The Old Course at St. Andrews is set to become the epicenter of the golf world this week when the 150th Open Championship begins on July 14. Thanks to help of Topgolf’s Toptracer technology, the iconic golf course will also be available for golfers to experience virtually. Through July 9-17, consumers can use Toptracer Range platforms to drive approach shots on nine virtual Old Course holes and have their results posted real-time in a global competition.
Not only will golfers be able to compare themselves to the tour pros actually competing at St. Andrews, but participants can take home undetermined prizes. Players simply go to one of the Toptracer’s 550-plus world-wide driving ranges to sign up for 9-shot challenge, where they will also have the ability to play a virtual version of the entire course. Toptracer is also the technology NBC Sports uses to visually track shots on PGA Tour events.
Toptracer, a staple of the Topgolf experience due to its camera-generated analytics, recently unveiled Toptracer30, a more advanced device that assesses a user’s skill level by grading them on 30 virtual golf scenarios —nine different type of tee shots and 21 separate approach shots. Toptracer has also long allowed golfers to play virtual courses such as Pebble Beach, and the St. Andrews 9-shot challenge is another way the company has gamified the sport of golf.
Multi-camera video analysis systems are being installed at 28 sports training venues in Australia as part of the government’s new AIS Video Optimisation Grants program. The installations span Australia’s national team training venues for Olympic sports such as hockey, swimming, golf, fencing, gymnastics, squash, surfing, volleyball, cycling, taekwondo, and water polo.
Australian company Fulcrum Technology is providing its player-tracking camera system and connected software, which can import performance data from wearables and other video analysis platforms such as Stats Perform, Instat, Hudl, Wyscout and Synergy Sports. Players and coaches can view feedback in real-time on Fulcrum’s app, which lets coaches draw over video for added analysis.
The Australian government has committed $1.17 million to install Fulcrum’s AI-powered system, which comes as Australian athletes are training for the 2022 Commonwealth Games set to begin July 28 in England. Australia is also set to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Victoria and the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics in Brisbane.
“The data that sports collate from this technology will have an ongoing impact, providing a library of training vision for deeper analysis and potential advances in artificial intelligence,” Australian Sports Commission CEO Kieren Perkins said in a statement. “This is a wonderful story of Australian innovation and collaboration, with Government, sport and technology combining to give our athletes the best chance of reaching their potential.”
In advance of this week’s British Open, TikTok has started a content deal with the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and The R&A, which organizes the Open each year.
The goal of the partnership is to grow the sport of golf, particularly to reach new fans and more diverse audiences. Some of the expected video clips to be shared will be behind-the-scenes footage and golf tips from pro players.
The #Golf hashtag on TikTok has been viewed more than 27 billion times, with a growing community of amateurs and pros sharing videos. Recent U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick is among the pros to grow active in recent weeks.
TikTok is also the title sponsor of Women’s Six Nations rugby and a sponsor of UEFA women’s Euro 2022.
Naasir Cunningham, the consensus No. 1 high school basketball prospect in the class of 2024, has partnered with NFT marketplace VerifiedInk to launch a digital trading card he designed on July 19.
Cunningham, a 6’7” forward, started his high school career at Gill St. Bernard’s in New Jersey but recently joined Overtime Elite, becoming the first playing in the new league to forego a salary in order to retain his college eligibility. His NFT cards are now available for viewing in advance of bidding that begins next week.
VerifiedInk is a name, image and likeness (NIL) platform that enables high school and college athletes to create and mint their own NFTs. Athletes retain 94% of the profits and continue to earn a royalty when the tokens are sold in the secondary market. VerifiedInk co-founder and co-CEO Nate Slutzky is a former Division I assistant football coach who previously founded Verified Athletics, a college recruiting service.
The University of Miami football program has integrated a military fitness device, the Warfighter Monitor, into its summer workout regimen.
In order to prevent over-exertion and enhance biometric data, Miami players are wearing the Warfighter Monitor on their arms to track respiration rate, body temperature and pulse oximetry. The device’s most distinctive tool is its single-lead electrocardiogram, a more advanced and precise way to measure heart rate.
Created by the defense contractor Tiger Tech Solutions, the monitor’s unique electrocardiogram is ultimately what led Eric Renaghan, the school’s director of sports science, to endorse the product and bring it to the team. Saying it’s “not even close,’’ Renagahn claims the Warfighter device eclipses what Apple Watches and Fitbits can do in terms of monitoring heartbeat.
“An Apple Watch, you can reach your hand on the other side and touch the watch and get an electrocardiogram,’’ the CEO of Tiger Tech Solutions Harrison Wittels told the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. “We’re actually the first device in the world that can do that from a single limb. Why that’s important is because that is the only way to get actual heart rate.’’
Due to the excessive heat in South Florida during summer workouts, Miami head coach Mario Cristobal and strength and conditioning coach Aaron Field have leveraged the Warfighter Monitor—which is not yet deployed by any other college or pro team—to shift training sessions to times that can better benefit players. Last season, the Miami coaches used data from WHOOP to alter workout and practices so players could get better rest, helping to turn around its win-loss record.
The Hurricanes recently received a commitment from five-star quarterback Jaden Rashada, the first high school player to ever receive an NIL.
FIA’s World Rallycross Championship will begin its switch to electric car racing Aug. 13-14 in Hell, Norway. The transition to electric battery-powered racing will replace World RX’s automobile series that debuted in 2014.
World Rallycross originally planned to start electric racing in 2020, but the series has been delayed two years due to pandemic-related supply chain issues for car manufacturers. There are now eight races across Europe planned for the upcoming inaugural electric season, which wraps up in Spain in Oct. 29-30.
World RX is now the FIA’s third electric racing offering, joining its Formula E open-wheel series and the SUV off-road Extreme E series. The rallycross powertrains are expected to generate 500 kW of power, the equivalent of 680 hp, and reach 880 Nm of torque, which FIA says will result in faster acceleration than the cars in Formula E.
“We are proud in Norway to be leading the energy transition in the automotive industry – 90% of new cars sold here now are either electric or hybrid – so there are plenty of synergies with what Rallycross Promoter is doing and we look forward to putting on an incredible event for fans next month with sensational action in all four classes,” Tor Helge Forbord Slind, promoter and CEO of Norway’s Hell RX AS, said in a statement.
The WNBA’s upcoming All-Star weekend in Chicago will debut “WNBA Live presented by U.S. Bank,” an outdoor basketball festival that will showcase augmented reality activations and digital technology.
To be staged starting Saturday outside the McCormick Place convention center—and equipped with a jumbotron so spectators can watch the league’s corresponding MT DEW three-point shooting contest and skills challenge—the WNBA’s tech activations include AT&T’s FitCam, where fans can be digitally fitted with AR apparel that they choose through a Snapchat QR code.
Also at McCormick Place, Dick’s Sporting Goods will host interactive arcade games and photo ops, while Microsoft—together with the Jr. NBA—will hold a STEM learning session to educate local basketball-playing children on how sports scientists quantify athletic performance through Microsoft Surface devices.
The WNBA has long made technology a staple of its league. This year’s All-Star Game tips off Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at Wintrust Arena and, on gameday, will also feature an in-arena activation from Google, highlighting WNBA-related search trends.
Tennis icon Serena Williams is set to be the keynote speaker for the Black Tech Week, an upcoming conference designed to unite and enhance minority investors, entrepreneurs and tech innovators.
As managing partner of the early-stage venture capital firm Serena Ventures, Williams has previously made it a priority to support Black software engineers. Much of her inaugural VC fund of $111 million was earmarked to help “founders with diverse point of view,’’ and, in the tech space, she has invested specifically in Bitcoin, fintech, e-commerce and fitness on-line marketplaces.
To be held the week of July 18 in Cincinnati, Black Tech Week is scheduled to have over 50 minority, technology-centric speakers and more than 60 sessions. Others influencers slated to speak on the nuances of tech and startups include Kimberly Bryant (founder of Black Girls Code), Arlan Hamilton (founder of Hire Runner and Backstage Capital) and Janeen Uzzell (CEO of the National Black Society of Engineers).
WagerWire, an online marketplace that lets users buy and sell previously placed sports bets, has raised a $3 million seed funding round led by Miami Marlins co-owner Roger Ehrenberg. WagerWire lets bettors create wagers and parlays and sell them as opportunities to other users, securing the original creator a profit even if the bet’s outcome proves unsuccessful.
Ehrenberg, who is also an investor in English soccer club Leeds United, invested in WagerWire through his IA Sports Ventures and Eberg Capital venture funds. Other WagerWire investors include Cardinal Sports Capital and 305 Ventures, the firm owned by Simplebet founder Joey Levy. WagerWire says it will integrate its bet trading marketplace into apps of several soon to be announced sportsbook partners.
“Now your bet no longer has to win to make you money,” said WagerWire CEO Zach Doctor said in a statement. “People want more control over their betting journey, and the WagerWire marketplace gives them the ability to flip bets like they would a stock on Robinhood, or a pair of Jordans on StockX.”
Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, an active investor in the digital platform HEIR, is holding a 24-hour charitable auction Thursday on Magic Eden’s Launchpad in conjunction with premium artists Okay Bears.
The highest bidder will receive a one-of-a-kind digitally-signed NFT, as well as a signed jersey. According to HEIR, which has a mission of “jumping the Web2 to Web3 gap by transforming sports fans to owners,” proceeds from the auction will be directed to a charity activation that Ball’s HEIR NFT owners will help create.
Ball previously collaborated with HEIR on an NFT drop in June that featured a collection designed by streetwear artist Don C. HEIR was originally conceived last December by Michael Jordan’s son, Jeffrey.
The National Basketball Retired Players Association is hosting the Legends Tech Summit from July 7-9 in Las Vegas as part of several networking events hosted during NBA Summer League action in Sin City. More than 100 former NBA, WNBA, and ABA players are expected to attend the Tech Summit as part of the NBRPA’s annual Legends Summer Getaway in Las Vegas.
The Emerging Technology & Player Opportunities Tech Summit will focus on topics such as NFTs and podcasting and how retired athletes can pursue these fields. Former NBA player Metta Sandiford-Artest will speak on a panel alongside representatives from the NBA and augmented reality developer ARIA 360. ESPN broadcaster Ros Gold-Onwude will moderate the panel.
Former WNBA player Yolanda Moore will also headline an Amazon Career event hosted during the Legends Summer Getaway in which she’ll discuss her post-playing career work as part of Amazon’s Athletes Program. The retired basketball players will also be treated to a golf outing at Topgolf Las Vegas.
