The Main Innovation of the Year 2024 Prize Awarded to a Throwing Chair Designed for Disabled Athletes
10. December 2024The main INNOVATION OF THE YEAR 2024 prize goes to Throwing Chair for Disabled Athletes – a project involving inventions by scientists from Tomas Bata University (TBU) in Zlín. The 29th year of the annual Innovation of the Year 2024 Prize competition was announced by the Association of Innovative Entrepreneurship of the Czech Republic.
“The competition is open to new or significantly improved products introduced to the market in the last three years, which have been put into practice and are successfully used,” says Ivana Bartoníková, Director, Technology Transfer Centre (TBU). The assessment panel evaluated the technological level of the product, originality of the solution, market penetration and environmental impact. “The way the throwing chair has been designed and how it looks like was the subject of the sub-project entitled “Multi-functional sports equipment for disabled athletes” and managed by Ing. Zdeněk Melichárek, Ph.D. and his team as the researchers (University Institute, TBU in Zlín). The activity was part of Commercialization at Tomas Bata University in Zlín I (TP01010006) – a comprehensive project funded by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic,” added Ivana Bartoníková.
“The throwing chair, including its design, is protected by a Community Design registered on 19 June 2017 under No. 004054385-0001 at the European Union Intellectual Property Office,” said Přemysl Strážnický, TTC Specialist.
Throwing chairs are designed for disabled sportspersons active in a variety of athletic disciplines, whether it is shot put or discus, javelin and skittle throwing. “The throwing chairs we developed are used by disabled sportspersons whatever the age, body weight, gender and disability, both right- and left-handed. The existing devices allowed only one sport to be practised. The new throwing chair is adjustable to the specific physique of a disabled athlete and offers several setting options,” describes Zdeněk Melichárek, the project’s chief investigator, from the Institute of Physical Education and Sport at TBU in Zlín.
This multifunctional sports equipment is special in that it is versatile in its use. Taking these factors into account, the frame and design of the chair were drafted; the device features the simplicity of the composition of the frame, disassembling into sub-components and re-assembling, versatility in terms of orientation (left-handed/right-handed) and the clamping facility; the seating and support parts of the throwing chair are easy to rebuild based on the athlete’s requirements. Then there is the associated low weight and good storability. The chair is a lightweight piece of equipment, making it easier for athletes to transport and ultimately saving costs even in air transport.
The device meets all the criteria set by athletic associations in the Czech Republic and abroad. Throwing chairs are already in use, for example, at the Jedlička Institute in Prague or the Kociánka Sports Club in Brno; the latter is involved in sports organised for the disabled under the Czech Spastic Handicap Federation. Tomáš Bata University was also successful in the Innovation of the Year competition last year when it won with a volleyball.