FIELDS OF INNOVATION

Eugen Sandow is a German athlete considered to be the father of bodybuilding. This discipline was created at the end of the 19th century, when shows of strength were common, and their stars were very popular. Sandow filed several patents to improve strength training equipment. Among his innovations, in 1899 he invented improved dumbbells for athletic exercises. The principle was based on a handle "compressible and at the same time elastic, by means of springs, so that, when exercising, the grip of the hands compresses the springs and thus produces tension and a continuous engagement of the muscles of the arms, wrists and hands, allowing the person who uses such dumbbells to gain strength and health more efficiently and faster than with ordinary dumbbells".

Rowing, or canoeing, really took off in France in the 19th century. The Société des Régates du Havre, founded in 1838, organised the first official regatta on the Seine the following year. In the 1880s, German architect Wilhelm-Auguste Rettig, a rower in his spare time and one of the founders of the Berlin Rowing Society, sought to improve racing boats. He filed a patent in 1882 for improvements made to boats, small boats and other rowing crafts for sporting use. The principle behind his invention is based on a type of construction that optimises space for rowers' legs and refocuses their weight, giving the boat better balance. In the history of rowing, Rettig is also sometimes referred to as the developer of the sliding seat.

In 1924, Johnny Weissmuller, also known for playing the first Tarzan on screen, made history by swimming the 100 metres in under a minute. In the 19th century, people were already looking for ways to increase swimming speed. These systems are generally designed as extensions of the human body, such as the "vélonateur" made in 1886 by Francisque Gaillard, which increases a swimmer's propulsion. They are equipped with mobile paddles attached along the leg, which are meant to rise up while effort is being exerted to then fold down automatically as soon as the effort ceases.

In 1844, the first major national archery competition took place, marking a turning point for the discipline as it was just beginning to take shape. From there, several innovations were created. In 1886, the Viennese manufacturer Joh. B. Petzl & Sohn, which specialised in the production of wire ropes, belts, hammocks and gymnastic equipment, filed a patent for a bow "for arrow shooting [...] which can be used as a sports toy". The principle of the innovation is based primarily on improving aim. The inventors explained that "the arrow is guided in a kind of sleeve [and] a rest [...] supports a front sight and a rear sight, which makes it possible to aim accurately".

Founded in 1856 by British expatriates, the Pau Golf Club was the first golf club in France. At that time, the first golf clubs were handcrafted in wood, with heads in beech, hazel or elm, and the shafts in ash or hickory. Tom Morris, an iconic figure in golf known as Old Tom Morris, made his own clubs, selecting woods to suit the conditions on the course. But these models quickly showed their limitations. In 1896, William Mills filed a patent for the construction of instruments or clubs used in the game of golf. Mills explained that "the instrument is out of use because of the shaking produced when a ball is struck, the swelling of the wood due to humidity, and other causes. My invention completely eliminates this disadvantage". Mills then created compartments and metal ribs on the head of the club, which he proposed filling with various materials such as metal to strengthen the structure and eliminate wear on golf clubs.

In the 19th century, the detection of fencing hits was far from precise, and the counting of points often led to disputes. To overcome this problem, in 1901 Henri-Désiré Hissard proposed a device that reliably detected touches. Explaining that "it is a matter of continual difficulty [...] to know whether or not a blow counts. The foil which is the subject-matter of this patent application avoids any possibility of dispute, and is easy to construct. The system is very simple: a detector sounds each time a hit is made, and at the same time a recorder registers the hit and its force". The entirely mechanical system works by the movement of the foil handle. When a blow is struck, the hand continues to move the handle, compressing a spring. This spring triggers a hammer that strikes a bell to signal that the opponent has been touched. To measure the intensity of the blow, the inventor designed three prisms, numbered 0, 1 and 2. Depending on the force of the blow, a spring inside the handle moves these prisms to indicate whether it was weak, medium or strong.

Skateboarding first appeared in the United States in the late 1950s. As the technology evolved, it became a real sport. After making its debut at the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games in 2014, skateboarding made its debut as a new discipline at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. But the idea of putting wheels under your feet is not new. Back in 1876, Henri-Charles Berthier filed a patent for a type of roller skates known as magic skates. He introduced the idea of a brake to stop them rolling backwards, "made of rubber, wood, leather, metal, etc.". This system was the base of current developments in the design of modern skateboards.

On 30 November 1872, an event took place that marked the history of football, the most played sport in the world: Scotland and England played the first international match. At the time, the initial rules made no reference to the ball. Its characteristics were not defined until 1889: its circumference could vary from 68 to 71 cm, and its weight from 340 to 425 grams. Over and above these regulatory proportions, in 1886 Samuel-Edmond Statham, a British man, filed a patent for an innovative ball, emphasising a practical aspect at the heart of his innovation: "it inflates and deflates quickly, and its reduction to a small volume makes it easy to carry around, so much so that it can fit into the pocket of a suit, which is a desirable feature for footballs".

In the 19th century, the development of sporting competitions and the professionalisation of athletes meant that they needed to improve their performance. A variety of training equipment was developed. For example, in 1900, Hamilton Miles filed a patent for improvements in apparatus for practising football, tennis, cricket and similar games: "The purpose of my invention is to provide a device by means of which a person can practise the various strokes with the body, hand and foot as they are made in the real game, and physical exercises for throwing the ball with the tip of the foot, picking it up and stopping it with the head in a movement so that it bounces in the desired direction, as is done in football [...]. [...] With my apparatus, we use a ball or the real ball, and, when the game requires it, the paddle, racket or any other instrument".

In the 19th century, women gradually began to enter the sporting arena. One example of this integration is Lottie Dod, a British woman who won her first tennis tournament at Wimbledon in 1887, at the age of 15. Nevertheless, women face particular clothing restrictions, notably corsets, which restrict movement. In 1897, Frédérique Elliott filed a patent for a ladies’ sports belt system, seeking to eliminate this discomfort in clothing: "It is well known that the use of a corset for people taking part in sports exercises is often a hindrance to the movements of the body and arms, which do not have full freedom of movement. To overcome these drawbacks, I came up with a system of sports belts that form a sort of bodice that hugs the waist and supports the breasts. My belt system allows you to do all your sports exercises without movement being hindered in any way".

The right shoe for every sport! Shoes are an essential part of any athlete's outfit, and are undoubtedly the most distinctive element of the sport practised. In 1892, Edouard-Achille Malgoire, a shoe manufacturer, patented a system of footwear for walking or sports called the Champion, which he presented in the following terms: He described it as "a new system of very light, very flexible and very strong shoes that do not tire the foot of the velocipedist or walker who uses them for a long time, while possessing sufficient strength and indestructibility to resist the rubbing or friction of the shoe's components against the roughness of the road surface or that of the velocipede's parts".

The origin of the word sport, which means "amusement" or "entertainment", suggests that the boundaries between game and sport are tenuous. After all, aren't the members of a sports team called "players"? Some patents present activities at the frontiers of the two, and are far ahead of certain contemporary activities that come close. For example, the new parlour or sports game called Siskyinvented by Jean-Anatole Jost requires skill, reflexes and stamina! The aim is to use your feet, your hands or "paddles" to hit balls hanging from the end of a spinning pole, while trying to avoid the balls hit by the other players. It's easy to imagine what this could look like in the middle of a living room: that's why "the game can be placed in a garden on the ground itself. It then becomes a sporting activity".