Wanted: Innovative solutions to help high performance and/or recreational athletes perform sustainably better

Multi-Sports Campus Traiectum is a collaboration between five leading sports clubs in Utrecht East: FC Utrecht, SV Kampong, Hellas Utrecht, VV Utrecht, and UZSC. Together, we are building the ultimate testing and development place for start-ups, scale-ups, corporations, and knowledge institutions in the field of sports, physical activity, and well-being. For this challenge, we are seeking innovative solutions in the area of Sport Performance that can help our high performance and/or recreational athletes perform sustainably better.

In recent years, Sport Performance has experienced tremendous growth and has become an integral part of high performance sports. Sport Performance focuses on enhancing the performance of both individual athletes as teams, with attention to both physical and mental aspects. Sport Performance goes beyond training on the field and emphasizes creating optimal conditions for long-lasting and sustainable performances.

Sport Performance encompasses all factors that can influence the development and achievements of athletes. This includes aspects such as sleep, recovery, injury prevention, motoric development, nutrition, mental resilience, and motivation. By optimizing these elements, athletes are able to reach maximum potential and deliver consistent performances in the long term.

Sport Performance means different things to different people, from elite athletes striving to become top-fit and unlock their true athletic potential to amateur athletes seeking a better quality of life with more energy and vitality.

In our Multi-Sports Campus, we aim to be at the forefront of Sport Performance, not limited to a specific sport but transcending across sports. This applies to both high performance and recreational athletes. We see three key challenges in the development of Sport Performance:

• Knowledge-related exploration: The field is relatively new, and there is much to gain in areas such as energy management, enjoyment of sport, performing under pressure, mental focus, physical fitness, broad physical development, nutrition, and rest.
• Cross-sport possibilities: Many solutions often focus on a single sport, such as wearables designed specifically for football. We consider this a missed opportunity.
• Expansion to recreational sports: Solutions tend to prioritize high performance sports, while broadening access to recreational sports is of great importance. Ultimately, this benefits high performance sports as well.

Through this challenge, we are seeking innovative Sport Performance solutions that can help both high performance and recreational athletes perform sustainably better. We are looking for solutions that are not exclusive to a single sport but have cross-sport applications. Do you have a solution? We would love to hear your pitch!

About us

With the Multi-Sports Campus Traiectum, a new ecosystem in Sports, Physical Activity, and Well-being is emerging in Utrecht. We are building the ultimate testing and development place for start-ups, scale-ups, corporations, and knowledge institutions in Sports, Physical Activity, and Well-being. Our community consists of 10,000 members, attracts 1,800,000 annual visitors, and includes 600 companies (business club members).

By combining sports, physical activity, education, and spatial development in groundbreaking ways, we aim to become the preferred destination for recreational athletes, high performance athletes, talents, and coaches in the Netherlands. This entails a continuous search for the best resources, understanding the current needs of our target audience, providing the right guidance, and playing a societal role in creating the ideal environment for athletes, with an open mindset towards new forms of high performance sports. In terms of sports, we bring together 10 different sports, both at recreational as the highest level in the Netherlands:

• FC Utrecht - Football - High performance and Recreational Sports Collaboration
• SV Kampong - Hockey, Cricket, Football, Squash, Tennis, Petanque - High performance and Recreational Sports
• Hellas Utrecht - Athletics and Triathlon - High performance and Recreational Sports
• VV Utrecht - Volleyball - High performance and Recreational Sports
• UZSC - Water Polo - High performance and Recreational Sports

Informative Session

We are organizing an online informative session on Monday, 4th September from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM.

Participation is not mandatory.

Register for the informative session 

What are we looking for?

We are seeking solutions supported by scientific insights that are suitable for immediate use in training environments such as grass- and artificial pitches, gyms, and rehabilitation spaces. These solutions should cater to both high performance and recreational athletes, for individuals and teams. The following development areas are relevant, but feel free to surprise us if your specific solution is not mentioned:

• Health and Energy: Poor health makes sustainable sports participation difficult as it limits the body's ability to generate energy and hinders recovery from fatigue. Consider: quick scans (baseline assessment) and load capacity.
• Rest, Recovery, and Injury Prevention: Rest and recovery are crucial for athletes aiming to perform well and avoid injuries. Consider: quick scans (prevention), return-to-sport programs, recovery strategies or tools (sleep, cryotherapy, compression, meditation).
• Physical Fitness and Coordination: Improving physical fitness and coordination helps build strength and endurance, enhances mobility and flexibility. Consider: cognitive training, broad physical development, screening of motor skills.
• Nutrition: Proper nutrition is essential for optimal sports performance as it provides the body with the fuel needed for physical and mental well-being. Consider: body composition testing, personalized nutritional needs, and supplementary sports nutrition.
• Mental Development and Motivation: Sports psychology has become increasingly important in enhancing athletes' confidence, focus, and motivation. Consider: visualization techniques, screening of mental status, tools for mental training, educational programs on the mental value of sports and performing under pressure/stress.
• Tracking and Analysis: Applications or platforms that support athletes during activities, often to improve performance, by tracking and providing feedback or training guidance. Consider (hardware and software): tracking systems, testing and measurement equipment, monitoring systems, training analysis, and programming.

What standards should the solution meet?

Need to have

• Solutions should be applicable across multiple sports, not exclusively focused on one sport.
• The solution can commence a pilot within 3 months at one or more clubs of the Multi-Sports Campus Traiectum.
• Solutions should be supported by scientific evidence.
• Solutions should be scalable beyond the boundaries of the Multi-Sports Campus Traiectum.

Nice to have

• Solutions should be accessible and cost-effective (both in terms of initial costs and ongoing expenses) for implementation across a wider range of (high performance) sports clubs.
• Solutions should be supported by a dedicated team committed to further developing the product.
• Makers should be willing to collaborate to improve and develop their solutions.
• Makers should be prepared to personally conduct the pilot at one or more clubs.

What are we not looking for?

• Solutions exclusive to one sport.
• Untested solutions.
• Non-scalable solutions.

What we offer

With your pitch, you will come into contact with the Performance Managers of the five participating sports clubs in Utrecht, representing 10,000 athletes. These seven Performance Managers will make a selection and invite the top 10 companies/solutions for a live pitch event at FC Utrecht Next in November 2023. The event will be attended by dozens of entrepreneurs and investors, including members of the business club of FC Utrecht.

During the pitch event, we will announce the 3 winners, with whom we will explore the possibility of a pilot project at one of the five (elite) sports clubs. Our goal is to start a paid pilot with a budget of at least €10,000 with at least one company/solution. Additionally, we strive to secure additional resources for setting up multiple/larger pilot projects.

Furthermore, it is our intention to procure a solution - with a successful pilot and suitability for multiple (high performance) sports clubs - as part of the Multi-Sports Campus Traiectum. This provides the opportunity to make a broader impact and further enhance the value of your solution.

What we can offer you additionally:

• Market: Reach a market of 10,000 members, 1,800,000 annual visitors, and 600 companies through our pilots. We will be your launching partner for deploying successful Sport Performance solutions within our community and serve as a showcase for the rest of the Netherlands or internationally.
• Resources: Utilize our facilities such as stadiums, dressing rooms, canteens, fields, and training spaces. We will provide suitable pilot opportunities in both high performance and recreational sports. During the pilot, we will offer you a workspace at the stadium of FC Utrecht.
• Knowledge: Benefit from our Sport Performance Team, consisting of experts from various clubs. You will be assigned an expert who will guide your pilot and provide valuable advice.
• Network: Join our network of 600 companies, investors, all Utrecht knowledge institutions, the municipality, and other networking organizations within the Multi-Sports Campus Traiectum ecosystem. This will give you access to valuable contacts and opportunities.
• Exposure: Generate visibility for your solution through the communication channels of the participating clubs, with a combined reach of over 400,000 followers. This includes mailings, magazines, and communication during match days.

Your pitch (maximum 7 pages / 21 slides)

All pitches should include the following:

• Description of your product or solution (maximum 3 pages / 9 slides)
• Description of your company & team (maximum 1 page / 3 slides)
• Description of your growth ambition and needs (maximum 2 pages / 6 slides)
• Description of the potential connection you see with the Multi-Sports Campus Traiectum (maximum 1 page / 3 slides)

The pitch can be submitted in any format (presentation/slide deck, letter), but must be uploaded as a PDF file (landscape or portrait A4) with a maximum size of 30MB. Videos, sample websites, etc. can be included as links. Pitches in English are allowed.

Timeline

• 13th of June 2023: Challenge launch
• 4th of September 2023, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Online informative session (not mandatory) - registration via the button above
• 26th of September 2023, 5:00 PM: Challenge deadline
• 26th of October 2023: Selection announcement by our Sports Performance Team.
• November: Live pitch/matchmaking event with the selected participants at FC Utrecht Next in the Galgenwaard Stadium.
• Q1 2024: Pilot projects begin.

Background

At the Multi-Sports Campus Traiectum, our aim is to enable everyone to enjoy sports sustainably, with pleasure and without injuries. We believe in open, boundary-pushing, and sustainable elite sports as an inspiration for recreational sports and as a catalyst for the health and vitality of society.