Listen: Is Sports Tech Taking Away From The Fundamentals?

It’s no mystery that technology has virtually entwined itself into every aspect of our lives and sports is no exception. Of course, when something as significant as this evolves in the industry, the only option is to grow with it or eventually get left behind. With that being said, today’s modern sports are faster than ever with athletes running faster and playing at a substantially quicker rate to where officials can’t do their jobs effectively without some sort of assistance.

Of course, this is where technology is vital especially regarding statistics and analytics where it’s almost as crucial as the gameplay itself. Although technology has been said to help a ton, it also can be a breeding ground for controversy. For instance, the Polara golf ball is often cited as a case where it made certain sports easier or in other words, “de-skilling” the game itself. So, we can see that sometimes this innovation can do more harm than good considering that sports is meant to be played on a level playing field, however, this seems to be opening a new dimension not necessarily promoting the art of fair competition.

But before we see technology in sports as all bad, we must acknowledge that it has improved sports in cases like the addition of goal line technology in football and even instant replay options within virtually every sporting event. Overall, technology might be filling in the gap in various sporting activities, but those in the industry shouldn’t embrace it blindly as there are certain aspects that maybe should remain guarded.