Big Data in Sports

Though we know big data exists in the digital world, it can also be applied to things we may normally not think about such as sports. Big data allows athletes and coaches to stay on top of their performance through collecting information about their training, food intake, sleep patterns, and how the individual plays overall in a sport. One of the biggest fears, however, is the possibility of the data coming into the hands of people who will use it to discover the weaknesses of certain players.

Sports such as Formula One racing rely heavily on their data and analytics. Data theft and malware infection are only two of many issues sports have faced in the past. “In F1, their entire business is data”, John says. “If you get a data loss or a system loss or even a malware infection you’ve effectively lost the race.” If you look at an F1 team they have data centers sitting there by the side of the track, processing every nanosecond of race and training performance. If any of that data got into the wrong hands it could be disastrous, which is why teams like Williams F1 are taking data security extremely seriously” (forbes.com). Data is an important advantage that plays a role in determining key decisions and competitiveness. Because of its importance, it needs to be carefully monitored and protected in companies and even sports businesses.