Can technology make sports more equal, or does it only widen the gap between competitors?

Technology in Sports: Equalizer or Divider?

With the constant evolution of the sports, there's also the growth of tech.

But what kind of technology? There's all sorts, and they're all used in their respective fields. Let's cut it down to the field of sports. The main three are considered: Equipment, training and refereeing. Where and when can all this developed tech be used? Equipment is used in games, like ice skate blades, hockey sticks, etc.. Training tech are mainly stopwatches, and much more. Refereeing is in its name, where is used to monitor the result of matches, to ensure the outcome's fair for all.

Now, let's get to the question. I believe it further widens the gaps between athletic rivals. But this depends on what type of technology we're talking about. Let's look at the three main sport types that I had introduced earlier. Refereeing obviously helps with finding fairness, and so it doesn't lead to inequality within a match. What about equipment and training? How could these two serve as a way to pull the gap wider?

With further advancements with technology, the price rises along with it. What does that mean? Well, wealthier countries can afford to 'level-up' their game, while poorer countries are just left behind with either average, or below-average equipment and training tech. That's why, when you watch any large-scale sporting events (such as the Olympics or Fifa), countries who are further developed usually have the most medals or are on their way to compete in the finals. But are athletes that dependent on technology? Sports is highlighted as one of the most hardworking activities, whether with our without tech. But it can boost one's performance, or may have another use, which is to make playing more executable. Still, athletes can play without all those fancy advancements, but will it be as good compared to those who have that? Probably not.

But others have different opinions, let's take a look. Some may think that technology can help with equalizing sports, and that's a valid opinion! Some plausible reasons that support this statement may be the one that I mentioned earlier. Dependency on technology. Some state that as sports evolves, we'll still fully rely on our bare skills, and technology only serves as support. They also prefer to mention refereeing, which uses monitors to make sure all outcomes of a game are fair, which is also a strong argument.

In conclusion, I will reinstate my opinion, which is that I believe that certain technology can widen the gap between competitors, with those who are wealthy, and those who are not.