Smarter Sports
Awards Judges
Judging panel presented in association with
2026 Judges
Allison Barber
To the Hoop Strategies
Neelay Bhatt
Next Practice Partners / TEDSports Indianapolis
James Bisgrove
Al-Qadsiah Club Company
Rory Burghes
Capgemini INVENT
John Burns
JMW Solicitors
Tamika Catchings
EMBA | Entrepreneur | Co-Founder, Catch The Stars Foundation | Naismith Hall-of-Famer
Avinash Chandran
Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and Prevention
Alejandra Depalma
Mercury 13
Rebecca Edwards-Symmons
Commonwealth Games Wales - Team Wales
Mark Epps
ATP Tour
Dr. Ravi Gill
The OPSIS Group
Yan Gu
Purdue University
Jeff Hintz
Sports Tech HQ
Nathan Homer
NEOM
Mark Jarvis
The FA
Alun Wyn Jones
The National Network for Innovation in Sport & Health
Claire Kelly
Gemba
Courtney Lawes
Former England Rugby International
Barry McNeill
Bloom Sports Partners
Vincent Minjares
Aspen Institute Sports & Society
Ugo Monye
Former England Rugby International
Jonathan Owen
Energy
Nick Pearson
Forte Talent Group
Zoe Prothero
The Premier League
Kacy Raye
Salesforce
Jamie Riley
USA Football
Kevin Scott
PGA of America
Michaela Snook
F1
Charles Torwudzo
USA Football
Karen Webb Moss
Aquatics GB, More than Equal and Thirsty Insights Ltd.
TBC
TBC
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Led by Swansea University, NNIISH sits at the intersection of sport, health, and technology, with the remit is to foster collaboration and forge partnerships with a view to creating new solutions and opportunities to improve athlete performance and public health outcomes. The network enjoys a diverse family of stakeholders, including multinational corporations, academic institutions and start-ups.
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Judges And Judging Process
World class scrutiny for world class innovation: meet the industry experts judging your work…
The Smarter Sports Awards are serious about honest, authentic and authoritative scrutiny and this is reflected both by the outstanding profile of our expert judging panel and the process by which all entries are judged.
Judging is completed online, independently of and without reference to any other score; each judge marks every element of the entry form, then submits a total score for each shortlisted entry. In the case of a tie, more judges from the industry are asked to evaluate the tied entries until a clear winner is determined.
Remember, our judges are unquestionably some of the most informed people in the sector and the judging process means that all their points of view are accounted for fairly. They are totally unbiased in their voting and are committed to working to seeing excellence – not a brand’s size or budget – win.
We ensure organizations of all sizes enjoy fair representation and opportunities at the Awards, and are proud that The Smarter Sports Awards is one of the few industry events where a bootstrap start-up can achieve victory over an established, international sports brand. Ultimately excellence is what counts!