Podium Analytics (A company limited by guarantee)
## **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** For the year ended 31 May 2024
A company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, No. 11831773 A registered charity in England and Wales, No. 1183716, and Scotland, No. SC051893
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION TRUSTEES’ REPORT AUDITOR’S REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADMIN DETAILS
## **CONTENTS**
## **Introduction**
|A message from our Chairman|3|Financial Review|46|
|---|---|---|---|
|A message from our Chief Executive|6|Principal Risks and Uncertainties|48|
|A message from our Institute Director|7|Structure, Governance and Management|50|
|Remembering Gregor Henderson|9|Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities|53|
|Spotlight on – My Voice Matters|10|||
|**Trustees’ Report**
(incorporating the Strategic Report)||**Independent**
**Auditor’s Report**|**54**|
|Our Vision, Mission and Focus|13|**Financial Statements**||
|||||
|Our Objectives|14|Consolidated Statement||
|Our Journey so Far|16|of Financial Activities|59|
|||||
|Programme Update for the period
June 2023–May 2024||Balance Sheets
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows|60
61|
|• The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and
Technology at the University of Oxford|18|Notes to the Accounts|62|
|• Trusted Research Environment for Global Sport|25|||
|• SportSmart Schools and Clubs Programme
• SportSmart Applied Research|28
33|**Reference and**||
|• Advocacy and Collaborations|42|**Administrative Details**|**77**|
## Podium Analytics (A company limited by guarantee) **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
For the year ended 31 May 2024
A company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, No. 11831773
A registered charity in England and Wales, No. 1183716, and Scotland, No. SC051893
## **READING THIS REPORT**
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**Podium Analytics Annual Report and Financial Statements** 2023–2024
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INTRODUCTION
TRUSTEES’ REPORT
AUDITOR’S REPORT
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## **A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIRMAN**
_“My Achilles was in a real mess, and I just kept on ignoring it and ignoring it… I didn’t act swiftly enough. I didn’t go and get the help. I didn’t talk openly enough about what I was struggling with. I could feel my body starting to struggle and fight. I just wanted to perform. It was like the curtain came down and someone pulled the plug out of me every single night. And that really started to worry me… I knew something was going to happen.”_
An injury that would end most dancing careers: Steven McRae, Principal Dancer of the Royal Ballet and Podium Analytics Ambassador, tore his Achilles tendon during a live performance of Manon in October 2019. It was 12 months before he was able to walk without crutches but in 2021, defying all odds, Steven returned to the stage.
A few weeks ago, together with Steven, Podium hosted a pre-release screening of A Resilient Man – a film by Stéphane Carrel, documenting Steven’s remarkable journey through recovery. A Resilient Man[1] will be aired in February 2025 on the BBC and I implore you to watch it. The film provides a powerful insight into the extreme physical and psychological demands that an athlete experiences before, during and after an injury and, perhaps predictably given the film’s name, is an inspiring story of the depths of human spirit, determination and resilience.
Among guests from sport, philanthropy and beyond, the film provoked passionate debate. ‘Resilience’ – the ability to bounce back from challenging experiences like injury[2] – is prized in the world of sport, like other forms of mental strength. Steven, a remarkable athlete, adapted successfully to an enormous challenge with the best physical and psychological
support, and help from a loving family. But what does ‘resilience’ look like in different circumstances? For school and grassroots participants, an injury might involve a wait for surgery or physio and overlapping challenges such as exams or financial problems. When a supportive environment is so clearly beneficial, should return to participation and performance be no more than a test of individual mental strength?
Secondary prevention – addressing injuries to **reduce their impact** – is a key focus of Podium – and for good reason. Improving recovery will reduce dropout from sport post-injury, will reduce the negative health impacts of injury, and will ultimately reduce the economic and societal burden of injury, all while enabling increased participation.
But our work extends beyond the **individual’s** ability to adapt **after** something difficult has happened. We have a keen focus on primary prevention
– reducing the risk of injuries **before** they occur. We also believe in sport environments – including coaches, teachers and families – that promote both prevention and positive adaptation when injuries do occur.
There is a very poignant moment in the film where Steven addresses a group of young dancers coming up through the ranks of The Royal Ballet, and his message is very clear – focus on positively adapting **before** ‘breaking’.
The focus needs to be on prevention, and the whole culture of sport needs to work harder to embrace this focus, to provide the right environment for individuals to participate and thrive.
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- 1 Renamed for the BBC as “Steven McRae: Dancing Back to the Light”
- 2 Vella, Shae-Leigh Cynthia; Pai, Nagesh B.1. A Theoretical Review of Psychological Resilience: Defining Resilience and Resilience Research over the Decades. Archives of Medicine and Health Sciences 7(2):p 233-239, Jul–Dec 2019. | DOI: 10.4103/amhs.amhs_119_19
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## **A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIRMAN** CONTINUED
This is a long journey but I am motivated by the positivity around our approach and by our close collaborations across Sport, Education, Science, Government and
Technology that have enabled us to make great progress over the past year on our mission to reduce the incidence and impact of sports injury.
- The 2023–2024 period marked the second full year of The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology at the University of Oxford and an important milestone for the team as the doors to the Institute officially opened within the state-of-the-art Old Road Campus Research Building in Oxford.
- I continue to be energised by the support shown for the Podium mission by the Oxford community, demonstrated by our inclusion at the heart of the 70th celebration of Sir Roger Bannister’s record breaking subfour minute mile and by the continuous commitment of time, expertise and enthusiasm of the distinguished members of the Institute’s Steering Committee – chaired by Professor Dame Sarah Springman DBE FREng and including the Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Professor Irene Tracey CBE FRS FMedSci.
• Kicked off in early 2022, the extensive, DCMS-endorsed project to produce the first nationwide report quantifying the incidence and economic burden of sport-related concussion across the United Kingdom has been completed and is due for publication in early 2025. The level of detail and diligence shown by members of The Podium Institute team, as well as the broader University of Oxford faculty, in the creation of this first-of-its-kind report and the deep, continued collaboration it has necessitated with Sports Governing Bodies, Sports Councils and Government Departments, is outstanding.
• The planning of research at The Podium Institute has progressed considerably over the period, including in particular a series of pioneering studies to deliver clinically quantifiable dose models for cumulative brain injury; notably, a feasibility study involving immediate post-impact fMRI scanning with Gloucester Rugby Men’s Premiership team and GloucesterHartpury Women’s AP15 team, alongside a study that will image all adolescents presenting at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
- A systematic review of relationships between sports injury and mental health symptoms in young people (10–24-years-old) has been completed and identifies crucial gaps in knowledge that will drive future research and interventions.
• It has been inspiring to meet a number of the researchers from the Institute’s growing Doctoral Training Programme, the majority of whom are ‘Athlete Scientists’ addressing the issue of injury in the very sports they have excelled or continue to excel in, driving research in areas such as traumatic brain injury, cardiac death, overuse injuries, and computer vision for sports injury prediction.
• At SportAccord in April 2024, we announced the Trusted Research Environment (TRE) for Global Sport, and World Rugby as the inaugural global sport that will join the platform. The TRE offers an opportunity to accelerate global research and science progress through the collection, curation and secure access to sports injury-related data, and will endeavour to have the same impact in sports injury research that has been achieved in cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and other areas of medical science.
The TRE Minimum Viable Product was built with value-in-kind support from Google and Google Partner Go Reply, and we are in advanced discussions with additional International Federations and major sports leagues who wish to embrace the collective opportunity to advance research, whilst benefitting from the extensive technology, legal and governance structures that we are developing to facilitate this.
- Our SportSmart programme – helping teachers, coaches, and sports medics prevent, track and manage sports injury – continues to grow, and was shortlisted alongside major players such as Google, Apple and Sony at the 2024 Sports Technology Awards.
- We launched MySportSmart – a critical extension to our SportSmart programme specifically for parents and players over 18. If a player is injured during a fixture, training session or PE lesson, SportSmart ensures the school or club is made aware, so the staff know whether a player is fit to participate, and vice versa. With MySportSmart, parents/ carers and players over 18 will be able to access the same information from across organisations and share injury status updates, helping to manage a safe return to sport.
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## **A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIRMAN** CONTINUED
- SportSmart continues to be embraced by Premiership Rugby, with Gloucester Rugby and Northampton Saints deploying the system within their Academies, helping to reduce the risk of injury in young people in rugby player pathways. In addition, we launched our partnership with The Rugby Players Association focused on the continued improvement of player welfare in the professional game of rugby through evidence-based research into injury prevention.
- We have further engaged both National and International Governing Bodies and Professional Leagues regarding research collaborations and opportunities and are making steady progress developing relationships with Sports Councils. We welcomed British Judo, England Ice Hockey, Hockey Wales, England Snowsports and Tennis First – who are endorsing and integrating SportSmart within their communities – as partners alongside our existing National Governing Body collaborations with England Hockey, the Rugby Football Union, England Athletics, Lawn Tennis Association and The Royal Ballet School.
- We continue to develop our
- relationships across the education community, formally collaborating with the Association for Physical Education, with a focus on assessing opportunities for upskilling PE teachers in injury prevention, and with United Learning Group, with a focus on the rollout of SportSmart and the streamlining of sports injury management across its public and private schools.
- Our expert in-house Research Team - conducting in-depth, focused research and innovation programmes in partnership with schools, clubs, and other communities – has progressed projects in a number of areas, from injury surveillance in pathways, to workload and adaptation in schools.
- Notably, with growth spurts being a factor uniquely affecting 11–18-yearolds and a period that puts young people at increased risk of sports injury, our ‘Developing Child’ study with the University of Bath, with the aim of bringing established processes from elite pathways into school and grassroots sports environments, is well underway, made possible by support from East Head Impact.
- In addition, in the area of Mental Health
and Psychological Wellbeing, we have made significant headway scoping ‘Young Voices in Sport’, a multicomponent programme of research, co-design and intervention that will explore young people’s experiences of sports injury and create resources to support mentally healthy recovery and return to sport.
- We continue to benefit from the unique expertise of our Expert Advisory Board (consisting of Chief Medical Officers and equivalent roles from major sporting bodies, professional leagues and top medical and educational institutions) and the personal experiences of injury and sport participation that our Ambassador programme brings.
- Critically, we maintain our commitment to providing the highest level of information security and, in May 2024, achieved ISO/IEC 27001:2022.
We continue to benefit from the ongoing and considerable support of our Founding Funders – CVC Funds, CVC Foundation and the Dreamchasing Foundation – whose support enables us to meet the substantial financial commitment necessary to invest in our extensive research programme, both in-house and at The Podium Institute at the University of Oxford, and to work to create a world with more sport and less injury.
Alongside our partners and funders, we remain committed to reducing the incidence and impact of injury in youth and grassroots sport and welcome the support of others who share the same sense of responsibility and urgency for protecting the health and wellbeing of those playing sport.
**Sir Ron Dennis CBE Founder and Chairman**
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## **A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO**
_“For most athletes, the Olympic Games are a battle for medals... also, a battle against injuries.”_
Lena Smirnova, Olympic Channel
The summer of 2024 saw the staging of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. As the world watched their national heroes compete for one of the most coveted prizes in sport, we also watched – often live – injury crush Olympic dreams and put future performance and participation prospects in jeopardy.
The Paris Games offered the most comprehensive package of mental health and safety initiatives of any Olympic or sporting event in history (reported by the IOC Safe Sport Unit). Yet, a quick google search paints a picture we know too well. Alongside headlines of triumph and glory, are headlines of “withdrawal from Games” and “ruled out of medal table” due to injury, stories of injury fears and athletes battling through pain.
In a press conference during the Games, Kirsty Burrows, Head of the IOC Safe Sport Unit, in reference to mental health challenges that people across the globe universally face, reminded us that “athletes are people too.” Specifically, 25 million people (children and adults)
in the UK frequently participate in grassroots sport, representing circa 99% of all sport in the UK.
The Games spotlight the less than 1% of athletes in the UK who make it to the Olympic stage – the rest of the 1% accounting for other professional athletes or those in performance development pathways. The Games also highlight the initiatives and tools that are available at elite levels to deliver more physically and psychologically safe sporting environments but are desperately lacking in the majority of grassroots contexts.
Sports injury prevention, recording and management should be a core component of grassroots player welfare, but it is currently unregulated, poorly resourced, uncoordinated, and inadequately researched within schools, universities, and clubs.
Over the past years, we have been working with officials within UK Government, recognising that there is an urgent need to comprehensively address head injuries within grassroots sport. Head injury is the highest profile of sports injuries but the challenges that are being faced in understanding it, especially at a broad youth and grassroots level, and successfully addressing it apply to many
other types of sports injury. Governments may change but the challenges remain and more must be done to ensure the right duty of care is being shown to those participating in sport.
With the protection of long-term participation in sport at the heart of our approach, I am extremely proud of what has been achieved over the last year by the Podium team as well as our colleagues at The Podium Institute at the University of Oxford, and I’m motivated by the support we’ve received from both International Federations (IF), National Governing Bodies and Professional Leagues who are putting the advancement of player welfare at the top of their agenda. This spirit of collaboration not only drives us but is crucial to ensuring meaningful impact. In particular, the interest shown in the Trusted Research Environment (TRE) for Global Sport (page 25) and the excitement around this collective opportunity to advance research into key sports injuries globally has been palpable – further spearheaded by World Rugby as the inaugural IF embracing the TRE for their sport. The TRE endeavours to have the same impact in sports injury research that has been achieved in cancer,
neurodegenerative diseases and other areas of medical science. With everyone behind it, the TRE has the potential to accelerate sports injury research globally and positively impact everyone who participates in sport, whether on the world stage at the next Games or at a local club.
As I reflect on how far we’ve come in three short years since our launch in September 2021, I want to especially thank the Dreamchasing Foundation, CVC Funds and CVC Foundation, and East Head Impact, for supporting our drive to create a world with more sport and less injury.
**Andy Hunt Chief Executive**
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## **A MESSAGE FROM OUR INSTITUTE DIRECTOR**
Our second full year as the world’s first independent research Institute focused on youth, community and women’s sport has enabled us to move from plans to deeds, and to start building the brain bank and institutional muscle necessary for the delivery of real-world impact. The first six months were dedicated to the design and delivery of an inspirational research space to house and enable interactions between multi-disciplinary researchers working on sport safety, and to give Podium a physical manifestation within the University of Oxford. The Podium Institute, located in the Old Road Campus Research Building on Oxford’s prime biomedical and clinical research site, was officially opened by Vice-Chancellor Prof. Irene Tracey CBE FRS FMedSci and by Sir Ron Dennis CBE on 10th January 2024, followed by an inaugural dinner in Oxford’s historic Divinity School attended by representatives of Sports Governing Bodies, policy makers, athletes and University researchers.
The second key ingredient is the acquisition of talent at all levels, to enable academic and operational leadership
as well as research execution. The Podium Institute faculty team saw the appointment of the first three of its intended four permanent academic posts, and we welcomed Professors Mauro Villarroel (Wearables and Computer Vision for Sport Medicine, with MIT and Oxford background), Professor Liang He (AI and Soft Robotics for Sport Medicine, with Imperial and Oxford background) and Professor Johannes Weickenmeier (Brain Health for Sports Medicine, with an ETH Zurich and Stevens Institute USA background).
The Podium Institute also acquired a much-needed operational backbone with the appointment of Dr Katherine Baysan as the Podium Institute Manager, and Mrs Vivian Kear as its Podium Programme Officer. The research capability grew significantly, with the appointment of the Institute’s first two post-doctoral researchers, Dr Chenying Liu (PPE Design for sport safety), and Dr Ryman Hashem (hybrid robotics, biosensors and wearable technologies for sport medicine) who joined us from the University of Cambridge.
Last but not least, we welcomed the second cohort of five Podium doctoral students in October 2023, bringing the
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The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology was officially
opened on 10th January 2024 in Oxford’s historic Divinity School.
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total number of student-athletes and next-generation sport safety leaders to eight.
health theme has been initiated in earnest, with a pilot study evidencing a bi-directional relationship between mental health, and the incidence and severity of sport injury: this will be built upon as an important argument for sports governing bodies as to why wellbeing matters not only for the mental health of athletes, but also for their safety and ability to remain active for a larger portion of their sporting career.
The space and talent growth are making
it possible to support an increasing breadth of strategic research projects aimed at real-world impact within the next few years, with a number of new flagship programmes initiated.
In collaboration with the Department of Experimental Psychology, the mental
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## **A MESSAGE FROM OUR INSTITUTE DIRECTOR**
The flagship work on concussion is
rapidly progressing from retrospective review work onto prospective real-world studies, with the initiation and ethical approval of the Institute’s first clinical study in collaboration with Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust to enable neuroimaging by Magnetic Resonance Imaging of young athletes, aged 11–18, presenting with sport-related traumatic brain injury, most commonly football and rugby. Closely behind it is the preparatory work and upcoming ethics submission for the world’s first acute neuroimaging and multimodal study in professional female and male rugby players, expected to start over the course of 2025 with the deployment of mobile MRI scanners to enable brain imaging within a few hours of suspected head injury for the very first time.
In a third new but related theme, the appointment of Prof. Liang He and Dr. Chenying Liu has made it possible to initiate in earnest the Institute’s efforts on the development and optimization of improved personal protective equipment (PPE) and associated testing methods to prevent head injuries. This not only involves the invention and validation of novel materials capable of absorbing
both linear and rotational energy during impacts to mitigate the risk of concussion, but also the development of novel helmet that account for the effect of the neck and make it possible to optimise for the observed differences by gender and developmental stage. This work has also enabled the Institute to make its first inroads into policy,
beginning a formal collaboration with the Fédération Équestre Internationale on the development and implementation of new standards and designs for equestrian helmets to mitigate the risk of head injury following a fall from a horse.
Lastly, the appointment of Prof. Mauro Villarroel has spearheaded the initiation of the Podium Institute’s cardiovascular theme, initially focused on Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) and the potential developmental causes in young athletes that make its occurrence more likely in sport than in the general population. This collaboration has led to closer ties with the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Football Association, and the initiation of the sharing and analysis of existing datasets to inform the design of a prospective upcoming study on cardiovascular health and training load.
The above represent a select subset of research projects being pursued by the Podium Institute supervisory research team and doctoral students, but evidence both the steadfast progression and drive towards real-world impact of Podium’s research, and the growing capability to support a rapidly expanding portfolio of key research themes underpinning the future of youth, community, women’s and professional sport safety. We are extremely grateful to the Podium Analytics donors, Board and team for making this transformative research possible and for the spirit of partnership that enables us to reach the full range of stakeholders, from athletes and their relatives to sports medical professionals, Governing Bodies and policy makers in government.
**Prof. Constantin Coussios OBE FREng FMedSci**
**Founding Director,**
**The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology, University of Oxford**
**Director, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oxford**
**Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences**
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“ The flagship work on
concussion is rapidly
progressing from
retrospective review
work onto prospective
real-world studies.”
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## **REMEMBERING GREGOR HENDERSON**
## **1960–2024**
## **Celebrating a life dedicated to positivity, compassion, advocacy and mental health awareness.**
In August 2024, it was with deep sadness that we announced the passing of one of our Podium family, Gregor Henderson, a remarkable leader and advocate in the field of mental health and wellbeing. After a brave battle with cancer, Gregor leaves behind a legacy that has profoundly impacted countless lives.
As the former Director of Mental Health for Public Health England, Gregor dedicated over 30 years to transforming mental health policies and practices both in the UK and internationally. His work with governments, charities, and various organisations has shaped the way we think about and approach mental health and this was highlighted when joining us at Podium as a Strategic Advisor, where Gregor was instrumental in establishing mental health firmly at the centre of our work, advocating for it to be considered as a potential predictor of sports injury and shaping our strategy in this area.
Gregor was not just a professional; he was a passionate pioneer for change. He served as the Chair of the Research Advisory Group for Place2Be, a national children's mental health charity, and was an active member of international initiatives focused on mental health leadership.
His commitment to improving mental health services will continue to resonate. As we mourn his loss, we also celebrate the incredible impact he made in the field. All of us at Podium feel privileged to have known Gregor, whose wisdom, warmth, kindness and energy touched our lives and guided our work.
## **Gregor, your dedication, compassion and positivity will never be forgotten.**
## **READ THE FULL OBITUARY IN THE LANCET**
## **HEAR GREGOR TALK TO SIMON MUNDIE**
about the importance of mental health, shifting public perceptions and embracing the crucial role activity has on our physical and mental wellbeing.
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## **SPOTLIGHT ON: MY VOICE MATTERS**
**In this article originally published in February 2024, we report how young voices in sport can challenge the unspoken rules of . the game**
Charlie was one of many young people who I listened to as part of a recent research collaboration with Centre for Mental Health (CMH). Together, Podium and CMH investigated the psychological and social impacts of sports injury, the support young people need to guide them back to participation and health, and the changes in sport culture they want to see. Some of their stories were inspiring – and some were shocking. All are relevant as we mark Children’s Mental Health Week 2024, which this year highlights the importance of giving young people a voice.
Charlie* was just 15 when a crunching rugby tackle put him out of the game and off his feet for almost two months with several broken bones in his foot. After years of training six times a week, Charlie found himself at home on the sofa, unable to move, alone with his thoughts.
For every account I heard like Mila’s*, whose coach checked in with her nearly every week of the eight months she was out of karate with a back injury, I heard a story like Tom’s*, whose rugby coach told him he was over-reacting and letting the side down by taking seven weeks off with a knee injury.
When we spoke, Charlie was insightful about the injury’s impact on his mental health. He described his frustration at his loss of independence, his loneliness after being separated from his friends and teammates, and his worries about losing his place on the team. Rugby, he said, was a huge part of his life – and he missed it.
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- All names throughout this article have been changed to protect anonymity
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Mila, 16, told me she felt understood and supported by her instructor, who let her come back to training at a pace that accounted for her fear of re-injury. Meanwhile, Tom, 15, described worrying that his coach and teammates were annoyed with him, how he relied on a parent to ask for time off training and match play, and how he returned to his club feeling afraid and anxious.
## **Sport can offer fantastic opportunities for making friends, learning skills, helping others and simply being active.**
As I listened to Charlie, Mila and Tom, I reflected on my own sons’ (mostly) happy times in football and karate and felt grateful to the parent-coaches who gave their time freely to teach them.
But my conversation with Tom showed how, in the rush to win medals and professional contracts, the quality of young people’s experiences in community and talent pathway sport can be too easily discounted by the adults around them. Young voices are too often silenced or ignored, as the recent abuse scandals in gymnastics, swimming and dance have shown. Their perspectives are still drastically under-represented in sport governance, even as organisations such as **Sport England** and **UK Coaching** are highlighting the importance of
child-centred coaching for long-term participation through the Play Their Way campaign.
The young people I heard from said that if coaches, families and teammates could be given a clear plan for supporting the social and emotional consequences of time off sport through injury, others could be helped in the future. They wanted sport environments where their feelings and opinions are respected, not cultures that expect them to ‘be a man and suck up the pain’ after injury, as one young person put it.
What’s more, there is strong public support for the principle that physical and mental health problems should have equal priority in sport. Podium’s 2023 Perceptions of Safety in Sport Survey found that 71% of 16- and 17-year-olds think coaches should consider physical and mental health problems equally important among sportspeople of all ages.
With colleagues at Podium, I’ve been exploring how we can collectively start making the changes that young people would like to see. We’ve been talking with experts in sport and adolescent mental health at the **UK Sports Institute** , **Sport Wales** , and the **University of Oxford** , as well as representatives from the **Football Association (FA)** , the **Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)** and other National Governing Bodies of sport.
We want to develop resources that highlight young people’s real experiences of sports injury, to help others like Charlie feel less alone, and to give coaches and families some insight into the psychosocial and emotional challenges that children encounter when side-lined for long periods. We see a strong case for co-developing, with stakeholders, a framework that identifies common injury-related psychosocial problems, allows young people to speak up about their experiences, and provides education and training for adults and peers to support them.
## **Listening to them now will pay change forward to future generations.**
Our collective ambition is that a more supportive approach to injury and timeout is a lever for shifting sport culture towards one that prioritises positive experiences and supports long-term, healthy participation. Young people like Charlie, Mila and Tom are tomorrow’s coaches: their voices matter.
**Dr Catherine Wheatley , CPsychol Mental Health and Psychological Wellbeing Manager, Podium Analytics**
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**TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT)**
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## **OUR VISION, MISSION AND FOCUS**
**Our Vision: More sport, less injury Our Mission: To significantly reduce the incidence and impact of sports injury**
**Our Approach: Science-led, data-driven**
**Our Focus: Youth and grassroots sport**
**67%** of adults support rule changes in rugby to reduce the incidence of concussion, and **12** young people a **61%** in football week die of Sudden Cardiac Death in the UK. They are nearly all exercising at the time
There are over **1 million** Emergency Department visits each year due to sports injury
Over **25 million** people participate in grassroots sport in the UK each year
An estimated **3.7 million** UK adults were injured during grassroots sports in the last year, equivalent to roughly **10,000 per day**
The economic burden of concussion alone is expected to be hundreds of millions per year
**4 in 5 parents/ carers** support mandatory reporting of sports injuries in schools and clubs 13
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## **HOW WE DELIVER OUR WORK**
The work we do to address the problem of youth and grassroots sports injury and its impact is delivered through the following key areas:
## **BUILD A CLEAR PICTURE**
We gather insight into the sports injury landscape to identify and understand key issues in youth and grassroots sport.
## **DRIVE PIONEERING RESEARCH**
We fund world-leading research and development in injury prevention and management.
## **ACCELERATE GLOBAL LEARNINGS**
We facilitate open data and science in the field of sports injury, revolutionising how global sport works with player data.
## **DESIGN FOR IMPACT**
We design and deliver accessible injury prevention and management tools, training and education for players, teachers, coaches and families.
## **CONNECT THE PEOPLE**
We engage, involve and bring together key stakeholders to drive a unified, participant-centred approach.
## **ADVOCATE FOR CHANGE**
We raise awareness of the impact of sports injury and promote effective, evidence-backed solutions.
## **IMPROVE PRODUCT STANDARDS**
We advise on improved standards that enhance the safety performance of sports equipment and apparel.
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## **OUTCOMES**
**THE CHANGES WE WANT TO SEE:**
**THE LONG-TERM IMPACT WE’RE AIMING FOR:**
Sports injury is **recognised as an issue** that impacts public health.
**The culture of sport supports and prioritises** both the physical and mental health of participants.
**High-quality evidence** drives the creation of best practice in sports injury prevention and management.
Sport, Health and Education Bodies implement **evidence-based policy and practice** to prevent and manage sports injury.
**Individuals can take informed and effective action** to better prevent and manage sports injury.
**There is a coordinated and collaborative approach** to sports injury prevention and recovery.
**Equipment and apparel are demonstrably effective** at preventing or reducing the impact of sports injury.
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## **DEC 2021**
## **SEP 2021**
## **OUR JOURNEY SO FAR**
**Registered in 2019, Podium Analytics is a charity, founded to create a world with more sport and less injury.**
## **NOV 2022**
Podium and Centre for Mental Health launch research project into sport, injury and youth mental health
Tim Henman OBE, former British professional tennis player, joins as Ambassador
Debbie Jevans CBE joins as Special Advisor for Sport
Podium officially launches at 10 Downing Street, and announces establishment of The Podium Analytics Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology at the University of Oxford
Donald Mackenzie, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of CVC Capital Partners, joins as Trustee
Podium receives formal endorsements from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Education
UK Government’s Sports Minister endorses the Podium Institute's first project: a systematic review of the incidence and economic burden of sport-related concussion in the UK
Podium partners with the RFU, England Hockey and the David Ross Education Trust
SportSmart is live in schools
## **MAY 2022**
SportSmart Head Injury Tool based on Concussion Recognition Tool (CRT5) launches
## **OCT 2022**
Results of inaugural Safety in Sport Perception Survey published
## **FEB 2023**
## **MAR 2022**
Podium partners with Gloucester Rugby and England Athletics
Former England Women’s Hockey Captain, Alex Danson-Bennett MBE, and Beth Tweddle, Britain’s most successful female gymnast, join as Ambassadors
## **APR 2022**
Research Strategy Advisory Board launches
Sam Ward, Great Britain Hockey player and Olympic medallist, joins as Ambassador
## **MAY 2022**
Inaugural Safety in Sport Perception Survey launches, in collaboration with YouGov
Podium’s Mental Health Strategy published
## **DEC 2022**
Podium partners with the Lawn Tennis Association
## **JAN 2023**
Amy Williams MBE, British Olympic Gold Medallist, joins as Ambassador
Podium launches research project with the University of Bath to understand and manage growth spurt challenges in youth sport
## **MAR 2023**
Podium partners with The Royal Ballet School
## **MAY 2023**
Podium partners with Pinsent Masons
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## **SEP 2023**
Podium partners with Google to build Proof of Concept Trusted Research Environment
## **JUN 2023**
Injuries, Insults and Applause, the results of Podium and Centre for Mental Health’s project, is published
UK Government endorses two-year national trial of SportSmart Head Injury Tool to monitor concussion in grassroots sport
## **OCT 2023**
**NOV 2023** Safety in Sport Perception Survey 2023 results published
Podium partners with United Learning Steven McRae, Principal Dancer at The Royal Ballet, joins as Ambassador MySportSmart launches
Podium partners with Return2Play Premiership Rugby Academy programme kicks off at Gloucester Rugby Our first university – Chichester – signs up for SportSmart
**DEC 2023** Podium partners with British Judo
**JAN 2024 MAR 2024 FEB 2024** The Podium Institute celebrates official Podium partners with SportSmart shortlisted opening England Ice Hockey and in The 2024 Sports St. Mirren Football Club Technology Awards Podium partners with The Rugby Players Association
Podium partners with Canada’s Complete Concussion Management (CCMI)
SportSmart Resource Hub launches
## **REPORTING PERIOD JUNE 2023–MAY 2024**
## **APR 2024**
Podium announces Trusted Research Environment for Global Sport and World Rugby as inaugural International Federation partner Graduated Return to Activity and Sport project launches
## **MAY 2024**
Podium partners with Hockey Wales Podium achieves ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Certification
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
TRUSTEES’ REPORT AUDITOR’S REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADMIN DETAILS
**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
**The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology**
## **THE PODIUM INSTITUTE FOR SPORTS MEDICINE AND TECHNOLOGY**
**Science-driven sports medicine and technology for lifelong health**
## **KEY AIMS**
Produce world-leading science to inspire and forge evidence-based changes in safety regulation and policy across sport.
Develop innovative technologies to monitor, analyse and prevent sports injury and drive their adoption.
Devise, validate and encourage the adoption of robust safety performance standards for sport equipment.
## **INITIAL FOCUS**
The Podium Institute has an initial focus on traumatic injuries including head injury and serious musculoskeletal injuries, as well as sudden cardiac death and mental health.
## **STEERING COMMITTEE**
**Professor Dame Sarah Springman** DBE FREng (Chair)
## **Professor Irene Tracey**
CBE FRS FMedSci, Vice Chancellor, University of Oxford
## **Professor Constantin Coussios**
OBE FREng, Director of the Oxford Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Director of The Podium Institute, University of Oxford
**Professor Heidi Johansen-Berg** FMedSci, Associate Head of Medical Sciences (Research), University of Oxford
## **Sir Ron Dennis**
CBE, Founder and Chairman, Podium Analytics
## **Peter Hamlyn**
Trustee and Medical Director, Podium Analytics
## **Andy Hunt**
CEO, Podium Analytics
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**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology**
**The 2023‒2024 academic year marked the second full year of The Podium Institute at the University of Oxford, with a continued focus on the delivery of initial projects, the recruitment of key staff and the growth of the doctoral training programme in Sports Medicine and Technology.**
Sir Ron Dennis CBE and Vice Chancellor Professor Irene Tracey CBE FRS FMedSci
## **THE PODIUM INSTITUTE OFFICIALLY OPENED**
On the evening of Wednesday 10th January 2024, university researchers, representatives of Sports Governing Bodies, policy makers and athletes gathered at Oxford’s Divinity School to celebrate the formal launch of the Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology, and the opening of its dedicated facilities within the Old Road Campus Research Building.
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**The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology**
**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR TEAM GROWS**
The Podium Institute has appointed Professor Johannes Weickenmeier as Associate Professor in Brain Health, joining Professor Mauricio Villarroel (Associate Professor in Technologies for Sports Medicine) and Dr Liang He (Associate Professor in AI for Sports Medicine). These roles support the founding Institute Director, Professor Constantin Coussios OBE FREng FMedSci, in driving the research activity of the Institute, collaborating across the University disciplines in an open innovation environment, and leading the growing post-doctoral researcher, clinical research fellow and doctoral student team. The recruitment process for the remaining tenure-track Associate Professor role is ongoing.
Leading the Podium Institute’s efforts in Brain Health, Johannes is also an Associate Professor in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and is a Fellow of St. Cross College. He obtained his PhD from the ETH Zurich in 2015 and trained as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stanford University for three years. He then joined Stevens Institute of Technology as an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering from 2018–2024.
His area of expertise is the design of theoretical and computational models to simulate and predict the multiphysics behaviour of living systems with a particular focus on the brain. His group aims to understand the most prevalent damage mechanisms associated with healthy aging, neurodegenerative, and traumatic brain injury with the goal to facilitate early diagnosis of abnormal brain changes.
Johannes is also the founding member of the Centre for Neuromechanics at Stevens in 2019 and served as its Director from 2022–2024. He received the Stevens Employee Recognition Award for Student-Centricity in 2022 for his extensive efforts to promote undergraduate student research and was recently awarded the National Science Foundation Career Award in 2024.
## **QUANTIFYING INCIDENCE AND ECONOMIC BURDEN OF SPORT-RELATED CONCUSSION**
Kicked off in early 2022, the extensive, DCMS-endorsed project to produce the first nationwide report quantifying the incidence and economic burden of sportrelated concussion across the United Kingdom has been completed and is due for publication in a leading scientific journal in early 2025.
**The report has been delivered in conjunction with the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, the Health Economics Research Centre at the Nuffield Department of Population Health, the Bodleian Health Care Libraries (all at the University of Oxford) and the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.**
The key output of the study is the estimation of lower and upper bounds of the healthcare costs associated with sport-related head injury, by sport and for ages 11–15 and 16+, compared with the overall healthcare benefits arising from sport participation using previously reported studies. This is key to maintaining perspective on the
substantial but addressable generational cost of concussion, relative to the far greater overall societal and healthcare benefits of sport participation.
The report will help to inform future government expenditure and policy on addressing sport-related head injury, and will also identify data gaps by sport, gender and age, as well as the potential impact of the findings on NHS services moving forward.
The report focuses on the 14 sports that account for over 90% of concussion incidences in the UK and has involved considerable collaboration with their respective International Federations, National Federations, Chief Medical Officers and associated Medical Committees and Academic Research partners, in addition to extensive support from Sport England and Active Lives to extrapolate participation data for the UK.
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**The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology**
**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **MULTIMODAL HEAD INJURY STUDY WITH GLOUCESTER RUGBY**
The first of a number of multimodal research studies that will deliver clinically quantifiable dose models for cumulative mild traumatic brain injury – a population-wide and ultimately personalised threshold model – have been defined and is ready to start.
- Immediate post-impact collection of blood and saliva samples for biomarker analysis
- Immediate post-impact data collection using mobile MRI units for structural and functional neuroimaging
The study with Gloucester Rugby Men’s Premiership team and Gloucester-Hartpury Women’s AP15 team, a cohort of 60 players, will commence in January 2025 and run through the 25–26 season. This will be the first study of its kind attempting to obtain acute neuroimaging of athletes’ brains within three hours of a suspected concussive event.
- Rapid quantitative neurocognitive tests
- All directly comparable against baseline tests and imaging obtained at the start of the season.
This will be the first dataset in history where specific parameters that can be measured during impact, can be correlated to clinically acceptable structural and functional neuroimaging markers, and will enable the development of novel technology-based injury surveillance and management tools.
The collection of data of different types, at key stages (prior, during and after) of head injury will enable a never-before-seen picture of what happens to the brain and body as a result of head impact, with the study looking to gather, for the first time in the same population:
- Quantitative acceleration, rotational acceleration and positional data in individual players
- Multi-angle video footage to analyse the impact using customdeveloped computer vision tools
## **NEUROIMAGING HEAD INJURY STUDY IN ADOLESCENTS**
“ Despite the potentially important long-term effects, paediatric head injury has remained heavily understudied. We’re deeply indebted to Podium and our collaborating clinical and sports teams for their enormous support in helping to make this challenging research possible.”
A world-first study focused on sport-related head injuries in 11–18-year-olds, in partnership with Oxford University Hospitals (OUH), has received ethical approval and is scheduled to commence recruitment in October 2024. Approximately 30–50% of reported head injuries occur in young people, and these injuries are linked to an increased risk of conditions including neurodegenerative disease. However, conventional assessment methods have proven inadequate for accurately diagnosing and analysing brain injuries. The three-year study will image all adolescents who present at the John Radcliffe Hospital with a sport-related head injury using cutting-edge neuroimaging techniques. The cohort of presenting players is likely to include a reasonable percentage of young rugby union and football players.
**Professor Natalie Voets, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford**
“ With growing concern regarding a potential link between mild or repetitive traumatic brain injury and long-term cognitive difficulties or even early dementia, there is a pressing need to identify the types of traumatic injuries that may pose a risk. Our study is a step towards better understanding of the mechanisms that underpin damage to the brains of children and adolescents suffering injury.”
**Mr Tim Lawrence, Consultant Paediatric Neurosurgeon, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford**
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**The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology**
**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **MULTIMODAL STUDY IN SKI AND SNOWBOARD**
A further multimodal study is being planned to start over the summer of 2024 in collaboration with GB Snowsport. The study will deploy for the first time a type of instrumented mouthguard capable of continuous rather than event-triggered acquisition, which will make it possible to monitor all phases of injury from initial fall to the last impact. A particular challenge is the ability to acquire this data robustly at very low temperatures and high altitudes, including atop the Hintertux glacier at an altitude of 3,250m. The aim of the study is to characterise the linear and rotational accelerations that occur during head impacts using a combination of instrumented mouthguard and video data, in order to enable the development of improved helmets and other protective equipment specifically designed to mitigate head injury in skiing and snowboarding.
## **SYSTEMATIC REVIEW IMPROVING OF MENTAL HEALTH HELMET SAFETY AND SPORTS INJURY** The recruitment of Post-Doctoral **ASSOCIATION COMPLETED**
The recruitment of Post-Doctoral Researcher Dr Chenying Liu to the Institute in early 2024 has enabled the development of groundbreaking new materials and testing methods specifically aimed at improving helmet safety and performance in the context of mild traumatic brain injury. The majority of helmets as designed today are specifically aimed at preventing skull fracture, but are sub-optimal in terms of reducing the transmission of linear and rotational forces to the brain that are being increasingly linked to concussion and its downstream consequences. The research seeks to develop novel lowcost materials specifically designed to absorb both linear and rotational energy effectively, and to adequately take into account the effects of the presence of the neck in designing and testing current and next-generation helmets.
The systematic review of relationships between sports injury and mental health symptoms in young people aged 10–24-years-old is complete and has been submitted (September 2024) to Sports Medicine for peer review.
The review critically appraises and synthesises previous research studies, from across all sports and within both elite and grassroots settings, to provide a summary of current best evidence. It evaluates the mechanisms that link mental health symptoms with injury, and injury with mental health symptoms, demonstrating a bi-directional correlation between mental health and sports injury for the very first time. Findings identify gaps in knowledge and suggest future areas of research, including intervention studies.
A second key area of activity, initiated in collaboration with the FEI (Fédération Équestre Internationale), has been the development of improved testing standards to make it possible to evaluate both market-available helmets and any custom-designed helmets, ensuring they confer adequate protection against both linear and rotational forces during head injuries. This effort resulted in the release, in December 2023, of a new set of standards by the FEI, co-authored by the Podium Institute Director Prof. Constantin Coussios, which for the first time incorporate both linear and rotational transmitted acceleration thresholds for multiple impact locations across the helmet surface. Conversations with equestrian helmet manufacturers are ongoing about how to develop the next generation of equestrian helmets compliant with these new standards, as well as how to extend these principles to other sports
including cycling and snowsport.
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**The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology**
**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **THE ATHLETE SCIENTIST**
In early May, on the 70th anniversary of Sir Roger Bannister’s record breaking sub-four-minute mile, Podium was invited to help celebrate his inspiring sporting and scientific legacy. Nestled amongst the many activities in Oxford over the celebratory weekend, from community mile runs to neuroscience demonstrations, Podium had the unique opportunity to present the pioneering work of the Podium Institute and its celebration and emulation of the ‘Athlete Scientist’ through its Doctoral Training Programme, nurturing the leaders of tomorrow in the field of sports science and medicine.
Sir Roger Bannister was a man driven by an unwavering passion for sport, science, and Oxford, and it was a privilege for Podium – working at the intersection of these three passions – to be welcomed so warmly into the celebrations.
## **DOCTORAL TRAINING PROGRAMME**
The Podium Institute has continued to grow the number of outstanding researchers within the Doctoral Training Programme. Ongoing projects (2023-2024 academic year) include:
## **Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Study in 11 to 16 Year Olds with**
## **Traumatic Brain Injury**
Using a multimodal MRI approach to better understand the pathophysiology and evolution of traumatic brain injury in young people, to identify imaging findings (and other factors such as injury mechanism) that can help better predict how well a child will recover after a head injury, ultimately, enabling the identification of children who have had a worse injury than indicated using the current conventional clinical assessment tools.
## **Cardiac electrophysiological**
**modelling to predict Sudden Cardiac Death in youth athletes**
Exploring the underlying causes and mechanisms of sudden cardiac death in adolescents through researching agedependent sex-hormonal-driven cardiac electrophysiological changes in boys and girls during cardiovascular stress and how they relate to cardiorespiratory fitness, an indicative measure for sudden cardiac death.
## **Motor coordination as a predictor**
## **of injury**
Collecting acceleration, orientation, and gyroscopic data from contact sport volunteer athletes, and processing data using clustering algorithms to identify when coordinated plays occur between opponents and teammates, and this will be assessed alongside injury rates.
## **Predicting sports-related traumatic brain injury**
A coupled experimental-numerical framework for the prediction of sportsrelated traumatic brain injury, and the creation of a library of Finite Element simulations to allow the estimation of internal mechanical metrics for brain injury as an input to a machine learning algorithm to predict traumatic brain injury.
## **Applications of Computer Vision to Monitoring and Predicting**
## **Sport-Related Injury**
Analysing impacts in sports videos, using computer vision techniques to track players movements and predict dangerous collisions, including developing human pose estimation and 3D reconstruction models for dynamic multi-person scenes, and jointly modelling the scene reconstruction with the body biomechanics.
## **Overuse injuries in volleyball**
The development of biomarkers that lead to overuse injuries in volleyball, observing different parameters (biomarkers, external load, and lifestyle) and investigating their effect on players.
## **Injury monitoring and prevention in youth gymnastics**
With a focus on the upper limb, characterise the associated motion and loading using video analysis and inertial sensing technologies, for a better understanding of the injury mechanisms so preventative measures can be put in place.
## **Virtual reality technology to**
## **prevent non-acute injuries**
Exploring existing control models for human motion control and learning, assessing how VR can overcome their limitations as a guidance tool and conducting specific research on select wrist motions to evaluate the effectiveness of integrating VR with these control models and their applicability in real-world scenarios.
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**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology**
## **‒ PRIORITIES FOR THE 2024 2025 PERIOD**
- Plan and deliver the Podium Institute’s Inaugural Annual Conference on Sports Medicine and Technology in September 2024.
- Publish the systematic review, meta-analysis and economic evaluation of the burden of Concussion in Sport in the UK.
- Publish the Systematic Review of Mental Health and Sports Injury association.
- Commence the adolescent neuroimaging study in 11–18-year-olds having sustained sport-related head injury.
- Produce a first prototype of a new helmet material capable of mitigating the risk of concussion.
- Commence the adolescent neuroimaging study in 11–18-year-olds having sustained sport-related head injury.
- Continue the recruitment and training of outstanding doctoral students and future leaders in sports medicine and technology.
-
- Recruit the fourth tenure-track Associate Professor. The role will be focused on mental health.
-
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**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
**Trusted Research Environment for Global Sport**
## **TRUSTED RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT FOR GLOBAL SPORT**
**In the continued pursuit of excellence in academic research in sports injury and delivering more effective, safer use of player and athlete data, Podium identified the need for an independent Trusted Research Environment (TRE) for Global Sport and, in April 2024, announced World Rugby as the inaugural International Federation to implement the TRE for their sport.**
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**Trusted Research Environment for Global Sport**
**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **REVOLUTIONISING APPROACH TO SPORTS INJURY RESEARCH**
Building on exploratory work completed in the 2022–2023 period, Podium has identified the opportunity to accelerate research and science progress through the collection, curation and secure access to sports injury-related data.
International Federations (IF), National Governing Bodies (NGB) and Professional Leagues have been commissioning academic research into sports injury for many years, resulting in many steps forward in the field of sports injury and prevention, but they have also left many opportunities un-investigated or untapped due to the constraints of the approach, the economics of the sport or the diversity of academic institutions that are able to access data to undertake research on a specific issue.
The specific nature of the research, the structure of the research agreements and the nature of consents obtained from players has usually meant that data is not available to other researchers within academic institutions on behalf of the same sport.
## **WHAT IS A TRE?**
TREs are controlled digital environments used to store or analyse sensitive data securely, allowing researchers to undertake in-depth analysis on rich, joinedup datasets without them seeing any identifiable information. They promote the sharing and reuse of data and models, provide an opportunity to impose higher standards in how commonly used datasets are stored and curated, and have been proven to be incredibly successful in other areas of medical sciences over the past decade or so.
**The TRE is the next evolution of the existing multisport data lake that Podium has already developed, with the TRE Minimum Viable Project built with value-in-kind support from Google and Google Partner Go Reply.**
The TRE will house data of varied types (telemetry, video, empirical, biological, demographic) and from varied sources, including data from Podium’s SportSmart platform, historical and future player data from Sports Governing Bodies, and data from projects at the Podium Institute.
“ The TRE for Global Sport by Podium Analytics will deliver a coherent approach to data curation in a single, secure platform and will endeavour to have the same impact in sports injury research that has been achieved in cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and other areas of medical science. With everyone behind it, the TRE has the potential to start a movement that will accelerate sports injury research globally.”
**Damian Smith, Chief Technology Officer**
The TRE looks to change that and create a one stop shop for all data, solving a major issue for all Sports Governing Bodies and Professional Leagues who put the advancement of player welfare at the top of their agenda.
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**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **WORLD RUGBY AS INAUGURAL IF**
**Podium is delighted to announce that World Rugby is the inaugural global sport that will be joining the platform, showing a continued and shared commitment to creating a world of more sport and less injury.**
Podium is in advanced discussions with additional International Federations and major sports Leagues who wish to embrace the collective opportunity to advance research into key sports injuries, whilst benefitting from the extensive technology, legal and governance structures that are being developed to facilitate this.
## **Trusted Research Environment for Global Sport**
“ At World Rugby, it is advantageous to bring all our sports injury and research data into one place – a single solution. We had been having a number of conversations and when the team at Podium Analytics first presented the TRE to us, we could see how important this would be for the future of sport and, in particular, for us in rugby.
It was instantly something we very much wanted to be part of and solved a very real issue that we were facing in research. We are excited to be part of shaping the future of our sport through this innovation into research.”
**Dr Éanna Falvey, Chief Medical Officer, World Rugby**
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**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
**Parent and player tools**
**Club and school injury reporting**
**SportSmart**
**Best Applied practice and research resource hub projects**
**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION TRUSTEES’ REPORT AUDITOR’S REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADMIN DETAILS
**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
**SportSmart**
## **MYSPORTSMART LAUNCHED**
## **REACH**
**Previous period Coverage at end of period (May 2023) (May 2024) schools 120 240 clubs 50 120 players 115k 200k**
In order to bridge the communication gap between parents/carers, PE teachers and sports coaches, we have developed and launched MySportSmart, a free app for parents and players over 18. Linked with the SportSmart app, MySportSmart provides parents/ carers with real-time oversight of their children’s activity and injuries across multiple organisations, and players with a full view of their injury and activity record.
If a player is injured during a fixture, training session or PE lesson, SportSmart ensures the school or club is made aware, so the staff know whether a player is fit to participate, and vice versa. With MySportSmart, parents/carers and players over 18 will be able to access the same information from across organisations and share injury status updates, helping to manage a safe return to sport.
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## **Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **HEAD INJURY TOOL NATIONAL TRIAL**
June 2023 saw the announcement of a 24-month UK-wide national trial of our Head Injury Tool to record and manage sport-related concussion in grassroots sport and will assess the effectiveness of the new UK Concussion Guidelines for Grassroots Sport. SportSmart is the only app that currently supports these new guidelines, with its unique traffic-lighting system facilitating the management of a safe return to play, in line with the latest guidance. It also alerts medical teams and relevant staff members through a newly developed in-app notification system to the occurrence of a head injury to facilitate a greater duty of care.
We are seeking clarification as to how Ministerial Advisor structural changes within the new UK Government will impact the approach to this project.
“ This App is a crucial step forward to protect those who have been concussed and prevent further injury. Developing an App that allows an individual to actively self-manage their recovery and return to education/work and exercise is crucial for a timely and full recovery following a concussion. Embarking on this two-year trial of the Head Injury Management Tool will help us to measure both the adoption and effectiveness of the new UK Concussion Guidelines. The data collected from recording head injuries incidents through the platform will inform our discussions as we review and refine our guidance in the future.”
**Professor James Calder, Chair of the Expert Drafting Group for the new UK Concussion Guidelines**
## **SportSmart**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
It’s hard to think about each individual young person’s growth spurt, when you might be teaching 500 pupils a week. So, what are the key things I’d be focused on? FROM SPORTSMART’S LAURA ENNIS, WHO SPENT 14 YEARS TEACHING PE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS.
height over the year or over a scheme your pupils to monitor/measure their As part of home learning, challenge awareness of peak height/growth of work. This will help them build velocity, and symptoms they might experience.
1 2
GROWTH SPURT: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME?
Is there any way I could use homework or the lesson itself to start a conversation about growth spurt, and any symptoms they might notice?For example, any discomfort, constant knee pain, or feeing tired all the time.. I’d be working to build positive relationships with the students, to help them feel comfortable having a conversation. If one pupil has had a huge growth spurt after a holiday, they might need slightly modified lessons and so I’d look to reduce fixtures and avoid high intensity where possible.If students are avoiding participating due to ‘growing pains’, see what other options there are and activities they can do so the session still has a positive effect.Be aware, observe their behaviours, listen and help to build that trust.
TOP TIPS
Helping them recognise the signs Building trusting relationships
KEY POINT
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **EDUCATION THROUGH SPORTSMART HUB**
## **GRADUATED RETURN TO SPORT**
Following its launch in June 2023, we have continued to develop and publish educational content for the SportSmart Hub – a free resource providing digestible content, best practice advice and downloadable resources to help PE teachers and sports coaches deliver safer sport.
As a next step in our Head Injury Tool suite, we have kicked off a project to determine a new workflow and language for Graduated Return to Activity and Sport (GRAS), to support the new UK Concussion Guidelines for Grassroots Sport, published in April 2023.
Topics include Injury prevention, growth spurt, risk in sport, concussion and return to play, and screening.
Working with an expert group of Chief Medical Officers of major sports to review and develop a proposed update to the protocol, we will undertake research with schools and clubs to check language and logic of the GRAS process, and plan how we can develop an automated, digital GRAS system to help players, their parents and teachers/coaches become more informed in managing sports-related concussion.
Designed to deliver both original and curated content, our ambition is to help translate the information and resources that are currently available at elite level into the youth and grassroots environment and provide a go-to multi-sport resource covering key health issues in youth and grassroots sport.
**EXPLORE THE HUB**
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**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
**SportSmart**
## **SPORTSMART ON THE ROAD**
Over the course of the year, we’ve had the opportunity to visit our SportSmart community across the UK, meeting with teachers and coaches and helping to engage their respective communities (parents, participants, associated clubs and schools). This valuable face-to-face time has helped us to iterate our programme and platform effectively based on feedback, as well as ensure the smooth onboarding of organisations to SportSmart.
In addition, we benefited from attending the Youth Sport Trust Conference 2024 in March, meeting key stakeholders at the heart of education to discuss the challenges and opportunities of Sport and Physical Education.
“ It’s a phenomenal opportunity for us to be connected to SportSmart. From my experience in football, one of the challenges we have is keeping women and girls playing football due to injury and it’s a key area that’s under-funded and under-researched in the female game. SportSmart is a revelation; it will change the way we approach training, matches and player development. It’s a player and injury management tool that is under one roof, in one app, that can help us manage everything we could possibly need when looking after our players!”
**Kate Cooper, Head Coach,**
**St. Mirren Women**
## **and Girls**
## **PLATFORM OPTIMISATION**
We have continued to develop the SportSmart platform (desktop and app) over the course of the year, providing improved usability, functionality and features for our users, including:
- making it easier to view and make updates in injury forms
- developing iconography on forms to highlight players who have received an amber or red flag during a head injury assessment
- improving the ability to administrate joiners, movers and leavers
- increasing the age range to enable schools to include students from Reception upwards.
The SportSmart platform continues to evolve based on ongoing, iterative feedback and usability testing with teachers and coaches in diverse school and club environments.
## **ENHANCED SECURITY AND DATA PRIVACY INFRASTRUCTURE**
We continue to demonstrate our commitment to providing the highest level of information security for our partners and data subjects and, in May 2024, achieved ISO/IEC 27001:2022. This is in addition to our Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications which we achieved again this year – an externally audited and nationally recognised information and cybersecurity certification. The ISO/IEC 27001:2022 approach means that we are continually improving and reducing risks associated with our systems and processes, whilst ensuring efficiency, productivity and optimised experience for our internal team as well as external stakeholders.
## **SHORTLISTED FOR 2024 SPORTS TECHNOLOGY AWARDS**
SportSmart was shortlisted for the 2024 Sports Technology Awards in the ‘digital’ category, which celebrates electronic tools, systems, devices and resources for use across all types of sport, alongside major players such as Google, Apple and Sony.
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**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
PRIORITIES FOR THE 2024–2025 PERIOD
• We will progress with the creation of an • We will continue to develop SportSmart
automated, digitised Graduated Return in collaboration with our Sports Council,
to Activity and Sport (GRAS) protocol, in Sports Governing Body, school and club
collaboration with Chief Medical Officers partners, ensuring in-app injury tracking and
and the DCMS Concussion Protocol Panel. management is aligned to sport-specific
We will prototype user flows with players, needs and contexts. We will see the further
teachers, coaches and parents to review the rollout of SportSmart to England Hockey
effectiveness and usability of a digitised 21- clubs, as well as to broader club networks
day GRAS protocol (logic and language), to through our new partnerships with British
further refine our approach ahead of design Judo, England Ice Hockey and Hockey Wales.
and development.
• To enhance the efficiency, productivity
• We will continue to optimise the SportSmart and capabilities of our team, and improve
platform. Enhancements in the 2024-2025 the value and experience provided to our
period will include functionality for over stakeholders, we will implement a new CRM
16 and over 18 participants, weekly injury tool that will aid the end-to-end onboarding
dashboards, back-office performance and process and ongoing engagement of our
security enhancements, as well as the SportSmart community.
inclusion of tennis-, wheelchair tennis- and
• To maximise the value that the
paddle-specific functionality. In addition,
SportSmart Hub provides to teachers and
we will continue to develop our plans and
coaches, we will review its impact and
user-centric design development for GRAS,
reach to date, and gather feedback from
growth spurt and the self-reporting of
users, to inform our continued content
injuries by participants.
creation and engagement plan based on
the learning needs of our stakeholders.
Podium Analytics Annual Report and Financial Statements 2023–2024 32
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**SportSmart**
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION TRUSTEES’ REPORT AUDITOR’S REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADMIN DETAILS
**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **SportSmart Applied Research**
## **SPORTSMART APPLIED RESEARCH**
## **SportSmart Applied Research is a targeted research approach driving real-world impact by helping us to translate academic research into actionable on-the-ground solutions for schools and grassroots club environments and testing them ahead of wider implementation.**
Our expert in-house Research Team conduct in-depth, focused research and innovation programmes in partnership with schools, clubs, and other communities. Insights are gathered from, and programmes of work are often co-created with, young people, parents, teachers and coaches.
## **THE EAB IN THEIR OWN WORDS**
## **EXPERT ADVISORY BOARD (EAB)**
We continue to benefit from the expertise of our EAB, focused on research in four key areas: communicating risk, workload and adaptation, preventative screening and mental health.
## **Members over the June 2023–May 2024 period:**
## **Dr Rod Jaques**
## **Gregor Henderson**
FFSEM (UK), FRCP, OBE – Former Director of Medical Services, English Institute of Sport (Chair)
MA, MSc – Former Director of Mental Health, Public Health England
## **Professor Joan Duda**
## **Dr Peter Hamlyn**
PHD, FIAAP, FASP, FECSS – Professor of Sport and Exercise Psychology, University of Birmingham
MBBS, BSC, MD, FRCS, FISM – Medical Director and Trustee, Podium Analytics
## **Dr Charlotte Cowie**
## **Ed Fletcher**
MBBS, Dip Sports Med, DM-SMED, FFSEM (UK) – Chief Medical Officer, Football Association (FA)
LLB, MA – Founder of Fletchers Solicitors (UK’s largest boutique serious injury lawyers)
## **Dr Simon Kemp**
## **Dr Paul Jackson**
MA, MBBS, MRCGP, MSc (SEM), FFSEM – Medical Services Director, RFU
FRCP, MBBS, FFSEM(UK), – Consultant in Sport, Exercise and Musculoskeletal Medicine, Sports Medicine Team
## **Professor Nick Peirce**
## **Michael Bourne**
BMedSci, BMBS, MRCOG, MSc, FISM, FSEM – Chief Medical Officer, ECB
Head of Performance, The Lawn Tennis Association
## **Dr Mark Gillett**
## **Professor Mark Batt**
MBBS, MSc (Sports Med), FRCS, FRCEM, FFSEM (UK&I), DipIMC, RCSEd, PGCert MSK – Chief Medical Officer, Premier League
BSc, MBBChir, MRCGP, DM, FACSM, FRCP, FFSEM – Consultant in Sport and Exercise Medicine, Centre of Sports Medicine University of Nottingham
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**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
“We are excited to implement the SportSmart programme across the entire player pathway at Northampton Saints. By partnering with SportSmart, we are showcasing our commitment to the duty of care for all our rugby players in the pathway, providing them with the resources and support they need to thrive both on and off the field.”
**Mark Hopley, Head of Academy, Northampton Saints**
Having partnered with Gloucester Rugby in early 2022, this period represented the second season we have deployed SportSmart for the management of injury surveillance with circa 400 young rugby players (per season) enrolled on Gloucester Rugby’s Developing Player Programme (U14 and U15 age groups) across four regional sites.
The programme has become a great success, leading to strong engagement and support from coaching and medical staff. Monthly reporting has been provided in season, alongside a comprehensive end of season report.
Following the success at Gloucester Rugby (due to grow to seven regional sites and circa 800 players in 2024– 2025), Premiership Rugby (PRL) has been supportive of implementing SportSmart at other PRL clubs, including Northampton Saints (announced in June 2024) for the 24–25 season, covering circa 400 U15s and U16s across five regional sites.
## **READ MORE ABOUT OUR WORK IN PREMIERSHIP RUGBY ACADEMIES**
## **SportSmart Applied Research**
“ The implementation of SportSmart has been a useful way to keep track of injuries across our regional centres and helps maintain a digital injury audit trail throughout the season. The monthly and end of season reports have been a helpful coaching tool to inform best practice and reflection.”
**Curtis Arber, Lead Junior Academy Therapist, Gloucester Rugby**
“It has been incredibly rewarding seeing the impact of Podium’s work on the ground. The fact that our success with Gloucester Rugby’s Developing Player Programme has facilitated other clubs to adopt SportSmart is fantastic to see.”
## **Rob Mann,**
**Research Programme Manager, Podium Analytics**
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**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
**SportSmart Applied Research**
## **THE DEVELOPING CHILD STUDY**
**Working collaboratively with the University of Bath, to create online resources for teachers and coaches to better understand and support pupils going through growth spurts, and accommodate for early and late developers.**
The 2023–2024 period saw the delivery of the first year of our two-year study with the University of Bath focused on ‘the developing child’.
With growth spurts being a factor uniquely affecting 11–18-year-olds and a period that puts young people at increased risk of sports injury, the project aims to bring established processes from elite pathways into school and grassroots sports environments, by delivering against key objectives:
- assess PE teachers’ existing knowledge, perceptions, and confidence levels in delivering physical education during growth spurt years.
- create an online digital health module tailored to provide teachers with the necessary information and tools to support their students effectively.
- evaluate the feasibility of these methods to determine the best ways to disseminate this information and ensure it has a meaningful impact on teachers and students alike.
Our early findings have been quite revealing. Nationwide questionnaire results indicate that **94%** of PE teachers believe that education on the adolescent growth spurt would improve their confidence in delivering developmentally appropriate experiences. Despite this, only **9%** of participants had received formal training on the adolescent years at either the BSc or PGCert level, with most training focused on early years and Key Stage 1. This highlights significant gaps in initial training for teachers.
To address these gaps, we have cocreated an online curriculum with teachers through two focus group sessions.
This curriculum covers five key topic areas related to the growth spurt and PE experiences in schools, and will launch as a feasibility project in September 2024.
This project will go on to scope specific tools to enable teachers and coaches to track and support their players through these crucial periods, adapting activity to prevent injury.
## **READ MORE ABOUT THE DEVELOPING CHILD PROJECT**
This project is made possible through support from East Head Impact.
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CONTENTS INTRODUCTION TRUSTEES’ REPORT AUDITOR’S REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADMIN DETAILS
## **Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
**READ MORE ABOUT OUR ADAPTATION AND WORKLOAD WORK**
## **ADAPTATION AND WORKLOAD**
**Translating the principles of workload management and performance adaptation into a practical tool for the school and club environment, to support targeted development, increase engagement, reduce injury risk, and help young people adapt in a healthy way.**
Our project, focused on delivering a workload-related adaptation model designed to support teachers and coaches to reduce the risk of preventable injuries, is in its final stages.
Through iterative consultation, we have developed a model that can be used to support youth and grassroots sport stakeholders in planning the development journey they want to take with their players physically or psychologically; promoting positive adaptation in the sports they play, and navigating the risks of failing to adapt, which is where injuries can occur.
## **SportSmart Applied Research**
The five-stage model we have created helps users map out the key stages of adaptation into an achievable action plan, and has been rolled out to a small cohort of schools and grassroots clubs to assess engagement and effectiveness of the material during the year. The model will be publicly available for all schools, grassroots clubs, and talent pathway environments by September 2024, where we will continue to work with organisations to implement the model in practice.
“ The SportSmart Adaptation Model can be adapted for our specific needs. It can be used to highlight to coaches and parents some of the key things they should be aware of when planning for healthy participation, to promote positive adaptation and make a real difference to how a young person thrives in their sport.”
**Kate Hedge, Berkhamsted & Hemel Hempstead Hockey Club**
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION TRUSTEES’ REPORT AUDITOR’S REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADMIN DETAILS
**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **SportSmart Applied Research**
## **YOUNG VOICES IN SPORT**
## **Developing peer, coach and family mental health support for young people experiencing sports injuries.**
Young Voices is a multi-component programme of research, co-design and intervention implementation that will explore young people’s experiences of sports injury and create resources to support mentally healthy recovery and return to sport.
“ Young athletes are navigating the complexities of adolescence alongside the pressures of competition. Their mental health needs during injury and recovery are unique, and this project will shine a light on how best to support them, ensuring they feel mentally as well as physically prepared to get back in the game.”
**Dr Catherine Wheatley, Mental Health & Psychological Wellbeing Manager, Podium Analytics**
For young people, we will develop and share mental health and wellbeing guidance that incorporates peer stories of injury, and its impact, along with expert advice and suggested coping strategies. For coaches and families, we will produce injury-related mental health awareness training and advice on offering support. By improving coping and support skills, we will help to prevent sport drop-out so that more young people can lead active, healthy lives.
Young Voices has been developed over the 2023–2024 period from codesign work with young people and workshops with expert advisers from the worlds of sport, mental health, education and coaching. We found widespread support for a programme that addresses a lack of injury-related mental health support for young people in clubs and pathways. Building on early scoping work, including 2023’s Injuries, Insults and Applause report, young people told us that they would welcome practical social, psychological and emotional support after injury.
We learned from experts that resources should include information and guidance for young people themselves, but also training for coaches and families to understand and support mental challenges such as feelings of anxiety, loss of self-identity and pressure to resume sport before full physical and mental recovery.
Over the period, we designed a research study in collaboration with the University of Bath that will provide peer-reviewed evidence to underpin our programme development. The study aims to explore the mental impact of injuries among young people who play regular, competitive sport in grassroots and talent pathway settings; how these are linked with family and sport environments; and how they change during rehabilitation and return to sport. The work will also identify healthy and maladaptive coping strategies and support mechanisms.
## **READ MORE ABOUT OUR YOUNG VOICES IN SPORT WORK**
of getting injured again. My parents, friends, and teammates are cautious around me; they don’t want to see me get hurt, and that makes me feel even more anxious. I try to push through that fear and be confident, but it’s tough. I’m not training or playing with my friends week in and week out, and I really miss that connection.”
## **Hannah Cliftlands,**
**20-years-old, recovering from ACL tear, Sport and Exercise Science Student, University of Bath**
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TRUSTEES’ REPORT AUDITOR’S REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADMIN DETAILS
**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **SportSmart Applied Research**
## **DATA LITERACY**
**Making Data-Informed Decisions about sports injury, identifying what, how and why everyday information can be used to support decisions to reduce injury risk.**
Over the period, we have developed educational resources to support our stakeholders in making informed decisions to prevent injury by considering different forms of relevant contextual information.
The Data-Informed Decisions programme is designed to increase and improve SportSmart programme use by illustrating the value of the information users observe and collect in their context, providing guidance on how to interpret this information, and signposting to reliable supporting resources. This aims to influence users’ capability, motivation and confidence in collecting data on injury and in making decisions about how to mitigate sports injury risk.
The programme is due to launch at the start of 2025, in line with an optimised onboarding and support process for prospective and current SportSmart users.
Alongside this, we have continued to support engaged SportSmart organisational users on the analysis and visualisation of their injury data, working with them to identify potential areas of focus to decrease the incidence of sport-related injuries in their organisation.
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ADMIN DETAILS
**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **SportSmart Applied Research**
## **SUPPORTING POSITIVE PERFORMANCE PATHWAY EXPERIENCES IN YOUTH TENNIS**
**The 2023–2024 period represented a period of close consultation with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to define the initial set of research projects that our partnership will deliver over the coming years.**
The projects, focused on supporting positive performance pathway experiences of young tennis players (10–14-years-old) across the LTA’s Regional Player Development Centres (RPDCs), will be further refined ahead of commencement over the 2024–2025 period.
“ Our collaboration with Podium represents a crucial step in enhancing the development journey for young players within our performance pathway. By gaining deeper insight into the experiences of players, parents, and coaches, we can create more supportive and effective environments that nurture both performance and well-being. This research will not only strengthen our Regional Player Development Centres but also offer valuable lessons that can be applied across tennis and the wider sporting community.”
**Andy Barnes**
**Regional Player Development Centre Network Lead, LTA**
“It has been a fantastic experience to harness the collective expertise of LTA and Podium colleagues in establishing a multi-disciplinary project delivery group. Our project discovery phase continues to be particularly insightful and ensures that we are on a strong footing ahead of project delivery.”
**Rob Mann, Research Programme Manager, Podium Analytics**
**Podium Analytics Annual Report and Financial Statements** 2023–2024
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION TRUSTEES’ REPORT AUDITOR’S REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADMIN DETAILS
**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **SportSmart Applied Research**
## **2023 SAFETY IN SPORT PERCEPTION SURVEY**
**November 2023 saw the publication of our 2023 Safety in Sport Perception Survey, conducted in collaboration with YouGov, based on a representative sample of the UK adult population.**
An annual poll of UK public opinion, the study provides insight into the public’s perceptions, attitudes and behaviours around sports safety and sports injury and, over time, will assess the public’s general understanding and awareness of sports safety as an issue.
The 2023 edition also included questions that went to a representative sample of 16- and 17-year-olds, giving us the opportunity to understand their views and how they might differ from, or align with, those of adults.
## **READ THE FULL 2023 PERCEPTION SURVEY HERE**
**HEADLINE FINDINGS INCLUDE: 4 IN 5 PARENTS**
want schools and sports clubs to keep official record of sports injuries, while current guidance states it isn’t required if part of the “rough and tumble” of the game.
## **OVERWHELMING SUPPORT**
shown by UK population for rule changes to reduce incidence of sport-related concussion – 67% in rugby and 61% in football.
## **EST. 3.6M UK ADULTS**
were injured during grassroots sports in the previous 12 months – equivalent to roughly 10,000 per day.
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
TRUSTEES’ REPORT AUDITOR’S REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADMIN DETAILS
**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **SportSmart Applied Research**
## **PRIORITIES FOR THE 2024–2025 PERIOD**
- We will launch the Developing Child free online curriculum for feasibility testing, welcoming participants to trial content and the learning process. The curriculum will contain approximately two hours of content that teachers can access at their convenience, allowing them to learn at their own pace and integrate the knowledge into their teaching practices. The insights gained from this feasibility study will be crucial in refining the final product ahead of a broader launch.
- We will commence data collection for the Young Voices study, following ethical approval, and aim to complete the study, submit for publication and share preliminary findings by the end of the 2024–25 period. Alongside this, we will complete the youth co-design of peer resources, ready for testing, and initiate coach codesign in advance of developing coach resources.
- We will continue our player pathway injury surveillance in rugby, expanding to additional Premiership Rugby Academies, including Northampton Saints, and will explore the opportunity to support the Premiership Rugby U18 Academy League.
- Commence the multimodal study in sport-related concussion at Gloucester Rugby and in adolescents through Oxford University Hospitals.
- Continue the recruitment and training of outstanding doctoral students and future leaders in sports medicine and technology.
- We will finalise and launch the SportSmart Adaptation Model, to promote and support healthy adaptation in sport and physical activity. Due to be published in September 2024, the Model will be distributed and promoted with the help of key sport and education stakeholders.
- The Data-Informed Decisions programme will be launched to all SportSmart users and promoted more broadly through the SportSmart Hub.
- We will complete the scoping of the projects we will deliver will the LTA, focused on the development experience with young tennis players (10–14-yearsold) across the LTA’s Regional Player Development Centres (RPDCs), and will commence initial work.
- We will design and deliver 2024’s addition of the Safety in Sport Perception Survey, continuing to include core questions that are asked annually to track changing perceptions over time, as well as including new questions to capture emerging themes.
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ADMIN DETAILS
**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **Advocacy and Collaborations**
## **ADVOCACY AND COLLABORATIONS**
• Whilst inevitably challenging in our first years, we are beginning to see far more activity and return from our fundraising efforts. This progress is mostly centred around individuals and private trusts, and we have raised over £750,000 this year alone from entirely new sources, as well as securing a £350,000 grant agreement from East Head Impact. We are in discussion with a number of prospective supporters who may join us as ‘Founding Funders’, as well as exploring opportunities around commercial partnerships. In addition, we are now at the stage in our operations where we can begin serious discussions with major grant-makers.
• Considerable progress was made in our continued collaboration with UK Government over the 2023–2024 period, predominantly focused on the issue of concussion in sport due to ministerial focus on this issue following the UK Government’s Concussion in Sport Inquiry and the publication of the new UK Concussion Guidelines for Grassroots Sport. The announcement of the general election and subsequent purdah halted our dialogue and we are now working on engaging with the new Government.
> • Over the period, Podium’s CEO, Andy Hunt, and The Podium Institute’s Director, Professor Constantin Coussios OBE FREng, continued to support a Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) expert panel on Innovation and
Technology, providing their input in the shaping of solutions off the back of the Concussion in Sport Inquiry.
- We announced Steven McRae,
Principal Dancer at The Royal Ballet, as an Ambassador, and have been following his journey back from injury through the creation of a Road to Recovery video series.
## **WATCH AN INTERVIEW WITH STEVEN**
His first-hand experience of the devastating impact of injury, caused through long-term physical and mental burnout, makes Steven an invaluable advocate for greater understanding of the causal effects of injury and the need to empower teachers and coaches to better support young people in their formative years to deliver lasting change.
Our Ambassadors provide the Podium team with insight and perspectives from personal experiences of injury and sport participation, helping to shape research and solutions, as well as engage stakeholders across sport and beyond.
Over the period, we benefited from the valued support of our Ambassadors: Alex Danson-Bennett MBE
(Hockey), Sam Ward (Hockey), Steven McRae (Ballet), Amy Williams MBE (Skeleton), Beth Tweddle MBE (Gymnastics), Tim Henman OBE (Tennis). Outreach and engagement of prospective ambassadors is ongoing.
_Continued on next page_
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**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **Advocacy and Collaborations**
“We want players to be as safe as can be on the pitch whilst also retaining the essence of what rugby union is all about – a fast, physical and exciting sport. To have the support and expertise of an organisation like Podium will provide a scientific depth and understanding of what the players go through and the initiatives that we have in the pipeline will provide a step forward for players in this country.”
## **Christian Day, General Secretary, RPA**
- We have continued to benefit from the market-leading expertise of our Legal Partner, Pinsent Masons, one of the leading international law firms, and are working with them on exploring mutual thought leadership opportunities.
- Return2Play (part of Meliora Medical Group) came on board as an official partner to support the drive for head injury mitigation and improved accessibility to gold-standard medical care to those with injury.
• We launched our partnership with The Rugby Players Association (RPA), the representative body of elite rugby players in England, representing more than 600 male and female current
rugby players as well as over 100 former players. The partnership aims to continue the advancement of change for improved player welfare in the professional game of rugby, advocating for this through research into injury prevention and calling for change to rules and regulations to reduce the risk of injury in rugby.
Medicine and Technology at the University of Oxford and Podium’s partners and stakeholders.
These projects have been formally endorsed by the RPA Board to drive maximum buy-in and participation in relevant studies from RPA members. One example of this is the multimodal head injury study, which aims to result in the development of a Head Injury Dose Model for Rugby Union. The essential insights and learnings that are taken from the professional game will be pivotal in implementing effective change at the grassroots and youth level over time, so that the game of rugby can evolve to better protect players at all levels.
In addition, Andy Hunt (CEO) and Professor Constantin Coussios OBE FREng
(The Podium Institute Director) have joined the RPA Welfare Advisory Board.
_Continued on next page_
## **WATCH THE PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCEWENT**
The RPA will work to promote research projects that are being undertaken by the Podium Institute for Sports
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**Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **Advocacy and Collaborations**
• We have further engaged both National and International Governing Bodies and Professional Leagues regarding research collaborations and opportunities, and are making steady progress developing relationships with Sports Councils.
With several discussions ongoing with major International Federations, we were given a keynote speaking slot at SportAccord in April 2024, where we had the opportunity to announce the Trusted Research Environment for Global Sport and present the work of The Podium Institute to the International Federation community.
In addition, we were invited back (having presented in the previous period) to present to the Association for Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) Medical and Science Consultative Group – a group focused on the practical and operational issues of common interest for all International Federations in
the areas of medical and anti-doping activity, including all athlete healthrelated matters.
We welcomed British Judo, England Ice Hockey, Hockey Wales, England Snowsports and Tennis First – who are endorsing and integrating SportSmart within their communities - as partners alongside our existing National Governing Body collaborations with England Hockey, the RFU, England Athletics, Lawn Tennis Association and The Royal Ballet School.
- We welcomed Northampton Saints Rugby, with a focus on monitoring injury in their pathway programme and joining our existing Premiership Rugby partner, Gloucester Rugby. In football, St. Mirren Women and Girls Academy came onboard as a SportSmart partner to help better manage each player’s journey through football.
## **WATCH THE ST.MIRREN ANNOUNCEWENT**
- We continue to develop our
relationships across the education community, signing collaboration agreements with the Association for Physical Education, with a focus on assessing opportunities for upskilling PE teachers in injury prevention, and with United Learning Group, with a focus on the rollout of SportSmart and the streamlining of sports injury management across its public and private schools. In addition, we signed a collaboration agreement with our first university, Chichester.
• During the period, we secured key coverage including Andy Hunt, Podium’s CEO, attending BBC Breakfast and radio coverage on 5 Live Breakfast relating to our SportSmart Head Injury Tool and two year National Trial, and further coverage on LBC Radio (SportSmart), City AM (Perception Survey 2023), and The Sunday Times (quotation included relating to injury and concussion in grassroots sport). We have seen an increase in incoming organic requests for comment relating to injury coverage, affirming the improved profile Podium is achieving.
“We are thrilled to join forces with Podium Analytics and SportSmart. This collaboration will enable us to track and gather vital data to better understand the needs of our judo community when managing an injury, ensuring their wellbeing remains at the forefront of our efforts. We believe that the integration of the SportSmart app will be a game changer for our sport. It will provide us with invaluable information to assess and address the specific needs of our athletes, allowing us to create a nurturing and supportive environment for their growth and success.”
**Andrew Scoular, CEO, British Judo**
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## **Programme Update June 2023–May 2024**
## **Advocacy and Collaborations**
## **PRIORITIES FOR THE 2024-2025 PERIOD**
• Continue to engage with forward thinking partners, showcasing our value to both partners and the world of sport. We will continue to focus on individuals and organisations, often engaging with complex networks of interrelated funders, where we can bring both social and commercial value to partnerships. We strongly believe that our goals can only be achieved alongside a network of committed, visionary partners who care about the future of sport and the people that play it.
- Grow our Ambassador
Programme, to represent a broader range of sports and experiences, as well as look for further ways to engage different perspectives, in particular the youth perspective, through focus groups and co-design projects.
- Continue to develop our
collaborations and partnerships to ensure the reach and impact of Podium’s work; engaging Government in long-term collaboration opportunities, further developing valued relationships with Sports Governing Bodies and Professional Leagues, and expanding our relationships across schools and clubs across the UK.
## Develop Podium’s profile
-
through more proactive external marketing and communications activity, drawing on the opportunities that our research findings present for engaging our varied audiences with the findings our work brings to light and the solutions they necessitate for the future.
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AUDITOR’S REPORT
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADMIN DETAILS
## **FINANCIAL REVIEW**
## **The financial statements have been prepared for the year ending 31 May 2024.**
## **Overview**
The financial statements on pages 59–76 have been prepared for the year ended 31 May 2024.
Total income for the year was £3.0 million (2023: £3.4 million) which largely comprised £1.8 million in private donations and donations of £0.5 million and £0.6m received from Cobalto Holdings 2 Limited and CVC Philanthropy Limited respectively. This funding has been provided to support the ongoing activities of the charity.
Total expenditure in the year was £5.0 million (2023: £3.3 million). In the year ended 2022 Podium fully recognised its grant commitment to the University of Oxford in respect of the initial 6-year period of the Podium Analytics Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology. The long-term element of this grant was discounted to reflect the time value of money, resulting in expenditure of £13.1 million being recognised in the year ended 31 May 2022 in respect of this grant. During the year ended 31 May 2024 the unwinding of the discounting
effect meant that a £0.3 million expense was recognised during the period. The remaining £4.7 million expenditure in this financial year was predominately related to the cost of developing our SportSmart injury insight platform, our research activities and other charitable programmes together with staff costs and administrative overheads.
The net movement in funds for the year amounted to a deficit of £2 million (2023: £0.1 million surplus).
Net liabilities of the group as at 31 May 2024 were £11 million (2023: £8.9 million net liabilities). Net current liabilities totalled £3.7 million (2023: £1.7 million net liabilities) which primarily consisted of £4.0 million grants payable to the Podium Analytics Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology, less cash and other receivables.
## **Charity funds**
## **Unrestricted funds**
Unrestricted funds comprise those funds that are not subject to specific donor restrictions placed on them in respect of either their ultimate purpose or under the terms of an endowment. Total unrestricted funds of the group at 31 May 2024 were £11.1 million deficit (2023: £9.0 million deficit). General reserves are defined as that portion of unrestricted funds remaining once the trustees have designated amounts for specific purposes. Designated funds at 31 May 2024 were £nil (2023: £nil) and as such the total unrestricted funds represented general funds.
Unrestricted funds were primarily in deficit at the balance sheet date due to the accounting treatment of the grant award to the University of Oxford for the initial 6-year period of the Podium Analytics Institute for Youth Sports Medicine and Technology. This grant was recognised in full as expenditure in the year ended 31 May 2022 as it is committed and unconditional. Payment of this grant, however, is spread over a 6-year period of the commitment with the last payment due in May 2027. Cash payments over the next three
years total £8.9 million on a discounted basis (see note 13 on page 72). The residual deficit has been funded by loans from an entity related to a Trustee (2023: £0). To 31 May 2024, Podium has recognised income of £10.9 million from the Dreamchasing Foundation and CVC Capital Partners with a further £1.6 million income to be recognised once conditionality within the grant awards has been satisfied. The Trustees are confident that the balance sheet deficit position will reverse over the initial term of the Institute commitment as the income from the committed long-term funding is recognised in the financial statements and anticipated future income is generated.
## **Restricted funds**
Restricted funds are funds subject to specific restrictions defined by the donor. Total restricted funds of the group at 31 May 2024 were £0.1 million surplus (2023: £nil). In the year, Podium received a grant to support its work on its Adolescent Growth Spurt research project.
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AUDITOR’S REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADMIN DETAILS
## **FINANCIAL REVIEW** CONTINUED
## **Reserves policy**
The Board of Trustees considers the key measure of sustainability for the Charity to be current and future liquidity cover, rather than the surplus or deficit accounting position.
The Trustees have set an appropriate reserves policy (which will be reviewed annually) relating to liquidity, based on the relationship between readily available funds and the cash required to sustain the Charity’s operations for an anticipated period of time as detailed below.
The Trustees have determined that, after an allowance for future income expectations, the Charity should maintain cash and have access to committed and readily available long-term financing sufficient to fund not less than 12 months’ operating expenditure (excluding the direct costs of income generation and costs of future programmes which are yet to be committed). In the event that the Charity faces difficult financial circumstances, this reserve level could allow for the Charity’s operations to continue during a period of managed adjustment to these new circumstances. Based on current forecasts, this policy requires the Charity to have access to cash and committed long-term financing of £9.1 million.
The Charity had net current liabilities of £3.7 million at the balance sheet date. This included cash of £0.3 million. Additionally, further future funding is expected from the CVC Foundation and Cobalto Holdings 2 Limited totalling £1.6 million, to be received in equal annual instalments until 2025/26.
## **Going concern**
The Trustees must satisfy themselves as to Podium Analytics’ ability to continue as a going concern for a minimum of 12 months from the approval of the financial statements.
Podium Analytics had net liabilities of £11.0 million (2023: £9.0 million net liabilities) as described above, and net current liabilities of £3.7 million (2023: net liabilities of £1.8 million) at the balance sheet date, inclusive of payments due to the University of Oxford in the next 12 months. At the balance sheet date, Podium Analytics held cash of £0.3 million. Podium Analytics has an active fundraising programme, which generated £2.9 million in the 2023/24 financial year, as well as a number of plans to diversify income. In addition, since May 2024 Podium has received a further £.3.3 million in loan funding from an entity related to a Trustee. In January 2025 all of Podium’s loans were converted into a
consolidated facility with a repayment date of November 2034.
This, together with anticipated future income and the ability to manage expenditure as appropriate, provides assurance that Podium Analytics will continue to have access to sufficient liquid resources to meet its obligations as they fall due. A Trustee has also provided a commitment to support the costs of the charity for the coming 12 months.
The Trustees have reviewed financial forecasts beyond a period of 12 months from the approval of the financial statements. This included an assessment of budgets, business plans and cash flow forecasts. As a result of this review, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. As a consequence, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the annual accounts.
## **Pensions**
Podium Analytics operates a defined contribution workplace pension scheme which is available for employees to join at any time. Contributions made to the plan during the financial year totalled £62,705 (2023: £57,890).
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## **PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES**
**The Trustees are responsible for ensuring that there are effective and adequate risk management and internal control systems in place to manage the strategic and operational risks to which the Charity is exposed.**
## **Risk Management Framework**
The Trustees are responsible for ensuring that there are effective and adequate risk management and internal control systems in place to manage the strategic and operational risks to which the Charity is exposed. Processes are in place regarding risk management and internal controls, which include the following:
A comprehensive risk management framework which meets the Charity Commission’s requirements and sets out the processes that we use to identify and manage risks in all our activities. This process is supported by the Podium Analytics corporate risk register which is regularly reviewed with the Senior Management Team.
The Trustees review the corporate risk register at least twice a year, in addition to review by the Audit and Risk Committee. In the course of these reviews, the Board considers:
- the high and significant risks to which Podium Analytics is exposed;
- the potential impact and likelihood associated with each risk;
- existing internal controls and accountability for them; and
- mitigating actions to reduce each risk to a level that the Board considers to be acceptable.
All major programmes and projects are measured for risk, scrutinised by the Senior Management Team through a documented project approval process and monitored by the Board of Trustees to ensure they are properly planned and implemented.
## **Data Protection**
We continue to develop and improve our framework for supporting the use of personal data in order to maintain controls around known areas of risk and implement strong ‘privacy by design’ in new systems. Consideration is given to planned future activities as well as current activities being undertaken. This includes implementing Data Protection Impact Assessments where appropriate and ensuring our work is transparent through our online Privacy Centre.
## **Major Risks**
The Senior Management Team has identified the following risks along with actions to mitigate them.
The Board of Trustees reviewed updates to the risks and actions during the year.
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
TRUSTEES’ REPORT AUDITOR’S REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADMIN DETAILS
## **PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES** CONTINUED
## **Technology**
## **Research strategy**
- **Technology Research strategy Engagement Data security Income generation with stakeholders**
- Failure to collect or accurately Initial research findings do not The risk of vulnerability to cyberIncome targets from record reliable and usable data produce irrefutable evidence A lack of collaboration and/or attacks, loss of data, or nonfundraising and marketing which could prevent research to achieve the objectivesof support from sports governing compliance with data protection activities not achieved objectives being met. the research programme. bodies, schools, universities legislation which could result and/or failure to maximise and government or its agencies in reputational and financial commercial projects via which could slow the damage to the charity. Podium Applied Technologies. progress of our research and charitable programmes.
- • Ensure our infrastructure is • Ensure a high-quality research • Early engagement and • Maintain and continually • New Director of Fundraising secure, resilient, scalable and approach with all partners consultation with stakeholders invest in the highest is reviewing the fundraising highly available to protect data including the Podium Institute in the development of our standards of data security strategy and introducing and allow systems to scale to in conjunction with the strategy, and strong ongoing and access control. In 2024 new income generation meet demand. University of Oxford. stakeholder engagement to Podium achieved ISO27001 opportunities.
- • Continue to adopt a lean • Research strategy designed ensure sufficient support certification. • Undertake robust financial development lifecycle that to deliver an understanding and buy-in. • Undertake regular systems planning with a clear focus pilots functionality in a variety of the scale and impact our • Ensure our strategy does not reviews and external audit. on strategic priorities. of environments and sports to work could have on sport and rely solely on one stakeholder. • Ensure compliance with • Maintain overheads at ensure system is intuitive society and identify the priority • Ensure our proposition is data protection laws. a modest level to ensure and usable. areas within that to provide engaging to stakeholders • Ensure all employees are appropriate levels of
- • Work closely with our focus for the initial research. which will deliver benefit adequately trained in expenditure and flexibility stakeholders such as for a whole sport. data procedures and data to adapt our cost base the Podium Institute to protection regulations. if required. continuously refine, deepen • Reserves policy in place and extend the data we collect and compliance with allowing us to evolve data policy monitored. requirements.
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## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT**
**Podium Analytics is a registered charity in England and Wales (charity number 1183716) and in Scotland (charity number SC051893) and is constituted as a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 11831773). Its objects and powers are set out in its Memorandum and Articles of Association.**
## **Board of Trustees**
The Board of Trustees is responsible for the governance and strategy of Podium Analytics. The Board meets quarterly and is currently comprised of five Trustees who have full legal responsibility for the actions of Podium Analytics. Trustees are appointed for an initial term of three years that can be extended by a further three years on a rolling basis. Members of the Charity have guaranteed the liabilities of the company up to £10 each.
The Trustees are the directors of the company for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006 and under charity law they have legal duties and responsibilities as Trustees. The Board must comprise of a minimum of three Trustees. During the year, and up to the date of approval of this annual report, there was a qualifying thirdparty indemnity in place for directors, as allowed by Section 234 of the Companies Act 2006.
Podium Analytics’ Trustees are chosen for their mix of skills and abilities. Trustees must have sufficient collective skills to ensure that the governance of Podium Analytics is sound and meets its legal obligations. Individual Trustees must have relevant business, professional or organisational experience to contribute to the collective role of the Board and must also have a strong degree of personal commitment and the personal qualities to work collectively to deliver a common mission.
Trustees must declare the nature and extent of any interest they have in a proposed transaction or arrangement entered into by the Charity. If a conflict of interest arises, the unconflicted Trustees may authorise such a transaction or arrangement if the conflicted Trustee is absent from the part of the meeting at which it is discussed, the conflicted Trustee does not vote on any such matter and is not counted when considering whether a quorum of Trustees is present, and the unconflicted Trustees consider it in the interests of the Charity to authorise the conflict of interests in the circumstances applying.
## **Trustees**
Sir Ron Dennis, CBE
Peter Hamlyn MBBS BSC MD FRCS FISM
Robin Fenwick
Kristina Murrin CBE
Donald Mackenzie
Sir Anthony Seldon FRSA FRHistS FKC (appointed 16 January 2025)
Responsibility for recruiting new members of the Board is delegated by the Board to the Nominations and Remuneration Committee. One of its aims is to ensure a broad mix of skills and backgrounds. All new Trustees receive a comprehensive induction and are invited to spend time with members of the Senior Management Team as required.
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## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** CONTINUED
## **Decision-making**
## **Senior Management Team**
## **Public benefit**
## **Our staff**
The Board of Trustees is responsible for the governance and strategy of Podium Analytics. The Board has established various sub-committees with specific delegated responsibilities, including the Audit and Risk committee and
the Nominations and Remuneration committee, and our research programmes are overseen by the Expert Advisory Board.
To ensure that Podium Analytics is managed efficiently and effectively, the Trustees have delegated a range of day-to-day decision-making powers to the Chief Executive Officer, who reports directly to the Board of Trustees. The Trustees have also established appropriate controls and reporting mechanisms to ensure that the Chief Executive Officer and Senior Management Team operate within the scope of the powers delegated to them. The delegation policy is updated on an ongoing basis and is formally reviewed and approved by the Trustees. The last update was in April 2023.
The Senior Management Team is responsible for the day-to-day running of the charity under authority delegated by the Board of Trustees to the Chief Executive Officer.
The Senior Management Team proposes to the Board of Trustees where the charity should invest its time, money and expertise. It reviews strategic changes to the charity’s activities prior to consideration by the Board. At the date of approval of this report, the Senior Management Team is comprised of:
Andy Hunt, Chief Executive Officer
Stephen Jones, Chief Operating Officer
Damian Smith, Chief Technology Officer
Harriet Strzelecki, Marketing Lead
James McAllister CGMA, Finance and Business Operations Director
Dr Carly McKay BKin MSc PhD, Director of Research
In reviewing our aims and objectives, and planning future activities, the Trustees have taken into account the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit. The Trustees always ensure that the activities undertaken are in line with the charitable objectives and aims of Podium Analytics.
As highlighted earlier in this report, some of our planned initiatives will be specifically targeted at certain age ranges. However, by their very nature, all our charitable activities are undertaken for the public benefit.
## **Fundraising**
Podium Analytics did not make any direct approaches to the general public in its fundraising nor use other providers to complete fundraising activities on its behalf during the year. There were therefore no fundraising complaints received during the year.
The overall fundraising strategy of the charity is regularly addressed by the Board of Trustees in exercise of their duties under CC20 Charity Commission guidance.
During the year, regular communications are provided to our staff through various channels, including updates on the Charity’s progress. We consult with employees on a regular basis so that their views can be taken into account in making decisions which are likely to affect their interests.
## **Employment practices and pay**
Podium Analytics is committed to employment policies which follow best practice, based on equal opportunities for all employees, irrespective of sex, race, colour, religion, sexual orientation, age, employment status, disability or marital status.
Podium Analytics gives full and fair consideration to applications for employment from people with disabilities, having regard to their particular aptitudes and abilities.
We do not condone or tolerate any form of discrimination in our recruitment or employment practices.
Layal Marten, Director of Fundraising
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## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** CONTINUED
All employees and applicants are treated on merit, fairly, with respect and dignity, recognised as individuals and valued for the contribution they make, provided fair and equal training, development, reward and progression opportunities, and are accountable for the impact of their own behaviour and actions.
## **Pay**
We are committed to fairness in our remuneration practices. We conduct an annual salary review with increases awarded for individual performance. Information regarding the remuneration spend and the number of employees with pay over £60,000 is included in Note 5 to the financial statements on page 67.
## **Senior Management Pay**
To achieve our objectives, we need to attract and retain high-performing senior management. Each position on the Senior Management Team is benchmarked and set appropriately. The aggregate remuneration of our Senior Management Team is disclosed in Note 5 to the financial statements.
## **Related party relationships**
Details of transactions with related parties are set out in Note 6 to the financial statements on page 68.
## **Auditor**
Blick Rothenberg Audit LLP has expressed its willingness to continue to act as auditor.
The reference and administrative details on page 77 form part of the Trustees’ Report.
The Trustees confirm that the annual report and financial statements of the Charity and the group comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the Charity’s governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).
Since the Charity qualifies as small under section 383 of the Companies Act 2006, the strategic report required of medium and large companies under The Companies Act 2006 (Strategy Report and Director’s Report) Regulations 2013 is not required.
The Trustees’ Annual Report was approved by the Board of Trustees (in their capacity as company directors), on 16 January 2025.
**Sir Ron Dennis CBE Chairman**
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## **STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES**
**The Trustees (who are also directors of Podium Analytics for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial**
## **Statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.**
Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law, the Trustees have prepared the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Standards, comprising FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland, and applicable law (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Under company law, the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable group for that year. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Statements of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities (2019);
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK
- accounting standards, comprising FRS 102, have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; _and_
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and the group and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and the group and for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
- In the case of each Trustee in office at the date the Trustees’ Report is approved, that:
- so far as the Trustee is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditor is unaware; and
- they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as Trustees in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charitable company’s auditors are aware of that information.
**Sir Ron Dennis CBE Chairman**
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INDEPENDENT
AUDITOR'S REPORT
Podium AnalyticsA
port8nd Financiél St8tements 2023-424
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## **INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF PODIUM ANALYTICS**
## **Opinion**
We have audited the financial statements of Podium Analytics (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 May 2024 which comprise the group statement of financial activities, the group and charity balance sheets, the group statement of cash flows and the related notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
- give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 May 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, for the year then ended;
- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; _and_
- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
## **Basis for opinion**
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
## **Conclusions relating**
## **to going concern**
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
## **Other information**
The Trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon.
Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with
the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
## **Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006**
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
- the information given in the Trustees’ report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements.
- the Trustees’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
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## **INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF PODIUM ANALYTICS** CONTINUED
## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception**
In light of our knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
- the Trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies
regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the Trustees’ report and from the requirement to prepare a Strategic report.
## **Responsibilities of Trustees**
As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement, the Trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion.
Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
## Irregularities, including fraud, are
instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
- the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify
or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
- we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the charity through discussions with trustees and other management, and from our commercial knowledge and experience of the charity sector;
- we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the charity, including the Charities Act 2011, taxation legislation and data protection, and health and safety legislation;
- we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management; and
- identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.
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## **INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF PODIUM ANALYTICS** CONTINUED
We assessed the susceptibility of the charity’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
- making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; _and_
- considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:
- performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
- reviewed the general ledger and associated journal entries to identify unusual transactions; and
- investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not
limited to:
- agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation; and
- enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims.
There are inherent limitations in our audit
procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance.
Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify noncompliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
## **Use of our report**
This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006.
Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and its members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
## **Mark Hart**
## **(Senior statutory auditor) for and on behalf of**
## **Blick Rothenberg Audit LLP**
Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor 16 Great Queen Street Covent Garden London WC2B 5AH
16 January 2025
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èfF LC
FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS
UMA
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INTRODUCTION
TRUSTEES’ REPORT
AUDITOR’S REPORT
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADMIN DETAILS
## **CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES** | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024 (incorporating an income and expenditure account)
|||**2024**|**2024**|**2024**|2023|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|Total|
|||**funds**|**funds**|||
||**Note**|**£**|**£**|**£**|£|
|**Income from:**||||||
|Donations|2|**2,822,510**|**-**|**2,822,510**|3,375,000|
|Grants||**-**|**125,000**|**125,000**|1,000|
|Other trading activities|3|**33,160**|**-**|**33,160**|25,834|
|**Total income**||**2,855,670**|**125,000**|**2,980,670**|3,401,834|
|**Expenditure on:**||||||
|Raising funds|4|**(523,598)**|**-**|**(523,598)**|(421,237)|
|Charitable activities|4|**(4,461,073)**|**-**|**(4,461,073)**|(2,904,145)|
|**Total expenditure**||**(4,984,671)**|**-**|**(4,984,671)**|(3,325,382)|
|**Net income (defcit)**||**(2,129,001)**|**125,000**|**(2,004,001)**|76,452|
|**Net movement in funds**||**(2,129,001)**|**125,000**|**(2,004,001)**|76,452|
|**Fund balances brought forward**|16|**(8,984,249)**|**-**|**(8,984,249)**|(9,060,701)|
|**Fund balances carried forward**|16|**(11,113,250)**|**125,000**|**(10,988,250)**|(8,984,249)|
All amounts relate to continuing activities. There are no other gains or losses in the year other than those shown above.
_The notes on pages 62 to 76 form part of these financial statements._
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## **GROUP AND CHARITY BALANCE SHEETS** | AS AT 31 MAY 2024 | COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 11831773
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Group Group Charity Charity
2024 2023 2024 2023
Note £ £ £ £
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 8 41,185 81,144 41,185 81,144
Investments 9 - - 1 1
41,185 81,144 41,186 81,145
Current assets
Debtors: amounts due after one year 10 - 274,622 - 274,622
Debtors: amounts due within one year 10 613,814 426,189 624,458 452,673
Cash at bank and in hand 337,038 396,522 323,994 353,165
950,852 1,097,333 948,452 1,080,460
Current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 11 (4,689,752) (2,908,591) (4,687,353) (2,891,717)
Net current assets (3,738,900) (1,811,258) (3,738,901) (1,811,257)
Total assets less current liabilities (3,697,715) (1,730,114) (3,697,715) (1,730,112)
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year 12 (7,290,535) (7,254,135) (7,290,535) (7,254,135)
Net (liabilities)/assets (10,988,250) (8,984,249) (10,988,250) (8,984,247)
Funds :
Resricted reserves 16 125,000 - 125,000 -
General reserves 16 (11,113,250) (8,984,249) (11,113,250) (8,984,247)
Unrestricted funds (10,988,250) (8,984,249) (10,988,250) (8,984,247)
**----- End of picture text -----**
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies and in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102 the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
The total income for the year of the parent Charity was £2,974,215 (2023: £3,377,964) and its net deficit for the year was £2,004,001 (2023: £82,883 surplus).
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 16 January 2025 and signed on its behalf by:
## **Sir Ron Dennis CBE**
**Chairman**
_The notes on pages 62 to 76 form part of these financial statements._
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## **CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS** | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
**----- Start of picture text -----**
2024 2023
£ £
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income / (expenditure) for the year (2,004,001) 76,452
Adjustments for:
Depreciation 42,040 44,084
Loss on disposal of fixed assets - 2,289
Decrease in debtors 86,997 2,943,361
Increase in creditors 311,836 92,015
Decrease in provision for grants payable (874,275) (2,977,956)
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities (2,437,403) 180,245
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets (2,081) (20,424)
Net cash outflow from investing activities (2,081) (20,424)
Cash flows from financing activities
Loans drawn 2,380,000 -
Net cash inflow from financing activities 2,380,000 -
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents in the year (59,484) 159,822
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 June 396,522 236,700
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 May 337,038 396,522
2024 2023
Analysis of cash and cash equivalents £ £
Cash at bank and in hand 337,038 396,522
Total 337,038 396,522
**----- End of picture text -----**
_The notes on pages 62 to 76 form part of these financial statements._
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## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
## **1. Accounting policies**
## **Charity information**
The charity is a company limited by guarantee and is incorporated and registered in England and Wales. Its registered office and principal place of business is 6 Grosvenor Street, London W1K 4PZ.
The formal objective of the Charity is to advance health for the public benefit in particular, but not exclusively by collecting, researching (including the publication of the useful results of such charitable research) and applying data to support the prevention and treatment of injuries in sport, particularly but not exclusively, youth and grassroots sport.
## **1.1 Accounting convention**
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the
Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) and the Companies Act 2006.
Podium Analytics meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the Charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
## **1.2 Basis of consolidation**
The consolidated financial statements incorporate the results of Podium Analytics (‘the Charity’) and its subsidiary undertakings. Subsidiary undertakings are consolidated on a lineby-line basis. The consolidated entity is referred to as ‘the Group’. No separate Statement of Financial Activities or Cash Flow Statement has been prepared for the Charity as permitted by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and FRS 102 Section 1.12 (b) respectively.
## **1.3 Going concern**
At 31 May 2024, the Charity had net liabilities of £11.0 million (2023: £9.0 million net liabilities) and net current liabilities of £ 3.7 million (2023: net liabilities of £ 1.8 million) at the balance sheet date, inclusive of payments due to the University of Oxford in the next 12 months. At the balance sheet date, the Charity held cash of £0.3 million. The Charity has an active fundraising programme, which generated £2.9 million in the 2023/24 financial year, as well as a number of plans to diversify income. In addition, since May 2024 the Charity has received a further £3.3 million in loan funding from an entity related to a Trustee.
Subsequently, in January 2025 all of the Charity’s loans were converted into a consolidated facility with a repayment date of November 2034.
In addition, a Trustee has also indicated that he will support the Charity for the coming 12 months in the event that the charity is unable to meet its obligations by other means.
These actions, together with anticipated future income and the ability to manage expenditure as appropriate, provides assurance that the Charity will continue to have access to sufficient liquid resources to meet its obligations as they fall due for the foreseeable future, being a period of not less than twelve months from the date that these financial statements were approved.
The Trustees have reviewed financial forecasts beyond a period of 12 months from the approval of the financial statements. This included an assessment of budgets, business plans and cash flow forecasts. As a result of this review, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. As a
consequence, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the annual accounts.
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## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** CONTINUED | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
## **1.4 Charitable funds**
## **1.6 Expenditure**
## **1.7 Operating leases**
## **1.9 Impairment of fixed assets**
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the charitable objectives.
## **1.5 Income**
Income is recognised when the Charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received
Donations and grants are recognised when there is evidence of entitlement to the gift, receipt is probable and its amount can be measured reliably.
Sponsorship and similar commercial income is recognised on an accruals basis in accordance with the substance of the relevant agreement. Income received in advance is carried forward as deferred income.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. All expenses including governance costs are allocated to applicable expenditure headings.
Expenditure on raising funds includes the salaries and overhead costs of the staff who undertake fundraising activities, costs identifiable as arising directly from fundraising activities, and the costs incurred by trading activities
Expenditure on charitable activities includes costs identifiable as arising directly from the delivery of the Charity’s programmes of charitable work.
Support costs, which are costs that cannot be directly attributed to a particular activity, are allocated to expenditure on raising funds and charitable activities on the basis of the time spent on each activity involved with fundraising and charitable work.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the expenditure heading for which it was incurred.
Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the statement of financial activities on a straight-line basis over the period of the lease. Any lease incentives (such as rent free periods) are spread over the life of the lease.
## **1.8 Tangible fixed assets**
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost net of depreciation and any impairment losses. Depreciation is calculated on a straight line basis. The costs of fixed assets are written off over their useful lives at the following rates:
- Fixtures, fittings and equipment: over 4 years
- Computers: over 4 years
- Leasehold improvements: over 5 years
Depreciation is not commenced until the assets are completed and ready for use.
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities for the year.
At each reporting end date, the Charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
## **1.10 Cash and cash equivalents**
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks and other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less.
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## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** CONTINUED | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
## **1.11 Financial instruments**
The Charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the Charity’s balance sheet when the Charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
## **Basic financial assets**
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest.
Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
## **Basic financial liabilities**
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities.
Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method.
## **Derecognition of financial liabilities**
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the Charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
## **1.12 Grant awards**
Grants awarded are included within charitable expenditure when the award of the grant is committed unconditionally and has been communicated to the recipient.
All grant provisions in excess of one year are discounted to net present value. The discount rate used to determine the net present value is calculated in reference to UK Gilt yields at the balance sheet date, weighted to reflect the expected phasing of future grant payments. The discount rate applied at 31 May 2024 was 4.317% (2023: 4.097%).
## **1.13 Taxation**
The Charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly the Charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to its charitable purposes.
## **1.14 Pension**
The Charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme and the pension charge represents the amounts payable by the Charity to the fund in respect of the year. The Charity has no further obligations after payment of the contributions to the scheme.
## **1.15 Debtors**
Debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due.
## **1.16 Creditors**
Creditors are recognised where the Charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors are normally recognised at their settlement amount.
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## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** CONTINUED | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
|**2. Income from donations and grants**|**2024**|**2024**|**2024**|2023|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted funds**|**Restricted**|**Total**|Unrestricted|
|||**funds**|**funds**|funds|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|£|
|Donations|**2,822,510**|**-**|**2,822,510**|3,375,000|
|Grants|**-**|**125,000**|**125,000**|1,000|
|**Total Donations and Grants**|**2,822,510**|**125,000**|**2,947,510**|**3,376,000**|
|**3. Income from other trading activities**|**2024**|2023|
|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted funds**|Unrestricted|
|||funds|
||**£**|£|
|Sponsorship income|**17,500**|23,334|
|Contract income|**10,800**|2,500|
|Other income|**4,860**|-|
|**Total Income from other trading activities**|**33,160**|25,834|
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## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** CONTINUED | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
**----- Start of picture text -----**
4. Total Expenditure Direct Grant funding Support Total Total
costs of activities costs 2024 2023
£ £ £ £ £
Expenditure on raising funds
Donations 408,809 - 114,789 523,598 420,012
Trading activities - - - - 1,225
408,809 - 114,789 523,598 421,237
Expenditure on charitable activities
Research and education 3,364,297 - 604,456 3,968,753 2,569,925
Collaboration and impact 238,042 - 254,278 492,320 334,220
3,602,339 - 858,734 4,461,073 2,904,145
Total expenditure 4,011,148 - 973,523 4,984,671 3,325,382
Analysis of support costs Research Collaboration Raising Total Total
and education and impact funds 2024 2023
£ £ £ £ £
Finance, legal and executive 416,498 175,209 79,095 £670,802 £305,618
Human resources 59,174 24,893 11,237 £95,304 £96,948
Information Technology 62,246 26,185 11,821 £100,252 £169,543
Communications 11,309 4,757 2,148 £18,214 £5,922
Facilities 45,711 19,229 8,681 £73,621 £90,071
Governance 9,518 4,004 1,808 £15,330 £17,721
Total 604,456 254,277 114,790 973,523 685,823
**----- End of picture text -----**
All support costs are allocated to the activities above based on the time spent on each of those activities.
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## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** CONTINUED | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
**----- Start of picture text -----**
5. Employees 2024 2023
Employment costs £ £
Wages and salaries 1,484,878 1,346,170
Social security costs 183,817 174,934
Pension costs 62,827 57,890
Total 1,731,522 1,578,994
The average number of employees during the year was: 2024 2023
Total 16 14
Total number of employees at 31 May 2024 was 16 (2023: 14).
The following number of staff have emoluments over £60,000: 2024 2023
Between £60,000 - £69,999 2 1
Between £70,000 - £79,999 1 1
Between £80,000 - £89,999 1 2
Between £90,000 - £99,999 1 -
Betweeen £100,000 - £109,999 - 1
Betweeen £110,000 - £119,999 1 -
Betweeen £120,000 - £129,999 1 1
Betweeen £180,000 - £189,999 - 1
Betweeen £200,000 - £209,999 1 -
Betweeen £280,000 - £289,999 - 1
Betweeen £290,000 - £299,999 1 -
Total 9 8
**----- End of picture text -----**
The key management personnel of Podium Analytics are the members of the Senior Management Team, further details of the members and function of which is provided on page 51.
The total remuneration (including employer’s national insurance contributions and pension contributions) paid in respect of key management personnel for the year was £966,574 (2023: £973,694).
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## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** CONTINUED | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
## **6. Trustees**
During the year, the Charity received donations from Trustees or entities related to the Trustees of £1.9m (2023: £2.6m).
During the year, the Charity borrowed £2.38m from an entity related to a Trustee (2023: £0) and has an undrawn loan facility of £1.27m from the same entity. None of the Trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the period other than as disclosed above.
## **7. Net income/(expenditure) for the year**
||||
|---|---|---|
|**7. Net income/(expenditure) for the year**|**2024**|2023|
|**Net income/(expenditure) for the year is stated after charging/(crediting):**|**£**|£|
|Depreciation of tangible fxed assets|**42,040**|44,084|
|Operating lease payments recognised as an expense|**249,481**|250,000|
|Auditor's remuneration|**15,330**|15,850|
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## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** CONTINUED | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
|**8. Tangible fxed assets**|Leasehold|Fixtures, fttings|Computers|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||improvements|& equipment|||
|**Group and Charity**|||||
||£|£|£|**£**|
|**Cost**|||||
|At 1 June 2023|49,174|74,797|71,987|**195,958**|
|Additions|-|-|2,081|**2,081**|
|Disposals|-|-|-|**-**|
|At 31 May 2024|49,174|74,797|74,068|**198,039**|
|**Accumulated depreciation**|||||
|At 1 June 2023|28,685|56,293|29,836|**114,814**|
|Depreciation charged in the year|9,834|14,761|17,445|**42,040**|
|Disposals|-|-|-|**-**|
|At 31 May 2024|38,519|71,054|47,281|**156,854**|
|**Net book value**|||||
|**At 31 May 2024**|**10,655**|**3,743**|**26,787**|**41,185**|
|At 31 May 2023|20,489|18,504|42,151|**81,144**|
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## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** CONTINUED | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
|**9. Investments**|**2024**|2023|
|---|---|---|
|**Charity**|**£**|£|
|Investment in subsidiaries|**1**|1|
|Total investments at 31 May|**1**|1|
The Charity holds a 100% shareholding in one (2023: one) subsidiary undertaking within the Group.
This is valued at cost of £1 (2023: £1) (see note 15).
|**10. Debtors**|**Group**|Group|**Charity**|Charity|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**2024**|2023|**2024**|2023|
||**£**|£|**£**|£|
|**Amounts due within one year**|||||
|Trade debtors|**10,800**|-|**-**|-|
|Other debtors|**317,375**|29,286|**316,975**|29,984|
|Prepayments|**285,639**|396,903|**285,639**|396,903|
|Amounts owed by group undertakings|-|-|**21,844**|25,786|
|**Total debtors due within one year**|**613,814**|426,189|**624,458**|452,673|
|**Amounts due after one year**|||||
|Other debtors|**-**|274,622|**-**|274,622|
|**Total debtors due after one year**|**-**|**274,622**|**-**|274,622|
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## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** CONTINUED | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
|**11. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**|**Group**|Group|**Charity**|Charity|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**2024**|2023|**2024**|2023|
||**£**|£|**£**|£|
|Trade creditors|**211,896**|181,634|**209,497**|181,634|
|Other creditors|**12,826**|20,555|**12,826**|20,555|
|Accruals|**447,719**|140,916|**447,719**|140,916|
|Deferred income|**-**|17,500|**-**|-|
|Grants payable (note 13)|**4,017,311**|2,547,986|**4,017,311**|2,547,986|
|Amounts owed by group undertakings|**-**|-|**-**|626|
|**Total creditors falling due within one year**|**4,689,752**|2,908,591|**4,687,353**|2,891,717|
|**12. Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year**|**2024**|2023|
|---|---|---|
|**Group and Charity**|**£**|£|
|Loans|**2,380,000**|-|
|Grants payable – in two to fve years (note 13)|**4,910,535**|7,254,135|
|**Total creditors falling due after more than one year**|**7,290,535**|7,254,135|
Grants payable in two to five years represents committed funding for the initial period of the Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology at Technology at the University of Oxford, discounted at the 3 year UK gilt rate (2023: 5 year UK gilt rate).
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## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** CONTINUED | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
|**13. Grants payable**|Research and education|**2024**|2023|
|---|---|---|---|
|||**Total**|Total|
|**Group and Charity**|£|**£**|£|
|Grants committed in the year|233,275|**233,275**|-|
|Grant discount|259,750|**259,750**|(233,455)|
|Net grants committed as recognised in the statement of fnancial activities|493,025|**493,025**|(233,455)|
|Paid during the year|(1,367,300)|**(1,367,300)**|(2,744,501)|
|Net movement in grants payable during the year|(874,275)|**(874,275)**|(2,977,956)|
|Grants payable at 1 June||**9,802,121**|12,780,077|
|**Grants payable at 31 May**||**8,927,846**|9,802,121|
|Grants payable – due within one year||**4,017,311**|2,547,986|
|Grants payable – due within two to fve years||**4,910,535**|7,254,135|
|**Grants payable at 31 May**||**8,927,846**|9,802,121|
Grants committed in the year ended 31 May 2024 represents committed funding to the University of Bath over a two year period in respect of its Adolescent Growth Spurt Project.
Grants committed in the year ended 31 May 2022 represents committed funding to the University of Oxford over an initial six year period in respect of the Podium Analytics Institute for Youth Sports Medicine and Technology, with funding for the extended period to be agreed following a quinquennial review.
It should be noted that the cash payment profile of this funding is phased annually across the initial 6-year period, with cash payments over the next 3 years of between £2.5 million and £2.6 million per annum. Therefore, whilst the accounting treatment of the grant resulted in a deficit in the year ended May 2022, this will unwind over the initial period of the Institute and importantly the cash flows are spread across this period and will be matched by income to be recognised in future periods.
The Charity has discounted its long-term grant liabilities. A discount rate of 4.317% (2023: 4.097%) has been applied to the amounts recognised in the financial statements as grants payable. The discount rate applied is the UK three year Gilt rate (2023: the UK five year Gilt rate).
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## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** CONTINUED | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
## **14. Operating Leases**
At 31 May, the Group had total commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:
|At 31 May, the Group had total commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:|||
|---|---|---|
||**2024**|2023|
||**£**|£|
|Within one year|**141,304**|250,000|
|Between two and fve years|**-**|141,304|
|After fve years|**-**|-|
|**Total**|**141,304**|391,304|
## **15. Subsidiary undertakings**
Podium Analytics has one wholly owned non-charitable subsidiary undertaking registered in England and Wales, which is consolidated. The registered address for this subsidiary undertaking is 6 Grosvenor Street, London, W1K 4PZ.
**Company name:** Podium Applied Technologies Limited **Registered company number:** 13232671 **Holding:** 100% **Activities:** Income generation
This subsidiary was incorporated on 27 February 2021. It has share capital of 1 ordinary share of £1.
|The fnancial results of the subsidiary recognised in the Group fnancial statements, were:|**Podium Applied Technologies Limited**|**Podium Applied Technologies Limited**|
|---|---|---|
||**2024**|2023|
||**£**|£|
|Income|**28,300**|25,833|
|Expenditure|**(26,135)**|(23,869)|
|**Proft for the period**|**2,165**|**1,964**|
|**Distribution to parent**|**(2,165)**|**(1,964)**|
|Assets|**24,245**|43,983|
|Liabilities|**(24,244)**|(43,982)|
|**Net assets**|**1**|**1**|
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CONTENTS INTRODUCTION
TRUSTEES’ REPORT
AUDITOR’S REPORT
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADMIN DETAILS
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** CONTINUED | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
|**16. Movement in funds**|**Opening**|Incoming|Resources|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**funds**|resources|expended||
|**2024**|**£**|£|£|**£**|
|Unrestricted funds (Group)|**(8,984,249)**|2,855,670|(4,984,671)|**(11,113,250)**|
|Unrestricted funds (Charity)|**(8,984,247)**|2,849,215|(4,978,218)|**(11,113,250)**|
|Restricted funds (Group)|**-**|125,000|-|**125,000**|
|Restricted funds (Charity)|**-**|125,000|-|**125,000**|
|**2023**|**£**|£|£|**£**|
|Unrestricted funds (Group)|**(9,060,701)**|3,401,834|(3,325,382)|**(8,984,249)**|
|Unrestricted funds (Charity)|**(9,067,130)**|3,377,964|(3,295,081)|**(8,984,247)**|
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION TRUSTEES’ REPORT
AUDITOR’S REPORT
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADMIN DETAILS
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** CONTINUED | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
|**17. Analysis of net assets between funds**|**2024**|**2024**|**2024**|2023|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|Unrestricted|
||**funds**|**funds**|**funds**|funds|
|**Group**|**£**|**£**|**£**|£|
|Tangible assets|**41,185**|**-**|**41,185**|81,144|
|Current assets|**825,852**|**125,000**|**950,852**|1,097,333|
|Current liabilities|**(4,689,752)**|**-**|**(4,689,752)**|(2,908,591)|
|Long-term liabilities|**(7,290,535)**|**-**|**(7,290,535)**|(7,254,135)|
|**Total net (liabilities) / assets as at 31 May**|**(11,113,250)**|**125,000**|**(10,988,250)**|(8,984,249)|
|**Charity**|||||
|Tangible assets|**41,185**|**-**|**41,185**|81,144|
|Investments|**1**|**-**|**1**|1|
|Current assets|**823,452**|**125,000**|**948,452**|1,080,460|
|Current liabilities|**(4,687,353)**|**-**|**(4,687,353)**|(2,891,717)|
|Long-term liabilities|**(7,290,535)**|**-**|**(7,290,535)**|(7,254,135)|
|**Total net (liabilities) / assets as at 31 May**|**(11,113,250)**|**125,000**|**(10,988,250)**|(8,984,247)|
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CONTENTS INTRODUCTION TRUSTEES’ REPORT AUDITOR’S REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADMIN DETAILS
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** CONTINUED | FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
**----- Start of picture text -----**
18. Analysis of changes in net debt 2024 2023
Group and Charity At 1 June Cash Increase in At 31 May At 1 June Cash At 31 May
2023 flow Short Term 2024 2022 flow 2023
Loans
£ £ £ £ £ £ £
Cash at bank and in hand 396,522 (59,484) - 337,038 236,700 159,822 396,522
- - - - -
Current borrowings (2,380,000) (2,380,000)
Net debt 396,522 (59,484) (2,380,000) (2,042,962) 236,700 159,822 396,522
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **19. Events after the reporting period**
Since May 2024, the Charity has received a further £3.3m in loan funding from an entity related to a Trustee. In January 2025, all of the Charity’s loans were converted into a consolidated facility with a repayment date of November 2034.
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION TRUSTEES’ REPORT AUDITOR’S REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADMIN DETAILS
## **REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS** | PODIUM ANALYTICS
## **Trustees**
Sir Ron Dennis CBE (Chair) Peter Hamlyn MBBS BSc MD FRCS FISM Robin Fenwick Kristina Murrin CBE Donald Mackenzie
Sir Anthony Seldon FRSA FRHistS FKC (appointed 16 January 2025)
**Chief Executive Officer** Andy Hunt
## **Company Secretary**
Simon Fountain (resigned 12 June 2024) James McAllister (appointed 12 June 2024)
## **Registered Office and Principal Address**
Podium Analytics 6 Grosvenor Street London W1K 4PZ
## **Company Number**
11831773
## **Charity Number**
## **Bankers and Principal Advisors**
## **Bankers**
Barclays Bank PLC 1 Churchill Place London, E14 5HP
## **Legal Advisors**
Pinsent Masons LLP 30 Crown Place Earl Street London, EC2A 4ES
## **Accountants**
Blick Rothenberg Limited Chartered Accountants 16 Great Queen Street Covent Garden London, WC2B 5AH
## **Statutory Auditor**
Blick Rothenberg Audit LLP Chartered Accountants 16 Great Queen Street Covent Garden London, WC2B 5AH
1183716
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## **podiumanalytics.org**
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**A company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, No. 11831773 A registered charity in England and Wales, No. 1183716, and Scotland, No. SC051893**