Concussion management specialists Return2Play have been confirmed as a finalist at this year’s Sports Technology Awards, a celebration of the most exciting and innovative organisations in global sport. The company, which launched just last year, was nominated in the ‘Best New Concept’ category, alongside established sports technology businesses including Hawk-Eye and BT.

Return2Play have developed a system to help schools and grassroots clubs comply with new safety guidelines for the treatment of suspected concussion, by monitoring players’ recovery and helping them to return to play safely and efficiently.

“The whole team is thrilled that Return2Play has been selected as a finalist in the Best New Concept category of the Sports Technology Awards 2016,” said Nick Somers, CEO and Co-founder of Return2Play. “Being nominated in this category, alongside some heavyweight names in the field of technological innovation in sport, is real proof of the value of what we are doing. It’s important that we all think about how to use technology, not just to change the way in which we play and watch sport, but also to ensure the health and safety of athletes at every level of the game.”

Return2Play has moved quickly to expand their team – building a multidisciplinary advisory board to consult on medical and sports administration issues, and securing Wasps and England rugby union player Elliot Daly as an ambassador for the brand. They have also worked with partners including branding consultancy tothepoint and technology partners Idea Group to develop their offering in recent months.

“We realised the importance of establishing a strong identity from the start to ensure we built recognition while promoting the service,” said Mr Somers. “tothepoint quickly got to grips with our business and brought our vision to life with a striking identity. Getting the right technology partner on board was also vital to us. I had previously worked with Idea Group, who are highly regarded in the financial services sector for their pioneering work on trade automation. I was also impressed by their recently launched cloud solution, Prodigy, which enables firms to control and monitor product management activities. Idea Group were therefore our first choice to design, develop and deliver the robust, secure and scalable technology platform which today underpins the R2P service.”