IT business solutions specialist Infinetix is helping transform DHL Stormers rugby and CIT Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) through technology partnerships that will give coaches and teams access to data-driven training.
Infinetix recently renewed a three-year partnership agreement with the DHL Stormers, and this year embarked on a three-year strategic partnership with CIT MMA, aligning itself as the official IT sponsor of the club. CIT Performance Institute in Pretoria, describing itself as South Africa's number one MMA gym, is home to the reigning UFC Middleweight Champion, Dricus Du Plessis, and UFC Bantamweight fighter, Cameron Saaiman.
Infinetix Director David Musikanth says the company’s slogan: ‘Changing lives through technology’ informs its involvement in sports. Infinetix believes technology can be a game-changer both for the sports stars and for the young South Africans they inspire.
“Technology is transforming the way top sportsmen and women perform globally, and South Africa’s amateur sportspeople are deprived if they aren’t using technology too,” he says. “We support the DHL Stormers with technologies such as laptops and monitors for coaches and management, to help them improve the players’ fitness. They use specialised programs to analyse the players’ physical fitness and the team's performance, among other things.”
Darryl Kroll, GM Commercial at Western Province Rugby, says the Infinetix sponsorship is the Stormers’ first mainstream IT sponsorship. “Infinetix supplies us with hardware, and our IT department relies on them for support and everything we need. It’s an amazing partnership and company to be associated with – nothing is too much trouble for them.”
Kroll says digital technology has become an important part of the game. “The team runs off statistics. Using GPS trackers, the coaches monitor players’ physical condition and performance in real-time – such as their heart rates, how long it takes them to recover, and how fast they run. We used the hardware supplied by Infinetix, with specialised sport software.” Kroll says the Stormers aims to stay abreast of new digital technologies to continue improving the team’s performance and player safety.
Musikanth says the newest sponsorship is of top MMA fighters. “Infinetix has supplied CIT MMA with state-of-the-art Dell Latitude Notebooks and technology kit, which they never had before, to enable the team management to analyse fighter performance better. They are able to monitor fitness and training, analyse the strengths and weaknesses of fighters, and connect and collaborate with fans and sponsors.”
Infinetix also organised a first-in-SA Championship Belt Tour with UFC champion Du Plessis, during which the company deployed advanced security and tracking technology to safeguard his UFC championship belt.
CIT coach Wayne Harrison says the sponsorship comes at an exciting time in CIT’s history. The club, already serving as the gateway for athletes from across Africa to enter the world arena, is about to expand its branches countrywide. CIT has become recognised as a hub for athletes wanting to fight professionally. It is unique in that it does not charge them for training, but runs off sponsorships.
Harrison says: “The Infinetix partnership is our first IT sponsorship in the form of hardware and support, and the Infintetix team has been amazing in helping us identify ways to use technology to improve training. The belt tour they arranged was amazing, and they are now looking at technologies that will support our coaching and our expansion.”
CIT aims to launch a rehab and recovery facility and new branches across South Africa – all of which will use data analysis to improve outcomes. “We will be able to track athletes’ heart rates and assess their performance, and will also review fights, break them down and study the footage, and set new game plans faster. Having this technology everywhere will help the fighters evolve,” he says.
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