The UK should increase support for the sports engineering
sector to grow start-ups and capitalise on its leading role in the field of
sports engineering research, according to a new report from the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers.
In the report “Sustainable, Inclusive, Innovative: The
Role of Engineering in Sport”, the Institution calls for increased investment
in specialist facilities for testing sporting technologies and trialling them
in environments that closely match real-life conditions.
The facilities would be accessible to researchers,
allowing them to test the equipment they have designed and help bring it to
market.
Dr Thomas Allen, co-author of the report and a Reader in
Mechanical Engineering at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “The UK is
a leader in sports engineering and with more support this could grow into an
exciting network of home-grown start-ups to boost the economy. The challenge is
to bring new and innovative sporting goods to market, which should ideally meet
the needs of as many people as possible while having minimal impact on the
environment.”
The sports industry has shown evidence of its commitment
to sustainability, but more action is needed. The report recommends that sports
technology providers should embrace independently audited ecolabels to help
transition to more sustainable materials and manufacturing in the sector.
Sporting goods can be difficult to repurpose or recycle
and large volumes can end up as waste in landfill. Recycling can be improved by
simplifying products, designing them to be disassembled and have fewer
materials and parts.
The report also calls for open-access standardised data
to be the norm in sports engineering. To ensure sports technologies meet the
needs of as many people as possible, data must be taken from wide and diverse
groups of people – more open-access databases would help achieve this.
Carly Nettleford, a member of the Institution and
co-author of the report, said: “Sport plays such an important role in society
and its future will be shaped by the issues of sustainability, inclusivity and
innovation.”
Download a copy of the report here: IMechESports Engineering Report.pdf
