ASTN Member News

Sportradar today announced the launch of Sportradar FanID, a unique, end-to-end first-party marketing solution combining the first data clean room for the sports industry with the company’s proprietary marketing activation technology, to offer rightsholders and brands personalized fan engagement in a post-third-party cookie world.

Fans attending the Australian Open 2024 will for the first time have access to intuitive digital navigation on the official AO mobile app and website. Fans will be able to find all the matches, attractions, amenities, and events during the tournament thanks to PAM's Smart Navigation Platform. PAM is a company in the 2024 cohort of AO Startups.

Teamworks, who in 2023 acquired Australina-born Smartabase, has announced the acquisition of Front Rush TRAC, an inventory management software. The new acquisition adds to Teamworks' Operating System for Sports.

PlaySpark recently annouced a partnership with the Taranaki Airs a pioneering basketball team in the NBL New Zealand league. The Airs are looking to create a more inclusive and immersive experience for their fans, locally and abroad. By implementing their platform, they will now be able to reward fans for their interactions like playing games, attending matches and interacting with other fun content.

Basketball South Australia is committed to the growth and governance of basketball in the state and is excited to announce a new partnership with TidyHQ's Tidy Connect, known for its innovative solutions in scaling governance, compliance, and risk in sports. This partnership marks an important stride in fostering sports integrity and highlighting the importance of good governance practices and advanced technology in the sports sector.

In recent years, extreme and adventure sports have become increasingly popular with the general public. The inventor of Snowtunnel®, Darren Visser, himself a passionate winter sports enthusiast, shares this vision and has been working for over 20 years on a new product that will give snowboarders and skiers the chance to enjoy their beloved sport all year round. The current version of the Snowtunnel is a rotating tube with a diameter of ten meters. The rotating action of the tube is said to let snowboarding feel like a mixture of snowboarding, surfing and skating

Omni Biotech has today announced its investment from Skalata Ventures. Skalata has joined forces with the team led by founders Zac Farrow and Willem Poot to improve global health outcomes with immediate, actionable health metrics on devices they already own. Starting with a world-first hydration metric Omni is bringing elite-level monitoring into the mainstream.

Sportable has announced that it has a raised $US 15m investment round from investors including South African-based venture firm HAVAIC, US-based Ryan Ventures and Australian fund XV Capital led by Stirling Mortlock and James Godfrey. Sportable deploys Micro-Tracking (MT) technology to enhance data collection and analysis in ball and contact sports, particularly rugby, soccer, and American football. 

Teamworks has announce its latest partnership in the National Rugby League (NRL) with the Melbourne Storm signing a multi-year Hub & Smartabase agreement. Identifying Teamworks as an integral partner to continue delivering sustained success, Hub & Smartabase will allow the Storm to streamline operations and centralize medical data in one tech stack.

Bond University has partnered with Fempro Armour a Queensland company to develop cutting-edge protective body armour designed specifically for the female body. Fempro Armour uses patented impact absorption technology to reduce the force of contact to vulnerable areas identified in extensive research into common injuries to female athletes.

One of one of Australia’s fastest-growing sports tech startups, PlayHQ, is excited to announce a new partnership with New Zealand Cricket. The move follows a successful partnership between PlayHQ and Cricket Australia, and sees NZC join a raft of major sports across Australia and New Zealand who have turned to PlayHQ to streamline their community competition and program management.

Guy Bracher is leaving the Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) after working with Australia’s sportstech startups and scaleups in the early ASTN days and again for the last two years.

ECAL has announced its new collaboration with the Frost Bank Center, the home of the San Antonio Spurs, to bring a slick and sophisticated digital calendar experience to basketball fans and concert goers. This partnership is yet another significant integration for ECAL, the world’s leading calendar marketing platform, designed to boost ticket sales, enhance customer engagement, and elevate the event experience for venues and stadia.

PMY Group (PMY) is proud to announce that its Founder and CEO, Paul Yeomans, has been recognised as a National Finalist in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 Australia awards. This prestigious nomination places him among an elite group of innovative entrepreneurs across the country. Under Paul's visionary leadership, PMY has emerged as a global leader in transforming major venues and events through cutting-edge technology.

At a time when Artificial Intelligence is transforming the sports industry at an unprecedented pace, Founderz and GSIC (Global Sports Innovation Center powered by Microsoft) introduce their groundbreaking Online Program in AI in Sports. The program, to which you can already pre-enroll, is available from today to start learning in February 2024, is launching at a critical time: the global AI in sports market is expected to grow to $16 billion by 2030.

Following a competitive tender process, Sportsnet, Canada’s #1 sports network, has selected Sportradar to deliver innovative, data-driven content that creates a more immersive experience for sports fans in the North American region. Viewers can anticipate the seamless inclusion of real-time statistics, player information and advanced data sets into Sportsnet broadcasts, all made possible through Sportradar’s OnAir service. 

GameDay, powered by Stack Sports and in conjunction with Stack Team App, have partnered with Cricket Hong Kong, China to create a streamlined database and communication framework for their High-Performance Pathways division. The project is designed to ultimately enhance the digital experience of pathway players and track their engagement throughout their journey from developing to high performance athletes, while also providing a valuable cloud-based resource for cricket administrators across the pathway programmes.

Announced in September 2023, Rosterfy will be working with not-for-profit organisation, Disability Sports Australia, to streamline and manage their impressive national network of volunteers and 70 come-and-try events. Disability Sports Australia (DSA) is one of Australia’s nine (9) National Sporting Organisations for people with disability with a focus on enabling more Australians with disability to be active more often. The platform officially went live in mid-November 2023 and volunteers can now register directly with DSA on the Rosterfy plaform.

Next Level Racing has unveiled the brand-new Next Level Racing GTRacer. The GTRacer simulator cockpit has been designed specifically to deliver an immersive GT-Style racing experience for racing enthusiasts.

iNSPIRETEK is technology platform where athletes can input daily metrics including their mental health, sleep, fatigue, nutrition and stress, providing valuable insights, tools and education for sports coaches and officials to prioritise the wellbeing of athletes and the identification of potential athlete issues. The Queensland Government has now invested in iNSPIRETEK and its health technology so it can be piloted by athletes, coaches and club officials from nine state-level sporting organisations, including Basketball Queensland.

The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) has partnered with etrainu, a leading provider of community education solutions, to launch the IFAF Academy. First-of-its-kind education platform will empower member federations worldwide to build capacity and support accelerated participation growth as flag football prepares to make its debut in the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028

Australian sports advisory and investment firm XV Capital, co-founded by former Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock and business partner James Godfrey, today announced a strategic partnership and equity agreement with CoachMate, a trailblazing sports technology company based in New Zealand. The partnership is poised to redefine grassroots community sport and offer invaluable support to sports organisations and communities while championing lifelong sports participation.

PlaySpark (formerly Spark Up Studios) recently partnered with Adelaide Lighting basketball club to implement their fan engagement platform to drive a more personalised and fun experience.

Smart Navigation platform PAM and the Los Angeles Rams are announcing that PAM will serve as the Technology Solutions Partner for the organization for a period of three years. During the 2022 season, PAM’s platform was used to enable Rams content to be shared directly with fans and visitors to SoFi Stadium during Rams game days. 

The AFL has today entered a 10-year strategic partnership with global sports and entertainment leader TGI Sport. The AFL and TGI will deliver fans a brand new at match experience via new and innovative LED signage, digital screen and fan engagement offerings at both the MCG and Marvel Stadium.

In 2023, France had the honor of hosting the Rugby World Cup, an event of significance in the world of sports. To take fan engagement and excitement to new heights, organizers turned to the ‘Sync to Calendar’ marketing solution provided by ECAL, a trusted partner of World Rugby.

A total of 17 of 18 AFL clubs use Tradable Bits for fan engagement, sponsorship, community and data-focused activations. Across these clubs there was nearly a 20% rise in campaign entries in 2023 and a 15% increase in communication subscriptions. The article take a deep dive into case studies from each club on how they engaged with fans, sponsors and the community through online activations.

The Australian Institute of Sport will hold its Sports Technology and Applied Research Symposium (STARS) from 15-17 November under the theme of ‘Driving Innovation in Sport’. Across 14 sessions presenters have been tasked with giving the STARS audience ideas, concepts, and insights into what it will take to ensure that the Australian high performance system is prepared to take advantage of ‘ten years of opportunity’ leading into Brisbane 2032.

STARS will again be held virtually via Microsoft Teams. The Symposium is free to attend for those in the Australian sports system and our industry and university partners.

In 2020, ASTN member Gangi Group was researching germicidal lighting and discovered high quality UV-C and anti-microbial blue light fittings. The company realised the need for automated, sustainable and effective disinfection and set about creating innovative, world-first solutions. And Lindo was born.

Lindo developed and manufactured lighting solutions that can break down the DNA structure of 99.9% of viruses and bacteria (including COVID 19). The lights are so effective it mitigates the need to use toxic cleaning chemicals. Less bleach, less risk, less manual labour, and more sustainable.

Lindo’s primary focus lies in creating, constructing, and producing stationary lighting systems that enhance the overall health and well-being of front-line workers and occupants in industries ranging from defence to healthcare and aviation. 

ECAL has announced a partnership with leading online marketing platform Optimove. ECAL provides Optimove's clients with a proven digital-calendar marketing channel to engage with an audience that is sophisticated and tech savvy. ECAL helps deliver 'in-time' promotions and messaging, enabling deeper personalisation and connection. ECAL's dynamic calendar marketing technology is used by many of the world's very best brands including Premier League, Formula 1, LaLiga, The FA, England Cricket Board, ICC Cricket, NBC Sports, bet365, Liverpool FC, FC Barcelona, and many others.

With the commencement of the 2023/24 A-Leagues season, Brisbane Roar has unveiled a collaboration with digital engagement platform Tiparra. The ‘Roar App’ will revolutionise how fans engage with Brisbane Roar, offering an unparalleled interactive game-day experience.  Tiparra, renowned for its innovation in the digital space, specialises in turning passive spectators into active participants. Through the Roar App, fans can engage in real-time, creating an immersive experience through features like live polls, interactive matchday programs, competitions, and exclusive updates – all available at fans’ fingertips.  

As the Big Bash League and Women's Big Bash League (BBL) seasons are only two months long, the Melbourne Renegades wanted to find a way to engage their fans all year round. Felicity George, Head of Brand, Marketing and Fan Engagement at the Melbourne Renegades discusses how they implemented an online platform for their fans to interact with the team whenever and wherever. The platform, called Renegades Connect, created by SparkUp Studios and launched last December in time for the BBL season was a test to see how fans interacted with it.

BetMGM, a leading sports betting and iGaming operator, today announced the signing of a new deal with Sportradar (NASDAQ: SRAD) for access to products and services to be powered by official NBA optical tracking data. For the first time, Sportradar will provide BetMGM access to next-generation products and services that leverage NBA optical tracking data, which is provided exclusively by Sportradar through its partnership with the NBA. This will enable BetMGM to grow its prop markets and same-game parlay portfolio, as well as its in-play betting markets.

Sports gifting platform PrezentBox has announced that now free for sports & activity providers.

"The vision of PrezentBox has been to help families and friends contribute to the growth of kids through extracurricular activities. And by making the platform complimentary for activity providers, we're making it even easier for communities to rally around their budding stars." said Founder Dan Frkic

Sportradar has been chosen by Tennis Channel to power the launch of the network’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming platform which will include access to Tennis Channel’s 24/7 linear-channel alongside thousands of hours of live and on-demand matches and original programming. Sportradar will develop the new service, expected to be available to all tennis fans in the U.S in early 2024, with a focus on creating a seamless, direct-to-consumer experience incorporating dynamic data integrations and a wide range of user-friendly features.

DMC Sport recently announced a partnership with Cricket Australia for the Woolworths Cricket Blast program. This collaboration signifies an exciting chapter in DMC Sport’s ongoing commitment to promoting the joy of cricket among young enthusiasts all around the world The Woolworths Cricket Blast program's focus on skill development, teamwork, and fostering a love for the sport perfectly aligns with DMC Sport’s values.

GameDay has announced a multi-year partnership with Baseball Australia including roll-out of a national membership registration and competition management system, officials management, business intelligence through GameDay View and integrations with Team App, Active Kids and Get Active Vouchers.

The Global Institute of Sport (GIS) is delighted to have been named in SportsBusiness Magazine’s Top 40 Postgraduate Programmes for a second year running.

Next Level Racing®, a leading innovator in racing simulator technology, is thrilled to announce the launch of the Next Level Racing® Go Kart Plus racing simulator cockpit. Designed for racers of all ages, the Next Level Racing® Go Kart Plus offers an authentic go kart racing experience whilst packed with innovation and customization options.  

The app includes innovative wayfinding technology from PAM, enabling easy navigation of the circuit and surrounding area. Interactive maps guide fans to entry points and seating areas tied to their ticket and accessibility needs. Directions can be updated in real-time based on trackside conditions to help reduce congestion and improve amenities.