Vodafone UK opened a new chapter for an IoT-powered sports performance platform first used by rugby union players by adapting it to the unique requirements of athletes in wheelchairs.

The operator tailored its PLAYER.Connect app for UK tennis player Alfie Hewett along with the British Wheelchair Basketball men’s team.

It is the first time the platform has been made available to wheelchair users.

Vodafone announced the move yesterday (19 August) and offered more detail in a follow-up statement today (20 August).

It explained PLAYER.Connect employs data from various wearable sensors to track athlete’s performance metrics spanning areas including fatigue, soreness and energy levels to instruct decisions intended to optimise training regimes and overall wellbeing.

The operator worked closely with Hewett and the basketball team’s medical staff to tailor PLAYER.Connect data to the “particular demands of wheelchair athletes”.

Dale Thomas, clinical and performance psychologist with British Wheelchair Basketball, explained the operator was “very keen to get the player’s perspective on the development of something” specific to their needs.

Thomas noted the connection with teams’ medical professionals is a boon for elite athletes for whom there “are times when physical or mental fatigue is quite high”.

Vodafone PLAYER.Connect performance consultant John Mulcahy said players can upload data to a central database wherever they have a mobile signal, enabling their performance team to “act upon it almost instantly”.

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British Wheelchair Basketball player Terry Bywater described Vodafone’s investment in the sport as “huge”, noting it goes beyond his own game by opening the door to working with big-name companies to promote opportunities for children to “try different disabled sports”.

Thomas noted a more traditional benefit of the mobile-first platform: “With many players living abroad, Vodafone PLAYER.Connect means we can stay connected to these athletes and continue to monitor their performance levels”.

PLAYER.Connect was first used by the British and Irish Lions rugby union team in 2021.

In 2023, the platform was adapted to include data on menstrual cycles as it was employed by the Wales Women’s rugby union squad.