How the Gold Coast is fast becoming a fulcrum for innovative sports technology

Already the 26th best ranked Sport City in the World in the 10th annual edition of the Burson Cohn & Wolfe 2022 Sports Practice report, the Gold Coast has emerged not only as a host of major sports events, a hub for elite athletes and teams, but home to a surging sports innovation economy.

The sports industry currently contributes around $750 million annually to the Gold Coast economy. That figure is expected to multiply ahead of the 2032 southeast Queensland Olympics with the explosion of ground-breaking athletic tech the city is generating.

Harnessing the momentum leading to the Olympics, the Gold Coast is already the headquarters for world-conquering brands including sports analytics business Sportcor which has recently inked a deal to supply the official cricket ball for the lucrative International League T20 in the United Arab Emirates.

Motorsports simulation company Next Level racing, which is fast becoming a powerhouse among global esports and for top-tier motorsport and flight training, has also just signed a multi-year collaboration contract with iconic racing company Ferrari.

Joel McDonald, chief operating officer and co-founder of Dritimes which makes purpose-built, rapid-dry towels primarily for elite sports and training, said the rise of sports innovation on the Gold Coast was no accident.

He said an increasing number of elite athletes were choosing to call the city home or base their training on the Gold Coast.

This is along with the governing bodies of major sports, like Supercross, Supercars, basketball’s FIBA Oceania office, Squash Australia, Surfing Australia, and Triathlon Australia.

He said the natural lifestyle assets, innovative reputation, and sought-after Gold Coast brand made the proliferation of quality sports products and technology emerging from the
city globally appealing.

“To be able to work with that elite level of athlete on a day-to-day basis is key for us. But being able test the product at the best beaches in the world and with the best athletes in the world is just priceless,” McDonald said.

“It’s all here. That’s the beauty of the Gold Coast from a business and brand perspective. We have such natural beauty, but then so much talent.

“It’s not just athletes, but creative talent. We have some of the best designers in the world, artists, videographers. A lot of the large retailers are here. We have the lot at our fingertips.”

Leveraging the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct and partnerships with universities has helped the city become a hotbed of sports-based research and development.

Groups like The Digital Athlete out of the Gold Coast’s Griffith University, are among those changing the face of sport tech standards.

The Digital Athlete combines smart science and a bit of Hollywood magic to bring virtual athletes to life using body scan data,.

The new virtual reality technology, still in prototype stage, is already being billed as the “ultimate coaching tool”.

Similarly, Gold Coast-based Evolt 360 has pioneered body scan technology that produces sophisticated data analytics on activity, body composition and nutrition to develop high-tech training programs.

Gold Coast sports innovations soaking up success

McDonald said innovative tech and niche products to support sports and leisure were becoming a hallmark of the city.

Dritimes towels, about to make its US entry through partnerships with the NBA and NFL, were purpose-built for athletes across all sports, including pro surfing.

Surfers were often competing, then travelling, and were seeking alternatives to traditional cotton towels, he said.

“We work with a number of athletes and teams and other lifestyle brands around the world and saw the opportunity to create something special,” McDonald said.

The result is a towel that dries five times quicker than a normal cotton towel, is odour free, is highly absorbent, and packs down to almost the size of a handkerchief.

“As soon as you touch your skin it absorbs the water, it doesn’t just move the water around your body,” McDonald said.

As well as working with many Gold Coast surfing champions, the company has already partnered to supply the Gold Coast Titans in the National Rugby League as well as National Basketball League teams including Brisbane Bullets, Sydney Kings, South East Melbourne Phoenix and Cairns Taipans.

World champion and Olympic medal-winning dirt and park freestyle BMX rider, Logan Martin, who is a Gold Coast local, is also a face of the brand.

McDonald said while the towels had their genesis as a sports product, they were not just for elite athlete use.

“I’m a father of four and I’m down the beach every weekend. We’ve gone from packing out the entire car with towels to being able to take four towels in a section of a backpack,” McDonald said.

“It’s completely changed our world when we go to the beach.”

Gold Coast elite sports products find their niche

McDonald said another Gold Coast company, FIST Handwear, was a template for the rising global success of home-grown sports products.

The heritage of the FIST handwear brand had been built on two-wheel action sports such as motocross, BMX, and mountain bike riding, he said.

But the brand had grown from a niche piece of athletic kit to become “the glove for everyone,” McDonald said.

McDonald, who is also the COO of FIST, said the company was aiming to be the number one glove for all countries at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“We’re so proud because it is a Gold Coast-based brand mixing it with the best in the world. We’re in 56 countries, we go up against the big North American brands and they are behemoths in the market, but we are taking the fight up to those big brands,” he said.

“At Tokyo we had eight Olympic teams wear our glove. We’re aiming for more at Paris.”

Martin, who won the inaugural Men’s BMX freestyle event at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo had helped catapult two-wheel action sports into the mainstream, along with brands like FIST Handwear, McDonald said.

“We have the world’s best athletes across so many sports right here,” he said.

“People who don’t follow all of these action sports, might not know just how big they are, and just how much innovation is coming out of the Gold Coast.”

This article was first published by NewsLeads.