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Sports Broadcasting Technology

Technology Helps Officials Judge Close Plays in Athletic Events

August 02, 2013

(SPORTS TECHNOLOGY)

Umpires and referees may be experts at calling plays, but sometimes they need help. That’s where technology comes in.

In many sports, specialized technology helps to determine if close plays meet the rules and official guidelines.

“Should we do away with technology altogether?” an article in the Herald Sun asks. “No, because anything that leads to more correct decisions has to be a bonus. And when it can be used successfully, such as in tennis, then it enhances the game.”


The Daily Telegraph reports how, for instance, in tennis Hawk-Eye is used to rule on close line calls. Hawk-Eye was initially used as a tool to analyze decisions in cricket, and now it has changed sports broadcasting, officiating and coaching in tennis, billiards and Gaelic hurling. It is used in such well-known events as the Wimbledon Championships, the Cricket World Cup, Davis and Federation cups, World Championships billiards and Indian Premier League cricket.

Or, in the case of the Australian Football League (AFL), different camera angles give some help to goal and field umpires on whether goals are good. The National Rugby League (NRL) employs video replay to see is regulations were breached or a ball was grounded. Hawk-Eye is also used in soccer to see if a ball crossed a goal line. One can’t forget about Umpire Decision Review System (DRS) in the sport of cricket. Hotspot cameras are used to confirm or overturn umpire decisions on plays. And in basketball, the NBA uses replays to determine “last touch” decisions in the final two minutes of games, or to see if players got rid of a ball before a shot clock ran out of time.

Many plays are close. In the 2010, World Cup soccer round of the game between England and Germany a goal was disallowed despite the shot bouncing off of a crossbar about a meter over the goal line, the news report said. Now, Champions League matches use goal-line touch judges.




Edited by Alisen Downey