Queensland's female athletes. With the support of $240,000 over 2 years, Research Fellow, Dr Matthew Bourne's work will apply world-leading human measurement tech to predict which female athletes are at risk of injury, revolutionise training for injury prevention and monitor rehabilitation outcomes. The Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowships program supports researchers partnering with industry to complete original research that will have a positive impact on Queensland. Applications for our 2024 Industry Research Fellowship grants are now open and close on the 22nd April.

The Gold Coast SUNS have today launched the ultimate free online fitness companion tailored to young people aged 12-17 in a partnership with the Queensland Government and Playbk Sports. SUNS Active Lab is a cutting-edge platform accessed via a smart phone or tablet which encourages young people to access inclusive fitness programs curated by SUNS staff.

Australian enviro-tech startup Samsara Eco and its partner, athletic apparel, accessories and footwear brand lululemon, have today launched the first product made from enzymatically recycled polyester. The lululemon limited edition Packable Anorak jacket is made from a variety of inputs, including mixed plastic waste, lululemon apparel at the end-of-life stage, and converted carbon emissions. The jacket is available for purchase online in Australia, the US and Canada beginning today. 

Advanced body composition analytics pioneer Evolt, has entered a strategic partnership with digital fitness solutions company, EGYM, signalling a pivotal shift within the industry as individuals increasingly adopt a holistic approach to health. The collaboration, announced at IHRSA in Los Angeles earlier this month, merges EGYM’s fitness equipment and digital platform with Evolt’s cutting-edge composition analysis technology, offering gym members comprehensive insights into their health and fitness. 

Alta Global Group (NYSE American: MMA), a technology company that is enabling the global martial arts and combat sports industry to maximize the monetization opportunities available to the sector by increasing consumer participation in the sport and building upon existing community offerings within the sector, announced the pricing of its NYSE initial public offering of 1,300,000 ordinary shares at a price to the public of $5.00 per share, for gross proceeds of $US 6.5 million. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the listing for marketing and sales, product development, research and development.

News Corp Australia’s News Sport Network today announced it is joining forces with Partnerbrite, an internationally renowned fan audience platform. Partnerbrite is an ad-tech platform that transforms partnerships with fan targeted digital campaigns on social, video and display channels. It solves a major problem in sports marketing – providing a full-funnel solution for brands to target audiences, without sports organisations needing to share their data.  News Sport Network and Partnerbrite will work to sell their offerings together, work with brands to identify appropriate properties in the sport industry to invest in and work with sporting partners to identify appropriate commercial partners for available categories.

Populous has joined Building 4.0 CRC, an industry-led research initiative co-funded by the Australian Government. The Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program aims to fund industry-led collaborations between industry, researchers and end-users. Building 4.0 CRC aims to foster a thriving Australian advanced manufacturing sector, deliver better buildings at lower costs, and develop the human capacity to lead the future building and construction industry. Populous APAC is partnering on the #48 shared interest project titled “Scoping Study for Building the Future – Circular Economy,” and aims to design out waste and pollution by maximizing the utility of products and materials, thereby reducing excessive material extraction and manufacturing.

HITIQ has announced a partnership with the National Rugby League (NRL) for the 2024 season. The NRL has initiated a trial of HITIQ's state-of-the-art head impact mouthguard technology, aiming to evaluate the product's fit for broader rollout within rugby league. In addition to the NRL's trial, several teams have independently adopted HITIQ's instrumented mouthguard (iMG) technology to measure, mitigate, and better understand head impact exposure during training, games and competitions. 

Queensland University of Technology's (QUT) Centre for Data Centre launched its new Sports Data Science & AI Next Generations Graduate Program on 28th March. The event also featured two interesting panel discussions around Sports Tech, AI, and all the research around it now and in the future. Panelists included domain experts from Queensland Academy of Sport, Australian Sports Commission, QUT, ASTN, CSIRO's Data61 and University of NSW Data Science Hub. Details of the new program are at https://lnkd.in/gbQqWyfU

Basketball Forever, a rapidly expanding and highly engaged independent sports media brand, recently disclosed the successful closure of its Series A funding round, amassing over $US4 million. The fundraising was prominently spearheaded by Yolo Investments. Basketball Forever uniquely integrates its gaming operations with its content distribution, leveraging its website and social media platforms to engage users with a compelling second screen experience. Following the establishment of its presence in North America, Basketball Forever is set to channel these funds towards bolstering its growth, aiming to capture a larger audience within the region, branching out into additional sectors apart from basketball.

GTG Network, a leading Australian sports analytics company, are continue to expand its operations into the quick-play arcade game segment. GTG Network and Sinclair Broadcast Group are partnering on Game Center, a new direct-to-consumer platform offering personalized and interactive fan experiences with gamification elements aimed at growing fan engagement with the help of fandoms and social communities. A total of 79 Sinclair stations are making Game Center available on their websites. With 30 unique games across sports, word and number puzzles, trivia as well as cards and casino, the game collection is intended to have broad appeal from fans.

Coles Little Athletics Australia today announced it is extending its partnership with KommunityTV Team as the Official Streaming Partner for the 2024 and 2025 Coles Australian Little Athletics Championships. KommunityTV will provide the digital platform to live stream the 2024 & 2025 Coles Australian Little Athletics Championships (ALAC), in addition to writing and producing local stories about the competing Little Athletes in the lead-up and during the up-coming 2024 ALAC.

Queensland University of Technology, in partnership with AusCycling and Zwift hosted Australia's first National eSports Cycling Championship on 22 March. QUT welcome some of Australia's top men and women's cyclists to The Cube for the finals event. 27 QUT students assisted with the delivery of this event, from IT configuration to production, broadcasting, commentating and everything in between. Many of these skills and capabilities are learnt and led through our esports program which delivers Oceanic Varsity and Oceanic Development Tournaments to the region for Riot Games every week on campus.

Dimers.com, a leading sports analytics website, developed by Melbourne-based Cipher Sports Technology, has officially launched its revolutionary sports betting product, Dimers Pro. This new product offers a suite of tools and analytics to help users make informed decisions and elevate their betting experience. Dimers, which serves nearly one million monthly users with free access to top-tier sports betting models and technology, is transitioning to a subscription-based model at less than a dollar a day. This reflects the platform's commitment to delivering an enhanced and more sophisticated service to its dedicated user base.

Within the luxury water sports market, the eFoil company known as Flite (and its corresponding product Fliteboard) is making its high-end product more accessible with the introduction of its newest product, Flite AIR. Retailing at $US6,995, this product offers a more accessible price point for water sports consumers and a more extensive product range for its more than 300 authorized partners across 90 countries. The Flite AIR model, whose construction combines a rigid foam-core platform with a reinforced inflatable outer section, significantly lowers the cost. This compares to the original Fliteboard model made from carbon fibre and aluminium that starts at $US10-12,000, up to $US21,000.

LIGR Live is thrilled to unveil its groundbreaking partnership with the Horizon League. The partnership will usher in a new era of dynamic, data-powered live-streaming highlights for the Men’s and Women’s Basketball games and League Champion events throughout the 23-24 season. In collaboration with Genius Sports, LIGR will harness the pinnacle of official NCAA data, delivering real-time, automated highlights to the league office and its members. The Horizon League has taken a giant leap forward in enriching the live-streaming experience, ensuring unparalleled coverage and engagement for fans.

Australian sports hydration company PREPD has made significant step in their journey beyond the realm of sports, demonstrating our dedication to combatting dehydration through innovative solutions. PREPD are looking to revolutionise hydration practices in the demanding environment of mining, and contribute to the well-being and safety of workers in the mining industry.

Melbourne-based cycling apparel brand MAAP has opened its first retail concept store in Europe – MAAP Lab Amsterdam. Following the success of the brand’s flagship store in Melbourne, the new Amsterdam Lab will bring MAAP’s luxury cycling and streetwear clothes to the city’s vibrant creative culture and community. The Lab concept – which symbolises the spirit of living a ‘Life Around Bikes’ – is one that MAAP intends to implement in major regions worldwide. 

The Gold Coast Titans have today announced their new online platform, sharing their ground breaking Leagueability program with junior rugby league clubs across the nation. The online educational program will efficiently address the educational and resource needs, paving the way for thousands of Australians to participate in inclusive Rugby League initiatives. An initiative with Playbk Sports, the Gold Coast Titans will share their Leagueability program through an online platform, assisting community clubs in creating their own sustainable and inclusive rugby league programs.

Thousands of esports fans are set to flock to Melbourne when global digital gaming festival DreamHack takes over Melbourne this April. Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos today announced DreamHack Melbourne 2024 will transform Melbourne Park from Friday, 26 April to Sunday, 28 April – backing local jobs, boosting businesses and attracting thousands of gaming enthusiasts from interstate and overseas to Australia’s digital games capital.

Football fans are in for a game-changing viewing experience this AFL Premiership Season with the launch of Sports Entertainment Network's (SEN) latest product offering, SEN Sync, in collaboration with DrinkWise – an innovative new feature set to redefine how fans experience the game at home. SEN Sync seamlessly synchronises the SEN commentary team's live call with the unfolding on-screen action. This new technology enhances the at-home viewing experience by giving fans unprecedented control over how they immerse themselves in the game.

Australian corporate digital health startup PUML has been accepted into the Google for Startup Program. This opportunity sets the stage for PUML to accelerate growth, expand offerings, and deliver even greater value to users. PUML will leverage the resources and support provided by the Google for Startups Cloud Program to enhance our platform, strengthen our community, and continue our mission of promoting health and wellness through technology.

Last year, Centr unveiled a new lineup of fitness accessories, strength equipment and home gyms. Products from the new lineup will be on display at IHRSA, including Centr’s new Smart Stack 50, an elevated 5-50lb adjustable dumbbell. Additionally,  Inspire Fitness, part of the Centr family and exclusive line of strength products, will debut brand new innovations for the commercial space, including the Smith QuickSelect Commercial Smith Machine.

In what it describes as a first in the industry, fitness software provider Hapana has today announced the launch of an in-app group challenge capability. Developed in partnership with Strong Pilates, the innovation is enabling the launch of their inaugural challenge, ‘Feel Strong’, running from 26th February to 26th March before being rolled out globally on a to-be-announced date.The Hapana challenge capability empowers fitness brands and franchises with two options for initiating challenges: a fixed start date perfect for group settings, and a purchase-based start ideal for individual enrolments.

QUT will host Australia’s first national championships for cycling esports during the Brisbane Cycling Festival in March, as part of a partnership with AusCycling. The 2024 AusCycling Esports National Championships will be held at The Cube on the QUT Gardens Point campus on March 22. The final, which will be contested on Zwift and broadcast by SBS, will be an omnium-style multi-round event, taking cues from the latest UCI Cycling Esports World Championships.

Australian sneaker company ATHLETIKAN has partnered with the AFL to launch a team-based shoe range. The 2024 edition of the shoes will drop just before the start of the AFL season on 6th March. 

Next week, LiveHeats competition and results platform will be powering the very first freeski / snowboard competition to run in Saudi Arabia - the Snowblast Cup at Al Malqa, Riyadh. The event will feature a range of distinctive winter experiences for visitors, aiming to promote the sport and create local and international skiing competitions. The global event features skiing and snowboarding performances, along with the participation of 30 world and Olympic champions in skiing sports.

Utilised at the recently completed Australia Open, Stats Perform have built a model that uses millions of granular tracking data points to provide insight into how “predictable” a player is in any given situation and anticipate the zone their next shot may land in. The shot model is also tied to other predictions within a match like Stats Perform's point-win probability model, tournament predictor and player rankings.

The Fremantle Dockers have launched an educational hub to help support education in Western Australian schools. This digital platform offers teachers free access to a variety of resources including lesson plans, curriculum links, interactive content, videos, and articles. Tailored for students from Pre-Primary to Year 6, the hub covers topics such as fundamental movement skills, healthy eating, physical activity, wellbeing, resilience, respect, and positive role models. 

Across the sports industry, various organizations have been leveraging Roblox to reach young audiences. In addition to popular US-based leagues such as the NFL, NBA, NHL, NASCAR and PGA, international organizations have also activated on the platform including Manchester City, FIFA, Wimbledon, and F1 racing team McLaren. One sports organization that was relatively early to Roblox and that continues to build on the platform is Tennis Australia, the group responsible for hosting the Australian Open tennis tournament. Tennis Australia have just updated their AO Adventure experience on Roblox to coincide with their latest 2024 tournament,