Kitman Labs has released a customizable Risk Advisor tool to help teams make daily, data-driven decisions about the injury susceptibility of their athletes. It is the first tool built on top of Kitman’s new Intelligence Platform.
Risk Advisor uses multivariate analysis across internal team departments such as the coaching, performance and medical staffs to determine the injury risk of every athlete prior to training or games. Each client can select what inputs are considered and how they are weighted so that the model most accurately reflects its expertise and contextual knowledge.
The Dublin-founded Kitman Labs calls Menlo Park, Calif., its base in the U.S. The company raised a $52 million Series C investment round last November, following recent acquisitions of Presagia Sports and The Sports Office. Kitman works with more than 700 teams across all levels of elite sports on several continents.
Virtual fan world platform GreenPark Sports has reached a new multi-year deal with MLS and the MLS Players Association. MLS now joins the NBA, La Liga and League of Legends as sports and esports entities to have partnerships with GreenPark Sports, whose early access app is currently available on the App Store and Google Play Store.
Fans can create custom avatars in GreenPark that can be outfitted with digital gear representing MLS teams and players starting this season. The app lets users compete in head-to-head games that will augment real-time data from live MLS matches. The app will also host live watch parties for fans and have a rewards system for users to win gear and other prizes.
In October, Green Park announced it had raised $31 million in Series B funding, along with the planned launch of its first set of NFTs. The company’s co-founders include Chad Hurley, who previously co-founded YouTube. OneTeam Partners facilitated Green Park’s latest deal on behalf of the MLSPA. The licensing company previously negotiated a deal to get MLS players on Sorare, an app for fans to buy and sell NFT trading cards of athletes and compete in fantasy soccer contests.
“With our new partnerships with MLS and the MLSPA, soccer fans can play and compete in a variety of social experiences augmented by live data,’’ GreenPark Sports chief strategy officer Tony Grillo said in a statement. “We are committed to building a one-stop rewarded fan experience and a multi-sport virtual community, and having MLS and its players join our roster accelerates this mission.’’
Clemson University’s football team is working with Big Game Football, a Dallas-based maker of hand-crafted footballs, to provide game balls that specifically fit the preferences of quarterbacks on the team. The company offers various shape and positioning configurations of a ball’s laces, as well as alterations to the ball’s stitching, stripe and type of leather to fit a player’s hand size and comfort.
Big Game has partnered with Nike, the apparel partner of Clemson, to make the custom fit Nike-branded balls that the school will use during football games. Big Game also has deals with Adidas and Under Armour, and it provides customized game balls for about 85% of NCAA FBS programs, according to Dallas Magazine.
Dan Kolcun, senior development manager at Big Game, visited Clemson’s football facility and shared multiple different footballs with the school’s quarterbacks for them to each pick which fits their grip the best. Big Game’s footballs were reportedly first used during the 2008 college football season; its other current clients include Texas, Alabama and LSU.
“There’s many differences in laces, stripes, sizes, colors, different types of leather, and [Dan] is gonna explain to us the difference,” Clemson director of football equipment Nick Yarid said in a video posted to Twitter on Sunday. “He’s gonna sit down with our quarterbacks and really pick out what they want and what fits their needs.”
TrackMan, a leader in ball flight tracking technology, has begun work with Danish Superliga club FC Midtjylland for additional insights on free kicks and penalties.
The Danish-headquartered company best known for its work in baseball and golf, TrackMan developed a soccer product that uses an optically-enhanced radar to track a soccer ball’s flight time, ball speed, spin rate, distance and other metrics. It can also track the opponents’ wall height on free kicks and the margin by which the ball eludes the goalkeeper and avoids the post on penalties. TrackMan can work in tandem with cameras for auto-synchronization and video tied to data.
FC Midtjylland, which has won three of the last seven Superliga championships, is known for its hearty embrace of data and analytics. The German national team is reportedly another user of TrackMan’s soccer tool, as are a growing number of other national teams and elite clubs including some in the English Premier League. The product is overseen by Jordan Garbutt, who previously led strategic analysis at Hull City and was general manager at Prozone.
Tagboard, a software used by sports broadcasters to integrate interactive graphics and polls on-air, has raised $8 million in Series A funding. Grayhawk Capital and Next Frontier Capital co-led the round alongside investments from Sinclair Broadcast Group and the Minnesota Vikings owners’ WISE Ventures.
More than 600 sports and media brands use Tagboard, including MLB Network, NFL Network, NBC Sports, Turner Sports, Fox Sports and Riot Games. Last year, the UFC partnered with Tagboard to use its live social media browsing feature to show TikTok videos on-screen during UFC broadcasts. Earlier this month, NBC Sports used Tagboard’s software to add social media content and other interactive features into its live coverage of Super Bowl LVI and the Beijing Olympics.
The Vikings are one of 21 NFL teams to use Tagboard, which also helps produce content for in-stadium video boards. Tagboard also lets networks integrate trackable QR codes into their broadcast, such as MLB’s 2020 ALCS on TBS where viewers scanned a code with their phones to vote in Twitter polls. Tagboard anticipates its QR codes will be used by broadcasters to drive viewers to second-screen experiences such as a sports betting app or merchandise store.
“Tagboard’s cloud workflow empowers producers to create interactive graphics, polls and incorporate live social content into their linear or digital broadcasts, saving time and money,” Tagboard chief strategy officer Linka Baumgardt said in a statement.
The NHL and NHLPA have agreed to a new content partnership with TikTok to bring on-ice branding and TikTok-themed performances to outdoor hockey games this year. The TikTok Tailgate Stage will host concerts at the NHL Stadium Series on Feb. 26 between the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning and at the NHL Heritage Classic between the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs on March 13 in Hamilton, Ontario.
The stage will host performances by popular TikTok artists at both events, including country music singer Walker Hayes at the NHL Stadium Series at Nissan Stadium. The NHL’s TikTok profile has 1.7 million followers and the app’s hockey hashtag has 12.2 billion global views.
“While highlights are among our most engaging content, through this partnership, we hope to reach the broader TikTok community with exclusive content that captures the amazing fan experience at NHL games and tentpole events, player lifestyle videos, and concerts and global livestreams,” NHL senior EVP & CMO Heidi Browning said in a statement.
TikTok will also work with the league to produce branded content, including player personality interviews focused on fashion and style. TikTok’s sponsorships within sports also include deals with MLB and UFC.
Quarter4, a prediction tool for sports bettors, has signed a one-year deal with Canadian sports media startup Parleh Media Group. Parleh launched a sports betting-focused weekly newsletter last year, and its Parleh TV streaming network will now include on-screen AI-backed betting insights from Quarter4.
Quarter4’s AI engine analyzes historical player performance data and real-time game scenarios to predict statistical outcomes for individual players, as well as win/loss probability for teams. The company raised $1.6 million last year in seed funding led by Toronto-based Shore Capital Sports & Entertainment.
“[Quarter4’s data] is especially valuable in a market like Ontario, where advertising regulations prevent matching offers, the traditional method used to attract bettors,” Quarter4 co-founder and CEO Kelly Brooks said in a statement.
While the ongoing MLB lockout is threatening the scheduled start of Opening Day, the Minnesota Twins have secured their first esports partnership. The Twins will sponsor the Minnesota Varsity League (MNVL), a state-wide esports league for high school students that begins March 21 and wraps with state finals in June.
The league is organized by Wisdom Gaming, which has previously had 32 regular season livestreams, three All-Star streams and six final streams sponsored by the Twins. The Twins’ logo will appear on the MNVL’s website. Competitions will span games such as Chess.com, Call of Duty, Super Smash Brothers, Minecraft, Halo Infinite, Valiant and Rocket League.
The MNVL is free for Minnesota high school students and projects to have almost a thousand players from more than 50 schools for its upcoming fourth season. Call of Duty League professional team Minnesota ROKKR—owned by the same Wilf family that owns the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings—is an existing sponsor of the MNVL.
Interactive rowing company Aviron has raised $18.5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by investment firm Stripes with participation from Global Founders Capital, Formic Ventures and 24-Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov.
Aviron’s indoor rowing machines come with an attached screen to stream gamified workouts that reward users with points based on their activity. Rowers workout while navigating games that include zombies, robots and race cars, with their scores tracked on a leaderboard alongside other Aviron machine users.
The company plans to hire more engineers and software developers to expand its gaming library and add Netflix access to its software. Former Nike senior director of product management Amy Curry-Staschke has been hired as Aviron’s new chief operating officer.
Aviron’s Impact Series rower costs $2,199. The machine is competing with other gamified connected rowers such as Hydrow and Ergatta. Hydrow, whose investors include NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, recently filed a lawsuit against iFit over claims that the brand’s new NordicTrack rower copies the look of the Hydrow machine.
Retired NBA player Jason Terry has joined virtual personal training app FlexIt as its new head of athletic performance. The 19-year NBA veteran will help FlexIt pursue collaborations with professional sports teams, youth sports organizations and local community programs.
Terry currently serves as head coach of the Denver Nuggets’ G League affiliate team Grand Rapids Gold, which announced FlexIt as its official fitness partner in January. Grand Rapids Gold owner SSJ Group also invested in FlexIt, which lets users stream one-on-one remote training with celebrity trainers such as Johanna Sapakie (who has worked with Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Lopez) and James Scott (who has trained NBA stars such as Jimmy Butler).
NBA players Brook Lopez, Mitchell Robinson and Georges Niang have also promoted FlexIt, which previously hosted a virtual workout for NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens. Another personal training app called Future was recently named the fitness coaching partner of the NBA’s New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors.
Vanderbilt’s No. 5-ranked baseball team debuted an electronic pitch calling device during the school’s season-opener on Friday against Oklahoma State. This is the first season college baseball players can wear a device that receives signs from the dugout since the NCAA passed a rule in August to permit one-way electronic communication.
Designed by Virginia-based Game Day Signals, the electronic wristband was worn by all nine Vanderbilt players on the field. The team’s pitching coach Scott Brown pressed numbered buttons into a controller he operated from the dugout, and those numbers were relayed to the screen worn on the players’ wrists to signal the type of pitch for the pitcher to throw and its location.
The one-way devices allow players to receive information but not send it, the goal being to quicken pace of play and reduce potential sign stealing. SEC Network+ broadcaster Max Herz noted during Friday’s game that continued use of the device would mean Vanderbilt’s catchers are not expected to relay a sign to pitchers for the entire season.
The University of Missouri and James Madison University have trialed Game Day Signals’ system since 2019, according to the company’s website. Other college teams are using similar devices this season, with Jomboy Media noting a wristband called K-Band is an alternative option being developed. Last year, MLB began testing a device called PitchCom worn by pitchers and catchers in Low-A.
