New technology to transform surf sport events
Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) and Australian sports tech company LiveHeats have announced a partnership that will see LiveHeats’ mobile-first technology platform used at surf sports events in Queensland, NSW and Tasmania during the 2022/23 surf sport season as well as at the Australian Championships.
The move follows LiveHeats having trialling its competition management and live scoring platform in Surf Life Saving competitions during the 2021/22 season with foundation partner Surf Life Saving Queensland.
The research and development included the integration of near-field-communication (NFC) wearable technology that allowed officials to use LiveHeats software on smartphones to scan athletes during marshalling and recording, streamlining the on-beach processes for creating draws, completing races, and presenting instant live results and point scores.
The 2022 Australian Surf Life Saving Championships on the Gold Coast saw the live deployment of wearable technology to thousands of athletes. After a successful pilot program SLSA and LiveHeats began discussing the potential of a partnership to make the technology available nationally.
Under the three-year partnership, SLSA will invest in making LiveHeats’ tech platform available at all levels of surf sports, from club level competitions to state champs and the Aussies.
LiveHeats will support the roll out, including education and training as well as developing tooling for a seamless data flow from SLSA’s existing systems into LiveHeats, streamlining on-the-beach workflows for officials, athletes, team managers and spectators.
SLSA’s National Sport Manager, Wayne Druery said the trial provided outstanding results for the organisation and how excited he was to begin the new season with the tech platform available for all events, stating “the LiveHeats platform made an enormous difference at the Aussies this year. It’s an event that has more than 7,000 competitors and 600 officials which is a mammoth scale to coordinate the administrative side and results.
“There’s no doubt that the efficiencies gained through the use of LiveHeats enabled last year’s Aussies to be conducted on-time, in what were difficult and testing surf conditions.
“LiveHeats allowed us to streamline and automate the marshaling process, taking the strain off our officials and had results available to competitors and the world as they happened. It’s something that will change our sport and we’re thrilled to have found a tech solution that supports what we do.”
LiveHeats Chief Executive, Chris Friend added “as a former Surf Life Saving competitor myself, I am overjoyed that LiveHeats will team up with SLSA to use innovation to push this iconic sport forward.
“The technology and our specialist understanding of surf sports will help the next generation of competitors, officials and spectators experience more streamlined competitions and data insights.”
Competitions can be followed at www.liveheats.com/slsa
Image courtesy of Surf Life Saving NSW.
Related Articles
16th October 2022 - Newcastle’s Cooks Hill Surf Life Saving Club at risk from coastal hazards
7th October 2022 - Surf Life Saving NSW to benefit from more than $5 million funding
18th August 2022 - Surf Life Saving Australia’s Coolangatta Gold race event secures new naming rights sponsor
16th August 2022 - Surf Life Saving Australia research explores impacts of alcohol and drug intoxication on coastal deaths
28th July 2022 - Surf Life Saving Queensland given $6 million to expand trial of shark spotting drones
10th July 2022 - Surf Life Saving NSW development program commences today on Sydney’s Northern Beaches
2nd July 2022 - 23 Surf Life Saving Clubs across NSW secure grants up to $500,000
8th June 2022 - Transformed Mona Vale Surf Life Saving Club gets official opening
2nd May 2022 - $10 million clubhouse planned for Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club
29th April 2022 - NSW Surf Life Saving Clubs participate in ‘Take 3 For The Sea’ program
18th February 2022 - Matthew Hanks to serve minimum 19 month prison term for Surf Life Saving NSW fraud
28th January 2022 - Surf Life Saving NSW’s reputation damaged by former executive’s fraud
24th January 2022 - Surf Life Saving WA holds successful second annual Rookie Lifeguard Program
10th December 2021 - Australian Surf Life Saving Championships to swap locations in 2022 and 2023
10th November 2021 - Lotterywest funding contributes to Margaret River Surf Life Saving Development Centre
9th September 2021 - Partnership between DHL Express Australia and Surf Life Saving Australia extended to 2024
20th August 2021 - Lotterywest grant contributes to Swanbourne Nedlands Surf Life Saving Club upgrades
8th November 2021 - Sydney’s Northern Beaches to host 2022 NSW Surf Life Saving Championships
17th July 2021 - Australian Surf Life Saving Championships secured for Queensland with 10 year deal
10th April 2021 - Australian Surf Life Saving Championships ready for Sunshine Coast return
1st April 2014 - Surf Life Saving Championships commence in Perth
