Triax Teams Up with the Special Olympics World Games LA2015 to Maximize Player Safety During Upcoming Competitions
Athletes Representing 14 Countries Will Wear Triax Smart Impact Monitors During the 2015 World Games
NORWALK, Conn., July 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Triax Technologies, Inc and the Games Organizing Committee for the Special Olympics World Games Los Angeles 2015 (LA2015) announced a partnership today to make Triax Smart Impact Monitors (SIM™) available to teams, which is an unprecedented move toward player safety. Currently athletes representing 14 different nations will wear the Triax SIM™ as they compete in soccer matches to track and measure head impacts during competitions. This is the same device used by two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and 2015 World Cup Champion, Abby Wambach, and Major League Lacrosse to help identify significant hits and adjust technique to avoid injury.
"In the past year we started a movement to change player safety from a hot topic, to a call to action," said Wambach. "My ultimate success in soccer will be to leave the game better than when I started, and this includes encouraging all players to take steps for greater safety – especially when it comes to their brain." Wambach wore the Triax SIM™ as part of her training leading into the recent Cup.
Now coaches from around the world are joining this movement as nearly 200 competitors at the World Games will take to the field wearing the head impact monitors enabling coaches and trainers to identify if a player has sustained a significant hit and should be evaluated. Researchers agree that all head impacts are important to track, including sub-concussive, which cumulatively, can be just as dangerous as one big hit.
"In recent years we've seen an influx of data showing risks associated with sports related head injuries, but had been limited in our ability to identify when significant hits were sustained," said Dr. Bert Mandelbaum, Chief Medical Officer of LA2015. "With the Triax SIM™ technology, if a player sustains a significant hit during play, an alarm will alert coaches and trainers on the sideline, and they will be able to immediately evaluate a player and reduce the risk of further injury. Ideally, we'll see this become part of the best safety practices in training and in Games."
As part of Special Olympics' commitment to take action to improve player safety, the data from Special Olympics athletes will be beneficial even beyond the games. The Special Olympics medical team will work in collaboration with Cedars Sinai to evaluate the data in retrospective analysis assessing potential implications on risk assessment, head trauma detection, and response to significant head impacts. This will be the first head impact data collected from Special Olympics athletes during play and is part of an ongoing effort by the organization to identify opportunities to improve player health and safety.
"This data marks an important step forward in understanding concussive and sub-concussive injuries," said John Ohanesian, Senior Vice President of Medical Services for the LA2015 Games Organizing Committee. "It's through real-life monitoring that we'll gain insights to support the growing movement for better safety practices to benefit all athletes."
The Triax SIM™ has been independently validated at the University of Ottawa and is the first device of its kind to be Hit Count®-certified in all sports categories by the Sports Legacy Institute. This fall, more than 50 institutions and athletic programs from across the United States will equip athletes with the Triax SIM™. And because of the ease of use and accuracy of the Triax SIM™, more than 18 of these groups are using data from the athletes' use of the SIM™ as part of research projects to evaluate concussive and sub-concussive head trauma.
"In developing the Triax SIM™, we worked with top technicians, medical experts and athletes to ensure accuracy, ease of use and comfort," said Chad Hollingsworth, Co-founder of Triax Technologies. "The tremendous interest from teams to enhance player safety and the commitment of institutions to conduct research has made the device a tool that will truly change sports safety."
Triax SIM™ devices are worn in comfortable, unobtrusive headbands to record head impacts and transmit data in less than one second from the field to a smart device on the sideline. The technology can track and store individual head impacts measuring the G-force of direct hits and jarring through linear and rotational measures, giving both real-time data and revealing player trends. Through monitoring, coaches, athletic trainers and parents can identify if a player is sustaining increased impacts and use the findings to evaluate, teach and train techniques to help minimize the potential of head trauma.
Triax Technologies, Inc
Triax Technologies, Inc is a U.S.-based product development company committed to setting new standards in the health and wellbeing of athletes. Working together with leading research institutions, we innovate, develop, manufacture and market new products that are designed specifically to meet emerging needs of athletes and those who are involved in ensuring their health and safety. Our goal is to put players first and support their development starting at the youth level by developing technology to address their needs. For more information, please visit www.TriaxTec.com.
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About the 2015 Special Olympics World Games Los Angeles 2015 (LA2015)
With 6,500 athletes and 2,000 coaches representing 165 countries, along with 30,000 volunteers and an anticipated 500,000 spectators, the 2015 Special Olympics World Games - being staged in Los Angeles July 25 - August 2, 2015 - will be the largest sports and humanitarian event anywhere in the world in 2015, and the single biggest event in Los Angeles since the 1984 Olympic Games. The 2015 Special Olympics World Games, with the unparalleled spirit, enthusiasm, teamwork, joy and displays of courage and skill that are hallmarks of all Special Olympics events, will feature 25 Olympic-style sports in venues throughout the Los Angeles region. The Opening Ceremony will be held July 25 in the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, site of the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games. For more information on the 2015 Special Olympics World Games, including volunteer and sponsorship opportunities, visit LA2015.org and on social with #ReachUpLA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About Special Olympics
Special Olympics is a global movement that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports, every day around the world. We empower people with intellectual disabilities to become accepted and valued members of their communities, which leads to a more respectful and inclusive society for all. Using sports as the catalyst and programming around health and education, Special Olympics is fighting inactivity, injustice and intolerance. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics movement has grown to more than 4.5 million athletes in 170 countries. With the support of more than 1.4 million coaches and volunteers, Special Olympics delivers 32 Olympic-type sports and more than 94,000 games and competitions throughout the year. Visit Special Olympics at www.specialolympics.org. Engage with us on: Twitter @specialolympics, fb.com/specialolympics, youtube.com/specialolympicshq, instagram.com/specialolympics and specialolympicsblog.wordpress.com.
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