Elite athletes get the Cogs turning
Leading talents at the city’s biggest sports clubs have been taking part in a unique series of tests with Cognisess. The company, one of the sponsors of this year’s Bath Sports Awards, met with Bath Rugby scrum-half Kahn Fotuali’i and Bath City forward Adam Mann, as part of their Discover your Talent campaign. It is aimed at supporting people of all ages and backgrounds to discover their talent and potential, and ultimately find the right job, career or sport to play, using neuroscience-based games and artificial intelligence. The software platform comprehensively analyses a person’s abilities including cognitive, emotional, behaviour, career values, personality and core skills. This holistic view provides a better insight into an individual’s true talent and potential. By playing games and activities and using some of the latest brain wave technology, the athletes created performance benchmarks which anyone can be compared to. Mann and Fotuali’i played three short cognitive games measuring task switching abilities, risk taking and response inhibition. Both athletes were fitted with a neurofeedback device – or EEG headset – as they completed the activities. Neurofeedback is used alongside Cognisess’ software games and measures a person’s brain waves, giving coaches greater insight into what is happening when someone completes a task. Used by athletes across all sports, the data provides optimised performance information and supports ongoing training and development. While the duo played the assessments, the Cognisess team tracked the brains’ performance measuring psychological flow state – essentially how ‘in the zone’ someone is when tackling a task. All sporting professionals get nervous and something known as the yips can impact performance. This is typically if an athlete thinks too much about the technique, instead of focusing on the activity. Measuring psychological flow state allows a player the best chance in achieving their optimal performance. This powerful tool can be strategically used to discover a sport person’s potential. Cognisess will be showcasing its technology at the Bath Sports Awards on Tuesday, November 20, when the best and brightest sporting talent in the city will descend on the Assembly Rooms for a glamorous ceremony. Tickets are still available to attend the Sports Awards, which include a drinks reception and three-course meal, all from 6.30pm. For more information and to book your tickets for the night, visit www.bathsportsawards.co.uk.