Understanding and evaluating the return on investment from any sports technology with Sam Robertson (Professor at Victoria University)

The first Pacey Performance Podcast guest of 2022 sees the return of Sam Robertson, Professor of Sports Analytics at Victoria University. Prior to arriving at the university, Sam worked as a sport scientist in various roles in both Australia and the United Kingdom.

Since his last appearance, Sam has started his own One Track Mind podcast, exploring the science, technology, economics and politics of sport. Sam discusses a little about his podcast, including how he chooses guests and the topics they explore before moving on to the subject of sports technology. In addition to Sam’s definition of sports technology, he talks about FIFA’s criteria for choosing a sports technology partner, and how the data captured and advantages/disadvantages are often subjective to the individual coach or team.

Sam also discusses the democratisation of data, and how individuals can understand the return on investment of the technology they choose. There’s also debate on how sports data has affected fan engagement, and whether these developments have been positive for sport. Finally, Rob and Sam discuss how to subjectively choose a sports technology provider and the criteria we can all look out for. For all this insight and much more, hit the play button now.

This week’s topics:

• Sam’s definition of sports technology
• The data generated by sports technology
• FIFA’s criteria for choosing a sports technology partner
• The democratisation of data
• How individuals can understand the return investment on the technology they choose
• Is fan engagement driven by data going the right way?
• IMUs vs. player tracking systems
• Why the tech giants have stayed away from professional sports technology
• Creating frameworks to make better decisions on data collected
• How choosing a sports technology provider can be measured subjectively

As mentioned in the episode, you can be a part of a new initiative between Track VU and Sportsmith in the independant evaluation of sports technology by visiting sportsmith.co/tech