UK Sports Technology company AWOL have recently been named as the new official photography partner for the 2023 Brighton Marathon Weekend. This new partnership will see AWOL bring AI image recognition, satellite communications and GPS technology to the event, to send participants (and their chosen supporters) their event photos within seconds.
Lancashire-based tech firm AWOL Adventure Limited have secured their position as the official provider of live photography for the Brighton Marathon Weekend, which boasts one of the UK’s most prestigious marathon events and is a premier fixture on the UK’s sporting event calendar.
Having grown from its roots as a marathon event, The Brighton Marathon Weekend now hosts four established events (Brighton Marathon, BM10k, BM Ride and the Mini Mile Races) and attracts crowds of over 125,000 to the city over the duration of the weekend In April 2022, over £2million was raised for hundreds of charity partners.
AWOL’s robust and scalable service will be deployed across the Brighton Marathon Weekend courses, entirely independent of timing locations and other infrastructure, and will deliver live photo bundles in real-time to participants and supporters under any conditions.
Tom Naylor, Event Director commented:
“At Grounded Events, we aspire to create life-changing experiences and unforgettable moments for our participants. By partnering with AWOL, we can enhance their day by offering cutting edge technology and the opportunity for friends and family to follow their journey live on what is a hugely important day for them and, in many cases, the achievement of a lifetime.”
Since launching their world-first Live Photography Service at the AJ Bell 2021 World Triathlon Leeds in June 2021, AWOL have steadily embedded this new technology with multiple sporting events in the UK and Europe. Part-funded by the UK Space Agency and European Space Agency, the service utilises a combination of AI image recognition, satellite communications and GPS technology to send participants (and their chosen supporters) their event photos within seconds of being taken, removing the unnecessary waiting time for images after a sporting event. Dedicated Quality Assurance teams ensure the high speed, high accuracy and high quality of the photographs delivered during the event, which boosts participant engagement and satisfaction, and exponentially increases the opportunity for virtual spectator involvements.
AWOL’s Operations Manager, Dan said:
“Having Brighton Marathon Weekend on our annual events calendar is a brilliant new addition and we are all very excited at AWOL to provide the best quality pictures for the participants. We are already the event partners for Grounded Events’ Brighton Trail Weekend, and we love the atmosphere in Brighton. It is a vibrant area full of colour and fun and the Grounded Events team are known in the industry for putting on iconic events.
“We’re excited for spectators to be able to see live photos of the runners as they make their way around the course thanks to AWOL’s industry-leading technology, which allows real-time tagging of athletes.
“The new technology we deployed in 2021 is an industry first and with Grounded Events recognition that we are in the best possible position now to provide them with the service that they want for their participants we are looking forward to living up to this expectation! 2022 Brighton Trail Weekend and 2023 Brighton Marathon Weekend will now be photographed by AWOL… We got you!”
The Brighton Marathon Weekend will take place on 1st-2nd April 2023.
About AWOL:
Established 10 years, AWOL is a Northwest-based digital company specialising in Sports Event Technology, and is responsible for previous major innovations around Facial Recognition, Live Photography and A.I.
Headline clients include Human Race, Brighton Marathon Weekend, British Triathlon, Castle Race Series, Events of the North and Chester Marathon amongst a stellar line-up of over 100 quality events in the UK and overseas.
About GEC:
The Grounded Events Company Ltd. is responsible for producing a number of successful, mass participation sporting events.
Grounded Events conceived, launched and continue to organise Brighton Marathon, which has established itself as a premier fixture on the UK’s sporting event calendar. It has grown from being just a marathon event to a full weekend, attracting over 18,000 participants to the Brighton Marathon, BM10k, BM Ride and the Mini Mile Races. The city welcomes crowds of over 125,000, who come to show the runners their support and visit the bespoke beach-based Event Village next to Madeira Drive.
Other projects include The Brighton Trail Weekend which launched in June 2022. Working with the U.S. owners of Ragnar Relay, GEC held the UK-based Ragnar White Cliffs, and have plans in place for new running experiences launching in 2023.
