Can technology make sports more equal, or does it only widen the gap between competitors?
This post was written by a student. It has not been fact checked or edited.
Through the past years we have seen a lot of new technology and initiatives in sports. But is this making it more equal or widening gaps between contestants?
There has been a lot of change throughout sports technology with how athletes train and play and how refs are refereeing the game. An example is football and their use of VAR (video assistant referee) which improves accuracy. For football it has improved accuracy from 82% to 96%. It helps in checking goals, giving red cards to the right person and even penalties.
We have seen how tech has improved accuracy but it also improves safety. In Formula 1 it became mandatory in 2018 to have a halo on the racing cars to prevent injury and it has proven to work. It saved lives like Henry Sartee, Jules Bianchi and many others. On the one hand the public initially complained that it's ugly and that you can’t see the players however it saves lives and has proven to work extremely well.
Another example of technology in sport is Hawk eye in tennis and its new uses of cameras replacing line judges. The cameras watch over to see if the ball is in or out or if there is any cheating. It has been used in tournaments such as Australia Opens, the Davis Cup, Wimbledon and the Queen’s Club Championships. However some members of the public say it's not the same tennis that they fell in love with and they don't like the idea because it is moving away from traditions. Despite this, it has proven to make more accurate decisions then the judges.
Some tech that I use at home is my watch which counts my steps and heart rate. I think that it is very useful and a good addition to sports technology.
But sometimes it does widen a gap like in the 2025 Olympics when the Norwegian ski team got charged over cheating ski suits by putting reinforced thread in their jumpsuits which soon got them disqualified from the match.
Overall I think sports technology is a great invention only if the right people are using it. I also think that it depends what sport it is because in the ski team it widens gaps but on the other hand it can save lives and make it more fun, enjoyable and equal.
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