Why the Use of Sports Technology is Expanding across UK Universities
Today, Catapult is pleased to announce that we are an official video analysis solution provider for the University of Worcester. This means that BSc and MSc Performance Analysis students will use Catapult’s SaaS platform so that the university can further the education of the next generation of performance analysts.
Catapult’s solutions are currently utilised by more than 30 universities across the United Kingdom, including Loughborough University, Cardiff Metropolitan University and Leeds Beckett University, for both research and performance purposes. Universities are starting to adopt technology across a range of different sports in order to equip their students with the latest technology that is used at the very pinnacle of sports.
The university sector in the UK is widely known for its continued investment in research and innovation. With athlete monitoring and video analysis technology being seen as one of the innovations that the most progressive universities need to have in order to attract students to their courses but also to delve deeper into sports research and how to improve on-field performance.
Catapult X University of Worcester: About the New Partnership
Students of the University of Worcester will be upskilled by using the latest industry software with access to the full professional version of Focus and MatchTracker from the Catapult suite.
The students will be able to analyse match data, establish technical and tactical key performance indicators, and present strategies, skills they will be using in their work placements. Catapult will provide the University of Worcester with intuitive, customizable, and efficient workflows, dashboards, and analysis templates to enable their staff and students to get an enhanced level of analysis.
“Adding MatchTracker to our suite of software has helped us provide students with the right industry knowledge and allowed the sports clubs we partner with to have employees who can hit the ground running and make an instant impact,” said Jamie Kyte, Technical Demonstrator in Performance Analysis, at the University of Worcester.
“The user-friendly software has enabled us to seamlessly integrate it into our suite of performance analysis modules and programmes, allowing students to capture, analyse and evaluate performances.”
Click here to partner your higher education team or university with Catapult.
John Francis, Lecturer and Course Leader in Performance Analysis at the University of Worcester said:
“We are delighted with our new partnership with Catapult. They have provided us with the most innovative performance analysis tools for our students on the BSc and MSc courses. When deciding software, one of the key factors is that it has to be used within the industry, which helps us prepare students and facilitates closer relationships with several football clubs.”
“We are excited to work with the University of Worcester. It’s the perfect partner for us given its impressive employment track record with its students,” said Jacob Sherwood, Business Development Manager at Catapult.
“It’s clear from our discussions with Jamie and his team that we share a common vision of exposing the students to the variety of tools and workflows that are used at the elite level, which will significantly enhance their employability. Giving the students at the University of Worcester access to MatchTracker and Focus will deepen their proficiency in questioning and understanding data, as well as developing their technical abilities and unleashing their full potential.”
How Catapult is Driving Innovation further across Higher Education Sports
BUCS, the National Governing Body of university sport in the United Kingdom has partnered with Catapult, on a three-year partnership that will focus on education and awareness of sports science within the higher education sports industry, working together to increase innovation and the adoption of technology to improve individual athlete and team performance.
This partnership with BUCS extends Catapult’s association within the higher education sports sector.
Andy Gilvary, Head of Competitions and Performance at BUCS, commented on the announcement:
“We are delighted to announce Catapult as a partner for the next three years. As university sport continues to be recognised as an important pathway to elite sport, the use of technology is on the rise, and Catapult can play an important part in this growth.
“The value that they bring to the sports performance sector is world class, and we look forward to our universities embracing this knowledge and technology and developing their offerings for years to come.”
Click here to Read more about the BUCS partnership
Catapult features as part of Leeds Beckett University sports education investments
Leeds Beckett University (LBU) is one of the largest providers of sports courses in the UK — continually investing in its facilities, learning resources and teaching to ensure students can thrive and get hands-on experience with the technology that is used at the top of elite sport.
In 2021, LBU invested 45 million into a new state-of-the-art sports research facility, as part of these investments, LBU has been working with Catapult for more than nine years across multiple undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and currently has access to more than 120 Catapult wearable devices and 20 Video analysis licenses which empower decisions on performance, athlete risk, and return-to-play.
Click here to Read more about the LBU partnership, alternatively, see how Leeds Beckett University fitted out their research Lab with Catapult technology.