The 2026 Sports & Outdoors Professional winner is Solo Steelfire Griddle, a project by Smart Design for Solo. The design team included Louis Filosa, Lulu Mills, Albert Kwak, Jane Fessenden, Will Merrill, Vasily Romanov, Ariel Meltser. The Solo Steelfire Griddle is a premium outdoor cooking system designed by Smart Design to redefine how people cook, gather, and entertain in their backyards. The design stands apart in a crowded market through a distinctive oval form that makes the griddle a social centerpiece, much like a kitchen island at a party. Informed by in-home research showing that griddling is as much about hosting as cooking, the design elevates the experience into something design-forward and communal rather than purely utilitarian.

The 2026 Student winner in Sports & Outdoors is Future Waves by Ellis Walker at Umeå Institute of Design. Future Waves FW01 is a modular electric propulsion system for small boats that pairs a permanently mounted motor with a removable battery to deliver superior ergonomics, safety, and balance—targeting the overlooked sustainability gap in auxiliary propulsion for tenders and dinghies. The jury team noted the designer’s “extensive research and an excellent understanding of pain points and user scenarios.” Seamlessly embedded in the Volvo Penta ecosystem, FW01 bridges maritime heritage with the future of electric mobility, replacing combustion-based outboards with a high-efficiency electric drive.

Joachim Froment, Designer and Creative Director at Futurewave, led the jury team for Sports & Outdoors. The team included Curtis Flanagan, Creative Director at Seed Studio at Google; and Geoff Baldwin, Founder of Win Win Athletics.

Sports & Outdoors Award Honorees

The 2026 Sports & Outdoors category celebrates products and services designed to get people moving, playing, and learning outdoors, covering athletic equipment, athletic wear and accessories, outdoor gear, and anything else designed to meet people where they want to be most.

See all the Honorees of the 2026 Core77 Design Awards here:

Apps & Platforms | Built Environment | Branding & Identity | Commercial & Industrial Equipment | Consumer Technology | Design for Social Impact | Emerging Technologies | Furniture & Lighting | Home & Living | Interaction | Lifestyle Accessories | Medical & Healthcare | Packaging | Speculative Design | Sports & Outdoor | Sustainability | Tools | Toys & Play | Transportation & Mobility | Visual Communication