The inaugural Inclusive Sports Product Design Hack 2024–25 design competition awards provided many new ideas for use within inclusive sports. The ten shortlisted designs ranged from a low-cost multi-purpose activity mat to a virtual reality experience of being a giraffe.
Competition organiser Dr George Torrens expressed his appreciation and said:
“Sports Charities have kindly contributed their time and experience to produce meaningful design briefs about the challenges faced by many people who wish to do a sport or activity. The ten shortlisted projects provide a showcase of just what may be possible to make at home in a garden shed, or just raising awareness of things thought impossible to do.”
He went on to say:
“We are very grateful for the support provided for the JLR Shine [dis] Ability Network for their Awards for the overall winners in each category brief.”
The JLR Shine [dis] Ability Network Awards involved the team from JLR Shine, the Sports Coach judges, and a Public Vote. Over a two-week period, the public vote generated nearly 700 responses for the ten shortlisted designs.
One of the award winners, Zackery Yates, a second-year student on the BSc Product Design and Technology programme, said:
“I really appreciated the opportunity and I can’t wait for more to come.”
Zack's design involved a cooling system that could be made at home for athletes and sports people who experience a condition called autonomic dysreflexia (AD), which affects the autonomic nervous system and disrupts the body’s natural cooling mechanisms.
Congratulations to all award winners, including; Emily Zhang, Jack Brocklehurst, Jiayi Li, Hanju Seo, Chongzi Wang, Yihong Liu, Zackery Yates, Ziang Ni, Yuehua Li, Yiyang Chen.
Next year the competition will be expanded to a total of six briefs and nine different categories. The 2025–26 competition will be announced online on 15 September 2025.