‘Are Apps Sports’ Best Friend or Worst Folly?’

The Sports Technology Awards have teamed up with London Sport and Pioneers in Sport to host a debate and networking event on 14th November 2017.

 

Held at the newly launched House of Sport, the discussion will be ‘Are Apps Sports’ Best Friend or Worst Folly?’ featuring industry experts, Simon Ryley, RightNow Digital, Teresa Aguilar, Pivot Sport and Archie Woodhead, In Crowd Sports, with the session moderated by our CEO, Rebecca Hopkins.

 

Full details on attending the event can be found at http://londonsport.staging.wpengine.com/event/sports-technology-awards-debate/#buy-tickets

We usually deliver the script in a hi-tech way but this year we went one step further and delivered the MC, Mark Chapman, on a RolleyGolf trolley. Watch Mark’s thoughts on the #STA2017 ceremony below.

Mark Chapman – Sports Technology Awards 2017 from Sports Technology Awards on Vimeo.

 

Big thank you to RolleyGolf for providing the trolley for Mark’s big entrance!

 

Click to learn more about the Yahoo Sports Technology Awards and Sports Technology Awards Startups.

In a ceremony attended by industry leaders and elite athletes, the 2017 Sports Technology Awards revealed its winners, which included Wimbledon, the NBA, the Tour de France and the Sacramento Kings along with a raft of other innovative sports and technology brands.

The Awards, a British initiative which attracts entries from over 30 countries, was hosted by sports presenter, Mark Chapman, and celebrated 19 categories, representing around 70 sports and over 100 brands. It was judged by 32 industry-leaders including elite athletes, Dame Katherine Grainger, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Olympic rugby coach Ben Ryan and England Manager, Gareth Southgate.

 

The winners are:

• Best Elite Sports Facility or Venue – Sacramento Kings, Golden 1 Center
• Rights Holder of the Year – The Championships, Wimbledon
• Outstanding Startup – Football Whispers
• Most Innovative Sports Partnership – Hewlett Packard Enterprise and DS Virgin Racing Formula-E
• Most Innovative Fan Engagement Campaign – Dimension Data – Tour de France
• Most Innovative Wearable – STATSports
• Best Web Development – NBA Facebook Messenger with WSC Sports
• Most Innovative Sponsor – Dimension Data – Tour de France
• Best App – Find A Player
• Best-Integrated Digital Media – CricHQ
• Most Innovative Live Sports Experience or Event – BT Sport – UEFA Champions League Final
• Best Technology for Managers and Coaches- Performance – ForceDecks
• Best Technology for Managers and Coaches- Athlete Welfare – DNAFit
• Sports Tech Young Exec Alexandra Willis – AELTC
• Best Technology for Commercial Returns – KORE Software
• Best Participation Technology – LTA ClubSpark
• Best New Innovation – RightNow Digital
• Best Digital TV Product or Broadcast Innovation – NeuLion 4K Live Streaming
• Best Technology for Fan Engagement – NBA Rapid Replay

 

Rebecca Hopkins, CEO of the Awards explained ‘we are immensely proud that the Sports Technology Awards has become the international mark of excellence of the sector. We have worked hard to create a judging process that both robust and transparent, meaning that startups can compete with established brands fairly; every short listee is exceptional and all winners really are the best on the market at this time. Consequently, all brands represented today should be delighted with what they have achieved.’

Mark Hunter, the Awards’ Director and Olympic Champion, added ‘as well as celebrating each category winner, we wanted to highlight entries – largely from very new companies – that also excited the judges; competition for the top slot is exceptionally tough but we urge people to look out for Cicari, MiaoHi, Refsix, Spalk and Stadion. These are highly innovative start-ups all of which should have very bright futures.’

As well as celebrating innovation, the Sports Technology Awards enjoys a reputation for being innovative in its own right and this year was no exception. On the day, Mark Chapman entered on Rolleygolf, a new style of golf trolley, and Augmented Reality – courtesy of AR company, Skignz – was an innate part of the Awards. Guests were also treated to a hugely insightful ‘Sports TechTalk’ by leading sports architect, John Rhodes of HOK.

Click to learn more about the Yahoo Sports Technology Awards and Sports Technology Awards Startups.

Leading Sports Architect, John Rhodes, will Deliver Inaugural Talk on ‘The Stadium of Tomorrow’

 

The Sports Technology Awards has today announced an exciting new initiative, Sports Tech Talks, the first of which will be delivered at the Sports Technology Awards’ ceremony in London on May 4th.

 

The inaugural talk, which will be a short, powerful and informative format, similar to TedTalks – will be delivered by John Rhodes, director of HOK’s Sports, Recreation and Entertainment London practice. Rhodes’ chosen topic will be ‘The Stadium of Tomorrow’ and will offer unrivalled insight for team and venue owners, sponsors, coaching staff and heads of facilities and commercial.

 

Rhodes’ experience spans designing and creating high-profile facilities in professional sports as well as entertainment, including F1 circuits, horse racing tracks, high-performance training facilities and conference and exhibition centres. Some of his stand-out projects include Silverstone, the Dubai World Expo and Leeds Arena, and his team is currently working on the new Nou Camp Arena in Barcelona and the 2020 World Expo Concept.

 

The Sports Technology Awards are now in their fourth cycle and are a globally unique and highly respected celebration of tech-led innovation in sports internationally. Awards categories reflect visionary work across every aspect of sport, the judging panel comprises experts from across the sector and the ceremony is attended by senior industry figures, influencers and athletes.

 

Rebecca Hopkins, CEO of the Awards, explained the rational behind the new initiative: ‘The STA brand commands an exciting degree of international respect and is valued for the unrivalled insight we offer the sector. The Awards has helped end-users identify relevant, best-in-show tech and enabled the companies doing good work create a strong, commercial point of difference. Additionally, we have always showcased new tech at the Awards’ ceremony so it seemed a very natural step to introduce new thinking too. Tedtalks are a universally popular way of communicating on important topics and we hope our Sports Tech Talks will mirror this.’

 

‘John Rhodes is the perfect keynote speaker for the STA’s, he is a world leader in his field, advancing the design of world-class sports venues and will provide a key insight into the future how we will experience live sporting events”.

 

John Rhodes, director of HOK’s Sports, Recreation and Entertainment practice, said: “I’m honoured to be delivering the first Sports Tech Talks; having been an Awards’ judge for the past two years, I rate them highly and am delighted to be supporting them in this. The technology affecting architecture in sport is very exciting and will completely  revolutionize sporting venues.”

 

The Sports Technology Awards ceremony will take place on May 4th, 2017, at the Roundhouse, London.

Each year, the Sports Technology Awards presents the MC job to a new host and we are delighted that the 2017 ceremony will be overseen by Mark Chapman.

 

Mark, a lifelong sports fan, is best known for his work anchoring BBC’s Match of the Day 2 as well as his work on the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

 

He will be joined by fellow sports personalities and industry leaders, who are coming together to celebrate the leading sports technology and its most innovative use.

 

Tickets to the ceremony are limited to 650 places and are selling fast. To make sure you are part of this exclusive event act now and reserve your place.

 

With the deadline to buy your table fast approaching, don’t delay, simply click here and get your tickets now.

 

The Sports Technology Awards

May 4th 12pm-5pm 2017

The Roundhouse, London

Click to learn more about the Yahoo Sports Technology Awards and Sports Technology Awards Startups.

Global Event Uses Augmented Reality to Reveal its Shortlist

The Sports Technology Awards has become the first awards globally to present its shortlist through augmented reality (AR), as the 2017 finalists were given a preview ahead of the public announcement.

 

Reflecting the innovation it celebrates, brands entering the Sports Technology Awards were advised to download its AR app and scan their office for a digital icon. By doing this, they could see the shortlist hours before the announcement was made public.

 

Now in its fourth cycle, the Sports Technology Awards has continuously pushed innovation from both entrants and within its own ceremony. The 2016 lunch saw drones deliver the MC’s script and robots direct people to their tables.  Awards Director, Mark Hunter, explained:

 

“The Sports Technology Awards is a unique celebration of innovation in sports globally, as such, our audience is highly sophisticated so each year we face a challenge of how to impress and engage them in ways they’ve yet to see. We had seen some creative yet practical uses of AR so decided that this should be one of the technologies we embrace this year and the response has been phenomenal.”

 

The Sports Technology Awards’ AR solution was by Skignz, a UK company that aims to “make AR useful”. Skignz is also delivering part of awards ceremony so there are plenty more surprises in store.

 

Si Brown, Skignz founder, said: “It’s exciting  to work prestigious brands like The Sports Technology Awards, especially when we are given the opportunity to demonstrate how practical, yet playful, augmented reality can be AR can be dismissed as signs in the sky but they can be fascinating portals to more information and provide a highly effective and engaging way to inform audiences.”

Over 70 sports were represented and submissions were received from 30 countries. The standards were as high as ever but even more international and varied.

 

The innovations these entries represent were nothing short of very impressive, proving that this area of sports is one of the most exciting and we are delighted to be part of it.

 

The awards ceremony will be held at The Roundhouse, Camden on May 4th 2017.

 

For more information contact info@sportstechgroup.org or 02031502080

 

Meanwhile, follow us on Twitter: @SportTechGroup

 

Click to learn more about the Yahoo Sports Technology Awards and Sports Technology Awards Startups.

The list of judges for the 2017 Sports Technology Awards has now been completed.

 

With experts from a variety of sectors within sports and technology, the team is as strong as ever.

 

The judging process of the STAs is something that it prides itself on. Making sure that it is as fair as possible is of great importance, therefore the judges are carefully selected each year.

 

29 different experts have been carefully selected. Their backgrounds are both extensive and impressive, ranging from England manager, Gareth Southgate, to performance engineer, David Markey, at Land Rover BAR.

 

The awards ceremony, which will be held at the Roundhouse in London on the 4th of May, will be unmissable this year as the calibre of both nominees and judges is exceptional.

 

If you have any questions about this year’s awards, email

info@sportstechgroup.org

 

Meanwhile, follow us on Twitter: @SportTechGroup

 

Click to learn more about the Yahoo Sports Technology Awards and Sports Technology Awards Startups.

We are thrilled to announce that former Manchester City defender and HaiQiu co-founder, Sun Jihai, has joined the Sports Technology Awards’ team of judges.

 

The footballer-turned-businessman joins a prestigious list of individuals already on the roster.

 

After officially retiring in December 2016, Jihai has been involved with sports technology company HaiQiu, which launched last year.

 

Jihai was inducted into English Football’s Hall of Fame in 2015 and his target for the future is to become a bridge between UK- based and Chinese sports and technology companies.

 

With experience in and passion for sport and technology, he makes the perfect judge for this year’s Sports Technology Awards.

The new Sports Technology Awards website is now up and running.

 

Just as sport is evolving with ever-changing technological advances and innovative use of technology.

 

Making sure that the branding of the STAs is up to date is vital. Having positioned the brand as an industry pioneer, we want all things associated with the awards to match those high standards.

 

The new website makes the user experience more enjoyable, offering visitors a more responsive and effective way of navigating through everything related to the Sports Technology Awards.

 

Follow us on Twitter: @SportTechGroup