Accelerator News
We were successful in applying to be one of the teams on the Jump Accelerator for sport technology start-ups, which kicked off in April 2023 with an in-person event at the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park. It was an 8-week programme, with weekly sessions on building a successful start-up, team mentoring sessions and fireside presentations with experts in the field. It culminated with a final in-person showcase event in June.
As a startup, we benefitted extensively from the programme, not only from the incredible leaders and hosts but also from the other like-minded start-ups who were on the journey with us. The links, friendships and collaborations fostered will only help all of us to grow. Thank you to the programme for such an excellent opportunity.
Invited Talks
At the end of April, Claire was invited to give a fireside seminar to the MSc sport science students and staff at Leeds Beckett Carnegie Institute of Sport. The day started with a tour of the facilities, which are incredible and the opportunity to meet with and talk to staff. It was very insightful and a wonderful opportunity to re-establish contact with Deagland McCullough, a former PhD student of ours form Liverpool John Moores University. This was followed by the presentation, Q+A and informal discussion with staff, which has revealed the potential for exciting future collaborations, warranting further exploration.
In June, Claire gave a talk at the WISEAN conference in Liverpool about the work we are undertaking at Prorizon. The conference was launched with a Pre-Conference Event-Exclusive Screening of Game On and Q and A with Director and Producer Sue Anstiss MBE, who also gave the opening conference keynote talk entitled: Advocacy, activism or anarchy. What’s driving change in women’s sport? The afternoon keynote, Where do we start?
Science, research, applied practice or popular opinion by: Professor Greg Whyte, OBE, generated some very interesting discussion, which continued ot the second day of the conference. Day two was opened with an incredible panel discussion entitled: Here Come the Girls: A (bold and courageous) panel discussion on the rise of Women’s Sport, with Anyika Onuora and Hannah Cockcroft, OBE leading the discussion about their experiences in elite sport. This was an excellent conference, very thought provoking and we look forward to the next one at the University of Portsmouth, in 2024.
Also in June, Claire gave the keynote presentation at the Centre for Sport, Exercise and Life Sciences 2nd annual conference: From Concept, to Discovery to Community at the University of Coventry. It provided the foundation for excellent discussion but was also an opportunity to meet up again with two former LJMU Masters Students who did their research projects with Claire and are now undertaking their PhDs. It was a real pleasure to be involved and to hear about the progress they are making.
Collaborations
A new collaboration with the S+C team at LJMU has enabled the development of specific nutritional strength and conditioning content, specifically for the England Touch Women’s open squad. We cannot thank Conor Heeney, Erick Mosquera Lopez and Lauren Solecki for all of their hard work and content development that have formed the foundations of an ongoing and productive collaboration.
An exciting new collaboration between ourselves, the University of Wolverhampton and Hartpury has been initiated. Part-time funding for a PhD student to work collaboratively between the three organisations has been provided by the University of Wolverhampton and we look forward very much to recruiting to this post. More information to follow.
We have an amazing opportunity to do some collaborative work with Richard Lassiter, Founder and CEO of RL Performance, a coaching and leadership consultancy which specialises in the digital, creative and tech sectors. We are currently working on a project to support young athletes to develop their self-understanding and autonomy, within and beyond the world of sport.
Team Update
We continue to foster collaborations with Universities in the UK and the USA to enable collaborative studies with interns in the arenas of software development, UI/UX, data analysis and ML, marketing and the development of our social media campaigns. The contributions of each and every student have been invaluable and we very much look forward to witnessing their progress as they complete their studies.
Partner News
July saw the inaugural Atlantic Youth Touch Cup, which was hosted in Nottingham by the England Touch Association. There were four incredible days of touch rugby played and new friendships forged.