Sports Performance & Tech, Issue 15

Issue 15 | theinnovationenterprise.com

WE TALK COLLABORATION 4

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WAHOO’S COLLABORATION EFFORTS Wahoo’s standing within sports technology is increasing, we see how much of this has come from collaboration

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WHY WAS IT SUCH A FAUX-PAS? It was only a few years ago that collaboration wasn’t trusted.

We ask why this has changed

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HOW A CAR COMPANY WORKED WITH A BIKE MAKER Jaguar Land Rover worked with Pinarello to create Team Sky’s F8-S bike, we talk to Tim Donovan about the project

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HOW IMPORTANT IS COLLABORATION? The second part of our interview series probing the brightest minds in sport about their thoughts on collaboration in sport

EDITOR’S LETTER

Welcome to Issue 15 of Sports Performance & Tech.

One of the reasons that we started the magazine in 2013 was because when talking to those within sports analytics and technology they told us that there was nowhere to share new innovations. There was a small, but increasingly vocal group who wanted to share and learn from others.

In the two years since then, we have seen more collaboration and sharing, with the practice increasing even further than many sensed it would. From organization to organization and even those who work outside of sport, many are incorporating their unique skillsets to benefit those working in sport directly.

To celebrate this transition we have included a section discussing the importance of collaboration within sport today. We have spoken to two companies who have collaborated with Team Sky, Wahoo and Jaguar Land Rover, about how and why they worked together.

We also look at why collaboration has lost the faux pas that it once had and allowed organizations to effectively work together for the greater good.

In addition to this we also have the second part of our interview series where we ask five of the top minds in sports technology about their thoughts on collaboration with technology companies.

Elsewhere, we also hear from David Tran about the use of analytics in F1 and why the success or failure of a team can depend on how they are using their data.

David Barton tells us about how analytics have changed the way people are playing cricket and how the use of increasingly complex systems at the top of the sport are having a positive impact on its lower leagues.

As we move into a more high-tech future, we look at how virtual reality now has a part to play in training athletes at all levels of American Football.

James Ovenden also talks us through the use of analytics in soccer through a case study of Brentford in the English championship and their new data minded owner.

As always, if you are interested in contributing or have any feedback on the magazine, please contact me at ghill@theiegroup.com

Managing Editor George Hill

Art Director Nathan Wood

Contributors James Ovenden David Tran David Barton Simon Barton George Hill William Tubbs

General Enquiries George Hill Managing Editor

Are you are looking to put your products in front of key decision makers?

For Advertising contact Euan at ehunter@theiegroup.com

ghill@theiegroup.com

CONTENTS ANALYTICS IN SOCCER We look at how Brentford’s new owner has tried to implement a new data driven system at the club.

FORMULA 1 AND DATA ANALYTICS

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THE REALITY OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN SPORT

HOW ANALYTICS HAVE CHANGED CRICKET As cricket has become more data driven, we look at how its use at the top level is having a trickle down effect.

David Tran takes us through the reasons why analytics are so vital to success in Formula 1.

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With the increased use of VR in society, we look at how it is being used to help train new athletes.

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COLLABORATION INTRODUCTION

We talk Collaboration: As sport technology has become increasingly collaborative, we look the impact of this.

WAHOO’S COLLABORATION EFFORTS

COLLABORATION IN SPORTS

Wahoo’s standing within sports technology is increasing, we see how this may has come from collaboration.

It was only a few years ago that collaboration wasn’t trusted, we ask why this has changed.

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HOW A CAR COMPANY WORKED WITH A BIKE MANUFACTURER Jaguar Land Rover worked with Pinarello to create Team Sky’s F8-S bike, we take to Time Donovan about the project.

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HOW IMPORTANT IS COLLABORATION?

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The second part of our interview series probing the brightest minds in sport to get their thoughts on collaboration.

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ANALYTICS IN SOCCER NOT ALWAYS WELL RECEIVED, BUT SHOULD IT BE?

BY JAMES OVENDEN

Brentford manager Mark Warburton’s decision to resign from the club at the end of the season, despite its meteoric rise into the Championship play-offs under his guidance, has brought the use of analytics in soccer firmly into the public eye.

His method allows for no compromise to his vision to remove the irrational, subjective, and emotional decision making, and replace it instead with the scientific method

“

”

The decision by the club’s chairman, Matthew Benham, to sacrifice Warburton in his quest to introduce analytics has been drawn anger, mockery, and praise from various quarters. However, another team’s success as a result of introducing such a philosophy has seen the decision increasingly receive a grudging acknowledgement of the logic behind it.

There has been much resistance to the use of analytics in soccer, partly because its use is seen as an intrusion by mathematics and science into something that people believe should be more about romance. On top of this, powerful people in soccer appear unwilling to believe that the success seen in comparatively individual sports, like baseball, can translate into a team sport.

Matthew Benham has however already achieved success using the same blueprint with the Danish club he is the majority shareholder of, Midtjylland.

ANALYTICS USE IN SOCCER - NOT ALWAYS WELL RECIEVED BUT SHOULD IT BE?

Midtjylland finished third in the Danish Superliga last season and currently sit nine points clear at the top of the table. They have done this by putting stats analysis and predictive modelling at the forefront of everything they do.

“its use is seen

as an intrusion by mathematics and science into something that people believe should be more about romance

”

The policy was introduced by the club’s chairman, Rasmus Ankersen, a 32-year old former player who was appointed by Benham. His method allows for no compromise to his vision to remove the

irrational, subjective, and emotional decision-making, and replace it instead with the scientific method.

Ankersen has introduced a raft of changes at the club, with coaches’ evaluation of matches now primarily informed by mathematical models. He believes that scouting should be an exclusively technical art, leaving no room for traditional eye tests of talent. Midtjylland’s scouts fill a different role at the club, judging a potential recruit exclusively on their physical and psychological fitness. Ankersen also believes strongly in the power of set pieces, with formal monthly meetings held between players, coaches, and himself. This has born fruit, with the club scoring three times from free kicks in one game.

Ankersen acknowledges that there is a large amount of luck involved, and prefers to measure success based on their own models rather than simply going by the league table. He has changed the

system so that the manager will only get fired if he fails to meet targets set by these models, as opposed to table position. Data analytics informs every aspect of the day to day operations of Midtjylland, as it is likely to go on to do at Brentford.

The use of analytics in football is still young, although it is slowly creeping in to the major clubs. Liverpool, under the stewardship of Boston Red Sox owners and Moneyball enthusiasts John Henry and Tom Werner, created a new position for a director of research in 2012, and many other top teams have introduced whole teams of analysts to study players and games. Their influence on major decisions is still minimal though. No other team has undergone the same top down re-organization as Brentford and Midtylland, however, and it may take the success of a club like Brentford in the premier league to change this.

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“He has changed

the system so that the manager will only get fired if he fails to meet targets set by these models

”

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F1 AND DATA ANALYTICS: IT’S A NUMBERS GAME

“F1 is very much a numbers game based around off-season and in-season car development

”

BY DAVID TRAN

Aside from the glitz and glamour of multi-millionaire race drivers and champagne, Formula 1 (F1) is a competitive sport consumed by data. And it is making sense of that data that which allows F1 teams to thrive.

Analytics is key to understanding how a Formula 1 car behaves. An F1 car travelling at 200mph puts heavy pressure on the car, and not least, the driver, and knowledge of those characteristics can lead to the correct decisions being made in order to win.

And so F1 is very much a numbers game based around off-season and in-season car development.

As F1 is widely seen as the pinnacle of motorsport, the chance for a team to cement their legacy in the sport is something they cannot refuse.

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F1 AND DATA ANALYTICS - IT’S A NUMBERS GAME

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The rewards are high too – Formula 1 generated $1.7bn in revenue and made $500m profit in 2013, the majority of which goes to the teams competing, and this is excluding other sources of revenue such as merchandising and sponsorship. This cash pot is certainly enough incentive for F1’s heavyweights to spend anywhere from £100-250m a season to be at the top of the podium over the 19 races

But how does an F1 team become the best?

Of course, the foundations of a successful outfit are a team of people working in synergy, and a fast car with a driver that can extract a much performance from it.

In search for that peak performance, cars maximize the amount of time they can spend on the track within the sport’s rules and regula-

tions before a Grand Prix. A commercial car, for example, might take 5-7 years working its way from the drawing board to production; an F1 car may take a mere 5 months.

To understand that performance, analytics intuition is required so engineers and data analysts can make sense of the car’s speed, stability, as well as aerodynamics and tyre degradation around a

racetrack. More testing programmes are also completed at the team’s manufacturing base, as well as their state-ofthe-art wind tunnels.

Teams like McLaren are fuelled by data, and in search of performance perfection, have their cars fitted with 150 sensors monitoring car and driver behaviour around every corner. These sensors track vital stats such as brake wear, tyre life and driver

F1 AND DATA ANALYTICS - IT’S A NUMBERS GAME biometrics. In one lap they can transmit 2GB of data, and a full-race distance 3TB. And so to transfer this critical data into one repository McLaren uses SAP HANA, an in-memory database management system which enables its existing systems to process this data some 14,000 times faster than ever before.

“ To understand that performance, analytics intuition is required ”

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The flip side of the coin is not just simply about interpreting analytical information, but being able to make strategic decisions as a team. F1 teams usually carry a limited number of its management and engineering staff at every race circuit, with analysts and other technical staff left back at their respective headquarters. The communication between the two locations is key, and possibly three parties as engine manufacturers chime into the conversation.

Infiniti Red Bull Racing carry a wealth of data that is constantly analyzed in real-time over race weekend. The team relies on its fast and highly secure communications on a reliable high-capacity network to connect its dispersed team and help them collaborate to make informed decisions.

This season they are collaborating with telco service AT&T, using its global MPLS network for a secure private network connection that allows the team to transfer at least 200GB of data between UK headquarters, other facilities and the track during every race.

It is constant innovations like these that make the sport so intriguing. I have watched Formula 1 for nearly 20 years, mainly in awe of drivers such as Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, but had al-

Image Reference

#1 - CHEN WS / Shutterstock.com #2 - David Acosta Allely / Shutterstock.com #3 - joharhu / Shutterstock.com

#4 - ZRyzner / Shutterstock.com #5 - David Acosta Allely / Shutterstock.com

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ways been impressed with its ability to be at the forefront of innovation and design by using and manipulating the data that is available to them.

And with this era of Formula 1 being engulfed by such advanced technology, it would be interesting to see how the sport can get audiences more integrated with real-time data. For instance, during race weekends television viewers are able to see heat maps that expose which parts of the cars are exposed to the highest temperatures, such as racing tyres and the car’s engine. And fans can also listen into selective live radio feeds between the race engineer and the driver. Exposure to basic forms of live data gathered by teams via a mobile app may give viewers an indication of why teams make the strategic decisions that they do.

Analytics have consumed the sport in ways like no other.

With the ability to harness big data and actionable intelligence, teams can now pass on those trade secrets in industries such as pharmaceuticals and finance, as McLaren has done with GlaxoSmithKline and KPMG. The ingenuities of F1 car technology often filters its way down to the cars you and I drive daily, from fuel efficiency to safety, which shows why the sport is usually in pole position in terms of technology innovation and especially with data.

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HOW ANALYTICS HAVE CHANGED “ CRICKET

Even village teams now have the opportunity to gain from this basic understanding of data, even if they can’t detect the level of spin to within 1% when it hits the turf

BY DAVID BARTON

”

When people think about analytics in sport, they think about the complexities that come with GPS, cameras and the beautiful visualizations you see during matches.

However, this is not always the case, and the way that analytics have been used in every area of cricket is testament to this.

Of course there are the more comprehensive systems used by nations and the larger cricket teams around the world, but generally speaking much of the information can be gained from the most basic data gathering techniques.

Take bowling length as a prime example, it is so simple to track where a ball bounces, then the outcome of that particular bowl. This can then be tied into how the batsman starts and finishes when they face a particular ball, bowler or specific conditions.

It allows for a comprehensive set of relatively easily analyzable data for coaches which can make the difference across a season. The technology needed for this kind of analysis is also now considerably cheaper, simply because it has been adopted so comprehensively in the higher echelons of the sport.

This has had a trickle down

effect on the rest of the sport as the demand for this kind of technology at the top level has then led to price reductions for those at the bottom.

As the most elite teams look for more and more complicated metrics that can give them the slightest competitive advantage, the systems become more powerful.

This means that technology that would have been considered as complex and top quality in the recent past are seen as basic by the most competitive tiers of the sport, leaving it considerably cheaper for teams at the bottom.

Even village teams now have the opportunity to gain from

this basic understanding of data, even if they can’t detect the level of spin to within 1% when it hits the turf.

Data has not just been to the advantage of the lower teams benefiting from the availability of the technology used to gather it. It has wider implications, such as the importance that it has for tracking crowd reaction or even improving the accuracy of umpire decisions.

The Hawk Eye system for instance relies on data to predict whether a ball would have hit a stump in an LBW (Leg Before Wicket) decision.

This can have a major impact on the outcome of a match

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HOW ANALYTICS HAVE CHANGED CRICKET

and with improved technology and data gathering techniques, it is possible to make these decisions more accurately than ever.

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With crowd management it is also possible to make sure that bars are effectively stocked, analyze the crowd’s reaction to certain types of play or even where they enter/exit a ground. This can be one of the most powerful tools to help drive revenue and crowd engagement with the sport, something that is vital in both improving its image and revenue streams.

chance to hit based on previous 30 attempts

for this kind of technology at the top level has then led to price reductions for those at the bottom

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Cricket is a very different sport the higher you move up the tiers, from the basic village teams playing next to the local pub, to the elite teams who employ several specialized data scientists to analyze every part of the game. The trickle down effect of new technologies is improving those at the lowest level whilst also increasing revenues and performance at the highest level. This means more improvements, more and cheaper technology in the future.

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THE REALITY OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN SPORT

BY SIMON BARTON

EDITOR

INNOVATION ENTERPRISE

“ It opens up a

new frontier of potential broadcasting techniques and Pay Per View options, but it also means that sports fans who may not be able to ever get to a game can experience what it would be like ‘

”

Sport is about more than simply participating or watching it from the sofa. It is one of the most immersive and emotionally driven experiences that somebody can have. Think about how your heart pounds when you are watching your soccer team trying to score the winning goal or trying to hold out a small margin in an important match.

At home you create the atmosphere, in a bar you might have 100 others helping, but it is nothing compared to the thousands that pack into a stadium and watch the action live.

Similarly with athletes, if you are stepping up to take a match winning pass or to make a vital interception, if you are doing it against your friends you get partial experience, the nerves increase if you are doing it in front of a hundred spectators at a small match, but nothing can compare to being the quarter back at the Super Bowl in the last minutes of a tight match.

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THE REALITY OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN SPORT

The idea that nothing can compare to this has been well established, but we may be closer than ever to being able to experience playing at the Super Bowl from the comfort of our own homes.

“ Companies

have noticed how this could be a potential game changer in terms of changing the ways in which athletes can train

”

This is thanks to virtual reality, something that several companies have been using to try and recreate the experience of either having the best seat in the house at a stadium, or being in the heart of the action on the field.

Most of these technologies are currently being built through the use of the Occulus Rift, a virtual reality headset that allows the user to be completely immersed in the experience. It has the ability to give a 360 degree field of vision, meaning that you can turn around and see what is behind you, to your left, right or straight ahead.

It essentially gives you the same perspective as if you were there.

So if you are in the crowd, you can look behind you to see the people sat to your rear or scan around the pitch to see whatever is happening

at that point. The atmosphere is also created through the headphones, which isolate external noise, making it an even more immersive experience.

The benefits of this for sports fans are clear, you can get the amazing stadium experience from wherever you are in the world. It may not be exactly the same (after all you are going to be aware that you’re wearing a fairly large headset) but it is the closest

you can get without actually buying a ticket. It opens up a new frontier of potential broadcasting techniques and Pay Per View options, but it also means that sports fans who may not be able to ever get to a game can experience what it would be like.

However, athletes arguably have the most to gain from the use of virtual reality as it allows them to experience real game and atmosphere situations.

Companies have noticed how this could be a potential game changer in terms of adapting the ways in which athletes can train.

Derek Belch has been using this kind of immersive train ing technology with the Stanford College Football team, a team he was once kicker for.

Through the Occulus Rift headset and videos of plays shot from the perspective of the players, it is possible to

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THE REALITY OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN SPORT

the player he is. If he did not have the experence from playing hundreds of matches, it would be impossible to do this.

Virtual reality training is what will give young players the chance to experience real game scenarios and become attuned to them. It has the potential to train their minds in the same way that traditional on-field training sessions tune their bodies.

“physical

attributes are relatively easy to create, but mental preparation and experience is what turns this physical readiness into game readiness

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know the calls, plays and lines better than if you were to play them in a non-competitive training session or just seeing them through a traditional video.

The perspective allows players to see the speed at which they need to react, what they will literally be seeing around them and the pressures that come from playing in a high stakes environment.

Similarly, EON Sports have taken this same idea and

introduced it at a high school level, attempting to teach young quarterbacks how they should be reading the game and preparing themselves mentally. It is this kind of experience that will allow people to become better, because physical attributes are relatively easy to create, but mental preparation and experience is what turns this physical readiness into game readiness.

If you think about the stature

of Lionel Messi as a prime example. He is 5ft 6.5in, 67kg and fairly slight, which does not fit with the ideal of a footballer, but his experience and mental aptitude are what sets him apart as the best player baller, but his experience and mental aptitude are what sets him apart as the best player in the world. The fact that he can think quicker than those around him and then have the skill to take advantage of the split second difference is what makes him

Whether this will hit the big time is another matter, with one of the big drawbacks being that the current model of the Occulus Rift can become uncomfortable after about 8 minutes of use.

When virtual reality becomes a more viable consumer product, the chances are that we will see better hardware to accompany the software, making this a genuine training option moving forwards.

COLLABORATION

16

SECTION

INTRODUCTION We have all heard that two heads are better than one, but historically this has not been the case in many sports.

Only a few years ago people were so secretive about what they were doing that it became impossible for them to share anything with outside companies. What this meant was that the innovations were totally insular and not accessible across the entirety of the sport, in case it gave their competitors an edge.

What we have seen since is a new set of collaborations, with technology companies or even team partnerships working completely outside of what we would expect.

In this section we talk to six of the top minds in sports analytics about their thoughts on collaboration. We also delve into the collaborative aspects that Team Sky have instilled in their fitness devices through Wahoo and on their bikes through a unique collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover and Pinarello.

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HOW WAHOO AND TEAM SKY HAVE WORKED FOR EACH OTHER

BY GEORGE HILL MANAGING EDITOR INNOVATION ENTERPRISE

Wahoo is a fitness wearable and training technology company based in Atlanta.

They produce several fitness prodcuts for a variety of different sports and activities, but have become best known for their cycling technology.

This, in part, has come from their association with Team Sky, with them supplying the static cycling technology that you often see riders using before races.

The association has gone beyond simply providing them with products though, instead there has been a feedback loop that has helped Wahoo create new products and improve on those currently used. It has created a symbiotic relationship as the athletes want to have the best technology to use and Wahoo want to have the best possible products to provide to their customers.

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its use is seen as an intrusion by mathematics and science into something that people believe Understanding should be more the way Team about romance Sky uses technology helps Wahoo craft a view on advanced features which, over time, could become vital to the mainstream

“

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HOW WAHOO AND TEAM SKY HAVE WORKED FOR EACH OTHER

We spoke to Kevin Abt from Wahoo about collaboration when the technology is being created.

How important is collaboration between teams/athletes and tech companies?

Athletes and their performance staff are the ultimate focus group. Day in and day out, an athlete and a coach are analyzing performance and searching for concrete steps to refine and improve.

The analysis occurs at both the macro (is the rider’s power output per kilogram at the right level to win?) and micro level (is the rider’s form consistent throughout the ride?).

Understanding this process between training, analysis and refinement provides a company like Wahoo with a full understanding of the process and output desired for an athlete and coach.

“ Team Sky has advanced technological uses cases

”

You have a strong affiliation with Team Sky, how has this partnership affected the development of new products?

Our association with Team Sky is still quite young, but there have been a few instances where the relationship has helped to fine tune our perspective on a hardware or software project.

I can’t go into too much detail at this time since the projects have yet to be announced to the public. However, I can speak in a more general tone on the insight provided

by Team Sky. Team Sky has advanced technological uses cases. Understanding the way Team Sky uses technology helps Wahoo craft a view on advanced features which, over time, could become vital to the mainstream cyclist.

Examples would include how best to visualize data both during and after a ride.

Also, ease of use, and simple configurations are important to the staff and riders at the professional level. The technology can’t get in the way of the ride. This insight helps place Wahoo into the mindset of an advanced rider and coach. From there, we can glean best practices for incorporation within our product offerings.

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HOW WAHOO AND TEAM SKY HAVE WORKED FOR EACH OTHER

“This insight helps place Wahoo into

the mindset of an advanced rider and coach. From there, we can glean best practices for incorporation within our product offerings

”

At what stage do you think athlete collaboration should take place when new technology is being developed?

Collaboration is best at two phases of development: Firstly, the initial drawing board phase - it’s inspiring to hear an athlete throw out their wish list of features and functionality. Many may not be possible, but the athlete can provide inspiration and perspective vital to the innovation period of development. Secondly, the athlete is extremely helpful during the final refinement phase of development. A professional athlete, with 10’s of thousands of hours of training under their belt, has the ability to detect fine variations or distortions in a product’s performance. Be it the feel of an indoor trainer’s ride, or the simulated resistance of an 8.5% climb - this is where a company can add the necessary polish to the experience.

Wahoo have had significant success in the past few years, how much of this can you attribute to your association with sports teams?

Team Sky is the only sports teams Wahoo has worked with to date. While it’s difficult to specifically attribute sales figures to your association with a sports team, I can say that Team Sky has helped Wahoo accomplish two main objects on a global level. First, the Team Sky association adds significant legitimacy to the Wahoo KICKR. Wahoo, as a young start-up company with no heritage in indoor turbo trainers, faced a daunting task to gain a seat at the table with the more established brands in the industry.

Team Sky added meaningful legitamacy to the KICKR and Wahoo name. Team Sky, as a team focused on incremental gains and measured performance, provided an authentic message to the market on the level of quality and refinement found in the KICKR.

You guys have gained fame from your turbo trainers, heart rate monitors and bike sensors, what else can we expect from Wahoo in the next 2 years?

The Million, nay, Billion dollar question... Wahoo plays in one of the most exciting industries in the world today - connected fitness devices and software. We are at the very beginning of this revolution and the playing field is open for both small upstarts and larger, more resource-rich players to carve out their niche. There is plenty more to do in the cycling space, but we also believe strongly in the connected gym space. Over 100 million consumers in North America and Europe are paying gym or fitness studio members.

However, gym technology has been slow to deliver an insightful and motivating experience personalized for each gym member. Wahoo believes this is a greenfield for innovation both on the hardware and software arena.

Visit The Sports Channel The impact & application of data, technology & techniques on sports performance

channels.theinnovationenterprise.com/sports-performance-tech

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COLLABORATION IN SPORTS

WHY WAS IT SUCH A FAUX-PAS?

BY WILLIAM TUBBS ORGANISER EVENTS INNOVATION ENTERPRISE

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In recent years we have seen what used to be a secretive practice become a mainstream activity amongst sports clubs and organizations; Collaboration.

Previously it was seen as risky to give any information about how you were doing things to a competitor or any outside organization, but today we have seen that people are more than happy to share information about how things have been done. We have even seen clubs working together for the greater good, from full blown partnerships between football clubs, to

shared development practices within technology companies. It may be the case that none are direct competitors, but even 10 years ago the risks that this information would have been leaked to people who were was the sticking point in many potential collaborations.

The big question today is: Why did this change?

There are several explanations to why we now have more collaboration than we have ever had before, but I am going to discuss two, the pace of change and the availability of information.

“collaboration

has had a profound effect on the ways that companies and teams work with one another

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22 The Pace Of Change There is a common saying that those who don’t move forward are moving backwards. It has never been more true than in sport and technology today.

With the pace of change in both being so fast, teams have no option but to change what they are doing every year to make sure that the competitive advantage is on their side. A prime example of this is in Formula 1, where if one team holds a significant advantage throughout one season, the technology that they have used to gain this advantage is then spread to every other team in an attempt to level the playing field.

A few seasons ago it was Red Bull who had the advantage thanks to their unique aerodynamics, which was then shared to every other team in Formula 1 and their advantage disappeared completely.

They lost their edge because they did not move forward enough on what had already been done, something that teams today in any sport cannot afford to do. Resting on your laurels is shorthand for failure.

What this also meant was that at the point at which sharing of innovations came about, the chances were high that the team would not be actively using the technique or technology at that time, instead it may have been introduced a few months or years before. Although it would certainly form a base for what was currently happening, it essentially allowed them to be able to share what they were doing, without risk of reprisals from their organizations.

COLLABORATION IN SPORTS - WHY WAS IT SUCH A FAUX-PAS?

“If people had

come up with innovations, then could not use them out of fear of giving them to other teams, then they would essentially be useless

”

COLLABORATION IN SPORTS - WHY WAS IT SUCH A FAUX-PAS?

The Availability Of Information The availability of information has also meant that many of the innovations being used by teams would not be able to stay secret for long.

If people had come up with innovations, then could not use them out of fear of giving them to other teams, then they would essentially be useless.

We have cameras and sensors across every type of playing surface or track today and we heard from the UK Bobsleigh team about how in order to stop people stealing their innovations before a competition, they must implement them slowly across many races and not necessarily have all the small improvements on show at once. When they reach the final competition goal the innovations they have been working on and slowly implementing are all shown at once, meaning that every other team can see them and will probably use them in the next competition.

This means two things, firstly that the competitive advantage that this particular innovation will have given them initially is lost and secondly that by allowing everybody to see the innovation and using it, the playing field is level and no one team will take their innovation and use it against them. Instead it will be every team using it and not giving one competitor the advantage.

Through this new found collaborative state of affairs, teams and organizations are forming better partnerships, not only with themselves, but also with external companies who can utilize the feedback to create products for the teams.

When it comes to creating new technology or building on existing products a technology company can only ever theorize if they are working by themselves. If they are working with a sports team, a team that will ultimately be using the product, then it can be developed far more effec-

23 tively. It not only means that the tech company can build a better product, but also means that the team using the technology has something that is more focussed on what they need. It creates a symbiotic relationship where both the vendor and customer benefits from the work done together.

So collaboration has had a profound effect not only on the ways that companies and teams work with one another, but actually benefits the entire ecosystem revolving around that particular sport.

It means that better products are created for everybody at a much faster pace, the less cutting edge technologies then become cheaper for teams lower down the sport and the trickle down effect continues down to the lowest echelons of the sport.

We believe that the new culture of collaboration within sport is continuing to create the best technologies that are catering for the best possible results. Long may it continue.

“ With the pace of change in both being so fast, teams have no option but to change what they are doing every year to make sure that the competitive

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SPORTS PERFORMANCE & TECH SUMMIT “Maximum Performance with Technology & Data�

November

4& 5

Manchester, 2015

#SportsInnovation

For more information contact Sean Foreman +1 (415) 692 5514 sforeman@theiegroup.com http://theinnovationenterprise.com/summits/sports-performance-tech-summit-manchester-2015

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[C]

HOW A CAR COMPANY COLLABORATED WITH A BIKE MANUFACTURER

BY GEORGE HILL MANAGING EDITOR INNOVATION ENTERPRISE

Team Sky have become one of the most successful cycling teams in the world, having won two of the last three Tour de France races and countless other stage race victories. This year, in addition to the traditional grand tours and larger stage races, they have been looking at their performance in the classics races.

For those who do not follow cycling, the classic races are traditionally early season events held across Europe.

They normally last for one day and have become crowd favourites because they often throw up the most challenging conditions.

A prime example of this is in possibly the most famous classics race, the Paris Roubaix.

26 The Paris Roubaix has become so popular because it takes cyclists across eleven cobbled sections known as pavé. These are the most challenging sections for the cyclists as not only do they need to ride in close quarters to those around them, but they also need to deal with the extreme vibrations that come through the handlebars and saddles when you are cycling on these at 40kmh.

Many teams attempt to negate the difficulties that this terrain creates through providing extra padding on the handlebars, extra comfortable seats and wider wheels.

This does affect the quality of the ride for cyclists, but does not offer the ultimate comfort or allow them to put all their power through their pedals.

This is why Team Sky started a unique collaboration between Pinarello and Jaguar Land Rover to create the perfect bike to deal with this race and other classics that include sections of pavé.

The K8-S was born out of Team Sky’s desire to excel at the cobbled classics in Europe The relationship between the two companies came about due to their pre-existing sponsorships of the team.

Pinarello have provided Team Sky with bikes since 2010

HOW A CAR COMPANY COLLABORATED WITH A BIKE MANUFACTURER?

HOW A CAR COMPANY COLLABORATED WITH A BIKE MANUFACTURER?

27 and Jaguar Land Rover have been a key sponsor, providing support vehicles for the team, for the same time period.

Through this collaboration they created the Dogma K8-S, which includes an innovative suspension system on the rear stay of the bike, allowing it to move vertically, with a claimed 50% improvement in rider comfort during the ride.

It also means that there is a 4.6% increase in performance on rough terrain whilst adding only 95 grams of weight to the bike.

it was now time for us to maintain the strong attributes of the F8, while building in new ideas to assist with the 2015 classics campaign We were particularly interested in this from a collaborative perspective as two companies who on the surface have very little in common, have combined to create a unique product.

As this was announced, we spoke to Tim Donovan from Jaguar Land Rover who was part of the team that worked on the bike, about his experiences creating it and how collaboration could work in other sports:

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How did the process behind creating the Dogma K8-S begin?

Jaguar has been an innovation partner with Team Sky since 2011 so the relationship was already strong with both the team and with Pinarello. The K8-S was born out of Team Sky’s desire to excel at the cobbled classics in Europe. A Jaguar colleague that worked on the F8 [The bike currently use by Team Sky for the majority of their races] effectively passed the baton to another area within the organization to apply a new skill set to an already established, award winning bicycle design - in this case, the Vehicle Dynamics department.

HOW A CAR COMPANY COLLABORATED WITH A BIKE MANUFACTURER?

Jaguar Land Rover vehicles are renowned for their balance of performance – sporty and agile, but also refined and comfortable. This philosophy has been extended into our partnership with Pinarello and Team Sky. Our role was to bring expertise in ride and vibration development - to understand the performance of the current bike, then to optimize the new design for the hugely varying road surfaces experienced in the classics. Having had great success previously with the F8, it was now time for us to maintain the strong attributes of the F8, while building in new ideas to assist with the 2015 classics campaign.

What were the main challenges when collaborating with a non automotive company?

Jaguar is already a worldwide company so working with new partners outside of the UK is now second nature.

Time scale is the most significant difference between Jaguar and an non-automotive company. Passenger vehicle development by its very nature takes time, especially if you wish to deliver leadership performance in attributes that customers truly care about. Pinarello and Team Sky are used to working at a very high pace so their drive and flexibility was key to delivering this project on time.

We have the technology, innovation and drive; these are exciting times.

Image #1 Christian Mueller / Shutterstock.com

HOW A CAR COMPANY COLLABORATED WITH A BIKE MANUFACTURER?

Do you think that this kind of collaboration between two companies which produce very different products, could work in other areas?

Absolutely. I believe there are always new or evolved methods of working that we can learn from outside of what we do now.

Jaguar is already an agile and flexible company, it has to be to operate in today’s market.

Standing still and doing what we have always done is not what we are about.

Collaboration is key and already embedded in how we work at Jaguar; it’s fundamental to balancing the delivery of attributes across the business so we can excel in multiple areas.

From your experience with this project, what do you think are the key ingredients to create effective cross company collaboration?

For me personally, there are two key fundamentals: honesty and passion. These elements generate the desire to succeed when things are challenging; it brings together differences in working practices, communication or culture. Honesty supports new learning - the ability to ask yourself ‘am I doing this the best way I can?’

Passion, from my experience, is always a necessity in going the extra mile. It is what drives us towards excellence - the difference between delivering a good product and an outstanding one. So long as all parties involved share honesty and passion then chances of success are high.

29 Do you think this collaboration could bring forward additional product innovations in the future?

I sincerely hope so. Who would have thought a few years ago that Jaguar would be involved in the world of pro cycling? Who knows how far the partnership can take us all?

We have the technology, innovation and drive; these are exciting times.

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HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK COLLABORATION IS BETWEEN CLUBS / ORGANIZATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES?

[C] Following on from the first part of our interview series on collaboration, we bring you our second instalment.

We asked some of the brightest minds in sports analytics about their thoughts on collaboration between sports clubs and technology companies. These are their answers to “How important do you think collaboration is between clubs/organizations and technology companies?”

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HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK COLLABORATION IS BETWEEN CLUBS/ORGANIZATIONS AND TECHNOLOGU COMPANIES?

Henry Golding-Fuller,

Assistant Analyst, Saracens Rugby Club “It’s fundamental because you’ve got two minds working there. You have the experts in the sport who know exactly what they want and you have technology based people who know exactly what they can provide. It is driven by the sports industry and provided by the tech industry, so I would say that having a mutual understanding is fundamental. Ideally it would be good to have somebody who was an expert in both, and that is where we are still bridging gaps”.

Danny Holcroft, Head Of Performance, British Bobsleigh Skeleton Association “It’s a tough question because in our sport it is all about competitive edge and we are not necessarily keen to develop technology with

other organizations or other sports along the same lines as us because we want to remain as a competitor. I think it is important to work with technology companies to develop it, but it really needs to be bespoke to you and I think that the challenge will be in the mass market. Take rugby or football, You want to develop something, but you want to develop for your own needs not for a club that sits two places below. There lies the challenge in the collaboration approach”.

John Ashby, Assistant

Strength & Conditioning Coach, Welsh Rugby Union

“It’s hugely important. These companies that have these fantastic ideas, sometimes they don’t know how to set it into a practical setting, so you have to trial it in collaboration with the supplier and the club so it fits you. Most importantly, a club or organization will only use your technology if it works for them. It is all about collaboration and making sure it works best for both parties”

Kevin Ankrom, High Performance Director, Athletics Ireland

““Very important. A lot of the time what I would see (because I work with a number of different sports globally) is that companies will collect a lot of data, but they don’t have the people specifically in the sport and at the different levels to be able to get the true measures out of it.

Typically when I talk around athletics, if you don’t have somebody there who understands that event or sport, it becomes very difficult. You can throw a lot of numbers around but it has no impact or actionable impact if someone doesn’t have the knowledge or background to interpret that and make it simple”.

Head of Performance Analysis, English Institute of Sport

“It is absolutely vital. The power of an off the shelf tool

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is good, but I feel the more bespoke the item can be, i.e. moulded to the demands of a particular club, sport or governing body, the better as they all have a different demand. So I think that collaboration between the software companies and the clients is absolutely vital. We have worked with Dartfish over the years and they’ve created bespoke areas of Dartfish to answer our questions, and that is absolutely vital”.

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