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Three Finalists Chosen to Present at 2020 Tennis Industry Innovation Challenge

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (Jan. 7, 2020) — Three finalists have been chosen to present at the 2020 Tennis Industry INNOVATION CHALLENGE, which will be held on Thursday, Jan. 23, during the Racquet & Paddle Sports Show in Orlando, Fla.

Bleachr, Hydrogen Sports and Mojjo will present five-minute pitches about their new product or service to a panel of judges—and in front of an audience of tennis and racquet sports industry leaders—in a “Shark Tank”-like competition to determine a winner.

“This is our fifth edition of the Tennis Industry INNOVATION CHALLENGE, and we’ve seen some some amazing products and services that have come to light designed to help the racquet and paddle sports industry grow,” says Jolyn de Boer, executive director of the Tennis Industry Association (TIA), which sponsors the competition. “We’re excited to see the on-stage presentations from our three finalists later this month.”

This edition of the Innovation Challenge attracted more than 20 applicants from seven countries. The showdown with the finalists will take place at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) during the 2nd Annual Racquet & Paddle Sports Show (racquetpaddlesportsshow.com), held Jan. 22-24, which will also include the TIA’s annual Tennis Owners & Managers (TOM) Conference.

For industry professionals, registration is free for the Racquet & Paddle Sports Conference (RAPS), which will include attendance at the TOM Conference Tennis Innovation Challenge Session on Jan. 23, starting at 8:30 a.m. at the OCCC. A separate fee is required for attendance and participation in the educational TOM Conference (register at racquetpaddlesportsshow.com).

The three finalists who will present at the OCCC are:

• Bleachr LLC’s TennisOne App (www.bleachr.co), which is a mobile hub for all things tennis, providing a robust platform that addresses the needs of the tennis community. The TennisONE App provides live scoring, AI ball tracer technology, player stats, social games and other content.

• Hydrogen Sports’ Proton (www.hydrogensports.com), a robotic ball machine that is less than half the size and weight of other ball machines, and smart enough to automatically aim shots. The user taps the court location on a mobile phone, selects speed and spin, and the Proton machine does the rest.

• PLAYR’s Mojjo (http://mojjo.io), a unique technology based on image processing and Artificial Intelligence that is capable of analyzing a match “on the fly.” The system is intended for clubs, academies and schools and uses a touch-screen computer and two fixed cameras installed on the court, while a smartphone can be synchronized as a third camera.

The Innovation Challenge winner will receive $1,000, a national press release to thousands of news outlets with a potential reach to millions of consumers, coverage in Racquet Sports Industry magazine, a one-year TIA membership, and additional exposure through industry marketing and social media channels. The Innovation Challenge will again be moderated by Carlos Salum, who is president of Salum International Resources, a leadership performance strategy consultancy based in Charlotte, N.C. Salum, who organizes leadership events as founder of TheSircle Executive Club, also consults in sports technology with the SportsCouncil Silicon Valley, N3XT Sports and leAD Sports Accelerator. He also has coached professional tennis players, including Grand Slam champions Gabriela Sabatini and Sergi Bruguera. The panel of judges for the fifth edition of the Innovation Challenge will include:

• Mike Barrell, coach for more than 30 years and the director of evolve9, an international company that helps national tennis federations and providers design and implement tennis programs for children.

• Louis Foreman, the founder and chief executive of Enventys Partners, an integrated product design, engineering and marketing firm. He is also the founder of Edison Nation, and Edison Nation Medical.

• Dr. Stuart Miller, the senior executive director of Integrity & Development at the International Tennis Federation.

• Keith Storey, president of Sports Marketing Surveys and one of the world’s leading authorities on sports market research, with nearly 30 years of experience in the field.

• Maik Burlage, a former ATP tour player who is the CEO and co-founder of smart-court technology company Wingfield, which recently received $1.2 million in investments.

(All entries in the Innovation Challenge also will be considered for a separate, special prize of $5,000 worth of consulting services from Enventys Partners, based on Enventys CEO Louis Foreman’s assessment of potential impact in the consumer market.) The first Tennis Industry Innovation Challenge was held in March 2017 at the Tennis Owners & Managers (TOM) Conference in Orlando, Fla., and was won by Tennibot (tennibot.com), a robotic tennis ball collector. The second Challenge, held in August 2017 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. The third Challenge, held during the TOM Conference in April 2018 in Charleston, S.C., was won by Tweener Lighting (tweener-lighting.com), a unique LED system that attaches to existing fencing around tennis and other sport courts. The fourth Innovation Challenge, held during the TOM Conference/Racquet & Paddle Sports Show in January 2019, was won by Sparc (playsparc.com) by CCP Games, a virtual reality game. The Tennis Industry Innovation Challenge will be held during the 2nd Annual Racquet & Paddle Sports Show, which runs Jan. 21-24 and will be co-located with the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando. The RPSS, organized by the Tennis Industry Association (TIA) and Reed Exhibitions, is a business-to-business event will bring together the global racquet sports industry to drive forward the business of the sport through merchandise sourcing, product testing, educational programs and professional networking events. Visit racquetpaddlesportsshow.com or thetomconference.com for more information. The 21 applicants for the fifth Tennis Industry Innovation Challenge were:

• Bigger Digits Scoreboards, biggerdigits.net
• Bleachr LLC, TennisONE App, www.bleachr.co
• Form Diff IO, mobile app video analytics
• Hydrogen Sports, Proton, www.hydrogensports.com
• Infinity Cube Limited, eyes3 Sports Technology, www.eyes3.com
• izzers LLC, izzers Tennis Score Keeper, www.izzers.net
• JBH Concepts, RAQTS, www.raqts.com
• MD Sporting Solutions, Tennis Mount, www.mdsportingsolutions.com
• MIS7, Chillgrip, www.mis7.nl
• Mt Tam Racquet Club, Tennis Lives
• Padel racquets
• Platinum Enterprises, Edge Power Trainer, edgepowertrainer.com
• PLAYR, , mojjo.io
• RCS Sports, Kollectaball K-Max, www.racquetguys.com
• Nathan Stein, Backspinner
• Slinger Bag Americas, Slinger, www.slingerbag.com
• Sportside (World Sports Buddy Limited), sportside.com
• Tennis Trunk, www.tennistrunk.com
• The Courts project, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Thirty30 Tennis, www.thirty30tennis.com
• Vsudalai, Ring wire Flexibility racquet

About the Racquet & Paddle Sports Show The Racquet & Paddle Sports Show is a future-focused B2B event, bringing together racquet sport professionals, industry leaders, facility suppliers, and wide-ranging product manufacturers from around the world for four days of merchandise sourcing, product testing, education and professional networking in the beautiful climate of Orlando, Jan. 21-24. The multi-faceted event includes a curated ONE2ONE buying summit; Demo Day: Lake Nona Experience; comprehensive exhibits of racquet, paddle, tennis and facility products/services; industry presentations; complimentary education programs; and the Tennis Owners & Managers (TOM) Conference. The Racquet & Paddle Sports Show is organized by Reed Exhibitions, with support of the Tennis Industry Association, and co-located with the PGA Merchandise Show. For more information, visit RacquetPaddleSportsShow.com.

Posted on January 6, 2020
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