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.

Bubba Wallace, NASCAR Driver and Runner Up in 2018 Daytona 500

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Bubba Wallace is one of the fresh faces of NASCAR. He’s also fresh off a runner up finish at the 2018 Daytona 500.

Rick talks to Bubba, this week, on “Tech of Sports.”

Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. (born October 8, 1993), is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Petty Motorsports. Previously, Wallace was signed as a development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing where Wallace competed in the Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 54 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He also raced in the Xfinity Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang of Roush Fenway Racing, from 2015 to mid 2017.[ Wallace is noted for being one of the most successful African-American drivers in the history of NASCAR.

Wallace’s 2nd place DAYTONA 500 finish is the best-ever by an African-American driver in sport’s most prestigious event

Prior to Sunday’s DAYTONA 500, Wallace received support from several notable sports legends, including Hank Aaron and Lewis Hamilton

A Facebook Watch docu-series entitled “Behind the Wall: Bubba Wallace,” chronicled Wallace’s road to the DAYTONA 500 – from his earliest racing days to his debut as the new full-time driver of the No. 43 Click n’ Close Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Petty Motorsports
Episodes seven and eight, which provide a behind-the-scenes look at Wallace’s second-place finish in the DAYTONA 500, premiere Thursday, February 22 on Facebook Watch

In 2012, Wallace became the first graduate of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity development program to compete in a NASCAR national series race. Since then, he’s won six NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races
Three of the program’s alumni – Kyle Larson, Daniel Suárez and now Bubba Wallace – are already racing in the Monster Energy Cup Series, NASCAR’s top division

In October 2013, Wallace won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway to become the first African-American driver to win a NASCAR national series race since NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Wendell Scott in 1963.

Watch Bubba’s Facebook Watch show and keep an eye on him on the tracks of NASCAR.

Bubba Wallace

Shannon Briggs, Two-Time World Heavyweight Boxing Champ

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This week, on Tech of Sport,” Rick is joined by former Heavyweight Champ, Shannon Briggs.

Shannon Briggs, the two-time world heavyweight boxing champion, today announced his plans for 2018 including his return to the ring and the launch of a new business venture.

“I’m really happy to be getting back into training and I want to fight in 2018,” said Briggs. “This past year was a tough year for me. It’s been a long road, with many twists and turns, but I battled through it and feel good about the future. The Champ is back and ready to go!”

A boxing world veteran, Briggs, 46, has spent more than twenty years in the sport.  Born and raised in Brooklyn, he started training at age 17. He capped off a successful amateur career by capturing the United States Amateur Title in 1992. Later that year, Briggs made his professional debut and was undefeated in his first 25 fights. His record is 60–6–1 (1) and he holds the record for the most first-round knockouts of any heavyweight champions in history with 35. During his career, Shannon has locked gloves with legends such as George Foreman, Lenox Lewis, Sergei Liakhovich and Vitali Klitchko, among others. Briggs ultimate goal in boxing is to become a three-time world heavyweight champion following in the footsteps of the only two legends to achieve it, Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield.

Throughout the course of his career, Briggs endured bouts of depression, anxiety and severe pain resulting from the injuries sustained during fights. Though he found the pain difficult to manage at times, Briggs fought his way through, discovering an alternative wellness regiment that helped him to become stronger both mentally and physically.  As a result, he found a purpose: to help other athletes and people who suffer from mental and physical ailments manage the pain by offering an alternative treatment approach. This spiritual awakening led Briggs to pursue various business ventures outside of the ring.

“In addition to being excited about getting in the ring, I am also proud to launch my new business which will help athletes who suffer from the same type of pain issues that I do,” added Briggs.

Briggs newest business venture is Champ RX LLC.  ChampRX plans to launch an alternative health and wellness line of CBD products that are 100% THC free. ChampRX has already partnered with several professional sports teams and organizations to enable research on how CBD products can help with CTE and other brain disease and damage caused by traumatic head injuries. The product line will be available to consumers in early 2018.

Shannon Briggs

Kelsey Caputo of Kadan Swimwear

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Based in the Florida Keys, Kadan Swimwear is the new and unique swimwear line from 18-year old designer, Kelsey Caputo. ‘Kadan’ means ‘where the heart lies.”

Rick is joined by Kelsey, on this episode of “Tech of Sports.”

“Every woman should feel comfortable, look. The suit alone is a statement piece, add a bracelet and a wide-brimmed hat for extra flair,” Caputo said.  For Caputo, this venture has helped her remain close to what she loves- the water.

“I spend a lot of time on the water, fishing and boating. I could not be any more grateful for the place I get to call home. Beginning a bathing suit line has allowed me to make a small dream into reality with hopes to become a known brand in the near future.”

Kardan Swimwear is new a high-end suit line, and launched its first capsule collection with exhibit space at the January 2018 Surf Expo in Orlando. The suits are created by 18-uear old and emerging designer, Kelsey Caputo.

The high-performance pieces reflect a coastal living that is fresh, laid-back and stylish. Pieces range from $75 to $120, and are on sale at boutique stores dotting the Florida Keys and online at www.kadanswimwear.com.

The capsule collection offers five styles in calypso and baby blue. She envisioned beautiful women wearing her suits having fun and feeling confident when she conceived the idea and started designing.

“Every line tells a story,” explains Caputo, who graduated high school early to persue her designing interests. “Mine says elegant costal living for modern women.”

A tireless worker, Caputo admits having filled sketch books with hundreds of suit designs, albeit rudimentary, from every angle, and thinks about the colors often. “They’re basic, but its just to get the ideas down.”

Visit Kadan Swimwear by Kelsey’s website at https://kadanswimwear.com and follow her on Instagram/Facebook at @kadanswimwear

Dr. Oz for SleepScore Max

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Fantastic to be joined by Dr. Oz this week on “Tech of Sports” to talk sleep.

Specifically, SleepScore Max.

SleepScore Labs™, the company behind the most advanced non-contact sleep improvement system for consumers, has revealed an initial stable of carefully curated sleep products and technologies in the world’s first science-based sleep ecosystem. Aiming to improve the way people sleep and to help consumers navigate the $60 billion sleep industry, SleepScore Labs aligns with companies that are leading the market with proven, science-based sleep products. SleepScore™ Max, the company’s flagship product, measures sleep with superior accuracy to provide highly personalized, relevant advice and product recommendations.

And their spokesperson, Dr. Oz.

Mehmet Cengiz Öz, better known as Dr. Oz, is a Turkish-American cardiothoracic surgeon, Columbia University professor, pseudoscience promoter, author, and television personality.

And he joins Rick this week.

The company’s flagship product, SleepScore Max, is powered by SleepScore™ by ResMed technology backed by 10 years of research and development, and extensively validated against polysomnography (PSG) – the gold standard in sleep measurement. SleepScore Max shows users’ full sleep staging, and provides personalized advice along with targeted product suggestions to improve their sleep, where relevant. Products selected from SleepScore Labs’ ecosystem have been tested and will be recommended to users when relevant to address personal sleep data measured by SleepScore Max after a period of continued use.

SleepScore Labs’ initial product recommendations include:

Lighting Science Group – LSG’s GoodNight™ Pre-Sleep LED technology is scientifically engineered to minimize stimulating blue light. This supports natural production of the sleep hormone melatonin — which makes it easier to fall asleep — and to stay asleep.

Dreampad – Dreampad is a patented sleep technology for reducing stress and improving sleep. As the vibration moves toward the bone structure surrounding the middle and inner ear, it is triggering the body’s relaxation response. Dreampad music is audible only to the user, and is supported by research.

Sleepio – Big Health’s first product, Sleepio, is a digital sleep improvement program featuring Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques, clinically proven to help overcome even long term poor sleep without pills. Big Health automates behavioral medicine programs, thereby making them scalable, accessible and consistent.

Nightingale – Nightingale, the world’s first smart sleep sound system, offers customers cutting-edge sound masking technology for their bedrooms. Developed by acoustic engineers, Nightingale reduces wake occurrences by masking common indoor and outdoor noises. Clinically proven to help users fall asleep 38 percent faster, Nightingale is one of the most effective sleep solutions available.

Smart Nora – Named as one of Oprah’s “Favorite Things” in the December issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, Smart Nora listens for early sounds of snoring before they become loud enough to wake the sleeping partner. Once snoring is detected, Nora starts a gentle movement in the pillow insert.

Swanwick – Swannies Blue Light Blocking Glasses improve your sleep and protect your eyes by filtering out the harmful artificial blue wavelengths from electronic devices and energy-efficient light bulbs while letting in all other safe light.
Soundly – Soundly is a voice controlled game that strengthens and tones the upper-airway, thus reducing the tissue vibrations that cause snoring.  Soundly is a patent pending therapy that has been clinically proven to reduce snoring.

Williams Sonoma also recently announced that the SleepScore Max Sleep Improvement Monitor will be sold in stores partnered with the new Robin mattress to form the Robin Sleep System. The new Robin Sleep System is part of William Sonoma’s strategy to create a portfolio focused on fostering healthier lifestyles through improving sleep quality.

SleepScore Max

SleepScore Max

Ken Grohe of SignNow

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Wednesday, February 7, was National Signing Day and an app called SignNow played a big role.

We talk with Ken Grohe of SignNow this week on Tech of Sports.

The SignNow app allows you to get legally binding signatures from your customers, partners and employees in seconds.

Stop chasing paper! SignNow E-Signature cuts document turnaround time by 90%. E-sign documents for FREE anywhere and anytime! ✓ Secure & easy to use ✓ Legally-binding ✓ Trusted by over 5 million users.

How does SignNow relate to National Signing Day?

SignNow has established special relationships with numerous Colleges & Universities such as Arizona State, Boston College, Cornell, University of Nebraska, University of Michigan, Notre Dame, University of Massachusetts, UCLA, Oregon State, University of Connecticut, University of Illinois and North Dakota in an effort to streamline paperless processes for official documents. National Signing Day carries with it the significance of tradition as well as the hopes and dreams of hundreds of young athletes. Modernizing the process for these athletes brings them one step closer to making their dreams a reality.

SignNow allows university faculties to reach recruits in seconds. They’re able to collect letters of intent (also known as a #NLI) in a single click, free from the hassles of obsolete faxing technology or having to collect the letter in person. Both the recruits and faculty can easily store, secure and quickly access and manage their documents using SignNow.

SignNow is the world’s top ranking mobile signature platform, used in more than 170 countries and territories around the globe.

Let’s hear from Ken Grohe, of SignNow:

Olivia Grohe signs with Boston College
Ken Grohe

Jim Stracka, President of StrackaLine

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Rick is joined this week, by Jim Stracka, President of StrackaLine.

The company is most known for its laser-scanned greens guides that are used on every major professional tour and by more than 250 Division I college teams, professionals and tournament players.

StrackaLine, one of golf’s leading technology companies, vaulted to prominence in 2017 as leading players on every major professional tour and 250+ collegiate teams began using the company’s laser-scanned greens guides.

Utilizing patented technology, StrackaLine creates topographical greens maps that are accurate down to the millimeter. The greens maps, which feature easy to read arrows, allow players to view contour and fall lines, in addition to slope percentage, anywhere on the green.

StrackaLine now has 700+ courses scanned, including some of the nation’s most prominent layouts. Use of the greens guides at the highest levels of the game surged throughout 2017, and the company now counts nearly every Division I golf program, including last year’s national champions, among its users.

“StrackaLine Greens Guides are leading the game forward, allowing players of all skill levels to better read putts and improving pace of play,” company president Jim Stracka said. “The use our greens guides receive on professional tours across the globe is a testament to the quality of StrackaLine, as is the usage by more than 250 college teams. We look forward to helping even more players properly read greens on their favorite courses in 2018.”

“The books are awesome,” a top 100 men’s college coach said. “Kids that wouldn’t even look at their yardage books are using them on every green.”

Professional usage has helped drive interest in the StrackaLine Greens Guides, and the technology is just as valuable to “regular” amateur golfers hoping to improve their score.

The greens guides can be purchased in book form ($97/each) or accessed via the StrackaLine smartphone app ($179/course).

For golf course owners and operators, the technology can be used to improve pace of play and help ensure quality course conditions. For players, the results can come right away. StrackaLine offers hole location software that allows superintendents to utilize a proprietary algorithm to help set hole locations.

StrackaLine will continue to add to its library of golf courses throughout 2018. It takes just eight minutes to scan and capture an entire green and the StrackaLine team can complete an 18-hole course and practice green in five hours without disrupting play.

For more information on how to order a greens guide or have a course scanned, go to www.StrackaLine.com