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Third ‘Tennis Innovation Challenge’ April 9 in Charleston, S.C.

Spotlight to shine on tennis and tech visionaries with new, innovative products and services to help grow the sport and business of tennis and racquet sports.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (Jan. 23, 2018) — The third Tennis Industry Innovation Challenge promises to showcase some of the most brilliant new and innovative sports products and services designed to grow the sport and business of tennis with players, consumers and fans. This unique competition will take place on April 9 at the 2018 Tennis Owners & Managers (TOM Conference), held at Wild Dunes Resort in Charleston, S.C.

Through Feb. 15, companies and individuals can complete a short Tennis Industry Innovation Challenge application at TheTOMConference.com describing their new, innovative product, software or service. There is no charge to apply.

On Monday, April 9, finalists from the online application process will have the opportunity to present their new product or service to a panel of judges—and in front of an audience of tennis industry leaders—in a “Shark Tank”-like competition.

The Innovation Challenge will again be moderated by Carlos Salum, who is president of Salum International Resources and a member of the SportsCouncil Silicon Valley (SCSV), which is co-sponsoring the Challenge. The judges are: * Rishi Bhatnagar, CEO of Syntelli Solutions, a provider of advanced analytics services; * Walid Fattah, entrepreneur and co-founder of Kourts, specializing in mobile apps and tennis management systems; * Mac Lackey, entrepreneur, executive at SportsEngine (div. of NBC Sports), co-founder/chairman of ISL Futbol, and a venture partner of VentureSouth vc. * Dr. Stuart Miller, senior executive director of the International Tennis Federation; * Royce Wolfe, principal of Thru Traffic Marketing LLC marketing development, innovation and strategy consultancy.

Innovation Challenge finalists will receive media exposure through the TIA leading up to the TOM Conference. The winner will receive $1,000, a national press release to thousands of news outlets with a potential reach to millions of consumers, coverage in Tennis Industry magazine, a one-year TIA membership, and additional exposure through industry marketing and social media channels.

Sponsored by the TIA, this will be the third edition of the Innovation Challenge. The first competition was held at the TOM Conference last March and was won by Tennibot (tennibot.com), a robotic tennis ball collector. The second Challenge, held in August in New York City during the 2017 US Open, was won by In/Out (inout.tennis), a line-calling device that fits on any netpost.

To register for the Innovation Challenge, visit TheTOMConference.com/innovation-challenge.

Posted on January 23, 2018
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