This theme focuses on leveraging data and AI for smarter performance, safer training, and better decisions. Participants are encouraged to develop solutions that analyze performance data, prevent injuries, or enhance strategic decision-making in sports.

This theme is about turning fans into active participants. Participants are challenged to create immersive solutions using XR, gamification, and interactive platforms to deepen fan engagement and create new ways to experience sports.

This theme centers on designing a greener, more diverse, and inclusive future for sports. Projects could focus on reducing the environmental impact of sporting events, promoting accessibility, or fostering diversity within sports communities.

This theme features challenges from our partners, complete with real data, tools, and expert support. Participants can tackle real-world problems defined by industry leaders, with solutions ranging from apps and AI platforms to wearable devices or sensor-powered drones.

There is a growing need for accessible and engaging physical activities for seniors. Many existing sports and fitness programs are not well-suited for older adults, leading to a decline in physical activity, increased health risks, and social isolation.

We are looking for innovative solutions that can sustainably increase physical activity levels among seniors. The solution should focus on accessibility, safety, and social connection, with the ultimate goal of improving the long-term health and well-being of the aging population.

Context:

The survey reveals that 38% of Europeans play a sport or exercise once a week, while 17% play less than once a week and 45% do not engage in physical activity at all. The share of inactive people, while stable compared with 2017, has increased by 6 percentage points since 2009. Only less than one in ten (6%) respondents exercise five times a week or more (stable). During the pandemic, half of Europeans halved if not completely zeroed their activity level. As for a comparison between age groups, respondents between 15 and 24 years old engage in physical activity with some regularity 54% of the time, a figure that drops at 42% between 25 and 39, 32% between 40 and 54, and 21% among those over 55. Overall, only a minority of Europeans practice recreational physical activity regularly. The main obstacles are, in descending order, lack of time, lack of motivation or lack of interest in sports (Source).

In the digital age of sports, vast amounts of data are generated — from competition results and wearable devices to environmental conditions and athlete biometrics. Yet, much of this data remains disconnected, unstandardized, and underutilized.

How can we responsibly collect, analyze, and visualize information about an athlete’s physical condition and performance level without exposing personal data?

Can competition or training data be combined with environmental factors (such as temperature, humidity, and wind) to reveal performance trends — while ensuring the athlete’s privacy through anonymization, consent-based use, or federated data models?

Every event leaves a footprint - even a marathon. The Rimi Riga Marathon has already taken pioneering steps by becoming the first national sports event in the Baltics to assess its environmental impact through a CO₂e audit, compensate for emissions via local projects, improve production processes, and educate society under the Run for Future program. Yet sustainability is a moving target: as expectations rise and technologies advance, the challenge is how to go even further in reducing environmental impact, while also using the Rimi Riga Marathon as a platform to inspire runners, partners, and society to embrace greener lifestyles.

We are looking for forward-thinking concepts that take sustainability to the next level. Solutions should show how the marathon can not only reduce its footprint but also set new benchmarks for the sports industry, motivating participants, fans, and partners to adopt more sustainable habits in everyday life.