Australian export case study
2011 will be a big year for Australian sports technology companies, as many take their products to the elite level in prestigious overseas markets.
Three Australian companies, with expertise in athlete performance, are hitting the back of the net in the English Premier League (EPL).
Sportstec
Sydney-based company Sportstec has developed video analysis tools, which it has turned from a start-up home business into a $9 million empire.
Sportstec’s range of software allows analysts to marry information about a team’s performance to live video footage and have it available for recall by the coaching staff in real time.
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| Portugal national player Cristiano Ronaldo using Sportstec's technology while in training for the 2010 World Cup. Image courtesy of Sportstec. |
“A team of data operators mark-up what happens in play, where it happens and which players are involved,” Managing Director Philip Jackson said.
“Data is then collected and added into the video so coaches can see an event immediately. The information is manipulated within the video so coaches can see trends emerge,” Mr Jackson said.
Starting up in 2000 with just Philip and his laptop, Sportstec made its first sale to AFL club Essendon. Not long after, the company began exporting to the United Kingdom with a sale to English Premier League club Manchester City. Business snowballed from there.
Exports now count for 80 per cent of Sportstec’s annual turnover and Mr Jackson credits the Export Market Development Grant (EMDG) scheme administered by Austrade with the company’s overseas success. “The EMDG scheme has been a great benefit as it meant we could invest more in export development based on the knowledge we would get something back,” he said.
Sportstec’s software was used by coaches of ten 2010 FIFA World Cup football teams. The company also has a long list of USA clients, ranging from professional clubs to national and college teams, across archery, football, basketball and baseball. Other export markets include France, UK, New Zealand, China, Japan and South East Asia.
Reason Systems
Also garnering success with clients in the EPL is Melbourne-based company, Reason Systems. With a background in risk management and simulation modelling across non-sporting sectors, Reason Systems was born out of a need for elite sports clubs to reduce the high-cost of player injury.
The company’s predictive modelling software identifies the points when an athlete would be at the highest risk of injury. The system tracks athletes’ physical and mental states, using this data to make predictions about when they would be most susceptible.
Director Gary Benbow said, “Our technology is used as an early warning system to detect the possibility of injury, enabling modification of training programs to prevent injuries from occurring.
“The aim of our software is to find relationships amongst data to predict the possibility of future outcomes. The software predicts the levels of input required.
“We’ve found the technology is transferable between football codes. We have also had discussions with other sports including tennis, cricket and basketball,” he said.
Reason Systems got its start with AFL team, the Sydney Swans. The High Performance manager at Liverpool FC contacted the company after he had seen its software operating in Australia. Reason Systems has already delivered two of its software programs to Liverpool FC.
Mr Benbow said Austrade has assisted the company through networking and providing the right contacts in potential overseas markets.
Catapult Sports
Another Melbourne company, Catapult Sports, has pioneered specialist tracking technology for analysis of athlete performance. Its Minimaxx product is used by more than 25 different sports worldwide—all at the elite level—including the EPL, rugby, AFL, swimming, rowing and boxing.
Athletes wear a small transmitter on their upper back. It measures data collected by 11 sensors, which are recorded and simultaneously broadcast to a remote computer. This allows coaches to view real time performance and tactical information on-screen.
Catapult Sports CEO Shaun Holthouse said coaching staff can manage player interchanges during a match or physical effort in training sessions. “Coaches can make calculated decisions on the fly based on real scientific data. It can help them improve their game-day strategy,” he said.
The company’s clients in the EPL include Everton FC and football academy, Middlesborough FC, West Ham United FC, Newcastle United FC, Blackburn Rovers FC and West Bromwich FC. Catapult also counts the New York Knicks US basketball team as a client; 16 AFL clubs; Australian football clubs including the Socceroos; Kyuden Rugby in Japan; Cardiff Blues Rugby club in Wales and university sporting teams across the UK, USA, Europe and Australia.
Mr Holthouse said the company has taken advantage of Austrade’s EMDG scheme. “Austrade also helped us source distributors in some of our overseas markets. Our business partners are very specific and Austrade was able to help with this.
“Our revenue growth is at 40 per cent per annum. International sales now account for most of our revenue and we export into more than a dozen countries,” he said.
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