Sportstech & Member News

Kabata has been named a 2023 Good Design Winner in the Sports & Recreation spac.  Kabata is the first intelligent dumbbell system that uses data analytics and predictive AI to enhance a workout by automatically adjusting weights between workout sets while also delivering custom workout programs and activity tracking via a connected mobile app. 

Today IMG announced the launch of their new website www.imgvideoarchive.com for the IMG Video Archive service. It contains some of the world's best sports video content from leading sports federations. Linius is powering the new Advanced Search feature through our Linius Whizzard product. This feature allows users to find highly detailed, specific moments from this archive faster than ever, and to combine these moments into video projects and collections for a wide variety of use cases.

The Connected Health & Fitness Summit, a two-day event bringing together leaders from the top fitness and wellness brands, has named Coach Welly and Gainful as the winning companies of its prestigious Innovation Showcase. Winning in the Innovation Showcase’s Fitness & Fitness Tech category was Coach Welly, an Australian health tech platform offering an app that rewards gym members with personalized tracking and gamification software. World Gym Australia recently tapped the fitness engagement company to enhance customer loyalty and satisfaction in its 230-plus locations.

Australia’s Rosterfy is managing the 5,000+ volunteers at this year’s Super Bowl – for the eighth year in a row. The Aussie company is behind some of the world’s largest events, including South by Southwest (SXSW) and the London Marathon. Rosterfy’s cloud-based volunteer engagement platform automates the volunteer recruitment, screening, training and scheduling process. In 2019, Rosterfy launched in the US and UK. Today, the company is managing 3 million volunteers in 26 countries.

Wilson Sporting Goods has announced the release of the Wilson Airless Gen1, the first-of-its-kind 3D printed airless basketball, that does not need to be inflated. The basketball nearly fits the performance specifications of a regulation basketball, including its weight, size, and rebound.

ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery are forming a new joint venture to launch a sports streaming service in the fall of 2024. This will include the companies’ portfolios of sports networks, certain direct-to-consumer sports services and sports rights. Subscribers will have access to linear sports networks including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV and ESPN+. It can also be bundled with Disney+, Hulu and/or Max.

The NBA announced on Monday that it will unveil an all-glass LED court for the upcoming All-Star weekend in Indianapolis. The social media announcement included a video mock-up of the court that promises to display design and colour changes, live replay and video content, stats, animations and interactive games for fans during timeouts.

Today, Catapult announced an inaugural league-wide partnership with the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). This collaboration marks a significant chapter in women’s hockey, empowering all six PWHL teams with Video Analysis solutions, enhancing game strategies and performance analysis.

A new cyber insights report from CyberCX has found that the global sporting sector faces an increasingly hazardous cyber threat landscape as a broad range of threat actors demonstrate intent and capability to target sporting organisations and major events, with Australia becoming an increasingly attractive target.

Play Today officially launches Golf Ai, the next generation Golf Ai service for the golf industry. Play Today is solving a centuries-long dilemma – how to make sense of the golf rules! Not only has the Australian-based company unlocked a complicated and nuanced problem, but they’ve gone a step further to enable frictionless and fun ways for consumers to interact with golf.

IDA Sports - an athletic footwear brand dedicated to prioritizing high performance and comfortable gear for women and girls - has announced the launch of its Spring/Summer soccer cleat line. These revolutionary soccer shoes are designed to empower athletes while addressing the unique challenges women and girls face, including ACL injuries. Beginning February 5, 2024, IDA Sports spring/summer 2024 shoes are available online for purchase on idasports.com and through select retail partners, including Dick’s Sporting Goods. 

Total Performance Data and tripleSdata have come together to create the world’s largest automated distributor of live horse racing performance data to racecourses, stakeholders, bookmakers, media and racing fans. The merger will result in the combined company supplying live and post-race performance data from over 100 racetracks in 11 different countries, 365 days a year.  

StatusPro has raised $20 million in funding from Google Ventures and others to build its XR sports gaming empire.New York and Miami-based StatusPro wants to take sports gaming into the realm of virtual reality, and it has already launched its NFL Pro Era and NFL Pro Era II titles for platforms such as Meta Quest 3, PlayStation VR 2, Pico, and the Steam Store. NFL Pro Era has surpassed a million users.

The Sports Tech Research Network has released a white paper that introduces a standardized, evidence-based framework which can be adopted by sports technology stakeholders to assess the value, usability, and quality of technology. Developed in collaboration with 48 experts across the sports industry, the Sports Technology Quality Framework consists of 25 measurable features grouped under five quality “pillars”: i. Quality Assurance & Measurement, ii. Established Benefit, iii. Ethics & Security, iv. User Experience and v. Data Management.

ASTN member Gerford AI has been chosen as one of 10 global startups to present new technologies and potential solutions at the annual ICE365 Conference in London this week. Details of the selected startups are at: https://www.icegaming.com/features/fast-forward

A new world-first protective armour, designed for women, is set to be a "game changer" for female contact sports – hopefully prolonging careers and minimising injuries. The prototype works like an airbag, absorbing energy and using viscoelastic memory foam to push the impact back away from the player. Bond University players will test out the new armour in a three-stage clinical trial and a global retail roll-out will take place.

Next Level Racing has announced a new chapter in their collaboration with Microsoft Flight Simulator, as they launch the inaugural community fly-in event. This online gaming event is set to unite flight simulation enthusiasts from across the MSFS and Next Level Racing communities, as they embark on a virtual flight from Sydney to the Gold Coast. The event is scheduled to take flight on February 8th at 0200Z for two hours, offering participants the chance to navigate the iconic route, famed for its breathtaking scenery and challenging flight paths. 

Renowned for revolutionising the smartphone mounting space, Quad Lock has entered the action camera market, introducing two new adaptors to expand its mounting solution ecosystem. These new adaptors will empower users to capture and share their adventures with ease and confidence, helping to solidify Quadlock's position as the most intuitive mounting solution on the market.

Just as National Football League (NFL) players train and practice to constantly improve, the NFL continually seeks new ways to make the game safer for its players, and more exciting for fans. A key element of this effort is development of the Digital Athlete, a joint effort between the NFL and Amazon Web Services (AWS) that represents the next generation of player health and safety for the league.

More than 600 apps and games designed to take advantage of the unique and powerful capabilities of Apple Vision Pro will be available this Friday, February 2. With the NBA app on Apple Vision Pro, basketball fans can stream up to five broadcasts live or on demand with Multiview, keep an eye on real-time player and team stats, and effortlessly glance at other games and scores. PGA TOUR Vision, the first golf app developed for Apple Vision Pro, takes fans directly onto the greens of the world’s most iconic courses.

Google Cloud and PMY Group (PMY) today announced a new, multi-year partnership in which Google Cloud will serve as PMY’s technology partner for selected sports, events, and venue customers. Under the partnership, Google Cloud and PMY are excited to announce a new multi-year agreement for Google to  serve as the Technology Partner of LIV Golf, while Google and PMY will also be working on projects with several major sports and lifestyle brands, helping to transform fan experiences through generative AI. 

HITIQ today announces it has executed a strategic partnership with the Australian Football League (AFL) to supply both its Nexus head impact sensor technology and concussion management platform to the AFL and AFLW competitions for season 2024.

Fliteboard, a leading manufacturer of electric hydrofoil surfboards, announced the launch of its new sub-brand FLITElab*. The announcement coincides with the launch of FLITElab*’s first product, the AMP board, which can help surfers catch a wave, both assisted and electricity-free.

The AIS will today launch the ‘Concussion and Brain Health Position Statement 2024’ and the ‘Australian Concussion Guidelines for Youth and Community Sport’. The guidelines were developed in a collaboration between the Australian Institute of Sport, Sports Medicine Australia, the Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians, and the Australian Physiotherapy Association. The AIS return to sport protocol for community and youth sport includes a minimum period of 21 days until the resumption of competitive contact/collision sport. 

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The Venue Barcelona has opened as a Music, Sports and Events Innovation Zone, a space and ecosystem where corporate-startup innovation, collaboration and creativity converge. The Hub is an innovation playground of 40000m2; a co-creation space of 1100m2; >2.000,000 Live Event Spectators and >150 Live Events per year.

Major League Rugby (MLR), which represents the highest level of rugby competition in North America, has announced Gilbert as the new official ball of the league. Additionally, thanks to a collaboration with Sportable, the leader in the development of wearable tracking technology and data analytics, each nationally broadcast game ball will be outfitted with a unique data tracking device that will measure speed, distance traveled and other unique metrics.

PlaySight nd Playbypoint have announced a partnership that will enhance the racquet sports experience for players worldwide. This collaboration will seamlessly integrate PlaySight’s cutting-edge video analysis technology with Playbypoint’s innovative court reservation system for racquet sports enthusiasts in the rapidly growing worlds of Pickleball, Padel, and Tennis.

Brisbane Roar FC has announced a new partnership with VERVE Fitness, a renowned Queensland-based fitness equipment company. VERVE Fitness, distinguished for its athlete-run operations, specializes in designing premium fitness equipment. A cornerstone of this partnership is the development of the VERVE Performance Centre. This state-of-the-art gym, set to be constructed at Brisbane Roar’s new Brendale training facility, represents a significant investment in the future of sports training and athlete development.

The Lausanne based International Academy of Sport Science and Technology (AISTS), recently announced short – compact topical learning programmes for sport executives and managers to address the needs of the industry. Registration is now open for the short programme on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Sport, to take place from 19 February to 1 March. Participants will be equipped with the tools and mindset needed to manage innovation efficiently.

Today DECKEE announced the launch of NSBC Boating Data, DECKEE's new partnership initiative with the National Safe Boating Council to bring unprecedented data-driven decisions to recreational boating safety across the United States. The industry-first service offers unprecedented insights and analysis of privacy-protected boating activity and behavior informed by GPS movement capture and boater data inputs, helping government, consultants and businesses achieve a variety of operational, economic and environmental outcomes.

The Sport Data Exchange Singapore, SPORTDEXSG, is a digital platform that facilitates the sharing of data and insights between sport ecosystem players in Singapore and beyond. With the digital transformation that SPORTDEXSG will enable, companies can gain the capabilities to expand their business and strengthen their operations for greater sustainable growth in both the Singapore and overseas markets.

ASTN partner, the Global Sports Innovation Center (GSIC) powered by Microsoft has launched its 2nd edition of the International GroundBreakers Sports Challenge. This initiative is at the forefront of driving innovation in the sports industry, inviting companies worldwide to address real-world hurdles faced by sports organisations across five key areas: Business Insights, Fan Engagement, High Performance, Fitness & Health, Media & Sponsorship and Smart Venues & Sustainability.

The Innovation Challenges from partner organisations are listed below. Applications close 18 March 2024.

https://groundbreakers.sport-gsic.com/

The NBA recently announced the latest cohort for its third Launchpad accelerator program. NBA Launchpad is the league’s initiative to source, evaluate, and pilot emerging technologies that advance the NBA’s top basketball and business priorities. The five startups selected include Reboot Motion, Plantiga, Tonsser, TextQL, and Dimension Studio.

NBC Sports Next and Pixellot are expanding their partnership to bring livestreaming to youth and amateur sports venues around North America, combining the streaming and highlight editing capabilities of the former with the AI-automated game-coverage cameras of the latter. Pixellot is already being used at more than 10,000 U.S. high schools to provide AI-automated sports cameras and analytics.

Sports content unicorn Minute Media announced on Wednesday that it has acquired STN Video, a leading North American sports content distributor. The value of the deal is estimated at around $150 million. STN Video holds premium partnerships with every major league in the U.S. alongside an award-winning Online Video Platform. The acquisition of STN will bring additional technology capabilities, distribution and sports highlight content rights to its ecosystem of owned sports content brands, distribution partners and advertisers.

Populous has secured a contract to become the lead architect on the redevelopment of one of the world’s most iconic cricket stadiums, Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. All of Populous’ work in the Asia Pacific region is directed from its APAC headquarters in Brisbane, with 14 offices reporting to this central hub, including in India. Along with Narendra Modi Stadium and the MCG, Populous’ cricket stadium portfolio includes Lord’s in London, England and The Gabba in Brisbane, Australia.

ZIYNX, the innovative early career and NIL (name-image-likeness) marketing app for student-athletes, has launched a partnership with Opendorse, the leading NIL marketplace. The collaboration, driven by a shared commitment to empowering athletes at all levels of sport, is set to deliver one of the largest commitments to student-athletes in women’s sports since NIL’s inception in 2021.With almost 150,000 athlete users, Opendorse will support ZIYNX in sourcing the athletes who will then apply to NIL opportunities on the ZIYNX app by creating 24-second or less videos.

Lumin Sports and the Volleyball League of America (VLA) have entered a performance partnership to support the growth and development of professional volleyball in the United States. The agreement allows the Australian-based technology company to expand its footprint in the United States while the VLA leverage Lumin Sports’ athletic performance software to support its premier teams manage physical performance, monitor health and wellness data, as well as improve team operations and administration.

WWE and Netflix today announced a long-term partnership that will bring WWE’s flagship weekly program – Raw – to the world’s leading entertainment service. Beginning in January 2025, Netflix will be the exclusive new home of Raw in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Latin America, among other territories.

To enhance its members' experience in clubs across Australia, Anytime Fitness - with more than 550 clubs and 650,000 members - has recently launched AF SmartCoaching technology and AF App. AF SmartCoaching will provide Anytime Fitness members with personalised coaching that can now be accessed via the app anytime, anywhere. The app also features the ability for members to upgrade to the AF Access Pass and enjoy the convenience of opening the door to clubs around Australia with their smartphone. 

Winter Sports World (WSW), the ground-breaking indoor snow resort proposed for Penrith, has achieved a significant milestone with the granting of approval by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. Dubbed “The Giant Esky,” the project is set to enter a phase of detailed design and engineering development in early 2024, with negotiations ongoing for suppliers and contractors globally.

Griffith University has partnered with Sports Tech College to develop and deliver a suite of executive education programs designed specifically for sport executives and senior administrators within sport. The programs will focus on inspiring, sharing and discussing cutting-edge advancements, and collaboratively discussing the road-map for blending technology with sports.

adidas Training and Bumble have unveiled a partnership to tackle intimidation felt at the gym, a barrier to training which impacts athletes at all-levels. Coming together to offer a new adidas interest badge (which members can add to their profile to let potential matches see their interest in fitness) the collaboration is designed to create space for next-gen gym enthusiasts to connect and realize the research-backed benefits of training, together.

Global Sustainable Sport understands that more than 1,000 amateur clubs have already applied for financial support for climate protection projects since the launch of UEFA's Climate Fund last week. Based on pre-tournament projections, about €7m will be made available for climate protection projects. Clubs can choose from a set list of projects in the fields of energy, water, waste management and smart mobility.

Samsung announced at Unpacked 2024 that it will soon launch the Galaxy smart ring. The Galaxy Ring announcement was made by Dr. Matthew Wiggins, clinical research scientist at Samsung Research, after a segment demonstrating a new Samsung health experience powered by Galaxy AI. The Samsung Health experience will include the ability to monitor for potential sleep apnea symptoms by tracking sleep patterns, blood oxygen changes, and maintaining heart rate alerts during sleep. 

Sports Environment Alliance (SEA) has announced that it has been successful in its application for grant funding from the Waste Sorted program, an initiative of the WA government’s Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER). SEA’s successful submission was titled Reducing Community Waste: A team sport, and our project brings together five of SEA’s WA member sporting clubs from grassroots to elite level, to identify and implement behaviour change and education programs that reduce waste to landfill. Partners include Fremantle Dockers Football Club, West Coast Eagles, Western Force Rugby, Vasse Soccer Club and Youngs Siding Swamprats Cricket Club.

The Australia Open tennis tournament is using BindiMaps wayfinding solution for the 3rd year running. The app allows fans of all abilities to find what they need at the AO. BindiMaps have also introduced table-top kiosks for quick visual route checks. 

Centr, founded by Chris Hemsworth, has launched a new program, 'Centr Circuit: Elevate', to support members on their health and wellness journey. The six-week program features an all-new format to energize daily workouts with a wide variety of movements that promote strength and mobility, and conveniently offers a bootcamp style of functional fitness that’s accessible from the comfort of home, or at the gym through the Centr app.

GoPro announced an agreement to acquire Forcite Helmet Systems, a pioneer in embedding technology into helmets based in Australia. GoPro intends to accelerate Forcite's vision to provide a safer, more dynamic motorcycling experience through tech-enabled motorcycle helmets with the long-term goal of tech-enabling other categories of helmets over time.

Kinvent, the European leader in connected physiotherapy solutions, recently announced the securing of a 16 million euro investment during its third round of fundraising. This investment will enable the company to enter a new phase of acceleration, including market penetration in the United States in 2024, increased R&D projects, as well as massive external expansion.