IT in Sports

Technology has a come a long way and spread its wings across all
aspects of human life, including a traditional & physical aspect such
as sports. Technology has crept its way in approximately all aspects
of virtually any sport: from equipment designing, to performance &
player

management,

refereeing

&

monitoring,

scheduling,

evangelizing & strategizing, and to finally scorekeeping & decision

making (tie-breaking and result declaration).
In most cases, technology is synonymous with IT technology. One
leads to the other (in a circular sort of way); but in another sense, IT
technology has (had) the most profound impact on the world of
sports. To start off, lets talk about the impact that IT technology has
had on sporting equipment & technologies.

Sporting Equipment / Technologies:

At the highest professional level, sports are a highly competitive
occupation with millions of dollars depending upon fractions of a
second or tenths of a centimeter. However, even the dedicated
amateur is willing to invest a great deal of money to improve his or
her performance. Thus, just as in other fields, the use of advanced
materials in athletics can be justified if it leads to enhanced
performance1. Sporting Equipment / Technologies are man-made
means developed to reach human interests or goals in or relating to
a particular sport2.

Technology, in sports, has been utilized &

harnessed by stakeholders to improve an athletes training and

competitive surrounding the sole aim of enhancing their overall
performance.
Equipment designing has now started receiving huge importance.
Optimum designing of sporting equipment requires the knowledge
1 http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/9702/Froes-9702.html
2 http://www.ulster.ac.uk/scienceinsociety/technologyinsport.html

IT in Sports
and application of numerous disciplines (physics, mathematics,
chemistry,

biology

and

aesthetics).

To

see

the

combined

contribution and effect of these disciplines one requires the use

advanced modeling and designing softwares. With such softwares,
such as CAD, one can tweak various parameters to design
customized and optimized sporting equipments. For eg. Callaway
designed and launched a new driver specially for Tiger Woods. This
gave his game such an advantage that PGA had to barr the use of
the said driver.
The key point to note is that an updated and optimally designed
equipment can not only enhance performance, but also enable its
user to wield its power in a skillful, friendly, and most importantly,
safe-injury-free way. Examples of sporting technologies include golf
clubs, tennis rackets, pole vault poles, athletic sports gear (clothing
and footwear), advanced computer stimulations and motion capture.
Ethical Considerations:
Sports are generally considered to a match of equals. However, the
rise in technology is paving way for customized, patented, exclusive
and superior equipments that can (and at times, does) result in an
unfair advantage to the one with such equipments. No longer can
skill be seen as the sole differentiator between players. It is
therefore to sport governing bodies and the moral police to regulate
the use of such technology. Technically one can use any equipment
(so long as it within standardized measurements / norms) but
Ethically whether to use such equipments is still under debate.
Perhaps, the one way to tackle this problem is to make all the
sporting technology equally accessible.
Another point of consideration is whether competition at the highest
level should only be allowed to the elite because of the high cost of
equipment?1 This point is equivalent to opening a can of worms, as

IT in Sports
it further hints to the prospects of favoring the class of people who
will excel. This may seem blasphemous, but in reality, this does
exist. Take the case of polo or sailing, which have traditionally been
a wealthy persons sports and one can still see their participants
belonging to the upper strata of society. This is solely because the
equipment to engage in such activities is beyond the reach of an
average individual.

Performance & Player Management

IT offerings has been utilized extensively to improve an athletes
style and technique. For eg., in the case of NFL, the managers of
teams are incorporating a monitoring device into the uniform of
every players that is transmitting 100 data points per second to
their system (including baseline expectations for each individual
player and even position-specific metrics). With this, they hope to
learn and create a visual reference to see if their strategy and play
was executed by all athletes, and to the athletes maximum physical
capability.3
A video of this example:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20130828/nfl-catapulttechnology/

Notable Softwares used in Sports

There are numerous software packages that are designed for
various purposes, in relation to sports. Some softwares focus on
fitness & nutrition of professionals; some on strategy, analysis &
management; while some others focus on organizing and reporting
game date. Below is a list of prominently used, and categorically
organized, list of softwares in the world of sports.
3 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20130828/nfl-catapulttechnology/

IT in Sports
General Software

Team Beep Test: Used for conducting multi-stage fitness

test, also known as beep tests. This software enables
conducting and recording the results of the bleep / beep

test directly onto the computer.

Quintic: Provides video capture

and

biomechanical

analysis of an individuals technique for athletes, coaches,

physiotherapists, podiatrists and sports scientists.

V1 Sports: Video analysis software that enables capturing,

comparing and improving the performance of athletes.

BodyByte: Developed to comprehensively organize and
manage all the information associated with nutrition,

training and fitness.

Gameday: Software that enables tracking games (from

Football to Basketball), along with their live stats.

Youth Sports Automation: Web-based technology
platform to simplify the youth sports process. It provides
administrative support to clubs, managers and coaches,
which are needed to get a player on the field along with
family facing capabilities for parents and players.

Running

Odikyo: GPS based real-time runner tracking service that

allows users (and permitted users) to see the runners
location and other relevant information.

Rugby

Verusco Technologies: Provides video analysis software

and statistics for Rugby Unions and Teams.

Rallying (Racing)

Jemba Inertia Notes System: Software that allows

organizers to create a consistent set of pace notes for all
rally drivers.

Boxing

IT in Sports

CompuBox:

Settles

controversies

by

running

computerized scoring system that captures and counts

each punch thrown by an athlete.
Baseball

Inside Edge: Provides advanced scouting services and

tools to baseball teams and media.

Golf

LeagueManager 2013: Automates the running of golf

leagues, including, handicapping, scheduling etc.

Soccer

TactFOOT: Enables coaches to develop drills, set plays,

exercises, and analyze game situations.

Coachfx: Soccer-focused advanced analytical software.

Tennis

SportLogic inTennis: Tennis software suit for tennis

centers, coaches and clubs, integrating all aspects of a
tennis business' operation.

Cricket

Eagle Eye Pro Viewer: Motion analysis tool enabling

easier technical analysis.

VcamCricket Bio Mechanic Coaching: Cricket-centered
video analysis tool.