School sports are a key investment that will create strong foundations for our great sporting nation. SuperSport has launched a platform to help grow schools sport and get more young sports stars to shine.

The SuperSport Schools app will stream school sport LIVE and ON-DEMAND anywhere in the world. The company uses Pixellot cameras which are specialised AI-driven cameras that automatically record and broadcast.

Mental Health & Wellbeing

As students head back to school, it’s important to remember that their mental health and wellbeing needs just as much attention as their physical training. This includes finding time to connect with others and do activities that have a purpose beyond just sport.

Injuries, concussions, overtraining, sleep disorders and anxiety – all common issues for student-athletes – can cause or exacerbate mental health concerns. For young athletes whose self-worth is wrapped up in their athletic prowess, this can have devastating consequences.

In recent years, many college sports programs have taken a proactive approach to student-athlete mental health by adding therapists to their athletic departments, screening players for depression and anxiety, and training staff on how to recognize the warning signs. It is only a matter of time before the same support for high school sports teams is standard practice.

Nutrition

FUTURELIFE has been making a difference in millions of South African children’s lives for years through various sustainable nutritional programmes, and the partnership will see them combine nutrition with school sports in order to celebrate and support young athletes. The three-year sponsorship will include:

Providing access to nutrition expertise is essential for all school athletes. Despite this, research by Trakman et al indicated that high school coaches often lack adequate knowledge of the foods and nutrients needed for fueling during and after sport. This is especially true for male coaches who have little interest in the topic.

SuperSport Schools identifies and broadcasts school sport automatically – indoors and outdoors – and makes it available LIVE or ON-DEMAND via the free SuperSport Schools app. The app also allows parents to manage their children’s usage. The technology consists of Pixellot cameras that are installed by Nashua, which takes care of connectivity, installation, maintenance, training, insurance and warranty.

Technology

Although high school sports teams may not be as sophisticated technologically as their college and pro counterparts, that doesn’t mean that technology isn’t reshaping how they function. Take for example the emergence of AI-driven cameras that can automatically capture and stream sports to fans and scouts around the world.

The cameras, from Israeli company Pixellot, are currently calibrated for 17 different sports and use AI to follow the ball – eliminating the need for multiple camera men on each team. SuperSport has eight production crews with outside broadcast (OB) vans that are able to film up to eight schools each week, but this isn’t enough to cover all the games that take place.

To address this issue, SuperSport has partnered with Nashua to provide the cameras and be the enablement partner for the project. This involves providing connectivity, installation, training, insurance and warranty. Nashua will also manage the operation of the camera at each venue.

Media

In this episode, brought to you by Spur, Alex talks to Gerhard Steyn, CEO of SuperSport Schools, a sports broadcasting platform designed to grow school sport and get more sporting stars to shine. The company records and streams school sports automatically, indoors and outdoors and makes it available on demand for free to parents.

To accomplish this goal, the company has partnered with Pixellot, an AI-driven camera that can film 17 different sports. It is capable of following players, shooting the ball and creating a wide-angle view of the action. The company also has eight production crews – with outside broadcast (OB) vans – that travel to key derby fixtures and festivals.

The partnership with Pixellot has allowed SuperSport to scale its school sports strategy and make it accessible to a wider audience. However, it is a risky venture with many boxes yet to be ticked. To help mitigate the risk, the company has enlisted South African sponsorship veteran Kelvin Watt and his firm, Capitalize Media to drive sponsorship sales and play a key role in commercialising this initiative.