TWO enterprising Borders firms – Global Sports Innovation (GSI) and FINDRA - have been named as finalists at the first Sports Business Innovation Awards which will take place on 11th March 2015 in Glasgow.

The awards, run by Sporting Chance Initiative (SCI), will recognise and reward the very best and most innovative businesses and individuals in the Scottish sport industry at a glittering awards ceremony at Glasgow Science Centre. The two main sponsors of this event are the University of Stirling (designated as 'Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence’) and Stirling University Innovation Park (SUIP).

Global Sports Innovation (GSI), designs, produces and licenses training equipment for the sport of Rugby Union and the global 'collision’ sports market. The company, based in Galashiels, has been shortlisted in the 'sports business of the year’ category. In addition, the company’s founder and managing director, Richie Gray, has been shortlisted in the 'sports entrepreneur of the year’ category. Through analysis and challenging coaching theories, GSI invents, designs and manufactures innovative collision sports technical training equipment which will change the way collision sport is coached. In doing so, it will also change the way the sport is played, making player movement more accurate and technically proficient. The company’s technical training aids are considered to be ground-breaking within their field and are already being used by many teams and the some of the world’s best coaches to great effect.

Richie Gray, who also acts as a consultant to major sporting brands looking to develop their training equipment, is already becoming one of the most influential names in the game of Rugby Union through his ideas behind the innovation of technical training aids and specific skills coaching theories for Rugby Union and Rugby League.

FINDRA, based in Innerleithen, is a fashion-led, performance-driven bike apparel brand which is designed specifically for women. Its founder and owner, Alex Feechan, has been shortlisted in the 'sports entrepreneur of the year’ category of the Sports Business Innovation Awards. Alex, a fashion designer with more than 20 years of experience within the global fashion and textiles markets, launched the business in 2014. She is also a keen mountain biker who, when she took up the sport three years ago, immediately identified a gap in the market for well-made, stylish, practical bike wear for women.

Through the use of innovative performance fabric to create lightweight clothing cut to the FINDRA female-specific fit, Alex’s collection combines function and style to produce durable bike wear, and it’s all made in Scotland from the best performance enhancing and, wherever possible, natural raw materials. FINDRA empowers and encourages women to look good, feel good and perform to the best of their abilities through participation in outdoor sports. Alex has demonstrated a creative flair which lays the foundations for an exciting new brand in outdoor sports clothing.

The Scottish sport industry is estimated to be worth over £1billion to the Scottish economy – in terms of consumer spend, and supports a number of other sectors leading to innovation in textiles, food and drink, product design engineering, life sciences and many more. With over £500million spent in Scotland annually on sports clothing, footwear and equipment alone, the sports industry is both profitable and hugely exciting. The Awards recognise the innovative work of small to medium sports businesses highlighting not only the role they play in wider industry, but in encouraging sports participation throughout the country.

The Sports Business Innovation Awards are the brainchild of Stirling-based Sporting Chance Initiative, Scotland’s only hub for innovation in sports business. In its first three years, SCI supported 561 small to medium sized enterprises, creating/safeguarding an estimated 518 jobs and adding a predicted £5.94m to their turnovers.

Winners will be presented with a medal, specially designed for the event by Sarah Raffel of Brazen Studios Glasgow.