Recognition highlights the company’s commitment to innovation, intellectual property, and athlete safety

Guardian Sports has been named one of 33 finalists for the 2026 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Global Awards, a prestigious international program recognizing startups and small- and medium-sized businesses that use innovation, creativity, and intellectual property (IP) to drive business growth and create meaningful societal impact. More than 1,300 companies from 126 countries applied for this year’s awards.

The recognition places Guardian Sports among a select group of innovators from around the world and highlights the company’s ongoing mission: to make sports safer for athletes at every level.

Innovation Driven by Athlete Safety

Since its founding, Guardian Sports has focused on developing technologies designed to reduce impact exposure and improve athlete protection. What began with the Guardian Cap has expanded into a growing portfolio of sports safety products used by athletes ranging from youth leagues to the professional ranks.

According to WIPO’s finalist announcement, Guardian Sports was recognized for its soft-shell helmet cover technology that helps absorb and dissipate impact energy before it reaches the athlete, with more than 500,000 athletes worldwide having worn the product.

“This recognition is a testament to our team’s commitment to innovation and athlete safety,” said Erin Hanson, CEO of Guardian Sports. “Everything we do starts with a simple goal: creating products that help protect athletes and make sports safer.”

Why Intellectual Property Matters

Innovation alone is not enough. Protecting those innovations is critical to ensuring athletes have access to products that meet the highest standards of performance and safety.

At Guardian Sports, intellectual property plays a central role in safeguarding the research, development, and testing that goes into every product. Strong IP protection helps prevent the market from being flooded with inferior counterfeit products that can undermine both athlete safety and consumer trust.

By investing in patents and other intellectual property protections, Guardian Sports is able to continue advancing new technologies while ensuring that athletes, coaches, teams, and organizations receive products backed by rigorous development and validation.

A Growing Global Recognition

The WIPO Global Awards are administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization, the United Nations agency dedicated to innovation and creativity. The awards recognize companies that successfully leverage intellectual property as a strategic business asset while delivering positive impact in their industries and communities.

The 2026 awards introduced a new Sports category, aligned with the World IP Day theme of “IP and Sports.” Guardian Sports was selected as one of three finalists in the category.

Finalists are evaluated on the strength of their business model, intellectual property strategy, growth potential, internal IP culture, and broader societal impact. Winners will be announced in July during the WIPO Assemblies in Geneva, Switzerland.

Looking Ahead

Being named a WIPO Global Awards finalist reinforces Guardian Sports’ belief that innovation and intellectual property are powerful tools for creating safer sports environments.

As the company continues to develop next-generation protective equipment and safety solutions, its focus remains unchanged: helping athletes perform with confidence while advancing the future of sports safety.

For Guardian Sports, this recognition is not only a celebration of innovation—it is validation of a mission that drives every product, every patent, and every step forward toward making sports safer for athletes everywhere.