TMCnet News
Challenger and TopYa! Form Sports Tech Company to Fuel Mission Driven Growth of Youth SportsTopYa! has merged with Challenger Sports' e-commerce, technology and team wear divisions to create a high-growth sports technology company with revenue already exceeding $15 million per year. Together the company has the first platform that meets the needs of players, parents, coaches as well as sports organizations. With a U.S. youth sports technology market forecasted to grow to nearly $7 billion over the next five years driven by innovation benefitting consumers, the new company is uniquely positioned to fuel this growth. For over 25 years, Challenger Sports and Challenger Teamwear have been an invaluable support system for youth soccer communities, providing camps, clinics, uniforms, equipment, tournaments, and overseas tours to hundreds of thousands of players, parents and coaches each year. "Challenger is now poised to make the most significant change in its history entering 2019," explained Paul Lawrence, CEO of Challenger Teamwear, whose company is part of the merger. "The new technology company formed with TopYa! will power Challenger Sports' businesses and the rest of the market." TopYa!, known internationally for its captivating video learning and engagement platform, will provide a broad range of digital solutions that empower individual players and their families to enjoy the numerous benefits that are the essence of youth sports. This summer, for instance, TopYa! technology will power the first combined practical and digital Challenger soccer camps to address how children learn and play today. Campers will participate in pre- and post-camp video assessments using the TopYa! app to measure their learning progress, submit video-based homework durin the camps, and receive feedback through the app from the company's virtual coaches. "The new company provides TopYa! with the distribution reach and team to rapidly accelerate the proliferation of its platform," explained Jason Keller, CEO of TopYa! "Now, we are well positioned to meet the demand from sports organizations, clubs, schools and teams across the globe to magnify their mission and improve and grow their organizations." The new company will add strategic growth capital to fund the expansion. About Challenger Sports and Challenger Teamwear Challenger understands that players, coaches, parents and administrators all have different needs and priorities, and by listening to its customers for over 25 years Challenger has built a full-service soccer company that caters to everyone involved in the game. The Challenger companies annually serve nearly a quarter of a million global participants through 2,500 soccer camp locations, 16 soccer tournaments, 1,200 year-round classes, 4,000 partner organizations and franchises with nearly 1,000 staffed coaches while selling more than 500,000 uniforms for multiple sports. For more information, visit https://www.challengersports.com and https://www.challengerteamwear.com. About TopYa! The TopYa! SaaS (News - Alert) platform services sports organizations, associations, national governing bodies and schools in the US, UK and India as well as players, students and families worldwide. TopYa!'s platform encompasses core engines with robust APIs that feed the TopYa! apps, white labeled apps, web-based administrative tools and operational workflows. These core engines include its patented "Learning by Doing" micro challenge and social model supported by virtual coaching; player assessments, itinerary and homework; organization management; contests and fundraisers driven by user generated content; and its digital network that activates brands and feeds user generated video content from the apps to customer and partner websites. For more information, visit https://www.topya.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190221005951/en/ |
