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The five most effective sporting initiatives for spectators

Every aspect of sport is under the technological microscope
Roar Guru
1st October, 2014
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This article brought to you by amaysim

Whether or not technology increasing the accuracy of sporting adjudications is a good thing or not is questionable.

One the one hand, it reduces human error. The fairest outcome is achieved, 99.5 per cent of the time. No umpire mistakes, out-of-line athletes are called to account for outbursts that previously would have gone unnoticed, and goals that ‘didn’t even go close to crossing the line’ are ruled to have in fact, crossed the line.

On the other hand, human error is reduced. Errant human athletes are being adjudged by supposedly inerring computers, which in itself is not such a bad thing, I suppose. However I like the idea of a human authority presiding over a match played by humans, call me crazy.

Also, there’s nothing like the feeling when your team gets away with one when they really shouldn’t have.

If you’re like me and you like the ‘human error’ element in the sports we love, unfortunately, it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Actually, it’s not going to get better. They’re not going to remove Hawkeye from tennis, they’re going to make Hawkeye a robotic tennis player who will dominate the ATP, unable to hit a bad shot or hit a serve under 250km/h.

The following is a shortlist of some of the best innovations implemented in sport. For better or worse, they’re here to stay.

Hawkeye
Let’s start with the most widespread of the lot.

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Hawkeye is a computer system that visually tracks and statistically predicts the most likely trajectory of a moving object, most often a ball. It is reported to be accurate within 5mm.

Hawkeye was first used in 2001 in a cricket match between England and Pakistan at Lord’s. It was originally purely for television purposes, but in ‘08/’09, it was trialled as a decision referral system.

Tennis had already adopted the technology, with Hawkeye making its first elite-level appearance at the 2006 Hopman Cup in Perth. The Premier League was late to the game, adopting Hawkeye as the authority on goal-line decisions in 2013-14.

Hawkeye has done three things to the sports in which it is effect.

Firstly, it has heightened the spectacle by dramatising decision reviews. Watching the trajectory of a backhand winner, only to find that the shot was indeed wide, is exciting in and of itself. Bigger points, bigger drama. Fantastic.

Secondly, Hawkeye has removed the majority of umpiring conspiracy theories. You can’t accuse a camera and a computer of bias. Unless of course, you’re a conspiracy theorist of the hardest-core, and an idiot.

Third, Hawkeye has improved the standard of these sports. When you put the question to pundits, ‘Who would win, Roger Federer or Rod Laver?’

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Most times, the pundit would say, ‘Roger Federer; increases in technology mean that the standard of the game today is much higher than it was back then.’

Hawkeye is an example of this ‘technology’. It may not have given the players better lung capacity, or biomechanically improved their technique, but it’s forcing them to adapt to higher standards.

Hot Spot
On the record: I love Hot Spot technology. I love the drama, I love the accuracy, I even love the commentator’s overuse of the sponsor’s name prefixed to the technology.

Hot Spot is an infra-red imaging system developed by French scientist Nicholas Bion for military purposes. It was bought by the Nine Network and implemented on November 23, 2006, for the ‘Gabba Ashes Test, to great effect. Previous French military inventions include a brighter shade of white for their flags and longer-lasting ration pack Camembert.

Again, what Hot spot does best is create drama and produce fair results. I will never tire of seeing stubborn batsmen insisting the ball did not flick their bat on its way to the ‘keeper, only to be sent packing by the slightest hint of friction on the edge of their Gray-Nicholls.

TMO (video referee)
The source of innumerable expletives in both rugby union and league.

TMO, or Television Match Official, is essentially some guy watching a live feed of the game that he can pause, rewind, slow-motion and replay from different angles in order to produce an accurate, official ruling. League fans may know this initiative as the ‘video ref’ – a much less confusing title, I think we can all agree.

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The recurring criticism of the TMO is that it slows down the game by increasing the on-field referee’s reliance on technology, passing the decision to the couch-bound official upstairs.

I have to say, it is very annoying to see a referee, who was mere metres away from the action, refer the decision upstairs for review. For dubious rulings, by all means, refer the decision; don’t, however, refer the decision because you think you saw a defender’s finger slip under the ball at the last second. Just blow the damn whistle.

Player microphones
Put a microphone on or near a sportsperson, you could have any number of results. Negative results or positive results, oft-times the results are memorable.

Two events spring to mind immediately, both gifted to us by the paragon of humanity, S.K. Warne.

Warnie has not had the most harmonious coexistence with on-field microphones.

In 2001, he was left red-faced after Stump Cam (or should that be KFC Stump Cam?) picked up his obscene tirade directed at Zimbabwe’s Stuart Carlisle. My 11-year-old self was watching this game with my Dad. We shared a rueful chuckle, Mum sniffed her disapproval, and we moved on with our lives.

I was also watching in 2011, when a much older and wiser (and thinner too, surprisingly) Warnie had a microphone strapped to his lapel and predicted the outcome of one of trademark deliveries.

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On live television, Shane Warne was in communication with the on-air commentators, who asked, ‘What about to (Brendon) McCullum, Shane?’

The Aussie icon replied, ‘Well, I’ll try to shape a sweet one after that first one, or maybe even go inside out and get a bit harder. So I’ll try and slide one in there… fast.’

He spoke, and so it was.

The microphone of course had no effect on the execution of the delivery, but boy did it reveal a lot about the genius of the man. No microphone, and we’d probably all still think he was some 42-year-old reserve-grader who won a competition to play in the Big Bash League.

RefCam
I’m joking, of course. It looks ridiculous, and only really shows sweaty brutes struggling to put a sentence together.

Next from Channel Nine, KioskCam. Watch your mates order a $16.00 pie and coke combo in real time.

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