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How technology is changing contact sports

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Contact sports technology has developed in a very special way in recent decades, and especially in recent years. Much of the technology becomes portable and wireless, and data is often shared with trainers, coaches, and sports scientists in real time. This has supported the transition of technology from laboratory settings to practice fields, courts and, in some cases, official sports competitions. A current example is a partnership between Adidas and Major League Soccer in the US, where the Adidas MiCoach system has been approved and is currently being used by all MLS teams during training and official competitions to track the hearts of athletes rate, speed, jump height, distance ran and other data. This has been made possible by the use of miniaturized GPS, gyroscopes and accelerometers embedded in a small system housed in sports jerseys and, in some cases, in their tunnels. This system has also been used by rugby teams in Europe, North America and Oceania. Tracking systems such
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The belly of the sport: Dirty games

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Exposés about sports corruption are not new, but they have become more common. There has never been a golden age of pure sport, but there is now a growing public awareness that many of the core ideals of sport - such as fairness, integrity, character and respect - are too often real in the name only. Benjamin Best's award-winning film " Dirty Games " is a tour de force that delivers a lot of shame about high-performance sport. It's a compilation of stories about arrogance, exploitation, stinginess, manipulation and crime. Dirty Games was recently unveiled in Australia at the German Film Festival and is now available to local consumers on request. The documentary is a critical addition to the work of another German reporter / filmmaker, Hajo Seppelt, who uncovered state-sponsored doping in Russia. Inhumanity Dirty Games begins with a shattering account of the exploitation of Nepalese workers in Qatar. On arrival, they discovered that the "employment c
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The National Sports Plan has ambitious ideas, but not enough details

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After 18 months of consultation, Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie revealed this week's eagerly awaited National Sports Plan. At the same time, a review of Australia's Sports Integrity Guidelines was published - another key priority of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's government, commissioned in response to concerns over gambling and match-fixing worldwide. The review of the National Sports Plan has quickly arrived in the media, with mixed reviews. For example, the ABC called the plan "light on details" and "heavy on slogans", but praised the ambitious approach to fighting corruption in sport. What will the new plan really do and what has the government done right? A new mission The first major change is the renaming of the Australian Sports Commission in Sport Australia. This body will guide the implementation of the National Sports Plan , focusing less on service delivery than system leadership and innovation. The National Sports Plan,
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Integrity in sport must grow from the ground up

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The sports world was shocked by yet another scandal last week when the Parramatta eels were found guilty, according to Todd Greenberg, CEO of the National Rugby League, as "a deliberate, coordinated and sustainable system of fraud on salary caps". This kind of behavior does not just affect the Major League team. It can have consequences at all levels of the game. This means that global and national attempts to improve governance and protect sport from corruption require grassroots reach to be effective. The International Sports Safety Center announced in April of this year the creation of a Global Alliance of 50 Sports Integrity Alliance (SIGA) to drive sports reform. The turning point for reform was probably the FIFA scandal that has shaken the football world since 2015 with allegations of widespread corruption. SIGA is a neutral coalition of international government and private sector actors committed to good governance and financial transparency in sport. In Austr
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How professional sport hinders the youthful sports culture

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The recent spate of incidents and reports of doping, match-fixing and television coverage of betting, alcohol and junk food advertising has sparked considerable debate over the impact of commercialized sports on Australian youth. Researchers have clearly shown how the rise of Australian commercialized sports coincided with an increase in obesity and physical inactivity as well as a small increase in youth participation in sports. However, the relationship between commercialized sport and junior sports has largely been left to the periphery of any analysis. Participation in junior sports Australia has both a unique and a rich legacy of junior sports, consisting of school and community sport. In most other countries, junior sports are promoted either at school or in the community. This "either / or" approach can mean that children fall through the gaps. In Australia, participation was historically very high due to the twin track approach of the school and communi
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eSports shift the focus of Australian sports passion

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At the Intel Extreme Masters, which will take place in Sydney from 4 to 6 May, 16 international teams will fight for $ 310,000 for three days at Sydney Olympic Park. Instead of physically struggling to win on a field, players virtually compete in a first-person shooter video game titled Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, displayed on a giant screen. Whether you're a player or not, you've probably heard of eSports - because these video game battles attract masses. The Australian eSports fan base has more than doubled in the last two years and the overwhelming majority (66%) of these fans are between 18 and 34 years old and mostly male. This population was always well represented in traditional physical sport, but has recently become a game of chance. This is a sign of how Australia's passion for sport is changing. And even female gamers become professional. Compared to the same time 10 years ago, media and sports organizations participate with fewer participants in
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Development of sports skills

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Sporting skills are acquired in a very progressive order. Not every child acquires all skills the same or at the same speed, but most teenagers acquire them in the same order. Give yourself and your child a break, just like when they learned to walk. Pour some tea and see what exciting things happen a mile a minute in this cute little bundle of energy that you call your child. In the first two years of life, many of your child's reactions are primarily reflex actions. Touch her cheek and she turns to find something to eat. Touch the ball of the foot and toes curl up. Touch his hand and grab his fingers. Proud, radiant fathers of their firstborn son are already dreaming of a soccer star. Stop there. Do not put sand in rattles to make baby dumbbells. Do not install a basketball hoop on the side of the cot. Scientific research has shown that these futile attempts do not work, no matter how much advantage you want in Johnny's 3-point shot. Natural curiosity and interaction with t
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