Introducing Catapult

Catapult is a proven leader in sports performance technology, working with over 3000 teams in 39 sports in 137 countries worldwide. Catapult products are designed to optimise performance, mitigate the risk of injury, and quantify return to play. 

In 1976, Australia returned from the Montreal Olympics to backlash for not winning a single gold medal. After an encouraging eight golds at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the Australian government responded by directing funding toward a world-leading sports institute.

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) was formed in Canberra in 1981 as a sports training association where the best young athletes from around the country would train on scholarships.

Then in 1990, the Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) program was established to enhance Australia’s industrial, commercial and economic growth. Shaun Holthouse and Igor van de Griendt, eventual Catapult founders, led a team of CRC researchers focusing on emerging micro-technology to be deployed in unprecedented ways. After dealing with various industry partners, Holthouse and van de Griendt began a project with the AIS.

Having taken a unique approach to evidence-based science improving sport, the AIS began measuring all facets of athlete physical performance. Monitoring elite athletes was predominantly laboratory-based, however, relying on participants using gym equipment – which provided great insight into elite sport demands, but because the athlete wasn’t in their natural environment, they weren’t physically exerting themselves in the same way they would during competition.

With a desire to move this experimentation on to the field, the CRC developed wearable sensors that made it accessible to more Australian athletes, and more routinely deployable. Looking to commercialize the product after great success developing technology for the 2004 Athens games, Catapult was born in late 2006.

The last few years have seen Catapult complete a number of key acquisitions. This includes the purchase of Canberra-based GPSports in 2014, the market leader in video-based technology in XOS Digital, as well as Ireland-based PlayerTek in 2016, and most recently SportsMed Elite and Baseline athlete management systems in August 2017. 

Catapult now has over 340 staff based across 24 locations worldwide, with offices in Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Leeds, London, Dundalk, Maitland, Wilmington, and Taipei. The company is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. 

There are also remote staff located in France, Germany, Sweden, Dubai, Netherlands, Spain, Uruguay, Colombia, Argentina, Singapore, Japan, China, South Korea, and India.

Catapult Group International Limited is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) under the ticker symbol CAT.