Francess Gideon

25 Nov 2017

Sports and Technology

Sports and technology has always been a topic that has been discussed over the past view
years. In particular, 2016 has been quite the year in sports. The discussion has recently been has
sports and technology hurt or helped the individual sports where it is used in. During the research
that I conducted I was amazed at how many different sports leagues and sports committee's have
blocked some pieces of technology that would give the athletes a leg up on the game. I was also
surprised to find how many people support sports and technology introduction into the sports
world. One example, is foul ball and home run replay technology being implemented into Major
League Baseball (MLB). Some argue that replay would help the game because it will give the
players a fair chance and that everyone will be on an equal playing field. Other argue that replay
would lengthen the games substantially driving fans away and slowing down the pace of the
game. Another article argues that sports like soccer and tennis are doing the right thing with
sports technology. This includes in/out calls in tennis using the hawk-eye system and a camera
mounted on the posts to see if the ball went in or not. The author of this article has also argued
that American sports are two slow because of sports and technology. The author argues that
games are lengthen because there is no definite pace to the games. Another source argues that
sports and technology has made baseball, with new improvement in bat and glove technologies.
A fourth source argues that innovation is sports technology has help and hurt the Olympics in
different ways. The two examples the author uses are the LZR Racer and Cheetah Flex-Foot. He
argues that the LZR has both a good and a bad side. The good side is that when used its the
athletes ability is increased. The bad side is that more world records will be broken because the
suit gives the racer an unfair advantage. Another source states three theories. These theories are
the non-theory, the thin theory, and the thick theory of performance. Each theory gives a pro and
a con to why sports and technologies should be used or not be used in sports. Another source
shows how through innovation in sports technology certain people can predict with accuracy
who will win a tennis match. This has a good and bad side to it according to the author of this
source. In another article innovation in sports technologies can be applied to other areas, such as
military. One example is a material that reduces the force of the impact on the body, while being
at least forty times lighter than traditional Kevlar vests. Also in this article there is a section
where the NFL and the Department of Defense teamed up to create a helmet that will reduce the
force of impact. In a survey which I conducted, I found that there is a definite split among
college students on the application of sports and technology in the modern Olympics. Lastly, in a
book entitled "Sports and
Technology" the author argues both sides of the question on whether sports and technologies

should be used at all.

Weber, Bruce. "Instant Replay May Be Moving Into Foul Territory." New York Times 31 Aug.

2008: 2. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. This article as a whole talks about how

instant replay, especially in baseball, is a scam to lengthen the games and get more money out of

the consumer. Some of the arguments presented in this article are that the use of instant replay

baseball will be used to show the true skills of the players and to make the game "perfect". The

second argument that the author presents is that replay is used to create more money for the

individual sports by adding length to the game. The third point presented in the article is that

umpires in baseball are the final decision and that replay is going to change the integrity of the

game. This source is useful in relation to my research question in the way it shows a counter

argument of why not to use instant replay in sports. A second way this source relates to my

research question is by using facts and evidence in other sports to show how technology can be

used effectively and ineffectively.

"Other sports could learn from soccer." USA Today n.d.: Academic Search Premier. Web. 31

Oct. 2013. This article as a whole talks about the difference between sports played in the United

States and international soccer, and what both can learn from each other in terms of game play.

One of the main argument presented in this article is that soccer should adopt some sort of

instant replay measure and use it to prevent human error in effecting the game. The second

argument presented in this article is that sports in the United States should "take a page" out of

soccer's style and speed the game up so that there is some kind of action all the time not just in
the last two minutes, or something similar to that, like it is in most sports. The article last major

point is that sports in the United States should focus more on the level of excitement and less on

the money making aspect of the game. This article is useful because it shows a problem in the

sports world and how to fix it. This article is also useful because it shows how the way one sport

effects the dynamic of all sports.

Sawyers, Harry. "The Bats, Gloves, & Gadgets for Baseball Season." Popular Mechanics . n.d.

n. page. Print. This article talks about all the new advancements in baseball equipment and how

they have made the game both safer and better atmosphere. The articles main topics are divided

between new baseball bats with Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) and new glove

technologies. The BBCOR bats create a saver environment with the ball not "jumping off" the

bat as much and a better atmosphere for competition by making the coaches think "small ball."

The gloves make the game safer by not producing as many injuries and a bigger pocket for more

efficient fast paced play. This source is useful in the way if present two different viewpoints into

what the purpose of sports and technology is. This article is also important because it shows how

sports and technology can bring together two opposite themes and fuse them as one.

Jenkins, Bruce. "Impact of innovation, technology forces sport of tennis to evolve." Sports

Illustrated. 06 24 2006: n. page. Print. Thos article as a whole talks about the different elements

that have changed the game of tennis as a whole. The article describes four major changes to the

game, the racket, the strings, the two-handed backhand, and nutrition and fitness. In the section

about rackets the author shows how a change from wooden to metal, and now to composite

rackets have made the players evolve in their style of play. The string also have evolved with the
racked in the way that it is not so much where you hit the ball on the string it is, it is how hard

the player swings and how much control the player has. The third thing is the evolution of the

two-handed backhand and how player adapted to hit the ball constantly hard with both hands.

Lastly, comes nutrition and fitness, and how both of these principles have lengthened the game

and made players be more conditioned. This source is useful towards my research because it

shows specific examples of how sports and technology has effected a sport. Another reason why

this source is useful is because it gives an overall view point over the effects sports and

technology have had on tennis, past, present, and future.

Borden, Sam. "Technology brings both good, bad." lohud.com. N.p., 02 Aug 2009. Web. 31 Oct

2013. This article gives many different situations in which technologies influence in sports is

either good or bad. One of the examples given by the author is the swimming body suit which

gives the swimmer and unfair advantage. Another example the author gives is the ruling by the

USGA to ban certain iron with grooves that increase the range. Some technological in sports that

the author agrees with is instant replay in tennis, but not in sports like baseball and football. The

biggest innovation, in the authors opinion, is medicine and how it has prolonged the life of an

athlete in his/her particular sport. This article is useful to my research question in the way that it

gives good and bad examples of how sports and technology have helped and hurt different

sports. Another way that it is useful in my research is by showing specific examples and giving

different viewpoints of how they affect the different sports.

Levitan , Paul. United States . State Department . Innovation in Sports Technology -- Inevitable

or Unfair?. Washington: , 2008. Web. This article describes two major innovation in sports

technologies and how it not the technology that helps it is the person who is using the

technology. The first innovation discussed in this article is the LZR Racer, a swimsuit that is said

to reduce the amount of drag on a athletes body while swimming. The author argues that it is not

the suit that helps it all boils down to how much the athlete has trained and how he will perform

on the date of the completion. The second technology described is the Cheetah Flex-Foot which

was originally ruled that it could not be used in the Olympics because it gave an unfair

advantage, but later was overturned. The author argues the real question is if that advantage

given by the Cheetah Flex-Foot, is somehow voided by the disadvantage of the runner. This

source is useful towards my research in the way that it shows two different technologic advances

and how it matters on the athlete and how much he or she trains and practices. This article is also

useful because it presents a different view point on the issue of sports and technology.

Caine, Mike, Kim Blair, and Mike Vasquez. "Materials And Technology In Sport." Nature

Materials 11.8 (2012): 655-658. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 Oct. 2013 The article as a

whole talks about three different case studies and how sport and technology affect sports in

different ways. The first case study talks about pole vaulting sticks and how with the

advancement in sports and technology the sticks have changed along with the world records. The

second study deals with the surface of a basketball ,and how with sports and technology it has

helped the game as a whole. The third, and final case study, deals with the surface strain

measurement on a snowboard boot assembly and how without sports technology, this research

and advancement would not be possible. This article is a good source because it deals with many
different ideas and how they each affect a certain part of a sport. Another reason why this is a

good source is that it talks about how the sports community has to sometimes limit the

advancements in sports technology because it will not be the players ability anymore it will be

how good their equipment is.

Loland, Sigmund. "Technology In Sport: Three Ideal-Typical Views And Their Implications."

European Journal Of Sport Science 2.1 (2002): 1. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 Oct.

2013. This article as a whole talks about three main theories why and why not sports and

technology should be used. These three theories are the non-theory, the thin theory, and the thick

theory of performance. The non-theory is explained as a theory which says that if technology

helps the athlete perform above their natural talents then it is not doing its job. The thin theory is

a theory that states if sports technologies should grant equal opportunity to all participants using

that said technology. The third and final theory is the thick theory of performance, the theory

states that sports should be an arena for "moral values and human self-development", and if

sports and technology hurts that then they should not be used. This is a good source because it

gives both positive and negative view points on why and why not sports an technology should be

used. The second reason why this is a good source is that it shows some different concepts not

seen in other sources.

Ma, Shang-Min, et al. "Winning Matches In Grand Slam Men's Singles: An Analysis Of Player

Performance-Related Variables From 1991 To 2008." Journal Of Sports Sciences 31.11 (2013):

1147-1155. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. This article talks about a study which
used an equation based on multiple characteristic of the tennis players to predict who would win

a "Grand Slam" match. The article first talks about the three factors that will be put into the

program to decide who will win the match. These three factors are player skills and

performance, player characteristics and match characteristics. These factors are put into the

equation and then the outcome is predicted. From 1991 to 2008 this system of equations

predicted with accuracy 90.6% of who would win the match. This article is a good source

because it show how sports and technology can use to predict some outcomes. This is also a

good source because it shows how sports and technology does not just affect one certain area but

all.

PARSONS, DAN. "Sports Technology Sparks Tactical Innovation." National Defense 97.713

(2013): 8. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. This article talks about how

innovations in the sports world can lead to innovations in the military and defense world. The

product that is discussed is a product created by the D30 company which is said to be "light,

flexible, and breathable with the overall task of being protective." The material was first used in

the 2006 Winter Olympics. The technology was seen by many militaries around the world and

has begun to become implemented in the military world. The article also talks about how the

Department of Defense and the National Football League (NFL) have teamed up to study

Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and how to prevent them by using the technology created by the

D30 company. This is a good article because it shows how advancements in sports technology

can be integrated into the military world. This is also a good article because it shows different

applications of sports and technology outside of the sports world.

Garcia, Esteban. "Are Prosthetics an Advantage or Disadvantage In Olympic Competitions." 30

Oct 2013. The question that was asked during this survey was "Do you think that the use of

prosthesis, such as Oscar Pistorous, are an advantage or a disadvantage?" The survey was split

down the middle with 10 people says that it gives him and unfair advantage. 11 people surveyed

said that it gives him or anyone using them and unfair advantage. One person in particular gave

me a reason and said " with his prosthetics he has an unfair advantage because he has to

sometimes give less effort to do the same amount of work a normal does. This is a good source

because it shows how most people are split on the topic of sports technology. This is also a good

source because it shows the common theme present in all the past articles.

Ross, Stewart. Sports Technology . 1st Ed. London: Evans Brothers Limited, 2010. 8-15. Web.

This particular chapter in this book talks about the ball in different sports and how sports and

technology affects each sport through the innovation of the ball. The first sport which is

motioned is golf and how advancements in composite materials has made the ball go longer. The

next two balls are the football (soccer ball) and the tennis ball. The change from a 32 panel to a

16 panel soccer ball made the ball easier to kick and is deadly from at least 30ft. The last thing

talked about in the chapter is baseball bat, even though the major leagues use wood any kind of

bat can be used in armature leagues which can be made from a range of materials. This is a good

source because it gives the viewpoint of that sports and technology helps the game and can be

beneficial to the athletes. This is also a good source because it gives This is also a good source

because it gives definite examples of how sports and technology is good.