UK Sport and BAE Systems celebrated their technology partnership at the Houses of Parliament earlier this month, featuring many MPs and the current DCMS Secretary of State, Baroness Morgan.
As well as celebrating the official engineering partner of UK Sport they also launched the BAE Systems’ STEM sports competition which will see schoolchildren from around the country competing to design a rowing boat of the future. The winner will receive money towards a STEM project plus a visit from an athlete from the GB Rowing Team.
This technology partnership has benefited more than 30 different sports and 250 Olympic and Paralympic athletes since its conception in 2008. Through the partnership, both UK Sport and BAE Systems are able to unleash the ‘Best of British’ in attracting and developing sports and engineering talent.
Many of the projects involve a collaborative effort with UK universities such as the Universities of Loughborough and Southampton who worked with BAE Systems to redesign a new Skeleton Bobsleigh, which saw Amy Williams go on to win Gold in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
We heard some speeches from the former Minister for Sport, Tracey Crouch MP and the current DCMS Secretary of State, Baroness Morgan plus a Q&A with BAE Graduate Sophie Zaslavoglou.
Our chair Dame Katherine Grainger compered a Q&A Rio 2016 Olympic Champion rower Tom Ransley & Skeleton Gold Medallist Amy Williams; whom both shared the importance of the technology on their equipment can really make the difference between being on the podium or not.
There was an array of interactive displays of the engineering and technology work that UK Sport, EIS and BAE Systems have worked on together. On show were a virtual reality skeleton run, an interactive Taekwondo mannequin which displayed points depending on the strength of the punch, a miniature wind tunnel and an air sensor which demonstrated how the air quality is tested when transporting horses to different competitions around the world.
For more information about the Schools 2020 Rowing Challenge please click here.