In a year brimming with major sporting events, the relationship between sports and technology has never been more prominent. Technological advances have created a demand for digital skills in sports science with new opportunities that just were not evident before. The breadth of options in sports tech roles has opened up to include all genders, backgrounds, levels of education, sporting ability, and talent.
As employers in the UK strive to close the diversity gap in the technology sector, it’s important to explore how inclusive and accessible sports science positions really are. This article explores how sports tech careers have evolved, offering insights for individuals and businesses alike.
Sports science or sport and exercise science careers traditionally involved fields such as physiology, biomechanics, and psychology. However, in recent years, the rise and fairly rapid introduction and integration of technology into the whole arena of sports science has expanded these avenues quite significantly.
Indeed, the combination of sporting talent and technology has led to some discussion about the role of advanced tools in Olympic and Paralympic achievements. Emerging technology, such as AI tools, have gained recognition for their role in athletic medal successes, while wearable devices have received media attention during this year’s Euros, for both players and coaches.
The field of performance programmes now allows athletes, professional players, and many elite sporting teams to train, analyse and execute greater sporting prowess. By enabling athletes to hone key skills and facilitate advanced training methods alongside improved equipment and more objective feedback from coaches, they are now able to push to very new limits, superseding their previous levels.
Technology is used in sports for data analytics and to help optimise players’ performance as well as spanning a range of disciplines, including:
Robotics continues to play an increasingly significant role in sports science roles and has created a number of specific roles. These include using robotics in sport as training aids and for rehabilitation purposes. This in turn offers various careers varying from developers creating immersive game-play to designers reimagining simulated environments in golf, football, rugby, and other sports.
The combination of emerging technology and robotics now offers exciting, innovative, and accessible opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds and with varying skill sets. Just as adaptive equipment allows players with different abilities to participate in sports, these technological advancements are also opening new doors in sport-related careers, diversifying the workforce in the sports industry, and creating real possibilities for those who have never previously considered such career avenues.
Augmented reality technologies revolutionise how athletes and professionals work, while collaboration invites those from diverse backgrounds, educations, experiences, and genders to adopt AI tools and focus on innovation in sport. This similarly offers a great opportunity for businesses to actively work towards closing the diversity gap, by attracting talent from a wider range of backgrounds.
Returning to sports analytics, there are a fascinating range of roles, from data scientists to performance analysts, all requiring employees to use statistical methods and machine learning algorithms to analyse player and team performance, inform strategy, and even predict outcomes. While these roles often require strong mathematical and programming skills, the need for strong analytical capabilities widens the scope of career opportunities and individuals ideally suited to such roles.
This is also true within the science of playing surfaces, another increasingly high-tech and valued area of development thanks to wider televised pitches being beamed to millions across global networks. Turf management roles might include specialist sports turf agronomists, environmental scientists focusing on sustainable playing surfaces, and data analysts optimising pitch conditions. These jobs offer a unique blend of traditional agronomy and cutting-edge technology, potentially appealing to individuals with interests in environmental science and data analysis.
Technology offers so much potential to make sports careers accessible to a wider range of individuals. The promotion of the wide variety of sports jobs available, alongside guidance from national organisations, means finding a technical role within the sports science sector is more attainable than ever.
In an era where remote work opportunities are normal, sports tech roles can also be performed remotely allowing for wider recruitment potential. With a reported 97% of IT jobs paying more for AI skills and a preference for technical ability across sports science, traditional barriers are breaking down. When it comes to training or upskilling, there is a broader availability and accessibility to online courses to gain up-to-date tech skills for many sports science roles regardless of anyone’s educational background.
There is certainly no longer a need to come from an athletic background or have sports-specific knowledge. These priorities have become diluted with employers eager to recruit candidates with digital competences and a willingness to embrace emerging technology.
Even with new avenues for career growth opening up and the visibility in sports increasing, this has also introduced significant challenges. The increased coverage and revenue generated have created more lucrative opportunities for successful athletes and less-wealthy sports. However, the high costs associated with this cutting-edge technology have widened the gap between well-funded and under-resourced teams or individuals, potentially limiting career advancement for some.
Similarly, while technology offers opportunities and the highest salaries, it’s important to still acknowledge existing challenges and equality balance struggles, such as having access to technology, the affordability of digital devices, and the demographic route to a high-speed internet.
Some senior sports tech roles may require higher education in STEM fields, and be less accessible to certain groups, coupled with the lingering perception that sports careers are for sporty types or for men more than women. However, as sports continue to evolve with technology, athletes and coaches must adapt their skills and navigate these new dynamics to build successful and sustainable careers.
The future of sports tech roles is a promising one, thanks to the emergence of AI, robotics, and data analytics as an increasingly central part of sports science, performance, and analytics. As technology continues to reshape the sports industry, there’s an unprecedented opportunity to build a more diverse and inclusive workforce. By continuing to focus on the skills required now, rather than traditionally, embracing remote work, and actively working to break down barriers, employers can tap into a diverse wealth of talent that will maximise the potential of technology now and into the future.