
One would wonder, how could something as guttural and as basic as sport, be included into the digital age when there are literally thousands of variables involved. From the human element to the environmental effects and even the atmosphere the crowds or fans create.
The idea of sport as we know it, becoming another victim of disruptive technology might sound like a little far-fetched to some. Disrupted to the point where the win or loss of a team or an individual at any sporting event instead of being determined by fitness, preparation regimes or experience and know-how, now achieved through a quick run of numbers into a computer to tell you the results based on data it has collected. Data with details ranging from player physical readiness to their psychological and emotional levels too.
In what looked like boys fighting to see whose toy was better, the 2014 FIFA World Cup saw 3 companies pit their big data analytics to the test in predicting the outcomes of 15 matches. The ‘boys’ at this fight were Microsoft, Baidu and Google, with Google losing out in missing one out of the 15. Those are very good odds by any standards.
In the NFL and NBA, the analytics gathers information from sensors on the athletes that monitor heart rate and lung capacity, to having the entire arena fitted with motion tracking camera technology. It gives medics and coaches insights into the players’ performance and capabilities and assists in making crucial minute by minute decisions during the game.
The judo team at the Rio Olympics were one of the first teams that used one of the latest technological big data advances from a start-up, to arrive at the best methods to defeat their opponents. The technology developed by Boost, is a tool in the form of chat-bots that allow trainers and athletes to not only ask questions about the athlete himself and his training, but also details on the athletes rivals in upcoming competitions as well.
Boost developed an engine that collected all the information that exists on the web about every rival judoka. The system will analyse the question through AI and have a reply almost instantaneously, analysing technical information such as their physical characteristics, past achievements, all the matches they were in, sifting through thousands of videos, either coded automatically or manually. Then using algorithms, an exact profile of all the rival athletes will be produced that then predicts future trends, identify strong points and determine the weak points too.
Oren Smadja, the Israeli Olympic medalist in judo who now coaches the men’s national team says “It’s another screw in an entire system, but it gave us a full picture of the matches and rivals. When I competed in the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, we schlepped videotapes to study our rivals. Here it was all ready and it’s presented in an accessible fashion that allows us to ask questions at any time. You cannot cope with so much information without this tool, and we used it a lot. It helped us and proved itself, and we will continue to use it in the future.”
With analytics making leaps and bounds towards changing how competitors approach each game, will the game have the same emotional connections to its viewers. If predictions can be made hours before hand that gives fans the result they wanted or didn’t want, will that change viewer sentiment and end the way games are held. Will the Olympics have the same value to each contestant as it has today, when everyone knows the outcome.
The analytics is definitely an edge over competitors that every vying team or individual will look for. We shall have to wait and see how the ecosystem of the big data environment irons itself out in terms of fair play and predictability. As of now, the team with the better tech is going to go into the fight with a very big advantage.


Archive
- October 2024(44)
- September 2024(94)
- August 2024(100)
- July 2024(99)
- June 2024(126)
- May 2024(155)
- April 2024(123)
- March 2024(112)
- February 2024(109)
- January 2024(95)
- December 2023(56)
- November 2023(86)
- October 2023(97)
- September 2023(89)
- August 2023(101)
- July 2023(104)
- June 2023(113)
- May 2023(103)
- April 2023(93)
- March 2023(129)
- February 2023(77)
- January 2023(91)
- December 2022(90)
- November 2022(125)
- October 2022(117)
- September 2022(137)
- August 2022(119)
- July 2022(99)
- June 2022(128)
- May 2022(112)
- April 2022(108)
- March 2022(121)
- February 2022(93)
- January 2022(110)
- December 2021(92)
- November 2021(107)
- October 2021(101)
- September 2021(81)
- August 2021(74)
- July 2021(78)
- June 2021(92)
- May 2021(67)
- April 2021(79)
- March 2021(79)
- February 2021(58)
- January 2021(55)
- December 2020(56)
- November 2020(59)
- October 2020(78)
- September 2020(72)
- August 2020(64)
- July 2020(71)
- June 2020(74)
- May 2020(50)
- April 2020(71)
- March 2020(71)
- February 2020(58)
- January 2020(62)
- December 2019(57)
- November 2019(64)
- October 2019(25)
- September 2019(24)
- August 2019(14)
- July 2019(23)
- June 2019(54)
- May 2019(82)
- April 2019(76)
- March 2019(71)
- February 2019(67)
- January 2019(75)
- December 2018(44)
- November 2018(47)
- October 2018(74)
- September 2018(54)
- August 2018(61)
- July 2018(72)
- June 2018(62)
- May 2018(62)
- April 2018(73)
- March 2018(76)
- February 2018(8)
- January 2018(7)
- December 2017(6)
- November 2017(8)
- October 2017(3)
- September 2017(4)
- August 2017(4)
- July 2017(2)
- June 2017(5)
- May 2017(6)
- April 2017(11)
- March 2017(8)
- February 2017(16)
- January 2017(10)
- December 2016(12)
- November 2016(20)
- October 2016(7)
- September 2016(102)
- August 2016(168)
- July 2016(141)
- June 2016(149)
- May 2016(117)
- April 2016(59)
- March 2016(85)
- February 2016(153)
- December 2015(150)