Anna Faszcza Infinite Possibilities

Have you ever thought about how athletes break the world recordsbreak the world records [break the world record]break the world records? How can we know their results and be sure of their accuracyaccuracyaccuracy? The evolution of sport technologyevolution of sport technologyevolution of sport technology provides new opportunities in many areas: improving  athletes' performance, making decisions by officials, measuring time and distancesmeasuring time and distances [measure time and distance]measuring time and distances, creating reliable and durable equipmentdurable equipmentdurable equipment, and also making sports available for everyone, including the disabled.

Technology has a huge influence on the players’ performance mainly due to improved, lighter materials and advanced equipment. For runners, there are special track surfacestrack surfaces [track surface]track surfaces, running spikesrunning spikesrunning spikes, or starting blocksstarting blocks [starting block]starting blocks while swimmers take advantage of low‑friction swimsuitslow‑friction swimsuits [low‑friction swimsuit]low‑friction swimsuits. In cycling, every piece of equipment is carefully examined to guarantee the maximum effectiveness of a cyclist. Clothes, as well as equipment, reduce injury risk. What’s more, engineers try to adjust the aerodynamic propertiesadjust the aerodynamic properties [adjust aerodynamic property]adjust the aerodynamic properties of bicycles to make them faster. Also, more innovative clothing is developed to improve the athlete’s performance in accordance with the rulesin accordance with the rules [rule]in accordance with the rules of particular disciplines. Believe it or not, athletes train and even sleep in altitude chambersaltitude chambers [altitude chamber]altitude chambers, whose aim is to force the body to produce additional blood cells to help sportsmen during the preparation for competitions. Then, to reduce temperature in muscles after an activity, an ice bathice bathice bath is used to speed up their recovery.

Technology assists officialsofficials [official]officials in making precise decisions. If you are a fan of volleyball, you might sometimes see the players waiting impatiently for a challengechallengechallenge, which makes it possible to see the flight pathflight pathflight path of a ball and decide whether it landed in or out of the court. Hawk‑eyehawk‑eyeHawk‑eye is a camera system that traces the ball trajectoryball trajectoryball trajectory, which nowadays is the most accurate and reliable equipment. Goal‑line technologygoal‑line technologyGoal‑line technology works similarly and determines if a ball crossed the line and the goal was scored. As soon as it happens, the refereerefereereferee gets a vibrating signal on his watch! There is also a slow‑motion videoslow‑motion videoslow‑motion video, used in basketball to decide if the ball was released by the player before or after the buzzer, and hotspot in cricket, which determines whether or not the ball made contact with the bat before the fielderfielderfielder caught it.

One of the most important uses of technology in sport is measuring distances and time, which most athletic disciplines rely on. Full automation is a way to measure time as precisely as possible. The clock is activated in starting blocks by sensorssensors [sensor]sensors as a runner starts and it’s stopped by a line scan camera by means of a laser line at the finish. Similar laser measurement devices are also used in other disciplines such as javelin or hammer throw.

As a fan of any sport discipline, whether you watch a sporting event sitting in front of your TV sets or cheering at the stadium, you can be sure of accurate decisions and results. That does make a huge difference, doesn’t it?

1 Źródło: Anna Faszcza, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.