Innovation Beneath the Surface: A View from the Pool Deck

This weekend, I’ll be officiating at the 2026 Swimming British Masters Championships in Aberdeen.

It’s particularly exciting to see the event return to Scotland for the first time since 2022, with hundreds of swimmers competing at Aberdeen Sports Village between 12 and 14 June. With the Commonwealth Games also on the horizon, it feels like a fitting moment to celebrate swimming and the wider sporting ecosystem that supports it.

As an IP attorney with a scientific background, I sometimes find it difficult to switch off my habit of looking for technology and innovation in the world around me. So, while most people will quite rightly be focused on the athletes and their performances, I can’t help noticing the remarkable amount of science, technology and engineering involved in modern swimming.

Not so long ago, swimming training essentially required a swimsuit, a pair of goggles and plenty of determination.

Today, swimmers have access to an extraordinary range of technologies. Advanced swimsuit materials are designed to minimise drag and optimise performance. Smart goggles can provide real-time performance data through AR interfaces, while wearable sensors monitor physiological metrics. Underwater camera systems capture technique from angles that coaches could previously only imagine, and video analysis software can identify inefficiencies in stroke mechanics. Increasingly, AI-driven platforms are helping athletes and coaches turn vast amounts of performance data into actionable insights.

Even the competition environment itself relies on sophisticated technology. Electronic timing systems automatically measure performances to hundredths of a second, while integrated digital platforms manage entries, seeding, results and records. And this technology is not reserved for major national and international events. As the father of three daughters involved in competitive swimming, I regularly see it deployed at club level, where meets involving swimmers as young as eight use the same management software, electronic timing systems and touchpads that will be in operation at this weekend’s British Masters Championships.

What we see in and around the pool is mirrored by wider trends in innovation. Earlier this year, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reported that swimming is one of the most patent-intensive sports in the world, alongside golf and racket sports. More than 65,700 sports-related inventions were recorded globally between 2016 and 2025, with sports-related patent activity growing faster than patent filings overall. Wearables, data analytics, smart equipment and technologies that support the fair conduct of competition are all identified as key drivers of innovation in the sector.

And while technology is often the first thing that comes to mind when discussing innovation in sport, intellectual property is visible in other ways too. Look around any pool deck and you’ll see club logos, event branding, sponsor branding and some of the most recognisable names in sport represented on swimsuits, goggles and equipment. Long before a race starts, intellectual property is already on display.

That observation is also reflected in WIPO’s data. Over the last decade, more than 1.25 million sports-related trade mark filings were recorded globally. In other words, sport is not just technology-driven; it is brand-driven too.

Much of this innovation and commercial value is protected through patents, trade marks, design rights, copyright and trade secrets. For many sports technology businesses, the real value lies not only in the hardware but in the data, analytics, brands and know-how behind it.

Of course, competitive sport must also decide where innovation ends and unfair advantage begins. Officials play a role in ensuring that athletes compete within established equipment rules, maintaining confidence in the integrity of competition. The recent emergence of the Enhanced Games has brought renewed attention to where those boundaries should be drawn and whether they may evolve in the future.

Standing poolside this weekend, I’ll be reminded that swimming is no longer simply a contest of strength, endurance and technique. It is also a showcase for materials science, engineering, digital technologies, data analytics, branding and, increasingly, artificial intelligence.

For those of us working in intellectual property, it is a fascinating example of how innovation continues to transform even the most traditional of sports.

If you’re involved in developing sports technology, whether in wearables, software, analytics, AI, performance monitoring, equipment or related fields, and would like to discuss how intellectual property can help maximise value, I’d be very happy to have a conversation.

And if you’re in the Aberdeen area, I’d strongly encourage you to drop into Aberdeen Sports Village and watch some of the action. The championships run through to Sunday and will showcase outstanding athletes, impressive performances and, perhaps less visibly, a remarkable amount of innovation beneath the surface.