European Tour introduces Dragons' Den-style innovation contest
European Tour and Tata Communications launch innovation contest for start-ups to help enhance the game of golf.
The European Tour is launching a 'Dragons Den' style innovation contest that calls on start-ups around the world to develop creative new solutions and concepts to enhance the game of golf, according to the European Tour website.
In partnership with Tata Communications, a leading global digital infrastracture provider, the European Tour is seeking to find ideas that will bring fans closer to the game and improve the Tour's broadcast and production.
According to the European Tour website, entries for this contest can be submitted via www.tatacommunictions.com/innovationhub.
The competition will then be whittled down to just three start-ups in November, with the trio of successful candidates then attending an immersion workshop in London in February 2020.
This workshop will culminate in a Dragon's Den-style pitch and the winner will be decided two weeks after the closure of the workshop.
The winner will get a trip to the Hero India Open in March 2020 where they will be able to showcase their idea to tech industry leaders. They will also work with the European Tour's business development team to turn the idea into an application that will be tested in action at a leading European Tour event in 2020.
"The European Tour is at the forefront of innovation through our content, our creative formats and our use of technology, all of which seeks to maximise the fan experience," said Rufus Hack, the European Tour's chief content officer.
"For us, the natural next step is to reach out to innovative start-ups to find creative and unique ideas and concepts we can develop together to help us continue to transform out sport globally and drive golf further. We’re all looking forward to seeing what the entrants come up with."
Mehul Kapadia, Tata Communications' global head of marketing, said: "We’ve seen many sports adopt different digital platforms, but few have been able to maximise their business potential – and that’s what this competition is all about.
“We’re looking for ideas for solutions that would be truly transformative for golf, not just technologically, but also commercially or operationally, so making a real difference to the bottom line. The winning idea will be one that benefits not just the fans and the European Tour, but the sport’s entire ecosystem.
"For the winning start-up, the global exposure and more importantly the potential to scale to all European Tour tournaments can be invaluable as well."
The panel of judges will include Michael Cole, Rufus Hack, Mehul Kapadia and Tri Pham, and also former European Ryder Cup player Oliver Wilson.
