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One of the most important outcomes of this international strategy is probably the creation of Spin Accelerator Italy, the first Italian (public) accelerator vertically dedicated to sport startups.

Creating a sport startup accelerator was a logical consequence of the framework conditions, the legislative evolution and the European opportunities. The synergy articulated by the Autonomous Province of Trento, Trentino Sviluppo, the University of Trento, other research centres, the industrial sector, sport organisations and the relevant territorial stakeholders was a conditio sine qua non and the real raison d’être of the birth of Spin Accelerator Italy, which is a 100-percent publicly funded start-up accelerator with an innovative funding model and innovative strategies for acceleration.

Hosting Spin Accelerator Italy made a lot of sense to Trentino. Indeed, the added value is represented by the specialist skills in the field of technology present in the area, and by the close proximity between excellence in training and the sport industry. This means that the acceleration path of the start-ups participating in Spin Accelerator Italy may not stop after the 4 months foreseen. It could continue over time, thanks to the opportunities for pre-incubation and incubation, to the various calls for funding made by the “Trentino (eco)System of Innovation”, and to the link that Trentino Sviluppo has with companies in the area.

Trentino Sviluppo is one of the four host partners chosen by the HYPE Sport Innovation to guide the selected start-ups along their growth path. For a period of 4 months, the Trentino hub guarantees projects accepted get a direct access to technology, specialised training and funding opportunities, with the aim of identifying and promoting the most innovative sports start-ups. Trentino Sviluppo www.trentinosviluppo.it supports incubation of new start-ups, fosters innovation in existing SMEs and creates industrial opportunities for investors.

“I would like to stress how strong and important this initiative for our world is. We are trying to be modern and sport needs to be always on the frontline, to understand the needs of the markets and our athletes, society and association. The architecture, the fundamentals of sport in Italy are unique in the world – because our mandate is to promote the whole sector of sport in Italy.” President of the CONI (Italian Olympic Committee) and member of the IOC (International Olympic Committee), Giovanni Malagò.

Moreover, Trentino’s success relies in its capacity to create synergies between the sport and the government sectors. Trentino is capable and able and with the desire to demonstrate that sport is one of the most important sectors of this Province.

Apart from the start-ups incubated by Spin Accelerator Italy, Trentino Sviluppo has already identified 53 innovative start-ups in the sport sector, which are active in 4 main sectors (bike economy, winter sport, sailing and motorsport).

Spin Lab is a global accelerator programme that focuses on the development of innovation in sports. Launched by the HYPE Sport Innovation, the largest sports innovation ecosystem with over 26,000 leaders and key decision makers in the field of sports, including sports and tech global brands, academia, investors and start-ups.

spin accelerator italy’s golden nuggets

UPSKI BY WEAR IT

UpSki is an innovative technology which measures and analyses ski performance, producing new data to help the whole Alpine ecosystem to create smarter products, services and business models. UpSki is Smart, Safe, Fun. www.upski.it by www.wearit.net.

UMATCH BY COREHAB

Umatch is an app developed by CoRehab, which is available for all sport instructors and which enables them to evaluate the performances of athletes in a simple and accurate way, thanks to the use of a gioded software and wearable sensors : www.corehab.it.