Gatorade Announces Sports Performance Nutrition Partnership with IMG Academies

Source: Gatorade

CHICAGO, IL- Gatorade and IMG Academies are changing the world of sports nutrition research by elevating their existing partnership. These sports performance industry leaders have teamed up to develop a comprehensive sports nutrition curriculum for IMG Academies students as well as a sports science research lab on-site to gain athletic performance insights.

As the "Official Sports Performance Nutrition Partner" of IMG Academies, Gatorade opened a Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) performance laboratory on IMG Academies' Bradenton, Fla., campus. The satellite GSSI lab location allows GSSI the unique opportunity to work with, test and counsel some of the world's most elite professional and amateur athletes, with the mission of helping the athlete improve performance through sports nutrition. GSSI scientists will conduct a series of tests under varying conditions - both in lab as well as on the field of play. The scientific findings will be used to help the athletes reach their individual and specific performance goals. In addition to testing, GSSI and IMG Academies' nutritionists and performance specialists will also develop a sports nutrition educational curriculum that will be utilized by the Academies' full-time students and camp participants year-round. "The opening of the GSSI Performance Laboratory at IMG Academies offers us an opportunity to make GSSI science more readily accessible to a wider breadth of athletes in more sports, across varying skill levels," said Asker Jeukendrup, global senior director of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute and professor of exercise metabolism and director of the human performance lab at University of Birmingham in England. "As the GSSI footprint grows, so does our ability to study more athletes, gain additional insights into what helps them perform better and help them understand how and why sports nutrition is a proven vital component for their training." For more than three decades IMG Academies has helped athletes maximize performance by pairing technological analysis and top-notch coaching in order to provide an unparalleled competitive edge. This partnership will allow IMG Academies to leverage Gatorade's 40-year history of studying the best athletes in the world, and its wealth of sports nutrition knowledge and insights. "We have an ongoing partnership with Gatorade and the opening of a GSSI performance laboratory is a critical step in growing our partnership and delivering on our shared mission to meet the needs of athletes and help them elevate their performance to the next level," said Sam Zussman, Managing Director, IMG Academies. "Our shared passion for education coupled with a commitment to optimizing sports nutrition and athletic performance will lead us well into the future." About the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) The Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) was founded in 1985 to help athletes optimize their performance and safeguard their health through research and education in hydration and sports nutrition science. Headquartered in Barrington, Illinois, GSSI staff scientists study the effects of exercise, the environment and nutrition on the human body using the latest scientific technology and equipment. In addition to the GSSI's own exercise physiology, biochemistry and exercise sensory labs, GSSI also works with leading scientists from universities around the world to further research in exercise science and sports nutrition. The Institute has become a truly international organization in recent years and currently serves nearly 110,000 members in over 145 countries worldwide. About IMG Academies IMG Academies, a division of IMG Worldwide, the global sports, fashion and media company, is the world's largest and most advanced multi-sport training and education complex dedicated to developing the TOTAL ATHLETE™. For more than 30 years, IMG Academies has helped countless youth, adult, collegiate and professional athletes reach their full potential in sport and life, by providing expert coaching, tailored programs and world-class facilities within an energetic environment across a 400-acre campus. Today the Bradenton, Fla.-based campus attracts 20,000 athletes from nearly 100 countries annually. The Academies consists of the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy, IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy and adjoining IMG Academies Golf and Country Club, IMG Madden Football Academy, IMG Baseball, Basketball, Lacrosse and Soccer academies - all supported by the IMG Pendleton School and IMG Performance Institute's multi-faceted training disciplines. IMG Academies also conducts camps, clinics and events year-round, while providing support to teams and federations around the world. Find more info at www.imgacademies.com.