STRN New York - Sports Innovation Exchange 2026
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Sports tech is not short on innovation.
Wearables continue to improve. Data platforms are becoming more intelligent. AI workflows are increasingly embedded across performance environments. New tools for recovery, monitoring, and decision support keep entering the system.
The innovation is real. The challenge remains what happens next.
The gap in the system
STRN's latest research highlights a consistent pattern. Technology is advancing, but the systems required to test it, trust it, and integrate it effectively are still fragmented. That gap slows progress. Strong ideas lose momentum. Proven tools fail to translate into practice. Time, investment, and human energy are often misaligned.
This matters in elite sport.
Every solution needs to function within a living environment. Coaches, practitioners, researchers, and decision-makers operate under constant pressure. Physical capacity is limited. Cognitive bandwidth is limited. Adoption is never automatic. Without the right system around it, even the best innovation struggles to hold.
The purpose of the exchange
The STRN New York Sports Innovation Exchange 2026 is designed to address this specific challenge.
The room is taking shape
The participant group already reflects the type of environment required for meaningful progress.
Leaders from organizations such as the NBA, New York Jets, New York Rangers, Stanford University, Rutgers University, University of Connecticut, Ghent University, and King's College London are confirmed, alongside decision-makers from WHOOP, Therabody, KINEXON, Tonal, and PlayerData.
This mix is intentional. Progress in sport does not happen within one domain. It happens at the intersection of elite sport, research, and industry.
Built from the STRN white paper
The exchange is grounded in STRN's international white paper, "The current state of innovation in sports tech: pathways toward sustainable ecosystems."
The research outlines the key friction points across the ecosystem: trust, governance, workflow integration, and the realities of implementation under pressure.
The exchange builds on that foundation. It moves from insight to interaction, and from theory to application.
What to expect
A curated working session
STRN New York is an invitation-only working session, bringing together approximately 75 carefully selected participants across sport, technology, research, and investment.
The size of the room is deliberate. Meaningful dialog requires a focused group, shared context, and the ability to engage directly.
The central question guiding the day:
How do we move from innovation to implementation in practice?
The program
Shaped by the people in the room
As the participant group takes shape, the program is being refined around the priorities, challenges, and opportunities identified by those involved.
The day begins with short framing sessions on the current state of innovation and the recurring gaps in implementation. This leads into discussions on what is working, where friction remains, and how different parts of the ecosystem interact.
Case studies provide concrete examples of implementation in practice. Roundtables focus on adoption, system design, and collaboration across organizations. The Problem Room places participants in real decision-making scenarios. The day concludes with informal networking, where many of the most valuable conversations continue.
You can view the full schedule here:
View full schedule
Read the research
For those who want to explore the foundation in more detail, the white paper and supporting materials are available here:
Access the white paper and materials
Request an invitation
Participation
Participation is by invitation only. This allows STRN to shape a group with the right balance of expertise, perspective, and decision-making influence.
A limited number of places remain for leaders actively working on adoption, validation, governance, and implementation in elite sport environments.
If you believe you should be part of the conversation, you can request an invitation here.
