Post-Podium Stories – BatFast

BATFAST automated ball throwing machine augmented reality AR cricket

The latest to feature in our Post-Podium Stories – a series revisiting our 2022 Sport Technology Award winners six months on – is BatFast, who scooped the Best Technology for Fitness and Participation for its sports simulators.

Using an automated ball throwing machine, combined with artificial intelligence and machine learning, the BatFast simulators deliver balls for cricket, baseball or tennis players while creating an augmented reality experience.

Here, Navdeep Sethi, BatFast’s Chief Operating Officer, provides an update on how collecting the ‘Oscars of Sports Technology’ has impacted the business, plus his thoughts on the latest challenges on the market and his top tips for business and individuals in the sports tech sector.

What has changed for your business in the last six months?

The last six months has seen a huge amount of positive change for BatFast. One of the highlights was winning The Sports Technology Award. This was our first Sports Tech award entry, and it definitely represented a significant milestone in our growth and has seen us catalyse our growth from there. To receive such recognition for our efforts from people within the sports industry was a huge boost for the entire team. 

Since June, we have stayed true to our mission of using technology to increase global participation in sport and have had more than 135,000 people play on our simulators across nine different countries. We have also expanded into the US and will be opening new offices in the New Year. To support this growth, we’ve grown our BatFast family by more than 50%, which in turn has seen us move into new offices in the UK.

What are the biggest changes happening in your part of the sports sector?

This is such an exciting and competitive sector to be in, with so much innovation both in terms of technology and how customer interaction and experience is moving forward. We are seeing so much advancement in AI and the use of data by teams and players alike, so naturally we’re keen to be at the forefront of that change. From a BatFast perspective, it’s also great to see the development of sports with entertainment and how this has really catalysed the development of new and engaging fan experiences. 

What the best piece of advice you’ve been given about working in sports / sports technology (personal or professional)?

Remember how lucky you are to combine your personal passion with your profession. Very few get the opportunity to do this and it’s easy to forget how lucky we are to be working in sports tech!

What the best piece of advice you’d pass on to a client or start-up in your world?

Don’t be afraid to partner and be part of an ecosystem, as opposed to trying to do everything yourself. It’s natural and easy for new start-ups to want to do everything themselves and control the entire lifecycle. However, sometimes the fastest way to market and to achieve your ultimate mission, is to partner with other firms that have shared values and complementary skills/purpose.

To join BatFast as a Sports Technology Awards winner, be sure to enter the 2023 edition of the leading international celebration of tech-led innovation in sport. Entries close on December 15, find out more here: https://bit.ly/2jhH142

Post-Podium Stories – Talent Pathway iD

TALENT PATHWAY ID athlete monitoring tools performance data analytics

Back in May, Talent Pathway iD scooped the Best Athlete Coaching and Performance Technology trophy at The Sports Technology Awards and they are the latest organization to feature in our Post Podium Stories series.

Finding, recruiting, and retaining sporting talent is a global challenge; Talent Pathway iD’s platform allows clubs to do all three efficiently by collecting data across multiple disciplines, ranking those by importance to create a blueprint for talent development.

During the judging process for The 2022 Sport Technology Awards, the platform was considered to have distinguished itself from general athlete monitoring tools by underpinning the AI with deep experience in athlete pathway science.

Six months on from that success, Robin McCammon, Chairman, TPiD, spoke to The STA Group to give his view on the latest market dynamics and provide some advice for both companies and individuals in the sector.

What has changed for your business in the last six months?

6 months is a long time in the start-up world and what a whirlwind it still is! The success at the STA Awards is testament to the amazing work the team has done to develop and roll out a technology system that can be applied across a multitude of high-performance environments. We’ve engaged with a number of incredible organisations working on bespoke research to support wide ranging areas of interest including pathway, injury risk assessment, S&C and health & wellbeing; an incredibly exciting time for us. We have spent time further evolving our technology for application with existing partners and are advancing new projects in different spaces beyond traditional sports. In short, we are well into Phase 2 for TPiD regarding evolution and growth trajectory.

What are the biggest changes happening in your part of the sports sector?

I personally feel over the past few years the key change to the high-performance space is a wider acceptance of machine learning and Artificial Intelligence as acceptable to generating a clearer, more exact understanding of data. Whilst data has been collected and recorded for many years there is an understanding more must be done to assess and analyse the key elements of success or high performance to shape strategy and thinking across the spectrum. I see this as a generational shift whereby new technologies and methods to understand success must be (and are being) embraced to stay ahead of the game…it really isn’t about the quantity of data, rather the quality and understanding of the data that shall determine future success.

What the best piece of advice you’ve been given about working in sports / sports technology (personal or professional)?

On a personal level I live by the mantra of listening more than I speak…you never learn anything new by doing the talking…on a professional level it has always been important to me to remember that failure is the only true way to learn…everyone makes mistakes so don’t be afraid to fail fast and move on, as long as you are prepared to learn from the failure.

What the best piece of advice you’d pass on to a client or start-up in your world?

I would urge anyone, whether client or partner, start-up or multinational to ensure you’re able to trust one another, take a risk and learn together. The world is moving at such pace, particularly in the high-performance space, that the reliance on tried and tested methods of success represents only a small fraction of how you can affect positive success in the future. Whilst gut feel, experience and understanding of your respective space are important to formulate a strategy, embracing out of the box, technological advances, as well as innovative ideas and methods are key to shaping the future.

Don’t miss the chance to enter The 2023 Sports Technology Awards – the leading international celebration of tech-led innovation in sport – and be join Talent Pathway iD as a winner. With over 50 industry experts, 22 categories and an independent judging system, an entry can see your brand one step closer to recognition as one of the best in world sport. Entries close on December 15, find out more here: https://bit.ly/2jhH142

Post-Podium Stories – OnePlan

Six months on from The 2022 Sport Technology Awards we are revisiting our winners to gage their thoughts on the latest market dynamics.

The latest to feature in our ‘Post-Podium Stories’ is OnePlan, winners of the Best Technology for Venues and Operations for its Venue Twin solution that brings sports venues into the metaverse.

Venue Twin allows Marketing teams, and their stakeholders, to access their venue 24/7 to plan operations as well as sell hospitality, advertising and tickets – unlocking new operational and commercial opportunities for venues worldwide. Here, Paul Foster, OnePlan CEO, gives us his update six months after collecting this coveted award. 

What has changed for your business in the last six months?

For us, the biggest change has been unprecedented growth. In the past 6 months, we’ve had a 24% increase in staff. We’ve also hit the milestone of over 15,000 events planned in OnePlan – soon to be 20,000.

What are the biggest changes happening in your part of the sports sector?

The most significant change is the adoption of technology in every aspect of sports – the ‘digital first’ approach which includes ticketing, betting, point of sale, and fan engagement have all gone through a major transformation in a short space of time. The next major change we’ll see soon is the transition from web2 to web3. This is still in the early stages as companies and brands figure out what works for their fanbase.    

What the best piece of advice you’ve been given about working in sports / sports technology (personal or professional)?

Things move fast in technology, but what’s most important to focus on is genuine use cases and where the technology creates a real benefit to the end users. The best way to achieve this benefit is by actually speaking to potential users to understand their needs better.

What the best piece of advice you’d pass on to a client or start-up in your world?

The best advice I’d pass on is understanding your market and customers. While building technology is a huge hurdle, adoption of that technology solution is even more important and an even bigger accomplishment. 

To join OnePlan as a Sports Technology Awards winner, make sure you enter the 2023 edition of the leading international celebration of tech-led innovation in sport. With over 50 industry experts, 22 categories and an independent judging system, an entry can see your brand one step closer to recognition as one of the best in world sport. Be sure to enter before the December 15 deadline, find out more here: https://bit.ly/2jhH142