Coach Jeff Slater, second from left, gives instructions to members of the University of Waterloo swim team during a demonstration of TritonWear training devices.
High praise came with some practical advice this week as the federal government formally announced financial support for a company founded by two Waterloo Engineering graduates that is changing the way competitive swimmers train.
TritonWear Inc., a startup headed by Tristan Lehari and Darius Gai, sells systems to track performance measures such as speed, stroke rate and split times as athletes move through the water – replacing old-school stopwatches and logbooks.
Bardish Chagger, the Waterloo MP who serves as both government House leader and minister of small business and tourism, was impressed by the immediate feedback transmitted to a tablet as she crouched poolside for a demonstration by members of the University of Waterloo Warriors swim team.
Flanked by Lehari – who identified a need for detailed, timely training data while he captained the team as a student – and coach Jeff Slater, she suggested adding metrics including heart and breathing rates to monitor the swimmers.
“I offered a bit of constructive feedback, but the team is already on it,” Chagger joked afterwards.
Products in more than 20 countries
A loan of $500,000 through the Southern Ontario Fund for Investment in Innovation helped TritonWear - which raised $2 million in private funding this summer - go from development to commercialization following early days at the University’s Velocity incubator and regular testing with the swim team.
After going to market this year, it has products in more than 20 countries and over 1,200 users, from kids in local swim clubs to Olympic medalists.
“They’ve gone from a pilot in this very pool to global customers,” said Jay Shah, director of Velocity.
Now based in Toronto, the company has 17 employees, including five Waterloo Engineering graduates, and regularly comes back to its roots to recruit co-op students because of their solid academic grounding and varied work experience.
“We feel like we get a more complete employee,” said Gai, who graduated from mechatronics engineering with Lehari in 2011.
Lehari thanked supporters at the University, including swim team members for “letting us strap technology to their heads.” The company donated 20 units to the team last year.
'We're just getting started using it'
Swimmers wear small devices attached to their googles or tucked under their swimming caps. Multiple real-time measures from the units are sent to coaches via tablets. Data is also saved to show long-term patterns or improvements.
“The product has been great and we’re just getting started using it,” said Slater.
Linda Wang, a systems design engineering student in her fourth year on the Warriors swim team, said the system gives her accurate information to improve her pacing in butterfly and freestyle events. She is hoping the edge will help her qualify for the national championships.
“If I’m getting slow, it allows me to see why,” she said.
Chagger also announced $500,000 loans for six other companies - including In The Chat of Waterloo, and Nicoya Lifesciences and Root Cellar of Kitchener - under a program to support innovation and growth in small and medium-sized enterprises.
“Innovation is key to creating the jobs of the future and strengthening our middle-class,” she said.