America's Cup: Emirates Team NZ ranked #5 in global sports technology Power List
by Hamish Hooper, Emirates Team NZ 23 Nov 02:23 NZDT
23 November 2024
Emirates Team New Zealand win the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Barcelona © America's Cup
In the 2024 Sports Technology Annual Review and Power List published Friday, Emirates Team New Zealand has been ranked at #5 on the global Sports Technology Power List by The STA Group who champions the best sports technology globally.
The report, which includes 100 of the world’s top sports organisations, teams, apparel, leagues, broadcasters and technology companies, looks at the influence and impact of technology in sport across all aspects.
Leading the rankings in #1 spot was the NBA, followed by McLaren Formula 1 team, Apple, AWS ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand who ranked 5th ahead of 95 other powerhouses of the sporting technology industry.
View the Top 100 Sports Technology Power List download by clicking here
Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton said, “It brings the team great pride to be recognised so significantly in the Sports Technology Power List specifically for the technological and innovative aspect of what the team does.
On one perspective we are a sailing team, but to be successful in that regard we are ultimately a technology company.
Furthermore, in our role as current Defender of the America’s Cup and driver of the technology at the pinnacle event of our sport, it is through the innovation that we have a significant influence across sailing which also extends to a number of industries like marine, sustainability, broadcast and e-sports."
Emirates Team New Zealand have had a busy few years as part of the Defence of the 37th America’s Cup which they won for the third time in a row in October of this year achieving a diverse number of design and sporting milestones including:
- Hydrogen boats - Designed, built, successfully launched and implemented the inclusion of Hydrogen powered foiling chase boats, across the event and teams of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup
- Wind powered land speed record - Designed, built and set a new Wind-powered Land Speed World Record of 222.43km/h in their land yacht ‘Horonuku’ with Glenn Ashby in Lake Gairner, South Australia
- AC40 - Design and development of the AC40 class which won World Sailing Boat of the Year and was used as the foundation of the Women’s and Youth America’s Cups in Barcelona
- AC Sailing E-Sports Game - Developed and launched AC Sailing E-Sports Game based of the team’s proprietary in-house simulator and America’s Cup design tools
- America's Cup winning AC75 - Designed and built the America’s Cup winning AC75 ‘Taihoro’ which sailed to victory for the third time in a row in Barcelona
The report’s main contributors are immersed in using and understanding technology as an integral part of their roles in the sports industry. They engage daily with tech companies, sports scientists, business leaders, coaches and athletes, and sports brands of all types and sizes.
Rebecca Hopkins, CEO of The STA Group reflects on Emirates Team New Zealand’s top five ranking, “The Sports Technology Power List is the ultimate industry guide to the brands shaping the future of sport and sports innovation. It’s the list the industry watches—and aspires to be on.
This year’s rankings were determined through a rigorous process that combined AI-powered analysis of all past results, expert insights from The STA Group team, and a final verdict from a small yet distinguished jury.
Being featured is a testament to the groundbreaking innovation and impact Emirates Team New Zealand brings to sports technology. Brands like this are redefining the future of sport.”