VAR and TMO in sport are good things. They back up referees with evidence, cut out errors, and—largely—make sure the right side wins for the right reasons. They’ve also taken some of the heat off officials, curbed a few theatrical collapses, and opened the door to genuine transparency for fans. In short, they’ve made sport fairer, sharper, and a lot harder to cheat.
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I bumped into athletics star and former Sports Technology Awards (now Smarter Sports Awards) judge and presenter, Dai Greene, last week. We talked about track and field’s current struggles and he landed a thought that stopped me short: T&F needs to ditch The Olympics as its four-year glory moment, build through more events and make the World Championships its pinnacle event.
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When we launched The Sports Technology Awards over a decade ago, the idea was gloriously simple: celebrate the things that were rewriting – or rewiring – sport. Back then, ‘technology’ was the keyword. Apps, data, platforms, broadcast kit … all the wonder stuff that made sport look, sound, and behave differently.
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There are few phrases in sport that make the blood run cold faster than ‘poisonous gas.’
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The bosses of Electronic Arts have just trousered a historic $55 billion deal. For the uninitiated, EA is the outfit behind Madden NFL and EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA).
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The World Championships in Tokyo might be remembered for medals and records, but one of its most important legacies should be how it manages its officials.
Straight from the ‘Captain Cock-up’ playbook of the 1993 Grand National, the Tokyo marathon saw a false start. This was unprecedented and ridiculous, over 43km it would have made no competitive difference.
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Hit 50 and people start referring to the next decade as ‘sniper’s alley’, the implication being that if something bad is going to get you, it’ll take the shot then. Apple, ever the opportunist, has clearly clocked this, and its latest watch comes with a new trick: passive hypertension detection.
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Who remembers the days when quality cotton was the gold standard of sports kit?
Your parents preached the benefits of natural fabrics and we believed them…right until it rained. 10 minutes later and lo, your bodyweight doubled and your kit had all the charm of a bath towel drenched in cold water.
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Sports tech is having a moment … apparel has finally joined the party.
It may surprise some, but while broadcast, fan engagement, and performance tech have raced ahead, apparel and footwear have been dragging its heels.
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Keep Stifling Stars and Sport Loses its Voice.
When Boris Johnson was Mayor of London, his press office told me that he’d taken the view that media training Bo-Jo would be like taking the fizz out of the champagne. Let people see the real man and enjoy him for what he is. It worked. While that strategy might not have commuted to the Prime Minister’s office, Boris was a wildly popular mayor.
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