Galway-based Orreco signs deal with US basketball union

Irish sports technology company Orreco has signed a deal with the US National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) to provide player bio analytics.

The partnership will see the Galway based company carry out athlete blood testing to help the recovery of basketball players to optimise performance and health, and reduce illness and injury, with work commencing immediately.

The value of the deal was not disclosed.

Orreco uses machine learning and data analytics to monitor the health of athletes, helping to accelerate recovery and prolong careers. It profiles athletes based on biomarkers in the blood, and uses machine learning programmes to optimise training conditions, including identifying optimal sleep patterns, the diet, training intensity and duration.

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"At Orreco, we work with some of the best athletes on the planet, deploying our cutting-edge machine learning capabilities to help answer complex performance questions," said Dr Brian Moore, Orreco chief executive. " We are always looking for progressive, forward thinking partners and we have certainly found that with the leadership and performance team at the NBPA. We are incredibly excited about this partnership and look forward to bringing Orreco's collective world-class expertise to bear to help NBA athletes optimise performance, accelerate their recovery and reduce the number of days lost to illness."

Orreco scientists and performance experts will also work with NBPA Performance staff to deliver educational workshops at the NBPA medical symposium.

"We are thrilled to partner Orreco and give our players access to their knowledge and expertise in sports performance science," said Michele Roberts, Executive Director of the NBPA. "Our members go to great lengths to take care of their bodies and this partnership will provide them yet another tool to help maintain their health and perform at the highest level."

The deal comes only a matter of weeks after Orreco announced it had signed a "significant" multi-year contract with the Atlanta Hawks. The start-up also works with the Dallas Mavericks, Premier League team Newcastle United, USA Swimming and Red Bull High Performance. Its female athlete consultancy team recently worked with the US Women's World Cup soccer team, looking at the effects of the menstrual cycle on performance.

The company’s backers include golfer Graeme McDowell, and it recently raised €1.3 million in a funding round led by US VC firm True Ventures.