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Feature: Servicing a sports event - November 2003  

The technology needs of a sports event are wide and varied and involve detailed coordination between a number of parties. "Unfortunately many organising committees of sports events however spend more time worrying about flowers for the medals ceremonies than they do about technology," says one industry IT source.

For a major international sporting event, there are generally three responsible parties for the provision of technology: the federation, the event organiser and the host broadcaster. Paul Bristow, managing director of technology solutions company Deltatre that provides complete technology solutions for the UEFA Champions League and serviced the 2003 IAAF World Athletics Championships, 2002 FIFA World Cup and 2002 Commonwealth games, says: "At the bidding stage for an event, it is important that the federation provides clarity in the division of responsibilities between these three main parties."
In an ideal world, Bristow believes that the federation should take responsibility for the technology associated with the management and running of its sport as well as media information systems and certain event organisation tools. "If these are left to the local organiser, the wheels are re-invented every two or four years. The federation can play a major role in the carriage of knowledge and systems from one event to the next."
According to Bristow, the federation's responsibilities would normally include timing, measurement, and results services, including lane draws and seeding. He says: "This also drives the on-screen graphics for television and that is often an area of discussion as some federations prefer to leave the graphics to the host broadcaster. I believe it is so integral to the running and presentation of the sport that it should be done by the federation."
Bristow also recommends that an event's media information systems are managed by the federation rather than the local organiser. "Compiling historical results and biographies can become a huge burden on an event organiser and federations are usually in a better position to gather this data and carry it forward from one event to the next," he explains. "Finally, systems to organise the event such as accreditation, transportation and accommodation are often left to the local organisers, but the more forward thinking federations such as UEFA are now taking responsibility in these areas and building a legacy for future event organisers."

Event organiser responsibilities

So if those areas should be the federation's responsibility, what should the event organiser supply? Says Bristow: "The event organiser is best placed to provide its own office IT systems and the temporary office installations that are needed at the event itself for the federation representatives. The event organiser should also be responsible for the major technology hardware within the stadium and this is where federations should specify what their requirements are in terms of a scoreboard, videoboard etc. Some venues will be well equipped on a permanent basis, others will require major temporary installations for a major event."
Event organisers have to manage expectations on what they can provide, adds Jose Harguindey who is in charge of marketing products at technology solutions company MSL, which offers a range of information services at sports events such as the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and the 2003 Pan-American Games, including rankings, scorecards, timing and enhancements for broadcasters as well as logistics systems. "Different venues have different levels of cabling systems, limitations on where computers can be installed and on telecoms connections between venues. Someone has to integrate all of this."
Adds Bristow: "Stadia generally have a small number of sports played regularly in them and those sports tend to have standard broadcasting and technology requirements that differ depending on the sport. Very few venues have the right provisions in place, many do not have camera platforms or commentary positions in the right place for the different sports and for anyone who has had to run computer or TV cables through a labyrinth of corridors beneath the tribunes can tell you that more thought should go in at the planning stages. A stadium that caters for more than one sport needs to have a flexible solution and new venues should involve technology companies and broadcasters at the design stage to make sure they get it right for the future."

Testing and planning

Testing of technology well in advance of an event is also vital adds Harguindey: "Sometimes federations and event organisers don't realise that real-time applications have to be tested two to three years before an event. It is hard however for them to plan these things when they don't run an event like this every day, so it is part of our role to educate them through good planning." Bristow adds: "A system can only be fully tested once it has been installed in a venue. If there are other events taking place in a stadium in the days prior to your event, this can leave little time to thoroughly test the installations in a live environment."
Romil Bahl, head of global sport at worldwide consultancy AT Kearney also believes that building in sufficient lead times for testing technology is key: "For the 1996 Atlantic Games, the organisers ran out of time to test the systems which meant bad information came out of the results service. The 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa experienced ticketing problems. You can get problems ranging from capacity issues through to data accuracy."
The latter is of paramount importance to an event as is getting the data "out there are fast as possible to all the different parties at an event," says Enrico Ruiz, general manager of MSL. "Technology providers determine what the core information is for the sport and what the core information is for the spectators whether in the stadium or at home watching on TV. The transmission of data using computer systems cuts down on the amount of paper and makes it easier to interchange information."
Bristow highlights the role of people at events versus technology: "Sports events have particular needs and human experience counts for as much as the technical solution," he says. "One of the key roles in any future organising committee will be the chief technology officer, who will be required to have a very broad understanding of the organisation's needs and the technological possibilities to build an integrated solution across the whole event. This person should be right at the heart of the organisation."

The above article is an extract from the Sportcal report Bidding and Hosting: The Guide to Successful Sporting Events, written by Rachael Church of ArkSports and Sport and Technology. For further information about the report, see www.sportcal.com/reports/full_info.asp?id=12

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Page from ArkSports' Sport and Technology (www.sportandtechnology.com) on 2009-01- 6 : Feature: Servicing a sports event - November 2003 : http://www.sportandtechnology.com/features/0098.html