The company Bornan Sports Technology, which won the contract to manage accreditations and results information for the Tarragona 2018 Mediterranean Games, highlights the experience of its staff, noting that even its least experienced members have more than 16 years in the sector.
Representatives of this sports technology company based in Lausanne (Switzerland), founded less than a year earlier by Spaniards Eva María Córdoba, Roberto García, Miguel Ángel Pablo and Héctor Blanco, explained to EFE that all team members bring extensive experience in the industry.
“People see Bornan as something new, but I would encourage them to look at who is behind this name. The least experienced person in our programming team has been working in sports technology for 16 years,” said Córdoba, the company’s president.
Bornan was awarded the public tender for accreditation services, athlete registration, results management, television graphics and results information for the 18th edition of the Mediterranean Games in Tarragona, to be held from 22 June to 1 July 2018.
In the tender process, the company was selected ahead of the Spanish subsidiary of Atos and AllOne Sports, which were rejected for not meeting certain requirements of the specifications, and the Italian company Microplus Informatica. Although Microplus proposed more improvements, its financial offer was €60,000 higher (€1,299,000 for Bornan compared to €1,239,000 for Microplus).
Among the technical enhancements included in Bornan’s proposal is the ability for athletes to access results information via mobile devices, as well as systems designed for commentators and a latest-news module that media outlets can integrate into their websites.
To meet the demands of Tarragona 2018, García explained that the company will rely on its own core team of around 20 people, as well as accredited companies for specific services, such as timing provided by the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA), bringing the total workforce to around 160 professionals.
The Tarragona 2018 Mediterranean Games will host around 4,000 athletes from 26 countries competing in 33 sports disciplines, supported by 1,000 judges, 3,500 volunteers, 1,000 journalists, and more than 150,000 spectators, according to the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE).
The company, with a Spanish team and headquarters in Switzerland, also aims to leave a “legacy” in Tarragona through agreements with the Sant Cugat High Performance Centre and several universities. These partnerships will allow athletes and staff to be trained in the use of certified timing and results management systems, ensuring the city can host future sporting events.
“It didn’t make sense to prepare approved venues and then have no one who knew how to operate them,” said Eva María Córdoba, president of the company, which was registered in the Swiss commercial register the previous July, an aspect that sparked some controversy following the award due to its recent creation.
“As it was a new company, the specifications required a financial guarantee, as we had no track record from previous projects. We presented our business plan to Axa Winterthur and they provided the financial guarantee,” García explained.
The insurance policy provides coverage of €2 million over three years, exceeding the requirements set by the Tarragona 2017 Foundation, organiser of the Mediterranean Games, and enabling the company to bid for future competitions.
However, the award has been challenged in court by the Italian company Microplus, which claims that the Tarragona 2017 Foundation made errors in the documentation requested from the winning bidder. Córdoba acknowledged that the company is “within its rights” to appeal and confirmed that Bornan will present its arguments.
Bornan, whose name comes from “le bornan,” a wind from the Swiss Alps “characterised by its speed and unpredictability,” is headquartered in Lausanne to remain close to international sports federations and to benefit from the support of the canton of Vaud.
The company aims to differentiate itself through technology, offering flexible and cost-efficient systems based on cloud solutions to help organisers optimise resources. In addition to Tarragona 2018, Bornan has already secured several clients.
According to its founders, Bornan has signed two contracts with the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) to act as its technology provider for the next three years and has reached a similar agreement with the Spanish Paralympic Committee.
The company is also finalising agreements with several Tennis Masters 1000 events and international federations, and has been shortlisted for the final selection process for the 2019 University Games in Naples, the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima (Peru), and the 2019 European Games in Minsk (Belarus).