The Sports Technology Awards Categories
The 2025 Sports Technology Awards’ categories reflect the latest forces shaping every part of sports. Spanning technology, science, engineering and design, the categories ensure outstanding disruptive technologies are scrutinized, showcased and celebrated.
It’s here that the vision of today meets the sports world of tomorrow.
It’s here that the vision of today meets the sports world of tomorrow.
2025 Categories
Adaptive Sport
This celebrates technology for monitoring, diagnosing, treating and rehabilitating sportspeople of all levels. It highlights the creativity involved in removing barriers to participation, emphasizing ability rather than disability. The technology can meet single or multiple areas of need.
This includes technologies such as:
This includes technologies such as:
- Biomechanics
- Injury assessment and prevention
- Medical diagnostic imaging
- Prosthetics and assistive devices
- Rehabilitation
- Sports nutrition and physiology
- Telemedicine and remote monitoring
Agency
This celebrates the work of an agency of any discipline (eg Advisory, Consulting, Content, Design, Digital, Esports, Event Management, Experiential, Financial, Legal, Marketing, Media, Sponsorship and Talent) which has placed technology as a significant factor in delivering results for client(s) in sport.
Broadcast
This celebrates technology created for use by sports broadcasters of all types.
This includes technologies such as:
This includes technologies such as:
- AR, VR, 360-degree cameras or interactive features
- Camera hardware or software
- Closed captioning, audio descriptions, language options, or customizable interfaces
- Graphics and visual presentation
- Instant replays, slow-motion analysis, player tracking and statistical overlays
- Live polls, social media integration, viewer comments, or interactive contests
- Real-time data feeds, player statistics, historical trends, or expert analysis
- Sound production hardware or software
- Streaming and broadcast
- Studio or staging
Coaching and Tactics
This celebrates technology which improves key coaching, training and tactical decision making for coaches, managers, clubs, teams and elite athletes and players.
This includes technologies such as:
This includes technologies such as:
- Data analysis capabilities
- Skill development
- Strategic decision-making
- Tactical insights
- Training efficiency
Data and Analytics
This celebrates technology which collects, integrates and / or analyse data from sources within sports.
This includes technologies that:
This includes technologies that:
- Generate or provide real-time or historical data
- Integrate different data types / sources for analysis
- Provide statistical modelling, machine learning algorithms, predictive analytics or data visualization tools that enable in-depth analysis and generate actionable insights
- Utilize multiple sensors, tracking devices, databases or digital platforms
Digital and SaaS
This celebrates electronic tools, systems, devices and resources across sports.
Including but not limited to:
Including but not limited to:
- AI
- Application Hosting
- Cloud Infrastructure
- Data Security
- Messaging and Notification Services
- Online marketplaces
- Progressive web apps
- Real-time Communication (eg Chatbots)
- Smart devices
- Voice assistance
Fan Engagement
This celebrates technology which enables better engagement between fans and sports entities of all types.
Fitness and Participation
This celebrates technology which promotes, improves or increases mainstream participation in sports and/or fitness. Entries are welcome from B2B and B2C organizations.
Includes but is not limited to:
Includes but is not limited to:
- AR/VR fitness solutions
- Fitness hardware
- Smart gym solutions
- Streaming technologies
- Virtual coaching and training
- Virtual fitness platforms
Future Fuels and Fabrics
This celebrates innovative materials and fuels that offer significant benefits to the area(s) of sports in which it is used.
This includes but is not limited to fabrics and fuels such as:
This includes but is not limited to fabrics and fuels such as:
- Fabrics including Smart Textiles, Impact-resistant, Aerodynamic, compression, thermoregulatory and sustainable materials
- High-Performance Composites and Advanced Alloys
- Fuels including as Biofuels, Synthetic Fuels and High-Octane Fuels, Lubricants and Additives
Future Markets
This celebrates technologies for use in emerging and future markets within the sports sector.
This includes but is not limited to technologies spanning:
This includes but is not limited to technologies spanning:
- AI
- Crypto
- dApps and digital asset ownership
- Disability sports
- Women’s Sports and Femtech (please also see the Women’s Impact category)
- Head trauma
- Metaverse, Web 3.0, blockchain and associated technologies
- Robotics
- Safeguarding
- Smart stadia
- Social responsibility
- Sustainability
- Virtual sport
Innovation
Presented in partnership with
This celebrates the best technological innovation in sports. Entries must have been tangibly available no earlier than January 2023). Concepts are ineligible.
This category is presented in partnership with Capgemini, Innovations Partner to The STA Group.
This category is presented in partnership with Capgemini, Innovations Partner to The STA Group.
Match Day
This celebrates technology that positively affects match day experience for fans, or the commercial operations of a club, tournament, sports organization, venue or sponsor.
This includes technologies such as:
This includes technologies such as:
- Advanced surveillance Emergency response
- Crowd monitoring and management
- Concessions management, retail and transactions
- Energy-efficient infrastructure, waste reduction, recycling or sustainability programmes
- Facility maintenance and upkeep
- High-speed Wi-Fi
- In-seat ordering and digital concierge
- Mobile app integration, interactive displays or digital signage
- Ticketing, access control and venue logistics
- Wayfinding and navigation systems
Mechanical, Engineered and Wearable
This category celebrates tech-led equipment. It includes wearable, mechanical or engineered devices, which can either be connected wirelessly or have been developed to offer superior performance, experience or results through innovative manufacture.
This includes technologies such as:
This includes technologies such as:
- Apparel, including smart clothing and compression wear
- Biometric sensors
- Boards (including surf, snow, and skate) and skis
- Competition machines (cars, bikes, boats, motorbikes, etc.)
- Competition surfaces
- Components (engines, suspension, braking, gear systems, tires, hulls, saddles, etc.)
- Eyewear
- Footwear and insoles
- Gloves
- Gym and fitness equipment
- Headwear
- Materials (build fabrics, lubricants, fuel, etc.)
- Protective wear, including gum shields
- Sports equipment (balls, bats, racquets, cues, snowsport bindings, poles)
- Swing, stroke, and cadence monitors
- Testing apparatus
- Trackers, including watches, rings, wristbands, and heart rate monitors
Partnership
This celebrates tech-led work in sports, involving two or more entities, where a partnership has been created to resolve tangible challenges, or meet and leverage a clear opportunity, either targeting B2B or B2C.
Sports Organization
This celebrates the club, team, league, federation, brand or rights holder which, thanks to the adoption, use or creation of technology, has tangibly improved its work. This improvement can be either in a single, significant area or across its entire organization or jurisdiction.
Sports Performance
This category celebrates technology designed to enhance or improve the performance of elite or serious athletes and players. Focusing on advancing key performance metrics such as accuracy, agility, endurance, speed, strength, and technique.
This includes technologies such as:
This includes technologies such as:
- Biomechanical sensors
- Computerized training systems
- Force plates
- High-speed cameras / computer vision algorithms
- Motion analysis systems
- Performance tracking and analytics systems
- Simulators
- Video analysis
- VR/AR
Sports Science and Medical
This celebrates medical and scientific technology for monitoring, diagnosing, treating and rehabilitating sportspeople of all levels. The technology can meet single or multiple areas of need.
This includes technologies such as:
This includes technologies such as:
- Biomechanics
- Injury assessment and prevention
- Medical diagnostic imaging
- Prosthetics and assistive devices
- Rehabilitation
- Sports nutrition and physiology
- Telemedicine and remote monitoring
Start-up
This celebrates sports technology startup businesses, operating in any part of the sports sector.
Entries are invited from young businesses, in revenue, and whose founders still own at least 70% of the company. Funding status for eligible companies will be seed through to within six months post-series A.
Entries are invited from young businesses, in revenue, and whose founders still own at least 70% of the company. Funding status for eligible companies will be seed through to within six months post-series A.
Women’s Impact
This celebrates an outstanding contribution, innovation or technology that is specifically for or by sports women or women working in the sports industry.
The Arena of Innovation is The Sports Technology Awards’ new concept.
The Arena is a virtual, global hub at the intersection of sports, technology, science, engineering and design, where disruptive technologies are scrutinized and celebrated. Its purpose is to be where today’s vision meets tomorrow’s sports.
Central to The Arena are The Awards’ categories and process.
The categories reflect the latest forces shaping every part of the business that supports it. From traditional concepts such as fan engagement, to exciting developments, such as future fuels and fabrics, the categories ensure that tech-led innovations from all facets of the industry are scrutinized, showcased and celebrated.
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