Lesson video

Hi there.

Welcome to your lesson.

Today's lesson is on positive and negative impacts of technology in sport.

My name's Miss Hakin and I'm really looking forward to being your teacher today.

So by the end of today's lesson, I'm hoping that we can all explain the positive and negative impacts of technology on performers, officials, spectators, and sponsors in sport.

So not just thinking about how technology affects the performance itself, but how it affects all the stakeholders involved in sport.

Today's key words are technology, and then the rest of the key words are types of technology that will be useful for you to know.

Video analysis, performance analysis, wearable devices, and prosthetics.

You may wish to pause video now in order to write down the definition of these keywords to help you in today's lesson.

Today's lesson is going to be split into three different parts.

In the first part, we're going to describe different types of technology in sport.

You may already know quite a lot of different types of technology in sport, or you may already use different types of technology in sport.

For the second part of today's lesson, we're gonna explain how technology has a positive impact on sport, and we know that technology helps us in everyday life to be more efficient, to be better, and to improve things.

So that's the same for sport too.

We're also going to explain how technology has a negative impact on sport because like in life, technology can at times be unreliable and can be difficult for all sport to access.

Let's get started.

Technology in sport has developed quickly over the years to impact performance, rehabilitation, viewing, and decision making in sport.

For example, video analysis, performance analysis, wearable devices, clothing and footwear, prosthetics, equipment, protective equipment, and rehabilitation technology.

These are all different types of technology that have advanced in recent years to improve the overall experience of sport for everyone involved in sport.

Now, some of the examples on there, you might not assume our technology, but they are.

So things like clothing and footwear.

They have changed a lot over the years in order to make performers perform better when wearing them.

We're going to talk about it in a little bit more detail shortly.

Andeep has also mentioned about the apps that he uses on his phone to help give him information about sports performance as well.

You might know of some of these apps and that is also an example of technology.

So video analysis software in sports helps officials make accurate decisions by using multiple cameras to track the ball or play a movement.

Now I wonder if you can think of any examples where this happens or any sports where this might happen.

You may have said hawkeye in tennis.

For example, at Wimbledon currently, in a match between two professional tennis players.

Currently line judges, so people will watch the line to see whether the ball is in or out.

However, some of these balls are travelling at over a hundred miles an hour.

So it is really, really difficult for the human eye to see that quick, whether the ball hit the line or whether it was out, which is why hawkeye is used.

Now, players can request to use hawkeye and to challenge a call that's been made if they think it was in, for example, when it was called out.

Now when this happens, hawkeye will zoom in, the different cameras will all zoom in on the ball that has been hit, and therefore it'll be able to pick up the position that the ball landed on the ground and whether it hit the line or whether it didn't.

So it's really useful in order to make sure we know whether the ball was in or out.

So the game is played fairly.

Also, you might have said goal line technology.

So for example, in football, goal line technology is used video analysis there along the goal line.

And this is again, lots and lots of cameras that hone in on the ball to see if the ball passed over the line or not.

So for example, there's been cases where the goalkeeper might have saved the ball, but if the goalkeeper saves the ball behind the line, then it's still a goal.

So goal line technology would be used to ensure whether the ball passed the line or whether it didn't.

So again, it's really useful to help officials make the correct decision so the game is played fairly.

And fans and spectators really need to see that goal line technology so that they can trust the officials decisions to ensure that they know whether it was a goal or not.

So performance analysis software is slightly different as it's used to review and feedback performance.

So sports performance.

So it can analyse various aspects of performance including data on tactics, data on technique, and data on movement.

So if you've got a netball team maybe looking at getting some performance analysis on their tactics, they would perhaps have a video camera and someone, a performance analysis person, who was assessing which centre passes were gaining possession and which centre passes were not gaining possession.

So that would be a really interesting way to assess whether the tactic of the different centre passage was working in a game or not.

Data on techniques.

So again, video analysis could be used to ensure that the perfect technique is used, a perfect hand position or to slow things down or speed things up to see how the performer is actually performing a skill and if their technique is correct and what kind of coaching points or adjustments might be needed in order to have more success and day on movements again as well.

So looking at how people move around a court, for example, maybe a badminton player, how they move around the court, are they being efficient with their energy? Could they improve that in order to save energy to not fatigue as quickly? So this helps performance and coaches know their strengths and weaknesses, but also the strengths and weaknesses of their competition too.

So for example, a rugby team, if they use performance analysis software on one of their opposition teams in their previous game, they might be able to find out data about their tactics and their movements in order to really help this team play them successfully.

So they know what to expect and they know what to be aware of.

So yeah, performance analysis software can be useful for you as a performer and for your coaching, but also to check out the opposition and see what things are working well for them or highlighting their weaknesses too.

So nowadays people can often analyse their own performance while exercising.

By using wearable devices, these devices are able to measure a lot of things.

So wearable devices are like smart watches or heart rate monitors.

Often people will wear these when they're exercising and they can set their smart device for different activities as well.

So the things that the smart device might pick up would be things like heart rate, blood oxygen levels, the amount of calories used, the distance covered, the steps taken, the sleep patterns, stress levels, and VO2 max.

So like Izzy said, her smartwatch gives her an overall picture of her fitness and helps her tailor her workouts, set specific goals and track her progress.

So you might notice that certain people want to exercise in certain heart rate zones and they can do that now by checking out their watch and it's really easy.

So people are able to take a lot more ownership on their own training because of this technology that's really, really handy, really useful and is widely used by lots of different people.

I wonder if you had a smartwatch if you knew that it could do all of these things.

Maybe that's something to check out if you do have a smartwatch to look at all the different aspects that you can measure and see how that could affect your performance in a sport.

Let's have a go to check.

Which is not a benefit of performance analysis technology? A, it identifies tactics that are working well.

B, it tracks the ball to see if it went over the line.

C, it highlights the incorrect technique of the serve.

Or D, it shows a timing of a run up to the vault.

The correct answer is B, tracks the ball to see if it went over the line.

It's not a benefit of performance analysis technology because it's a benefit of video analysis technology.

So make sure that you read the question to know what it's asking you.

So tracking the board to see if it went over the line is video analysis technology.

Sports clothing has advanced significantly over the years, becoming lighter, more durable, and designed for optimal performance.

Durable means tougher.

It means it doesn't break as easily, it doesn't rip as easily, it's made to last a bit longer.

Modern athletic wear is made from high-tech fabrics that help to wick away sweat.

So if you've done a workout and you're particularly sweaty, modern clothing helps to take the sweat away from your body so that you're not all sticky and not feeling very nice with the sweat on your body.

The clothing will actually help take away the sweat from your skin, which makes you feel a little bit more comfortable.

It also helps to regulate body temperature.

Again, if you're working out, you don't want to get too hot, that's not comfortable for you to work out and you're not going to work at your best effort if you're feeling either too hot or too cold.

So sport clothing is now designed to really help you regulate that body temperature and also for reducing wind resistance.

So for things like cycling where every second counts in that race and wind resistance can really slow you down.

Clothing has now been designed to help solve that problem and to help you still move incredibly fast, even through wind resistant areas.

And all of these help to enhance the comfort and efficiency during competition.

Again, wicking away the sweat makes you feel more comfortable.

You don't want to be competing when you're feeling really hot and sweaty, but reducing the wind resistance will help your performance and potentially save you seconds in a race, which could be the difference between coming first or second, for example.

So sports footwear has also really improved over the years.

It's now lighter, more durable, and it offers better grip, so you're less likely to slide over and injure yourself when wearing it.

Cushioning technologies have also been developed to provide better comfort and absorb shocks when a performer lands.

We all know in sport that often there is a lot of impact either when we're running, when we are jumping, when we are landing.

And therefore it's really important that our shoes are able to take some of that impact so that it's not going through our body and we are ending up getting injured.

So that's why cushioning technologies within shoes are really important to wear.

Also, specialist footwear for different activities has been developed to increase the comfort and performance specifically for that activity.

For example, with running, there's so many different trainers out there now that you could choose to run in.

However, if you were actually competing in an athletics competition on a track, you may prefer to wear running spikes that give you more grip that are lighter, that help you to move as quickly as possible compared to a pair of normal trainers.

I wonder if you can think of any more types of footwear that may be specific to an activity.

So prosthetics are artificial body parts that have been used to support people that may have lost a limb.

And therefore they're able to compete in sports or physical activity.

So prosthetics have greatly improved in quality and functionality, allowing athletes to use them to perform at elite levels and compete in various different sports as well.

Traditionally, people with prosthetics may not have been included in sport and physical activity, whereas now technology has adapted to make sport and physical activity inclusive for all by the development and advancements in prosthetic technology.

So modern prosthetic limbs are made from lightweight, durable materials that closely mimic the natural movement of human limbs, providing better flexibility and agility.

So being lightweight is great for comfort so that nothing is rubbing on any other body parts, but also for competition, the lighter there is the quicker they're going to be able to move their prosthetic limb.

Durable, again, meaning that it will last a long time that it can be used, that it can be used in many competitions, it can be trained with and it's not going to break easily.

And of course, if it did break easily, then there'd be a risk of the athlete becoming injured.

So that's why it's really important that it's lightweight and durable materials, but it allows the athlete to perform as they should and perform the movements that they are required to do for the sport with ease and flexibility.

Let's have a go to question.

True or false.

Clothing and footwear has developed to become lighter and more durable.

That's true.

Can you tell me why? Clothing and footwear in sport has become lighter and more durable to enhance athlete's performance, So they're able to perform at their best level without worrying that their clothing or footwear is gonna slow them down or not let them play as well.

Sports equipment has improved in terms of materials, durability and design, making it more comfortable to use.

Modern equipment is lighter and made from stronger materials, and all of these improvements help athletes perform better and enjoy their sport more.

I wonder if you can think of some sports equipment that might have changed over the years traditionally in terms of materials that it's used.

Okay, the tennis racket is a good example of how technology and equipment has adapted and changed over time.

Look at how the tennis racket has evolved and can you tell me why you think it has evolved as it has? Think about the materials, the shape and the size.

Protective equipment has also developed to be lighter and more comfortable, yet offer more safety and durability to performance without compromising their performance.

So safety equipment has to be light and traditionally it hasn't.

It's been very heavy in order to keep the performers safe because the most important thing is that performers stay safe.

However, more modern day protective equipment means that the safety is still there, the durability is still there, it's not gonna break, but it's also now lighter and more comfortable, which makes it easier to wear.

I wonder if you can think of any examples of safety equipment.

You may have said shin pads in football to keep the bottom part of the leg safe from tackling and any injuries occurring to the ankle or the lower shin.

A gumshield for things like boxing and rugby to protect the teeth from falling out.

Gloves in things like BMX racing or skiing in order to protect the hands from any injuries or from severe weather conditions.

And helmets in things like cycling or horse riding.

Just in case you happen to fall off your bike or horse, a helmet would therefore prevent any damage occurring to your head.

But as you can notice with the helmet, this has changed a lot over the years and is now really light so that it's not weighing the head down when a cyclist is on a bike, but it's still offering that same kind of support.

So the bike helmet is still really strong so that if they did fall off, it wouldn't break and it would protect the head, but it's a lot lighter to wear, so it's a lot more comfortable.

Rehabilitation technology speeds up the recovery time for an injured athlete.

So rehabilitation is the time after an athlete has got injured in which it takes to recover.

Some examples of rehabilitation technology includes kinesiology tape, massage guns, foam rollers, braces and support sleeves, cryotherapy, electric stimulation, hydrotherapy, and compression devices.

Okay, let's have a go to check.

See how much you have understood what we've done so far.

How has equipment and protective equipment developed? Is it, A, to show action replays? Is it, B, to analyse heart rate? Is it, C, to track the ball? Or is it, D, to be more durable so that it can last longer? It's D.

Equipment and protective equipment have developed to be more durable so that it can last longer without breaking and keep our participants safe.

Okay, now it's your turn to have a go at a practise task.

For the first part of the task, I'd like you to identify five types of technology in sport.

And for the second part of the task, I'd like you to explain how prosthetic technology has developed to enhance performance.

You may wish to pause aside so that you have time to write down your answers.

Good luck.

Okay, for the first part of the task, you are asked to identify five types of technology in sport.

You may have said any of the following: video analysis, performance analysis, wearable devices, clothing and footwear, prosthetics, equipment, protective equipment, and rehabilitation technology.

Well done if you put five of the following down.

For the second part of the task, you are asked to explain how prosthetic technology has developed to enhance performance.

You may have put something along these lines.

Prosthetic technology has advanced by using lightweight, durable materials that closely mimics the natural movement of human limbs.

This provides better flexibility and agility, which are crucial for smoother more natural motion.

Improved flexibility helps athletes move more efficiently, reducing strain and allows 'em to perform complex movements with ease and comfort.

These advancements enable athletes using prosthetics to compete at elite levels across various different sports.

Well done if you put something along those lines.

Okay, we are now moving on to the second part of today's lesson.

In this part of the lesson we're gonna explain technology's positive impact on sport.

So there are many positive impacts of technology on performance, and these include that they improve performance through marginal gains.

So things like wearing a lighter weight helmet, more aerodynamic clothing, and having a bike that's more durable and lighter will help a cyclist gain time, so improve their time on a cycling race, therefore getting marginal gains.

So by clothing, footwear and equipment being more comfortable to wear and to use, it means that performers are able to be more comfortable performing and will perform at a higher level.

There's better injury prevention and treatment.

So if an athlete did become injured, the rehabilitation technology will help them get back to fitness in a quicker rate and improved prosthetics, allowing more people to access sport at all levels.

So making sport more inclusive to have a wide range of different people being able to access it and allowing sport to be accessed by everyone.

So what do you think the positive impacts of technology on officials are? Remember an example of an official is a referee.

You might have said that they have more reliable official decisions.

So by using hawkeye in tennis where the technology is able to determine whether the ball hit the line and was in or whether the ball didn't hit the line and was out.

So it makes a decision making much more reliable.

Also, by using communication technology, it means that information can be shared quickly and easily.

For example, between a referee and the assistant referee in a football game, communication can happen through a headpiece, a technology headset, rather than having to go over and waste time on the game.

Okay, let's have a go to check.

Technology can help a tennis umpire make the correct decision.

True or false? Yes, I hope you found that quite easy.

Can you tell me why? You might have said technology like hawkeye can help a tennis umpire know if a serve was in or out.

Okay, there are lots of positive impacts of technology on spectators and these include that it means spectators are able to know more about the rules, players, statistics, and results.

So they get educated a little bit more about the sport, about the players, about the techniques, about the tactics through the use of technology.

Technology helps to make sporting events more thrilling and engaging to watch.

It also has different camera angles making viewing experience more immersive and dynamic.

So rather than just seeing a camera that's like watching the whole game, for example, a rugby game, watching the whole game from above, you now are able to see different angles.

So you're able to see the try being scored on the try line, you're able to see it the whole pitch from above, but you're also able to see from the side as well.

So seeing lots of different camera angles makes it much more interesting to watch rather than just seeing the same one where you can't get as bigger detail of what's going on on the pitch.

And there's interactive software and apps that can increase engagement too.

So there's lots of apps to do with sport that enables you to have a better viewing experience.

So it might be to give your opinion, it might be to a poll about a certain position or a certain player.

So it makes the actual spectating experience a lot more engaging rather than just 100% watching the sport.

Positive impact of technology and sponsor includes that advancements in technology provide sponsors with greater opportunities to showcase their brand, product, or logo.

For instance, while the crowd and officials wait for the result of goal line technology in rugby to confirm a try on the big screen, a sponsor's advertisement might appear before the outcome is displayed.

Therefore, the sponsor will reach the entire audience because they have been up on the screen.

So it just provides more opportunities for the sponsor to get their brand or logo out there for more spectators to see.

Okay, let's have a go to check.

Which is not a positive impact of technology on the spectator? A, technology allows spectator to be better educated.

B, provides a more immersive experience with different camera angles.

C, allows more opportunities to see brands and products.

And D, technology supports greater performance standards, making it more interesting to watch.

The correct answer is C.

Allows more opportunities to see brands and products.

Because this isn't actually a positive impact of technology on the spectator, it's a positive impact of technology on the sponsor.

The rest of all examples of positive impacts of technology on the spectator.

Well done if you've got that right.

Okay, now it's your turn to have a go at a task.

We've got Laura.

Laura says, "If I had more advanced technology, it would improve my performance in the 200 metre sprint." Justify using examples why Laura is correct.

If I had more advanced technology, it would improve my performance in a 200 metre sprint.

You may wish to pause aside now to have time to write your answer.

Okay, so Laura has said if I had more advanced technology, it would improve my performance in a 200 metre sprint.

You were asked to justify your answer using examples.

You might have said: If she had access to more advanced technology, it could enhance Laura's performance in a 200 metre sprint.

Video analysis would allow her to review her technique and identify areas for improvement.

While performance analysis could track metrics like speed, acceleration, and endurance in real time.

Wearable devices would provide valuable data on her heart rate, muscle activity, and overall condition, helping Laura optimise her training.

And additionally, advanced clothing and footwear designed for performance could reduce drag and improve her running efficiency, ultimately leading to faster times.

So this answer has really justified why advanced technology would improve Laura's performance and ultimately they have included examples, which is what the question asked for.

They've included video analysis, performance analysis, wearable devices, clothing and footwear as all examples of types of technology that could help advance her performance.

Well done if you put something along those lines.

Okay, now we're going to move on to the final part of today's lesson.

We're going to explain technology's negative impact on sport.

So there are some disadvantages of technology for the performer.

The first thing is that it can invade the privacy of the performer.

So things like wearable devices can provide data about performance health and fatigue.

That can be quite personal.

If you think for example, how fast you run a 5K, you might not want necessarily other people to see that, but as a performer everyone will see your data and that is quite invasive.

Also, another disadvantage is that more advanced technology is expensive, therefore only some elite athletes can afford the best performance analysis software.

It can also lead to performers using technology to cheat.

We've got the example here of this Belgian cyclist who was caught using a hidden motor engine in her bike in a 2016 Cyclo-cross World Championships.

So she used technology on her bike in order to make her go faster.

And that was obviously not allowed, but it's what athletes are doing in order to try and get an edge in order to win.

It also can take time to analyse or learn to use technology.

So more advanced technology often requires specialist training, leading to coaches to higher performance analysis who take time to feedback to every member of the team.

So if you think you've got a rugby team, for example, and there's a performance analysis who is analysing the performance and will look back over the match and look at each individual player and what they did well, their strengths and their weaknesses, and then the time it would take to feed back to every individual player and the coaches, it would take a lot of time.

And therefore it's not always manageable.

It's not always worth having the technology there if you don't have the time in order to use the data from the technology.

A negative impact of technology on the officials is that there are delays in decisions being made.

So when, for example, video, VAR, video assistant referee is needing to be checked, there is always a time.

So the game has to stop, which means the officials have to wait for the VAR to show whether it was a try or not.

It can undermine the respect of the official's ability to make the correct decision.

So with something like tennis, on the whole, the line judges make the decision, but if people see that technology is making much more accurate decisions, then it can really undermine the officials decision.

Officials can become over-reliant.

And therefore stop doing their job as well because they know that they can rely on their technology.

And as technology is expensive, it is not always available at all levels of official and/or sports.

Therefore, some minority sports might miss out or some sports at lower leagues or grassroots level will not have access to this technology that enhances the sport.

Okay, let's have a go to check.

True or false.

Some performers, sports or officials do not have access to technology.

That's true.

Can you tell me why? Some performers, sports or officials do not have access to technology because it's too expensive and not available at all levels or in all sports such as minority sports.

The negative impacts of technology on spectators includes that more technology can increase the cost for spectators.

Obviously for sport is investing in the technology to make the sport better.

Technology costs a lot of money, particularly the really good technology.

So therefore the sport is gonna have to make more money in another way.

So they probably will raise things like ticket prices for spectators in order to make more money to afford the technology for the sport.

It can also cause frustration and time delays if technology doesn't work.

We all know that sometimes technology needs charging or technology needs Wi-Fi or technology just sometimes doesn't work and we don't know why.

So if this was then gonna prevent a sports event taking place or starting because the technology wasn't working, it would cause a lot of frustration to the spectators.

Spectators can become less interested in grassroots sports without the technology because they're used to seeing all these different camera angles, for example, on TV.

Then it means that when they come and watch grassroots sport or when they want to play it, it's frustrating that they don't have access to the same level of technology as the elite performers.

And technology can also provide unhelpful distractions from the athlete's performance because we're too busy focusing on the smartwatch rather than actually just running to the best of variability.

We are looking at all the data that the smartwatch is producing instead.

So it's important to note that technology can also be unhelpful at times too.

So the negative impact of technology on a sponsor include that a sponsor relying on technology can be negatively impacted if the technology has issues, which could ultimately to a loss of revenue.

For example, if they're associated with an event and the technology isn't working at that event, therefore no one is then going to want to watch that event and no one's going to see the brand or the sponsor's logo.

Okay, let's have a go to check.

Who would most likely be negatively impacted by providing unhelpful distractions from an athlete's performance? I'll repeat that question.

Who would most likely be negatively impacted by providing unhelpful distractions from an athlete's performance? Would it be, A, officials.

B, spectators.

C, sponsors.

Or D, the sport.

Well done if you put spectators.

Spectators don't need unhelpful distractions.

They want to focus on the athlete's performance and the sport that they're watching.

Okay, your turn to have a go at a practise task.

For the first part of practise task, I would like you to complete the table below and identify one negative impact of technology for each stakeholder.

So for the performer, official, spectator, and sponsor.

And for the second part of the task, I'd like you to discuss the impacts of technology on an official.

You may wish to pause a video now so you have time to do your task.

So for the first part of the task, you are asked to complete the table below by identifying one negative impact of technology for each stakeholder.

So you may have written performer, it can lead to performers using technology to cheat.

There are other answers that you may have put as well that would've been correct.

Official, people lose trust in officials decision making ability.

Yeah, because they're relying on the technology to make the decision, not the official.

Spectators can increase the cost for spectators as the sport has to afford this new technology.

So therefore they do things like raise ticket prices.

The sponsor.

So if the technology has issues, then a sponsor could lose out on advertising opportunities.

Those are all examples of negative impacts that you could have put.

For the second part of the task, you are asked to discuss the impacts of technology on an official.

You may have said something along these lines.

Technology has positively impacted officiating by improving the accuracy of decisions and enabling faster communication during games.

Tools like VAR, hawkeye, and wearable devices help reduce human error, ensuring fairer outcomes and smoother coordination among officials.

However, technology also presents challenges including delays in decision making and a risk of over-reliance on tech tools.

This reliance can undermine officials authority and erode the confidence in their ability to make decisions independently.

Additionally, the high cost of advanced technology means it is often inaccessible at lower levels of sport, creating disparities in the quality of officiating across different leads and competitions.

Well done if you put something along those lines.

Okay, we've got just enough time to summarise today's lesson.

So technology in sport has developed quickly over the years to impact the performance, rehabilitation, viewing, and decision making.

Examples of technology in sport include: video analysis, performance analysis, wearable devices, clothing and footwear, prosthetics, equipment, protective equipment, and also rehabilitation technology.

Technology in sport has both positive and negative impacts on the performer, official, spectator, and sponsors.

Thanks for working really hard in today's lesson.

There was a lot of information to get through.

Well done, and I look forward to seeing you next time.