Four British companies have won a national competition to find the UK’s most innovative sports concepts.
The Gatsby Innovation Awards will provide the inventors of a heated football goalkeeping glove, golf putter grip, mountain bike front forks and a portable hydration monitor with access to specialist sports research facilities and business development guidance from experts at Loughborough University Sports Technology Institute.
Former professional footballer Darren Heyes has designed the Katz (Keepers Agility Technology Zone) Keeper heated goalkeeping glove with novel technology to aid blood flow to warm the hands and enhance performance. The Gatsby award will enable the prototype Katz Keeper glove to undergo detailed testing in Loughborough’s thermal environment laboratories.
PGA Coach Philip Howard Gazeley has designed the 2 Thumb Putter Grip to help golfers achieve better putting accuracy by encouraging a natural stance where the shoulders are kept parallel. Manufactured by GolfPride, the grip will benefit from independent validation by Loughborough experts to strengthen its marketing claims.
Mountain biker Dave Cleaver has developed mountain bike front forks with innovative modular design using carbon composite/aluminium offering enhanced strength and performance over products of welded construction. Having helped manufacturers improve bike component design, Cleaver has launched Inspired Bicycles Ltd to focus on developing his own innovations including the front fork concept that will undergo stress testing and prototyping at Loughborough.
Leon Marsh of iNova Design is developing a portable hydration monitor, initially aimed at the elite athlete where dehydration can seriously affect performance. Currently, the most accurate way to assess hydration involves invasive tests in a controlled laboratory setting. Marsh is refining a second stage prototype for in-depth physiological testing at Loughborough.
The Gatsby Innovation Awards are funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, in partnership with Loughborough University Sports Technology Institute, a £15M initiative with emda, The East Midlands Development Agency, to enhance research, innovation and enterprise in the sport and leisure sector and develop cutting edge technology to support future British champions.
The second round of the Gatsby Innovation Awards opens in July. Lone inventors and small to medium sized companies registered in the UK are welcome to apply. Any stage of novel sports concept (footwear / apparel / equipment) will be considered, provided a strong case for its commercial potential can be made.
Further details are available at www.sports-technology.com/gatsby
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