A product for surfers developed by Australian company Shark Shield has been named a finalist in the Athletics, Sports & Recreation – Injury Prevention category in the 2018 Edison Awards.
Named after Thomas Alva Edison, the Edison Awards recognises and honours the world’s best in innovators and innovations, with the winners being announced at the 31st Annual Edison Awards held Wednesday, April 11, 2018 in New York City.
Lindsay Lyon, Shark Shield CEO says, ‘We’re thrilled to be recognised by such prestigious awards. Our FREEDOM+ Surf product is just the start of things to come for the brand. As we speak our product development team are working on a range of new products with the potential to protect an entire beach front through to a boating product and even hand-held devices for recreational ocean users.’
Shark Shield’s FREEDOM+ Surf is made for surfers. The product was designed in partnership with World Surfing Champion Tom Carroll and the surfboard manufacturer Ocean and Earth.
It features a removable power module housed in a custom designed Ocean & Earth tail pad kicker, and the company says it ‘can easily be transferred from board to board’.
Light in weight, they say it ‘offers nearly zero drag so there is little to no impact on surfing performance’.
Established in 1987 and often described as ‘the Oscars of Innovation,’ the Edison Awards recognises and honours the world’s best innovations and innovators.
All nominations were reviewed by the Edison Awards Steering Committee and the final ballot sent to an independent judging panel.
The judging panel was comprised of more than 3,000 professionals from the fields of product development, design, engineering, science, marketing and education, including professional organisations representing a wide variety of industries and disciplines.
Shark Shield says its patented technology creates a three-dimensional electrical field which causes unbearable spasms in sharks’ sensitive receptors, causing them to turn away.
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