When James Haskell started playing professional rugby football, technology' influence was very limited. One of its first and important uses within the game, he says, was just urine testing (尿检). "A lot has changed since then. Now all the players wear GPS heart-rate monitors," the former England and Wasps ruby union player says. Data and technology have become important parts of a professional sports team and its players' lives, Haskell says.
But this is only the beginning.
"New 5G will bring a whole set of new devices to the sports industry and the connectivity of supply chains that isn't possible today," explains Scott Petty, the chief technology officer of Vodafone UK. Vodafone's recent research shows 70 per cent of decision-makers in the sports industry believe it is behind other industries in, adopting new technology.
However, things are changing gradually. The research suggests that 76 per cent of sports leaders say new 5G technology will drive innovation within their organizations. According to research, sport is an area where new 5G will have a huge impact. It has the ability to transform the fan experience and help athletes improve their fitness and training programmes. Around 74 per cent of sports leaders believe 5G will help meet rising fan expectations.
Haskell is looking forward to seeing what 5G will enable in the future. Vodafone's new 5G network was launched (推出) in July. At the launch, two Wasps players demonstrated an innovative use of the tech when they conducted a joint training session, despite being 100 miles apart. At an event in London, Will Rowlands (擒抱摔倒) tackled a bag and almost at the same time, through wearable devices, De Jongh felt the force of the tackle.
Going forwards, Haskell expects that players will be able to quantify (量化) their performance in new ways. The key to this? The ability to read real-time data and make training programmes completely personalized.
Haskell says, "This ability will be terrific and you'll suddenly be able to quantify everything!"
This will be game-changing.
