Category Archives: Tech of Sports

From the shoes we wear on our feet to the high definition televisions in our living room, wearable devices, the sports universe is a breeding ground for technology. Writer and Photographer Rick Limpert will examine this each week on The Tech of Sports – With guests which include athletes, inventors and journalists that cover the intersection of sports and technology.

Bob Boylan, Author ‘4 Ideas with Actionable Wisdom’

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Our thoughts define who we are. But for many of us, thoughts of work and the things we need to get done consume our waking hours. How can we achieve a more balanced life if we are so overwhelmed?

This is where Bob Boylan and his new book, 4 Ideas With Actionable Wisdom, come in, offering concrete, actionable suggestions from which readers of all ages can benefit.

Rick talks to Bob this week!

“People don’t realize that they’re actually living in ‘white water,’” Boylan says. “Busyness has become their normal. They don’t realize that they can improve their lives by just spending a little time each day in ‘calm water thinking’ to help generate fresh, thoughtful ideas and improve focus.”

Bob Boylan is a retired presentation skills trainer, professional landscape photographer, seasoned traveler, and the founder of Successful Presentations. He has been self-employed since the age of 31, which has given him the flexibility to travel, explore, and live his life outside the box. A lifelong encourager, Boylan wrote 4 Ideas with Actionable Wisdom to help people see their lives through different eyes and to realize that there is so much more they could be doing to live more effective, “calm water” lives.

Written in short, digestible chapters, 4 Ideas with Actionable Wisdom offers insight that readers can act on now. Readers are encouraged to learn to balance their lives, to be more grateful, to make changes more effectively, and to be more creative. Boylan’s included discussion questions help readers pinpoint exactly where they can change their own thinking, find calm and focus, and take more effective control of their lives and what they will become.

“No matter how young or old you are, you can always take steps to change your life for the better, and Bob has some excellent, wisdom-filled advice to offer. Highly recommended!” – Rachel Song, Editor and Writer

“My goal is to make sure that readers not only understand my ideas but use them,” Boylan says. “We become what we think about. Ultimately, you are in control of what you think about and how you think about it.”

Scott Cowdrey, Recreation and Wellness at Reynolds Lake Oconee

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Rick and Scott have a great discussion.

Scott is Director of Recreation and Wellness at Reynolds Lake Oconee, but he’s so much more to Reynolds.

Previously he opened the Golden Door Spa & Fitness in the Waldorf Astoria Park City, Utah, traveling the United States for six years working to turn spa and fitness operations in the right direction for Hilton Worldwide, and running his own consulting business where he continued to help various spa and fitness operations. One of Cowdrey’s assignments was at the La Quinta Resort & Club, where he met Lon Grundy, Reynolds General Manager. The two stayed in touch, Lon informed him of the job opening at Reynolds, and Cowdrey jumped at the opportunity.

There is a lot to get excited about at Reynolds.

A new residential enclave is coming to Reynolds Lake Oconee, Richland Pointe. But more than homes, docks, and a community center, the peninsula known as Richland Pointe will have a special vibe: an exhilarating sense of wellness.

Everything about Richland Pointe will reinforce a welcoming lifestyle of good health, good friends, and good for the environment. Inspired by the charm of America’s waterside towns—along with the unique atmosphere of lake culture in the South—the 500-acre community will feature well-appointed residences and a rich menu of club amenities that appeal both to primary and secondary homeowners.

The hub of activity will be 35-acre Richland Pointe Village, offering a restaurant, wellness center and green spaces to absorb the water view. The Village will be a blend of open-air community with laid back and high-tech wellness.

BJ Pilling, CEO of GoFan, High School Ticketing

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BJ Pilling is CEO of Atlanta-based GoFan, one of the top digital ticketing companies for high school sports events. He joins Rick to talk about the busy year they’ve already had in 2021 and what the rest of the year has in store.

GoFan is a tech company and a sports company, providing digital ticketing for high school sports and other events nationwide. Digital ticketing has grown quickly over the last five years, but the pandemic really accelerated the pace.

BJ talks about how the technology works, the value for schools, how much money schools will save and generate, and of course the safety aspect.

A few successes in 2021:

May – California – The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) renewed a multi-year agreement with GoFan as the official digital ticketing partner to provide touchless, digital ticketing solutions to high schools and state-wide post season play across California.

June – Florida – The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) renewed a three-year agreement with GoFan as its official digital ticketing partner to provide touchless, digital ticketing solutions to high schools and state-wide post season play across Florida in all ticketed sports. https://tinyurl.com/ydp4mmeo

June – Georgia – GHSA State Baseball Championships – High school baseball fans brought their excitement to the 2021 Georgia High School Association (GHSA) State Baseball Championship games — setting record attendance with 20,788 tickets sold for this year’s games at Truist Park, Coolray Field, and Historic Grayson Stadium. As professional sports and high school sports programs lift capacity limitations, organizers are seeing increased attendance and tremendous fan excitement. Every fan attending the 2021 Baseball Championships used Alpharetta-based GoFan’s platform for purchase. Statewide, more than 60 percent of schools use GoFan.

BJ was great. Listen to this engaging conversation!

Felix Breitschädel, PhD, Norwegian Olympic Sports Centre · Technology & Equipment on GelSight

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Rick talks with Felix Breitschädel, PhD, Norwegian Olympic Sports Centre this week on ‘Tech of Sports.’

How are Norwegian athletes preparing for the Olympics? Both the summer games and the winter games.

The Norwegian Ski Team is utilizing unique tech to give their skiers an edge on the slopes by arming them with detailed data, thanks to GelSight – whose handheld 3D measurement device the Norwegian ski team is using to quite literally, measure snow.

The country of Norway loves its sports and Felix is making sure Norway’s athletes have all the latest tech.

For quick background, the skiers need to understand how the surface of their ski will interact with the snow, and even though there were other measurement tools they could use to measure the topography of the snow, it had to be taken out of the natural environment and into the lab, which impacted results. With the handheld device, GelSight mobile, Felix and his team can investigate the surface of the snow right out on the slopes or rink to identify the snow grains and take pictures of the snow’s surface for future reference. It helps also inform R&D decisions to develop new grinds for equipment for upcoming competitions.

Lots to talk about with Felix!

Dr. Stephen Liu, FORME and the Forme Tour

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Rick talks with Dr. Stephen Liu this week, the man behind FORME and the Forme Tour.

FORME is a transformative solution to daily posture training and lifestyle improvement and Dr. Liu. Additionally, Forme has created the PGA Tour sanctioned Forme Tour to help disadvantaged, minority and Canadian players boost their careers. The top 5 point earners are exempt into the Korn Ferry Tour so a good opportunity for a bunch of golfers who need it.

With athletes in mind, Forme, founded by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Liu, created the Core Tee and sports bra designed to correct and train alignment of the spine/neck/shoulder/hip and increase joint movement, reduce injuries, boost recovery and provide better breathing for increased oxygenation intake. It is a sports and lifestyle wearable therapeutic. While Whoop is a wearable, it is purely a diagnostic; Forme is a wearable therapeutic.

The Forme shirt instantly pulls your shoulders down and back, correcting posture and stance for optimal form, comfort and breathing. You don’t have to do anything but put it on. No stretching, no exercising, no charging. Forme trains and nurtures your body’s alignment, giving you posture that allows you to perform, think and live at your highest level while enhancing the fundamental basics of your biomechanics so that you can make the most use of your body.

It quickly became a hit with U.S. Olympic teams, NBA, MLB, and NHL athletes and both the men’s and women’s U.S. national rugby teams. Now dozens of PGA pros, their caddies and trainers are using it including Harold Varner III, Ben Han, Jared Wolfe (exempt on the PGA tour in 2022), Rohan Ramnath and Adam Scott’s caddie John Limonti and leading trainers and instructors. Images of HV3, (including one of him stretching with Forme under his Nike gear) Ben and John are attached. Data from Sheldon Roberts, HV3’s trainer, showing improvement from his clients are also attached.

While created for athletes, Forme has benefits for non-athletes as well as 70% of the population sits at least 6 hours a day in front of a computer or TV or traveling on a plane. Bad posture has become public enemy #1 for both golfers and non-golfers. The shirt is designed as a natural and sustainable solution for anyone with back and neck issues as the wearable therapeutic naturally trains your muscles to always be in correct posture. “I wear the shirt when I’m flying from event to event and when I am training. Sometimes I even sleep in it. The biggest difference I see in my body is good posture from wearing the shirt”-HV3.

Great to talk with Dr. Liu.

 

Pat Hegewald on the Oldest Operating Velodrome in the US

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Rick is joined this week by his friend and resident Kenosha Wisc. sports historian, Pat Hegewald to talk about the oldest continuously operating velodrome in the country, Washington Park Velodrome. The Washington Park Velodrome is an open-air velodrome in Kenosha, Wisc. It is the longest operating 333 meter track in the United States. The track opened in 1927. During the 2016 season, the track was closed and completely rebuilt. Over the years, it has hosted and produced numerous National, Olympic and World champions.